Rolling M Ranch – Sisters, Oregon

If you have questions about our Immersion Program, feel free to call Shari at 541-549-6962, email her at Shari@RollingMRanch.com  or ‘Leave a reply’ below. In the meantime here are a few questions that we have been asked…

Q: Why did Rolling M Ranch decided to offer an Immersion Program?

A: During the past few years, we had a couple of people, from out-of-the-area, who wanted attend one of our training clinics, however coming over for just one day didn’t suit their budget constraints or timetable, so we offered to let them stay on-site for a few days. During our conversations with them we learned that it wasn’t just ‘lessons’ that people were looking for, people want to know how to be better horse people and how to handle training opportunities as they arose.

Q: Explain what you mean by “our immersion program isn’t really about training your horse, it’s about training you and improving the daily interactions between you and your horse”.

A: There’s a lot of lesson opportunities out there – where you watch a clinician train ‘fluffy’ to move off pressure, or you can learn how to sit in the saddle, and you can send your horse off to be trained to be the best darn show jumper there is, however there aren’t any programs that teach you what you need to know to improve your horsemanship skills with your horse.

Q: How do you customize the schedules and program content?

A: Each person, each horse, and the relationship between them is different. After reviewing your answers to the questionnaire and conversations with you, together, we decide what issues to focus on during your stay.

Q: Can I learn the same thing during a two-day stay as a four-day stay?

A: Yes and No.  If you can stay four-days, then we have more time to work on more issues, but if you can only stay three days or two days, then we will set goals accordingly. 

Q: How long do lessons last during the Immersion Program?

A: Short Answer – learning opportunities happen from the time we walk out to the barn, until we put the horses away for the night. The Immersion Program is an all-day learning experience; and in addition to non-structure lessons, we try to incorporate two ‘structured’ or ‘goal-specific lessons’ each day. The length of the each ‘structured’ lesson depends on when we reach our goal. Let’s say that your horse raises his head each time you try to bridle him or put the halter on, then our goal for a lesson might be ‘for you to be able to get him to drop his head’ – whether it take just half an hour or until we are exhausted, the lesson lasts as long as it takes.

Q: Explain a little more about what you mean by “from the time we walk out to the barn, until we put the horses away for the night… is an all-day learning experience”.

A: Every interaction we have with our horse is a learning opportunity, whether we know it our not. Being able to observe and learn during our daily interactions with our horse helps us understand what good-habits and bad-habits we’ve instilled in our horse.

Q: What do you mean by “interactive shadowing with Shari”?

A: It goes back to the “every interaction we have with our horse is a learning opportunity”. There are times when we will not be working on a specific goal, perhaps we’re just feeding the horse their evening meal – it’s during these moments that learning opportunities can arise.

Q: Do I have to stay on-site?

A: No, you are welcome to stay on-site in your self-contained LQ-Trailer, in the Loafing Shed or Tipi, but you are not required to stay on-site. However, we do require that your horse stay on-site since your learning experience starts as soon as we walk out to the barn in the morning, till we put them to bed at night.

Q: What ‘homework’ will I have?

A: Totally depends on you and your horse. The goal of the homework is to continue practicing the techniques learned during your stay and improve your skills long after you leave Rolling M Ranch.

Q: How much ‘free-time’ will I have?

A: As much or as little as you want, your evening are yours to spend as you would like and should you decide that after your morning lesson you want to go shopping in Sisters, you are free to do just that. It’s up to you.

What questions do you have…