09/15/2025
Looking for Help & Horses in Shelley, Idaho!
Attention Aspiring Trainers, Hopeful Equestrians, and anyone looking for an Opportunity to Learn (without spending money, and potentially getting paid):
I have gone back and forth about posting, but I have accepted that I'm not getting any younger, and I have disabilities that make it extremely difficult to do everything around here by myself. I decided to pull the trigger and ask for help.
Who's ready to be a part of this adventure?
ISO Working Students (and Horses)!
I need probably 3 people who are willing to work hard, and leave here tired and smelling like a horse in exchange for lessons and so much more. If that sounds awesome, keep reading. The ideal candidates:
*Must be 16+ (insurance requirement).
*Must have reliable transportation.
*Must have a desire to learn and grow.
*Must be willing to do every job from cleaning stalls and scrubbing troughs/buckets to helping train and ride all horses.
*Must have a sense of humor! Laughter makes the world better and keeps us young!
*Hours are flexible and will vary depending on weather/daylight, tasks, and your schedule, but may be anytime between 6 am and 8 pm (possibly later if it better fits your schedule). I'm very flexible.
*ISO horse crazy "kids" like me, who haven't had the opportunity to take lessons, and/or aspiring trainers.
*The right working students will have the opportunity, based on demonstration of hard work and dedication, to become *paid assistants.*
How you benefit:
*Working students on a regular schedule will have at least once weekly riding lessons with opportunities for additional practice rides, as well as lessons in lunging, training, tack selection and fitting, and all aspects of horse care/horsekeeping. There are endless learning opportunities from training horses and people to routine horse care (including handling for vet and farrier) to grooming and showing, hauling horses, and more. You will learn to groom, tack/untack, ride, train, administer first aid and vaccines, and potentially even breed horses and care for foals when we start breeding. There will also be opportunities for showing and participating in clinics from local to regional (maybe even national?) with transportation included. You will learn to hook up and haul trailers of all kinds, and run tractors and other equipment.
Ideally, you will learn to teach lessons yourself. Teaching is an amazing reward for years of learning how to do something, but also learning how different people learn and how to teach them. For the right people, I aim to pass along everything I have learned and continue to learn.
Other considerations:
*Preferably willing to handle stallions and young horses (with appropriate safety precautions and training, and parent permission if applicable).
*The right people will be just as happy to clean as they are to ride - it's all part of horsemanship, which is our focus.
*Safety-oriented attitude is a must! First aid experience/training is a bonus, but not required. You will learn both human and equine basic first aid so our whole crew is prepared to assist anyone needing help wherever we are, whether here, at a show, on the road, at an arena, or on a trail.
*Accounting ability/experience is a bonus, but not required - balancing your own bank account and paying bills counts. Aspiring assistants will have the opportunity to learn how to manage all aspects of a business, including accounting. (You don't have to be good at math - we have apps for that. 😉)
*Owning a horse is not required, but is a bonus, and there may be an opportunity for *reduced board and horse training* for the right person/horse(s), or even a partial lease - we are growing fast and need more lesson horses.
*Ability (or desire/willingness to learn) to use power/hand tools and other equipment is a bonus. We have many projects in the works, and we do it all! Our barn stalls, pastures, etc. were all built by us!
*We also stack hay, stock feed bags, irrigate pastures, and fix equipment (tractors, mowers, trucks, trailers), etc. Welding experience is a plus!
*This is a family-centered environment, so you must like kids and work well with others. We teach children and adults of all ages and physical abilities, and we have lots of siblings/kids around. We currently have students from age 5 through adults (whose age I didn't ask), but again, we teach anyone who can sit safely and follow directions. Some adult students bring their children to their lessons too. We welcome families to share in experience with whoever is riding. There are lots of kids around!
The goal is to bring on working students who will eventually become paid assistant trainers and/or paid barn management assistants.
About Us:
We are a small, home-based ranch in South Shelley. I currently teach here, at local public arenas, at clients' homes, and at nearby indoor arenas, especially in the winter. We hope to build an indoor riding area here on the property, even if it's just a covered roundpen, very soon. The ranch itself is a work in progress. We began building a 6-stall barn a couple years ago with spots for a tack room and wash rack, although much of it still need to be built (wanna help?). This is an opportunity to get in "on the ground floor" while the business and ranch are growing. We currently have around 10 regular students, a few occasional students, and more starting soon. I only have 2 regular lesson horses, and I won't over-work them, so...
I am also looking for more lesson horses. They must be broke, quiet, sound, and sane. No special training is necessary - we can train as needed. Older ranch/trail horses who require some maintenance are welcome. My 2 lesson horses are 21 and 24, and they are still in excellent condition because because of their environment and care. We will provide whatever our horses need, from supplements to occasional joint injections to mash buckets for those with only half their teeth. Anyone who has met my "lesson horses" and our old retired horses can tell you how they're cared for. Better yet, come see for yourself. They are my personal horses that I ride and have owned for many years. If you have a horse or horses who might be a good fit, let's talk! If you're looking for a joint opportunity for you and your horse, even better!
Message me here, or email me with your experience, your interests, and your goals at [email protected]. Tell me a little about yourself and what you'd like to learn and do in the equestrian world. We focus mainly on Horsemanship, Equitation (mostly Western, some English), and Dressage, although we also do trail riding, hunter/jumpers, parades, obstacle/ranch work, and more. I have done just about everything in my 35 years of horsing around.
If you have any questions or are interested, please reach for more information.
