At Hy Court, we recognize that to be consistently successful in performance, a horse must possess a strong and positive outlook in every aspect of his life.  The shaping of this begins within the first few days of life by inviting curiosity and confidence in our foals with every interaction. 

This thought is foremost in our minds as we design a program for each horse that allows for the realization of his full natural aptitude. 

 

 

After the breed shows and inspections of their foal year, our youngsters are weaned in the fall. Away from their mothers, they now begin their lives learning the social skills needed for the future. Our weanlings will stay together for much of the winter and spring. During this time, they are raised by our older, kind yet firm geldings who continue their education in building socially appropriate behavior!

 

During their first year, they will learn to tie and become more comfortable with routine work such as trailer loading, standing for the trimmer and grooming. We continue to nurture their keen curiosity which in turn builds confidence in themselves and in the partnership with the handler.

 

In their two-year old year, our youngsters are very comfortable with routine handling and will spend longer periods of time being tied and groomed. They will be taking trips on the trailer to gain more life miles and be exposed to new situations. Once again, our supportive, hard working equine role models will be along for the ride!

 

During this period of maturing, we often see dramatic changes in their bodies with rapid growth spurts in the spring. As a part of our overall care and management program, our horses are periodically examined by our veterinarians and maintained by our chiropractor to ensure optimum health, growth and condition.

 

 

When they are ready, around the summer of their three year-old year, we begin the preparation for starting our youngsters under saddle. All the foundation work has been set in place from our first interactions to now. The horses will be saddled and bitted. They will spend many hours over the next several months wearing saddles and being ponied from one of our older horses. Being led from another horse gives them confidence as they explore the ideas of going freely forward, seeing a rider from above and experiencing new adventures.

 

We continue to refine exercises that have been presented earlier, e.g. leading up to be mounted from the fence, working off a flag, working over and through trail obstacles, leading by the feet and having a rope on and around their bodies. When they are mentally and physically ready, the young horses will be backed. We welcome the support and guidance of renowned horseman Tom Curtin in our colt starting session each year.

 

 

Once our horses are under saddle, we spend most of our time working out of the arena. We feel that a solid foundation can be achieved more effectively when the horses are allowed to work freely forward in the open. We will continue to build their confidence with several months of riding out and giving them exposure to new situations. They will make many trips on the trailer for trail rides, schooling at horse shows, clinics, etc. By the fall of their four year old year, the horses are quite comfortable in a variety of situations and are physically and mentally prepared to begin more refined work. 

 

                     "Feel for what the horse is feeling and operate from where the
                     horse is. Let your idea become the horse's idea."
                                                                                      -- Tom Dorrance
 
                    "Try to awaken curiosity by the tenderness of your aids."
                                                                                      -- Nuno Oliveira