Foundation Training Courses

Foundation Training Courses are designed to teach you to start your own horse under saddle.

The Course is suitable for un-started horses as well as those that have poor foundation training or have problems under saddle that make them dangerous or unpredictable to ride (travelling with a hollow back and head in the air, not soft in the bridle or travelling in frame, bucking, bolting, rearing, shying and so on).

They run approximately one day a fortnight and consist of 6-8 full day clinics. The number depends upon the clinic group, the previous experience of the horses and riders and how advanced the participants would like their horses to be at the end of the series.

The basic structure is as follows but does vary from group to group:

Clinic 1: Round pen work - inside and outside turns and come to me. Sacking out your horse. Depending upon the amount of handling your horse has already had this week may lead to working with clippers, tarps and towing objects.

Clinic 2: Bridling and give to the bit - teaching your horse to accept the bridle with his head down and open his mouth for you. Teaching your horse to travel in a soft frame and keeping your horse's attention - no more shying!

Clinic 3: Shoulder Control - full control of the shoulders off one rein at a time. Reverse arc and follow your nose. This lesson will stop your horse falling in or out on a circle and give you complete shoulder control while maintaining a soft round working frame. It will also give you a horse that leads like a dream (and if you do your homework - one that does not require a lead rope).

Clinic 4: Long-reining - the most useful tool in the box! It is not as easy as it looks but a ton of practice on this day will get you there and you will never look back.

Clinic 5: 1st Saddling - this is a sacking out lesson that keeps the horse (and handler of course) safe, learning and understanding. NO bucking it out here!

Clinic 6: First rides - getting the walk and trot. Focus on directional exercises that you can take home for homework.

Clinic 7: Hindquarter control - taught from each side of the horse and off the rein, hindquarter control is essential for stops, canter departures, speed within gait and many, many other things. By the end of this clinic you will have travers on one side of your horse and homework will be to do the other side.

Clinic 8: Advancing - this final clinic is devoted to the things that you would like to do - from canter work to float loading. This week will be based on individual lessons so that you can all learn from one another.

6 of the clinic days include a relevant full length training DVD. The cost is $250 per clinic day and numbers are strictly limited.

Courses are run at Kangadoo throughout the year and can be held at your venue by arrangement.