About

Hi, welcome to The Sandy Creek Equestrian!  I am a horse trainer in northwestern Illinois, a wife, a mom of two littles, and the owner of two sweet Morgan geldings.  This blog is a place for me to keep track of my current training horses, and to give readers tips and tricks that I have learned along the way.

For as long as I can remember, I have had a passion for horses.  The weekends that my family spent at my grandparent’s farm are among my best childhood memories.   My grandpa is an admirer of the working horse and a bit of a horse-lover himself.  In his younger years, he enjoyed doing field work the old-fashioned way—plowing fields or raking hay with his team of Belgians.  Over the years he has had various teams of horses and mules, as well as various other riding horses.  One mare, which he had until her death, was quite popular among the grandchildren.  Every visit, I would beg my dad to saddle up “Dixie” so that I could spend a few minutes on the back of a horse.  She was slow and lazy, but she was dependable, and riding her was always the highlight of the trip.  I spent a good portion of those weekend visits in the barn—shoveling manure, sweeping up loose hay, and grooming the horses—just so I could pretend for a short while that they were mine. 

One of my grandpa's teams of Belgians.

"Dixie"

I was 9-years-old when I had my first taste of horse training.  My brother and I spent a week at my grandparent’s farm.  My grandpa had recently gotten four miniature horses, a pony cart, and a harness.  My brother and I spent the afternoons working with one of the minis, “Socks”, getting her used to the harness and the bit, teaching her to steer, and eventually, to pull the cart.  By the end of the week, we were driving her around the farm.  Training the mini to drive was fun and exciting and it sparked an interest in horse training.

Training Socks to Drive

The next opportunity to work with horses (I was 12 or 13) came when a neighbor was looking to sell one of hers, a cute little POA named Ace.  Ace was extremely head-shy and flighty, unpredictable under saddle, and bolted frequently.  I kept him at my house for the summer and put in a lot of hours with him.  He became a nice little horse and if he had been a little taller, I would have bought him.  When I was finished with him, he was put up for sale and quickly sold.  The neighbor even split the sale money with me 50/50!

I saved my babysitting money and when I was 14 I bought my first horse.  My family had moved to the country, opening the door for me to finally have a horse of my own.  I had a very small budget (probably a quarter of what the average person spent on a “cheap” horse at that time) and all of the horses I saw needed work.  The first time I saw my horse, I fell in love.  He was a well-bred horse with great personality and a lot of spirit.  I got a great deal on him (there may have been a few tears involved) and my journey began as a first-time horse owner.  We have had a lot of fun times together and a lot of frustration.  We have both learned a lot in the process (and are still learning!).  I learned which training methods worked for him and which ones didn’t.  I learned how to be better rider and how to “feel” the horse.  Most importantly, I learned how to keep trying, even when others thought I should give up.

My first horse, Zeke

My passion for horses led me to pursue a degree in Equine Science.  While completing my degree, I have worked with a variety of horses with various personalities and temperaments, at various stages of training.  I have worked with abused horses and spoiled horses.  I have worked with very old horses (30 years old) and very young horses (a few weeks old).  Each horse is unique and presents a new challenge to the horse trainer.  This challenge makes me excited each time I step into the arena and I am eager to help each horse reach their potential.  I hope you will come along with me as I begin my career in the equine industry and document my experiences with my horses in training.