Joel Conner Horsemanship Clinic Reports
SAFE has had the good fortune to work with horseman Joel Conner for several years. Joel was recommended to us by Buck Brannaman, and it took sending him one horse to re-start — Kai — for us to know that we’d found the right person to help us. From the very start, Joel showed a deep commitment to developing a horsemanship program at SAFE to help staff and volunteers learn solid and consistent skills for working with the horses. He began coming to SAFE multiple times each year, putting on 3 day clinics to teach us these skills, focusing on groundwork and riding. In 2018, he began adding starting young horses under saddle to the program. He also has donated his time to teaching basic horse handling skills to SAFE volunteers, allowing those with little to no horse experience get safe, hands-on practice. In Joel Conner, we feel we have a partner who understands our horses and our mission as rescuers, and we are sincerely grateful for that!
Below, volunteers who work with SAFE horses in these clinics are asked to write up a short piece for the website about their experience and what they learned. These updates, collected over the past three years, will give you a feel for what a Joel Conner clinic is all about.
Clinic and Health Update: Rosie
Rosie is a solid citizen at SAFE and has done extremely well with all the changes over the last year. Rosie likes things to stay the same and loves constancy. So it is very nice to see how quickly she has been able to relax with changes in location and even new…
Clinic and Health Update: Prince
From the past few months, we have had glue on shoe on Prince to help him grow more sole and improve his soundness. Last week our farrier Daphne came and looked at his hoof health and said that we could once again try him without shoes. He was sound and his hooves are…
Training Update: Cali
Volunteer Phoebe has been working with Cali and took her into the recent Joel Conner clinic. Here is an update on how things are going: From the Joel clinic: The Joel Conner clinic in November was excellent! I got the gift of working with Cali Jane. She is smart,…
Training Update: Lacey
Volunteer Rider Alicia has started working with Lacey. Here is her report on how things are going: Lacey and I have been getting to know one another for about a month. She took a few meetings to respect and trust me but now we’re beginning to enjoy one another more on…
Clinic Update: Valencia
SAFE’s weekend Barn Manager Ian was able to help us and take Valencia into the Joel Conner clinic last month. Here is what Ian had to say about the experience: Valencia is a very sweet and loving mare who is still very new at SAFE. She was a little nervous at first in…
Clinic Update: Ben
SAFE’s Herd Health Manager Melinda is now riding Ben to help get him ready for adoption. Here is what she had to say about her ride with Ben in last month’s Joel Conner clinic. Ben and I participated in the riding portion of the Joel Conner clinic in November. I’ve…
Clinic Update: Mason
Here is a glowing report from Lori on her work with Mason in the recent clinic at SAFE: On November 18th I took Mason into the groundwork portion of the Joel Conner clinic. Mason did such a great job. His reactiveness has improved so much. Joel even came over and took…
Clinic Update: Raven
Raven showed much improvement and maturity in her second Horsemanship Clinic at SAFE. Casey had this to say about working with her: I had the pleasure of working Raven in both groundwork sessions of the November Joel Conner clinic. She settled right in to the…
Banjo & Finn visit Safe Harbor
Our WONDERFUL foster mom Carrie brought the Finn and Joey for a visit during the last Joel Conner clinic. She had this to report about the experience: The boys both enjoyed their field trip out to SAFE for the Joel Conner clinic! They loaded into the trailer like it…
Making Progress with Mason
Lori has been working with Mason since his arrival at SAFE last year. She continues to chip away at his issues, hoping that he may still become a safe riding partner. For now, all this groundwork is helping him to trust people and be more comfortable in his body. Here…
