Individual Instruction

For beginning, intermediate, and experienced horses and horsemen, at your arena or at New Avalon, Kate offers one-on-one lessons tailored to your individual needs. Provide your own horse or use one of Kate's. A typical course of instruction begins with groundwork and then progresses to work under saddle, first in the arena and finally on the trail. Individual issues such as trailer loading, schooling the green horse, standing quietly for vetting, shoeing, and grooming, etc. can also be addressed as needed.

Individual Rates: $40 per hour ($50 per 1.5 hour) at New Avalon (see map); $50 per hour ($60 per 1.5 hour) at your site (additional travel surcharge may apply for distant sites).

Group Instruction (Private Clinics)

Resident Instruction (Boarding with Training)

Boarding with training here at New Avalon is the right solution if:

• Your pasture–muffin could benefit from a tune-up and refresher course.
• You're planning to sell your horse and seek to get top dollar by ensuring that he's in great shape and well-schooled
• Your horse needs more intensive training than can be had in once-a-week hour-long sessions
• You just don't have the time required to school a green horse yourself

A month of carefully graduated workouts with Kate, similar to those discussed in the series Bringing it All Together: Workouts but individualized to your horse's unique needs, will get him into top form both physically and mentally, ready to work with you like never before.

Student horses boarded at New Avalon receive the benefit of about two hours of instruction from Kate six days per week. Our lush pastures support grazing for nine months of the year, and your horse is fed, medicated, and professionally shod according to your instructions. If possible, Kate recommends that you should come to New Avalon once a week for an hour of individual instruction with your horse (included in the price of Resident Instruction).

Resident Instruction Rates: $700 per month (Apr - Oct); $800 per month (Nov - Mar) here at New Avalon (see map), inclusive of training, feeding, stabling, and one hour per week of individual instruction for the owner. Professional veterinary and farrier care, as needed, are extra.

Equine Purchase Advisory Services

Buying a horse with one's heart, instead of one's head, is perhaps the single most common horsemanship mistake today. It has always been the case...and is particularly so in today's tough market...that far too many sellers will jump at the first opportunity to unload a horse on the first prospect with money in hand, with little or no concern for matching the horse's needs with the buyer's abilities. There's a good reason why the term 'horse trader' frequently has negative connotations in English. Caveat emptor remains the first and last rule of buying a horse.

The consequences of purchasing the wrong horse extend far beyond merely wasting money. If the horse you buy requires a rider with skills beyond your own, the results can range from disappointment and giving up on riding all the way to physical injury to you, to the horse, or to anyone around the two of you. If the horse is physically unsound in ways you can't detect until you've taken him home, the consequences can range from staggering veterinary bills to the heartbreaking prospect of having to put him down. And if a horse has behavioral problems which you don't spot before buying you can end up with property damage, trouble throughout the rest of your herd, or a very discouraging riding experience. It is much, much easier to buy the wrong horse than it is to sell him again once you've realized your mistake, so the importance of a sound buying decision cannot be overemphasized. Unfortunately, the decision to buy a horse is a very emotional one, making it extremely difficult to think through in the hard-headed manner that such an important matter calls for. You wouldn't buy a house without the services of a home inspector, nor a used car without having a trusted mechanic look it over first. Similarly, you shouldn't buy a horse without an expert, dispassionate horseman by your side.

Kate provides equine purchase advisory services to first-time and experienced buyers alike. Beginning with an assessment of your horsemanship skills and style, the uses to which you intend to put your new horse, your budget, and the physical facilities available to you, she can guide you through the purchase process with sound, dispassionate advice and guidance. This advisory service is provided at a very reasonable hourly rate, enabling you to take as much or as little advantage of Kate's experience as you feel the need for. Or if you simply don't have the time to find your perfect horse yourself, Kate can handle the entire search and evaluation process for you...presenting you with a 'short-list' of great prospects well-matched to your needs...for a percentage-based finder's fee.

Equine Purchase Advisory Service Rates: For occasional advice and help evaluating prospects as needed, $50 per hour. For complete management of the search, evaluation, and negotiation processes, Kate charges a fixed percentage finder's fee based on the extent of the project (geographical area to be covered, restrictions regarding breed, training, etc.) ranging from 10% to 25% of the purchase price, with an up-front retainer which is credited to the finder's fee upon purchase. For specific pricing for your search, please contact us.