I’m a retired natural horsemanship trainer who is being forced by illness to find homes for my two remaining horses. Cali is my personal horse and in 25+ years of working with hundreds of horses and riders, she is by far one of the best I’ve seen. A lot of this is a result of her breeder and her first 5 years of life with the incomparable Jo Johnson, owner of Jaquima a Freno Morgan Horses. Handled from birth with the best horsemanship techniques and allowed to grow up as a horse, she was able to mature mentally and physically as she was learning. She didn’t see a saddle until she was 4, and had very little serious saddle work until I bought her at 5, just the way any horse should be developed for longevity. During those first 5 years she leaned how to be soft, responsive and respectful with impeccable ground manners. She’s never had a bad deal from any human. She’s a classic Morgan stock horse, big and strong with good bone and good feet. Has been barefoot her entire life. If you go to You-tube and search for Jaf Calico Treasure you’ll see what she looked like just before she came to me. She’s a great example of what makes the Morgan breed so special – outgoing, friendly and curious. Microchipped.
I ride her Western and English, on the trails, in the arena, and mix in a lot of ground work, work in hand, liberty work, play and driving. I don’t teach my horses to be discipline specific but aim to develop all the foundational parts where they can be taken in more specific directions, or just be good all-around partners. Nor do I train horses to be subservient robots as I want them to be free to show their personality and offer their opinion about what’s going on. She puts a lot of pressure on the rider to be precise and consistent with aids and light with the hands because she is so soft and willing. She’s only known good horsemanship so she’s not a horse for a heavy-handed rider or one without solid and sensitive horsemanship skills. This is not a horse that can live alone as she’s always been with other horses and probably wouldn’t do well in a confined living situation as she’s spent her life turned out for most of every day.
Price somewhat negotiable based on the quality of a new owner and where/how she will live. Best possible scenario would be an owner who could also take her buddy (Sweet Liberty – see my ad in the Azteca breed) as this would make for a much smoother transition.