To communicate with a horse we must understand it’s make-up. What causes a horse to do what it does? Why do so many people love horses but also fear them? When we begin to understand the psychology of a horse then the answers to these questions begin to emerge.

A horse is a prey animal. He is programmed by Mother Nature to flee from danger. As most prey animals he is also a herd animal. By instinct he wants to be with his friends to be safe. He relies on the Alpha horse (usually a mare) for leadership.  Enter the human.  Humans function often with very predatory actions as we are in the predator category!

Now, we must broach this predator/prey animal barrier and prove to the horse that we can be trusted as a viable leader.

At Jandana you will be introduced to the concepts of Natural Horsemanship which will help you to develop trust, leadership and respect. First on the ground where YOU are safe!  By “playing” with your horse using “games” to develop these 3 things you will gradually develop a partnership where the horse will look to you for direction.  From that moment on amazing things will begin to happen.  Your horse will want to be with you.  He will stop fidgeting around.  He will begin to get the idea that YOU have a personal space-your confidence will soon soar!

At Jandana Ranch we follow a program developed by Pat Parelli from Colorado. His program focuses on the human student, as we are the ones who need to learn the language of the horse. The Parelli program is divided into several levels: Level 1: Develop a partnership built on love,                     Janice and Frohlich

language and leadership rather than using force, intimidation, and mechanical devices.  Level 2: Taking that partnership to a higher level so that it becomes harmonious. Level 3 is the refining stage where our skills now become so soft, light and invisible that it looks like magic when you are playing with or riding your horse. In Level 4 the human’s skill has developed enough finesse and polish that you can now guide your horse into a field of interest, whether it be dressage, cow work, jumping, reining, trail etc.  The specialty stage!

English or Western?

We often get the question: Do you ride English or Western? The answer we give is: the type of saddle a rider chooses to sit in is a matter of personal choice.  For comfort of the horse and the rider on the mountain trails we have chosen to use western stock saddles.  You will see people at the ranch riding in a variety of saddles from jumping and dressage saddles,  bareback pads to stock saddles. The saddle is the style of choice for the rider,  the technique we use with the horses is natural horsemanship.  Janice, Dave, Sara and any of the boarders here at the ranch will be more than happy to discuss our philosophy with you further.  We love to be asked!