| ~ Here's a glimpse of how the facility came to life! ~ |
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| Excavation! Lots and lots of excavation and tons (literally) of fill!! |
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| Pouring of the Concrete Pads with Rebar Piers |
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| Concrete piers fully formed and ready for trusses! |
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| The 75 foot crane lifting the trusses! This process only took 2 days!! |
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| Lining up the trusses onto the piers and tying in the perlings as they go. That's the hay barn in the back. |
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| Here's a picture that shows the size of the building compared to my husband standing in the middle. Quite a bit of equipment needed! The building is 43 feet high at the peak so the lifts are definitely a necessity! |
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| The Roof! It's the solar fabric that allows natural light and, yes, HEAT! The great thing is in between each truss there is a separate piece of fabric that can be tightened individually and replaced if needed. |
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| Siding going on, the riding arena section will have a curtain that will be open in the nice weather and tightened shut in the winter months. |
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| The view from inside the riding section, when the curtains are open this is the scenery! |
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| The other view! It's so peaceful and relaxing, the horses think so too! |
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| Getting the arena base LEVEL! |
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| Siding is done! Curtains come next.... |
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| Feel free to click on the articles at the end of the page to read more! Testimonials from people who have been through a training program with Jamie and their horse coming soon! |
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| Trust |
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| TRUST
Using the horse’s natural language humans can become part of their social structure. By becoming a leader in their “herd” one can gain a horse’s complete trust and respect. When one achieves trust... a unified relationship begins.
FEEL
Communication through feel rather than force allows the horse to be a confident, thoughtful partner in the relationship. The subtle communication, based on release, creates a relaxed and willing horse.
HARMONY
By gaining trust and working through feel, a harmonious relationship begins to evolve. When horse and human are in harmony, a mutually higher level of understanding is achieved and anything is possible.
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| Feel |
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| Harmony |
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Until I found Jamie, I was truly at a loss as to how to relate to my six year old horse, Magic. I was inexperienced when I bought him; and after a wreck, I had become anxious and fearful with shattered confidence. I needed answers; I needed to know why my horse behaved the way he did. I needed to know how to build a partnership with my horse and to overcome my fear.
One weekend I met a woman at a training clinic in upstate New York who raved about her trainer, Jamie. I sent a detailed e-mail to Jamie asking if she could help. She responded quickly, and came to my property to evaluate my horse.
Immediately Jamie was able to tell me my horse had issues or ”holes” as she called them; he was very worried and internalized his fear. As she continued to evaluate him, she discovered he had a major problem with energy coming toward him. Whatever happened to him before he came to me had traumatized him greatly. His neck was stiff, he did not know how to use his body and he was as much of an emotional mess as I was. Jamie said she could help. I cannot describe the relief I felt to have finally found someone who could give me answers and explanations and to teach me to understand the way of the horse.
Jamie begins with ground work, treats every horse as an individual and begins training according to the physical/emotional level of a particular horse. First she gains the horse’s trust and helps him to know he’s okay. She accomplishes her goal through respect and patience letting the horse make the right decisions. At the same time, she teaches the horse to respect the human. My husband and I watched many of Magic’s training sessions, and were constantly amazed at what Jamie did. She explained most everything he did as the session progressed so we could understand. We watched Jamie transform Magic from acting fearful and uptight to feeling confident and relaxed. She gave him the tools he needed to handle with ease what used to be scary, worrisome situations. He learned he could go from high energy to no energy and back and that he was still okay.
Soon it was time for me to begin ground training with Magic under Jamie’s guidance. What an awesome feeling to do what she did and have it work for me. I slowly began to regain my confidence as I had learned how to handle the different situations that arose. Finally, I was ready to ride. I admit I was apprehensive the first couple of times, but not terrified. Jamie was right there, instructing and guiding me all the way. Each time it got easier; and when Jamie was on vacation for two weeks, I went and rode by myself. My riding has progressed; and though I have a lot to learn, I have come further during my two months of lessons with Jamie than I had during my three years with my ex-instructor. Jamie encourages, praises and offers corrections in a helpful manner. After six months of training, Magic is ready to come home; and I am thrilled with what has been accomplished.
I feel it important to say that often people with Jamie’s knowledge and experience are condescending and arrogant; this is not so of Jamie. She is kind, respectful and considerate to both horse and human.
Thank you, Jamie for teaching my horse and me how to feel confident and for helping me to regain my love for riding.
PH of Hinsdale, MA
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Jamie Ziehm trains the horse and trains the rider, helping them both to come together for that partnership that we all dream of having with our horses. I was truly astounded at the progress that Jamie made with me and my horse in just fifteen days of lessons. I went from having trouble leading him across the yard due to his dangerous behaviors, to being able to ride him without problems. My three year old gelding went from being a pushy, intimidating, and sometimes dangerous character, to a soft, willing, and well behaved riding horse.
This is the kind and gentle form of Natural Horsemanship that we’re all striving for. Jamie’s methods produce a willing and soft horse, and ‘close the door’ on all types of undesirable behaviors. I have attended clinics and seminars and read all the books by the top names in “Natural Horsemanship”, but after working with Jamie Z, I feel I have experienced true Natural Horsemanship for the first time. She is absolutely gifted.
-KD of Shaftsbury, VT
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Jamie’s way with both horses and people is nothing short of extraordinary. I’m lucky enough to own a Jamie-trained horse, and I’m honored to call myself a student of hers. Fritz came to her an extremely bothered 8 year old Thoroughbred who tossed his head at any contact with his mouth, bucked whenever he cantered, and had braces all over the place. But I only know this from hearsay, from those who used to work with him before Jamie spent some months restarting him. The horse who has come to be the equine love of my life since I bought him in fall of 2002 is an absolute dream. He is incredibly eager to understand and respond to any cue I give himeven when they’re not all that clear (as is the case all too often!), his gaits are smooth, rhythmic, and perfectly calibrated, and this formerly head-shy horse lowers his head spontaneously to have fly spray put on his ears; I literally trust Fritz with my life.
I could not have achieved that trust without Jamie. Not only did she train my horse, she has also been without question one of the best teachers of any sort I’ve ever experiencedand as a teacher myself, I’ve seen quite a few. When I bought Fritz I had only been riding again for less than a year after a 25-year hiatus. I had stopped riding in my mid-twenties after a serious accident that left me fearful and without confidence. Jamie has done exactly the right things to help me gain confidence and to progress as a rider, allowing me to hold off on something new if I’m not ready for it, but encouraging me at just the right moment and with just the right intensity when I am ready. She has no one “method” of teaching, nor does she teach only one discipline or one kind of horse. She listens and observes carefully and then fashions her work according to what each horse or rider needs. I’ve watched her get an “untrailerable” horse in a trailer within 20 minutes using patience and intelligence alone, and I’ve seen one of her horses go from jumping straight in the air when a leg touched her side to standing quietly while chaos swirled around her. With people, she’s equally good at gently giving a rider permission not to do what scares her as she is at convincing someone they really can do it. She works with horses destined for dressage, hunters, jumpers, eventing, foxhunting, reining, Western pleasure, trail-riding, and just plain loving. I hope more and more people get to experience the satisfaction of working with her.
GN, Williamstown, MA
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Contact Us:
jamie@hgfhorses.com
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