Takala was my first horse to start training. He ran like the wind. Full of life. He learned to love and to trust. He turned out to a beautiful soul and is now situated at In The Company of Horses.
Read MoreEmily was a new challenge. She was death on the one side and slightly blind as well. Very unpredictable. Trusting was difficult for her but we got through that wall and we became best friends. Unfortunately I had to move away before I could ride her on a daily basis. She became a farm horse and was eventually sold.
Read MoreShe was peace herself. Passionate and trusting from the beginning. She was sold before we could do mounting.
Read MoreLuma was ridable before she came to me. But as a young horse she was ridden once a while. She was very jittery and got a fright easily. She also liked to buck when she is being ridden. So I started from the beginning. Back to the basic principles. Focusing on all the little details. She turned into a whole new horse. She returned to her owner. She is a safe and loving horse.
Read MoreGhost is a young horse. He was ridden a while back. He needed basic training to be a safe horse for the girl that was going to ride him in the future. He also needed schooling for Western Mounted Games. He turned out to be the safest horse in the herd. Riding bare back, swimming, children to adults could ride him, experienced to unexperienced. He amazed me. In the year 2023, Ghost and his rider competed in Western Mounted Games - Nationals.
Read MoreRoxy the queen. Beautiful and petite. Roxy came to me for training but it turned out it was not necessary. She had no faults or problems. She stayed in the herd and her owner came and did riding lessons on the weekends. Roxy just knew how to push you a little bit out of your comfort zone but not at all in a dangerous way. She just wanted to please.
Read MoreI bought Tokyo as a personal horse. He was still a young horse with just the basic knowledge of riding. We worked on his stubbornness and to pick up his feet when walking. He also had a bad habit of biting when saddling up and leading on the halter. Today he is such a sweet boy. Riding bare back, kids riding him, experienced and unexperienced
Read MoreEclipse was castrated on the day when he arrived by the herd. He was very shy and protective, that gave me a hard time to clean the wound but with time he saw that I was not going to hurt him and he gave into trust. He was also a spoiled horse, so he had no respect and wanted to do things his way or no way. He soon realized that this is a relationship between 2 and not just himself. He was to young to mount, so I did all the training up until mounting.
Read MoreWhen I first came to Dawn, the owner told me, "Jani you are our last hope" everyone kept on bad mouthing this horse and the owners could not get Dawn to work with them. Dawn was also trained by a very expensive school and highly trainers which told them that they are wasting their time with Dawn. Dawn had a fear of anything moving. She had a bad habit of getting a fright for anything, she sees the object, ignores it and then later gets a fright for the object. She also traumatized herself in the horsebox. She kept on scaring herself. So with the training we did a lot of desensitizing and random objects that make noises. She quickly realized that it was not that bad. Same with the horsebox. We did a lot of work with the horsebox. This horse showed everyone, including me again, that patience is the only key. Dawn then also went in the year 2023, to the Western Mounted Games - Nationals and represented the Limpopo team. They won Level 0 Champion and SANESA Overall 2d Champion
Read MoreWindsong was such a treat to train. With the thought that Windsong was already trained but was not ridden. He was difficult to ride and did not like compromising. He came to me and I started everything from the beginning. Windsong was a challenge at first, he was very stubborn in the training session but we quickly made friends. When we were on the same page, this horse turned into a whole other horse. His personality became soft and caring, just wanting to please. As big and strong as he looks, his heart is as big as a peanut. This little baby has his whole life ahead and I am honored to have shared it with him.
Read MoreMagnum arrived the same day as Windsong. Magnum was a bit more challenging when training him. He was older and was never trained before. Magnum was a very nervous horse and was always the first one to take the first way out. A wise quote said, " Patience is Key". Magnum bloomed into a confident, loving horse, still a little shy but he showed me his true colors. He trusted me with his whole heart and I could see it. We were almost at our first outride when Magnum found his forever home. The people saw the same Magnum I saw and fell in love with him.
Read MoreCyder was an absolute pleasure to train. He came to me where I had to help him with basic ground work and desensitising. Cyder was the first horse I ever encountered being an introvert horse. He was very unsure when I did training and desensitising with him but reassuring gave him so much confidence and he stopped overthinking everything. I can't wait to see him again in the future. For now he needs to get a little bit older to be able to start riding.
Read MoreMeerkat was already backed and ridable when she came to me. The sweetest young mare but with a little sas. She needed her basic schooling in place. She was definitely out there to test me but when we came on the same level she quickly turned into my best friend.
Read MoreThunder was a overthinker. He acted like everything was always cool and calm and he had everything under control until he had to step out of his comfort zone. He needed a lot of reassurance, the whole time. He turned into a confident, loving horse. Always looking for attention. Never to hurt even a fly. Such kind eyes. He has so much potential to develop. His owner is just as eager as Thunder is and their journey is already kicking off with a bang.
Read MoreAlaska is such a special mare. She came from the SPCA. The owner had no history of her and brought her to me because she had a bucking and stubbornness problem. Alaska would not respond to the halter or anything you ask her to do. The day of her arrival she saw the other horses and bolted in the opposite direction. She did not know what other horses was. I had to introduce her to each one and she made friends real quick. Alaska's personality switched completely when she saw what love was. I am about 8 months pregnant at this stage and Alaska, every time when she is near me, would follow me back to the car or gate, even though the other horses does not follow along. Or she would rest her head on my tummy, closing her eyes. Alaska is a beautiful soul and I am honored to have walked her journey with her.
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