I came to Shannon after my 3 year old mare Raven became pushy and aggressive. She was particularly aggressive towards my husband which as you can imagine went over quite well with him! We had seen several of Shannon’s demo’s and we felt she could help with our problem as well as give Raven a much needed tune up. Little did I know that Shannon’s training would also give me a much needed tune up, and a fresh perspective on mine and my horse’s relationship. To me one of the great things that makes Shannon’s training stand out above other trainers is that she spends time teaching the human the things she is teaching your horse so that when you take your horse home you don’t say, “Now What ?”. She helps you with a plan for your horse, not a cookie cutter training package that other trainer’s provide. She works with them on all aspects, from manners to trail riding. Her training is very comprehensive. She offers many clinics throughout the year to keep your relationship growing. One other great thing about having your horse in training at her home base facility, Dragonwood, is that you know that your horse is cared for as they would care for their own.

Sure you love riding, and even most of us these days are addicted to all the games and exercises that we can teach our horses from the ground. But we are all looking for ways to expand our skills and most importantly, expose our horses to more – making them more fluent in this language we call Horse2Human.

Horse2Human introduces a Driving program that is sure to give you that step up into something new and exciting. Or if you have a horse that has some trouble with driving, or maybe your horse is very afraid of things behind him, or maybe he’s had a general bad experience with wagons and other moving objects. The H2H Driving program is a great way to help your horse gain the confidence and skills needed to pull, push, & stand steady.

The exercises include various basic exercises from the ground that will graduate the horse safely into accepting contact from Ropework, dragging and carrying a Tarp, Learning to Push and drag objects from behind and accept the sight and feel of objects as large as a Carriage!

For the safety of each horse, there is a requirement of a 3 Month Training Minimum for Riding Horses, and a 6 Month Minimum for Unbrokes

YES, IT’s Free!!!
Your Horse OR Our Horses!
FOR ALL RETURNING H2H STUDENTS whom have participated in the following…Private Training – Private Lessons(15 or more) – Attended 2 or more H2H Levels Clinics
Come on Over! Free Fridays have been a hit for all!
We have had a chance to get re-acquainted for the season, explore new ideas and great opportunites as we continue to build onto the great trail course. We are also working to add intriguing obstacles to the indoor venue as well. If you don’t feel like hauling in, we have plenty of horses here to practice with.
September 10th – $25 for Non-H2H students
We are also excited to have a Drawing for an H2H Handmade Rope Halter & Lead!

*Guided Review
*Demonstration Sessions
*New Exercises
*Games
*Snacks & Refreshments
*Familiar Faces and Familiar Noses

Come and join us once a month, see old classmates and friends and check out the new exercises and games we have to offer. Each Free Friday will offer new material for previous students to tryout on the ground and in the saddle and give feedback for.
Not ONLY are you offered a Free Educational Opportunity, but you will also recieve a free gift for just completing a brief feedback form. Snacks and refreshments available!
Horses, Friends, Snacks, and Fun…what more could you ask for at the end of a busy week!?

Doors are open at 9am until ‘feeding time’. Call the Dragonwood Office (509)674-5961 or Email shannon@horse2human.com to let us know you’re on your way!

Come and join us!

The doors are open between 9am and 5pm, come and go as you please!

Come and have some fun,
try out some new stuff,
hang out,
participate,
or just hug some horses!

_

Horse2Human, Inc. (H2H) specializes in transportation services, locally or state to state. In addition, providing safety, confidence and comfort for each horse while loading, unloading and of course in transport.
Hauling Equipment Includes: 2008 Dodge Ram 1-ton Dually, Cummins Diesel, & 2006 4-Horse Sooner LQ Trailer with feeders, padded dividers, all-round window/screen options and vents at ceiling, fully matted for traction and safety and always bedded for comfort and stability. Horses being hauled are ALWAYS accompanied by the president of the company, Shannon King.

Local Areas:
Flat convenient fees for Local Areas: $250/within 100 miles & $125/under 50 miles
Rates based on travel time and travel cost, including hay and bedding, and the ultimate professional care. Horses in need of training time can incur additional costs at approx. $45/hour; owners informed and instructed as needed or requested (See additional Training notes below).

State-To-State or Over 100 Miles
Rates based on $0.50/mile + $65/hour for the first horse. 20% discount per additional horse.
These longer distances include point to point care status updates (text or live phone updates are available at no charge upon request); fresh water, hay and bedding included in costs. Horses are also blanketed or provided a cooling blanketing as needed. If necessary, horses are unloaded and allowed brief walkouts per availability on routes.
Overnight accomodations are an additional cost; rates are disclosed privately per customer prior to scheduled transport.
Coggins, Health Certificate, and Proof of Ownership required for most State-To-State transport.

Trailer Training
H2H also specializes in training for trailer safety. A thorough program that ensures safe, controlled, and consistent trailer loading and unloading for all future adventures. Review sessions provided at 50% off as needed.
If you have a horse that has had trouble in the past with loading or unloading or that has trouble with general riding in the trailer, this is the program for you and your horse. Programs can vary in the number of sessions needed to solidify your horse’s confidence and consistency in willingness. Each and every horse is different and can vary in the emotional or physical skills to progress and master the Trailer. The horse’s previous experience and current skills will be largely dependant on how well he/she can progress. So it is necessary for your horse to be evaluated prior to starting a trailer loading program. The evaluation can provide a thorough start to the introduction or RE-introduction to the Trailer.
For Trailer Loading training, we start with a standard fee or Evaluation session at $75, which can last up to an hour and a half. Additional sessions are $40 plus travel fees and Test Drives.

STANDARD PACKAGE for Basic Trailer Training…
3 sessions plus 2 Test Drives = $175 which includes the initial Evaluation session.
Obviously, a horse that needs trailer loading training typically needs to be trained from their home. So a small fee to cover the fuel costs is all that we add on to the package cost, within 100 miles of Cle Elum, WA. Additional fees include travel time, over 100 miles. Please inquire.

Training for the Human:
It is very important that these sessions include the owner’s observation and hands-on participation in order to continue the horse’s success and confidence in the trailer.
This program is the best thing you can do to prepare your horse physically, mentally, and emotionally for his future travelling adventures.
Call us now to discuss your horse and your dream destination! Maybe the beach, the mountains, or a horse show? We can help get you there, and help you to travel safely on your own!

When I first came to Dragonwood I started riding with Barb, after awhile she thought I was ready to start learning from Shannon. At first I thought I didn’t want to because I thought Shannon taught “showy” stuff but after the first lesson I realized that she teachs you how to work with your horse (not just ride it) in a way that keeps both you and the horse safe.
When I started learning from Shannon I didn’t have that much confidence. After awhile I started to work with more horses and gain more and more confidence.
It’s been two years since I started riding with Shannon, I’ve gained a lot of confidence sence then. I now work with horses that would’ve made me nervous before.
Shannons taught me how to get control and confidence from the ground before you even think of getting in the saddle, then how to get those same things in the saddle.
Thanks Shannon,
Jena

“Oh my, God, he’s HUGE!!!” gasped my 29 year-old son at his first sight of my recently acquired rescue horse, Reddy.

In October of 2007, based on a photo of a good-looking horse with a kind eye, I adopted a 15-to-17 year old gelding of unknown origins. It is a gross understatement to say that this was not one of the most sensible moves I’d ever made in my life. The situation gets even more bizarre when you consider that I had been taking riding lessons for only 4 months and had never owned a horse.

To top it all, there turned out to be a typo in the ad: The thoroughbred-quarter horse mix was allegedly 15-2 hands. Imagine my surprise after the glow of our mutually “love at first sight meeting” wore off and it dawned on me that Reddy was substantially larger than I had anticipated. He was closer to being 16-2, a somewhat daunting size for a 57-year old woman who is at most 5’2” and about 140 lbs.

Thanks to a caution from the rescue group that Reddy was a nice horse but not familiar with riding cues, I made the first sensible decision since beginning my journey into horse ownership: I was not going to try to ride the huge fellow until I knew he was safe to ride.

I had no history of what Reddy had been through but because he was on his way to slaughter when he was rescued, I assumed his most recent past couldn’t have been very good. Given that, I wanted a trainer who was patient, quiet, and gentle, but who could also take command and be humanely firm when Reddy got a little pushy. I needed someone who could teach me now to gain his respect and transform his view of me from a nice little old “push-over” lady who spoils him into one of looking to me as his loving guide and leader.

The person who was able to do this turned out to be Shannon King.

When Shannon did her initial assessment of Reddy on July 1, 2008, I was completely blown away. She connected with him immediately and he responded to Shannon better than anyone else who had tried to work with him. By the end of an hour, his respect, trust and focus far exceeded that of any other training session I had witnessed. Not only that, Shannon also made several positive remarks about Reddy’s worth and potential.

I always had a gut feeling that Reddy was a diamond in the rough and that with the right trainer, someday he would shine. However, a gauntlet of mixed reactions about him from people more experienced with horses had me doubting myself. Their characterizations included: attention deficit, not too bright, dangerous, unpredictable, calm with potential of becoming a training horse, and smart with tremendous try. It was a huge affirmation of my faith in Reddy to hear such a positive assessment from Shannon, who is a well-respected equestrian in her field.

Within a few weeks, Shannon was riding Reddy and I was able to get on him for my first brief ride in August. Shannon figured out that Reddy had never been taught how to be ridden. He had apparently been used as a pack horse, which explained his stillness and the fact that he could not be startled easily.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008 will forever be etched in my heart as the day when I had my first “real” ride on Reddy. He did everything I asked him to do which included: walking forward, stopping, backing up, turning, and trotting.

Shannon is helping me build upon the strong, loving bond between Reddy and me that was there right from the beginning. Our ultimate goal is not to “break” Reddy, but rather, to keep his kind, wise, brave and curious spirit in tact while we make sure he is well-trained and safe to ride. Shannon strives for excellence so I am confident that will we become the best horse-human team that we can possibly be.

I am so thankful that Shannon was willing to work with a 17 year old “green” horse and a 58 year old green rider because I have observed her work with others and am in awe of her horsemanship skills. I still don’t know as much as I need to know about horses and riding for me to leave the safe harbor of the Horse2Human program. What I do know though, is that as far as learning about the “way of the horse,” I could search far and wide and never find a better mentor than Shannon King.

Buck came into Springwood Ranch camp like a pro. I unloaded him amongst all the new horses and proceeded to try him on the high-line right away. Just as long as there was more of that fancy hay that mom brings along on a trip, he could care less about walking in circles.

Next morning I only briefly worked from the ground and headed out on the trail. Fortunately, the riders I camped with understood this was my second trail ride and with more horses involved, stayed close by. He was the first to go across the bridge (yaeee) and through the long tunnel. He walked out at a nice clip ahead and when some careless riders jet past, he sped up some, thinking like a horse. How exciting to be able to drop the excitement with a light easy hips over..changed his whole attitude. Wonderful to have this safety feature ingrained well ahead, it seemed to give him security doing something familiar.

We were hoping to make it down to the river ahead of the mob to find a decent tree to tie up. He was apprehensive on drinking in the river, but stood with horses walking behind as we were tethered on the path to the water. Everyone was surprised at how well he did for a 4 year old, especially amongst so much activity. When the locomotive passed along the other side of the Yakima, he remained still.

That evening we were coming back from closing down the party barn and noticed Buck in the moonlight laying beneath his line. I crawled up and layed…. Needless to say, he made a good showing of himself.

Thanks Horse2Human for helping us both to develop this relationship.

Judy Peterson

Shannon King has a way with horses. In my case, she had a way with a 5-year old rescue horse that had become relentlessly challenging, pushy, biting, bracing, squirmy, defensive, unmotivated, and spoiled. Very social, his games for attention were endless, yet it was clear he wasn’t mean. Where other trainers gave up waiting for him to grow up, she quickly assessed his issues, then set about to help him through each one, reducing his games, and need for them, a little more each day.

Simultaneously, she trained me in the groundwork exercises she was teaching him, how to recognize and reward every try, and how to keep his short frustration fuse from igniting. She told me when I was not seeing important clues he was giving or responding in critical ways, and she was great at teaching us both in languages we understood.

What normally takes 3 months, took 5 with Dodger, but the net result is a trail horse that is not only a perfect gentleman but a horse with soft eyes, who nickers when he sees me, and eagerly walks over to lower his head into the halter I hold open for him. He wants to go play, and the best part is, he wants to go play with me. On our best-day-ever graduation trail ride, it became clear to me that Shannon not only uncovered, but nurtured—in my once-neglected and earnestly delinquent horse—a confident, capable, fun-loving, unflappable, adventurous spirit.