Our Horsemanship Lessons are focused on building our students’ knowledge of horses before they move on to a program for riding. These are non-riding lessons, where students are encouraged to explore their relationship with horses at their own pace. Many people feel rushed into the saddle in traditional lesson programs, at Hand & Hoof Haven we believe it is vital for people to learn how to simply exist with horses. Our ancestors used to live with these amazing animals that were often required for them to survive, but in our modern world most of us have drifted away from this closeness to nature and horses.

Students will learn grooming, basic wound care, basic horse care, what goes into feeding horses, how to see the individual horse in the herd and know their needs, basic hoof care, barn and pasture management, horse body language, basics of our ReDefining program, handling horses on the ground in a safe and effective way, and be introduced to the basics of in-hand work. We bring in different specialists as well for students to meet and learn from on topics of their personal interest. Hand & Hoof Haven has a list of trainers that we can recommend our students to once they are ready to get in the saddle!