Wolf Ridge Farm-Training

Wolf Ridge Farm, LLC was founded by Beth DiCicco with the intent of training horses and their owners in the principles of Natural Horsemanship.

Riding since she was 11 years old, Beth has competed in the hunter/ jumper circuit and done eventing and dressage.  She ran a private Thoroughbred breeding/ racing sport horse farm for 12 years.  She has been a free-lance horse trainer for over 20 years and opened Wolf Ridge for business over 15 years ago.
Beth became interested in Natural Horsemanship because of certain un-ridable horses with big issues, such as aggressiveness towards humans even on the ground.  She was being presented with “messes” to work with and wondered why certain horses ended up that way. 

Through Natural Horsemanship Beth discovered that certain horses are more reflexive than others, they demonstrate resentment towards the humans lack of knowledge, the humans abandonment of pecking order, and their inclination to use touch pressure first.

Beth now has many satisfied customers and is competing in horse shows with horses that she has trained.  Most importantly, through this method of training she has overcome many problems and previously dysfunctional horses leave manageable by a novice.

The training process that Beth uses creates an understanding of the horse in the human and forms a partnership with the horse.  The training is based on several basic tenets.  The work starts on the ground in the round pen building a foundation in the horse. The horse is moved on the ground in four planes of direction prior to saddle work.  The four planes are lateral (right side), lateral (left side), backward, and forward.  You learn to move the horse first on a rope halter and lead, then in loose work using vectors to rate the horse through transitions.  You then graduate to the same process eliminating the halter and lead.  When you master these ground maneuvers, you work on the upper planes (above the horse), so that the horse accepts you in that position prior to riding. The development of the foundation in the horse follows a process. The first step is establishing pecking order.  This affects all aspects of the interactions between the owner/handler and the horse and represents a way of life.  Next, is trust, the horse has to trust the human.  Third, are environmental issues, the horse’s concern needs to be focused on you.  One method of establishing this is using tools to test the planes of the horse.  Next, you develop pressure tolerance.    Finally, is education which represents the riding and traditional work.  This can be carried out in whatever discipline you are interested in learning and performing.

Have you Experienced These Problems?  Horse bites, Doesn’t stand to be mounted, Trailer loading problems, Aggressive at feed time, Walks on top/or off with you.

It is about the human learning the horse.  Beth works locally to help create an understanding and share the ways that she has learned to change horses and overcome problems. 

Beth offers hourly sessions, weekend clinics, and monthly training.  Owners/ handlers required to learn process.  Wolf Ridge Farm offers a lighted round pen, lighted outdoor arena, paddocks, and trailer turn-around and parking.

Rates:

  • Call for current rates for on farm training, off farm training, clinic particitpation or auditing.


Necessary tools for training process: 

  • Round Pen
  • Rope Halter
  • Rope Lead (>/= 12 feet) with popper.
  • Flag/ Tarp                                                                  
© Wolf ridge farm 2015