Although we specialize in the sports of dressage and
eventing, we believe every horse, no matter what it's final
career, will benefit from a kind, classical, holistic
approach to the start of its life as a riding horse. We
want to provide every horse a solid foundation that any
trainer or rider can easily build on. We want to teach
others the art and science of training young horses, and
teaching babies how to become solid citizens.
We keep the number of horses on the property low in order
to ensure personalized care for each and every horse. Your
horses are handled and treated as if they were our own. At
Phoenix Farm we are blessed with more than 40 acres of
pasture fenced in non-climb and electric tape, and all the
horses here are turned out in small, same-sex groups for a
minimum of 12 hours a day. We can offer your horse an
environment not easily found in California.
In addition to the horses, we also breed Nigerian Dwarf
Goats--these little guys are excellent pets and companions,
superlative brush eaters, and also a great source of milk.
We are expecting lots of kids in the spring of 2007, so
please visit
their page
to meet them.
John and Heather’s 5 rules of training
horses:
1. When in doubt, go forward.
2. Never react out of anger or frustration.
3. Always give the horse the chance to give you the right
answer.
4. The right job exists for every horse; it’s your job to
figure out what that job is (and remember it may not always
be the job you had in mind).
5. When in doubt, go forward. (Yes, this is important
enough to list twice.)
Of course, the easiest way to understand our philosophy is
to learn about the horses who have inspired it please visit
the
Our Horses page
to meet the real stars of the farm.