Next we will begin going to the track, where we will work on developing the horse’s bone structure and musculature. At the same time, we determine where the horse is in it's mental process - because two horses may be equally physically fit, but one may be further along mentally. The horse tells us how it needs to be trained to become a calm, confident competitor.

When they are ready for it, I like to introduce the young horses to fast work going 1/8 mile in 15’s (seconds), and later 1/8 mile in 13’s. Starting gate work will begin after two weeks on the track. I like to start gate work early, and go slowly, to build up the horse’s confidence and competitive edge. Of course, every horse is an individual, and at any point in training we will make whatever changes in the schedule that an individual horse shows us is needed.

Breaking a Horse to Ride
We have developed a breaking technique that will change how you look at breaking a horse. There are no longe lines or any other type of lines or restraints involved until we introduce them to line driving. The horse responds initially because they want to learn.

The technique and the outcome is what is important. There are many methods out there today that one can use to break a horse. The most commonly used methods include giving the horse sedatives to calm them and interfere with their natural ability to protect themselves, or having a "pony horse" tied up to it to lead the young horse around. The most commonly used method is running the horse around in the round pen until he becomes tired and accepts it. Have they truly learned and accepted their training? Will they retain it? Each one of these methods are related in the sense that it is a "physical" technique. All of these methods have worked and will continue to be used by many good horsemen. We have created and tested with tremendous results a technique that works with the horse's mental ability to learn. The training is broken down into 11 stages and those stages into 3 days each.

There are several key aspects that make this technique successful. From the beginning a routine is established. This is essential in helping the horse develop self-confidence and allows them to relax during training. In a herd there are two different types of horses - the leader and the followers. Once you establish yourself as leader the horse will take commands and directions from you.

This technique is a mental method of breaking a horse, not a physical one. You are the teacher and they are the student and they understand the classroom rules. Unlike most traditional methods this technique teaches the horse what the rider wants before that rider even gets on. This helps in preventing the horse from bucking. Now lets not kid ourselves - some horses just have that resistance in them and will test you at different points of time. Using other traditional methods will often make the horse buck for many different reasons. Sometimes they aren't ready to let the rider be the boss, or they consider the rider a threat. No matter what the reason, when horses are put into a position that will make them buck, they will, and the more they buck the better they get at it. It is very dangerous for the rider and could be harmful to the horse as well. We believe that every animal has instincts and will resist and fight when threatened. By following this technique the horse never feels threatened, so we stay safer, and you get a more docile horse upon completion of breaking.

Very few horses, about five now out of more than three hundred, have not easily accepted this program. There will always be a few that are more difficult than others, but over the course of some extra time spent, generally 1-2 weeks, they come around to be as good as the others.

- Ackel Hebert