Developing Horses - The Program

Our goal is to use the principles of natural horsemanship to develop confident versatile equine partners. We take talented, good looking horses of many breeds and lay a foundation that will serve them well. In many ways it is about teaching ‘life skills’ for horses!

Horses are developed by Buddy, Devanee (Level 3 Assessed) and other Parelli students that are studying at Cardinal Ranch. Instruction by Canada’s Top Parelli Professional, Don Halladay, has keeps the students and horses in and out of clinics all season long. Natural horsemanship is not a training method but just the way we do things with horses at Cardinal Ranch. The foals born here experience imprinting and early learning. Horses that are developing at the higher levels are still The horses that arrive are soon experiencing the balance of trust and respect that makes for a great future.

Combine this with everything else we do to develop our horses from mountain trail rides, river crossings, bridges. Cattle drives, We go out of our way to give the horses every experience we can. We actually have a list in the barn of all of the ‘firsts’ we can think of…quads, mountain bikes, dirt bikes, umbrellas, hoses, horns, llamas…..there are actually a few strange things on the list. Our horses are not robots but we have ‘taken the time it takes’ to develop their confidence.

The best thing we do for our horses is finding them outstanding humans. We are doing more than just selling horses. We are match making. There is no joy in selling a horse to the wrong person. ( It is not good for business either) So we do everything we can to set it up for success.

As someone who is horse shopping, sifting through the many horses out there for sale is no easy task. Generally, the horses are on the market are not wanted for some reason. Can you take people at their word? Is the horse represented honestly? Does this horse have issues that, even the seller doesn’t know about?

We recognize that our clients are looking for their next partner for life, not a project. Fun and safety are more important than bells and whistles. We understand this and don’t take our job lightly.

At Cardinal Ranch we take some of the guess work out of buying horses. We are selling the ‘cream of the crop’ and have a long list of references who can testify to this. We (Buddy and Devanee) often sell even our personal horses that we have been developing for years. We are often asked how we can do such a thing but it is really not that difficult when the right people come along.

Our advice to every client is the following. . . “Buy the best horse you can afford. Buy a great match for you, not a project or a charity case.” However, after this, keeping the relationship going great is up to you. It is our belief that we have to take responsibility for the relationship and put everything we can into it. Understanding what makes a horse tick psychologically is just as important as meeting his physical needs.

This is one of the reasons why we have the ‘CLINIC CREDIT’ as part of our horse sales. Every purchase price includes 10% going towards future instruction with Parelli Instructor. It does make our horses appear to be more expensive but it is important to the partnership down the road so we make it a priority.

Buddy and Devanee can have different tastes in horses which has made for an interesting herd. Devanee has raised or added most of the warmbloods that tower over Buddy’s preference for working cow horse Quarter Horse types. (See photo of Devanee towering over Buddy). Thoroughbred, Andulusian, Arabian, Canadian, and Fresian crosses all add to the diversity.

Buddy and Devanee can agree on the ranch-bred Quarter Horses that make up much of the Cardinal Ranch herds. We are especially fond of these horses. Devanee’s Grandfather brought his own horses North on the train from California over 40 years ago. These same bloodlines are in our herd today. Devanee’s Level 3 horse, Cooper, and many others on the website are 5th generation of the family ranch horses.

It is not just nostalgia though. These are well bred, good minded, versatile horses that have proven themselves over and over again.