Initially, time in the saddle is spent teaching the horse the basics. I want him to quickly learn to go forward and I want him to remain supple and soft. Horses don't start out being hard in the mouth. A lot of work is done on lateral flexion, which will help the horse to maintain that softness.

Once we are traveling well at the walk and trot, more lateral work will be introduced in the form of counter bending. Counter bending is a wonderful exercise for building and maintaining suppleness, and will also help to keep a young horse focused on the task at hand. Counterbending is also the first step in teaching a horse to move off your leg and the precursor to leg yielding and side passing.

Obstacles are introduced as soon as the horse is ready. We will walk over tarps, bridges, poles, piles of dirt, etc., and move on to gates, throwing a rope, dragging logs and much more. The time spent doing these exercises is invaluable and will prepare the horse for trail riding, ranch work or whatever you choose to do with him.

During these early stages of training, I will put a lot of emphasis on balance. A horse that is out of balance cannot perform to the best of his ability, regardless of whether you're out on the trail or in the dressage court. A horse that is taught to travel in a balanced manner from the beginning will have a much easier time as his training progresses to more advanced levels.