Those mountains are a lot taller than one might imagine. I should know, I had to cross over them in order to move to Alberta. Incredible as it may seem, that process took me over two years. The good news is; officially, for the second time in my life, once again I’m an Albertan.

Although I love all parts of Western Canada, my move to Alberta is entirely based on keeping my loved ones united as a family. In doing so, my family will have an opportunity to enjoy and take part in what the Alberta horse industry has to offer.

I have lived in Invermere BC for over twenty some odd years and in that time; I’ve managed to collect a lot of “stuff”! For the last few months I have been primarily focused on physically moving all of that stuff! You know, load up the horse trailer, drive to Calgary, unload the trailer, drive back to BC, load up the trailer, drive to Calgary, and on and on it went. Throughout this entire process, I must admit, the moving has left me feeling pretty much “disconnected” to all aspects of my life and career.

I will be using the month of September/08 to get my horses settled into their new facility and back into a consistent training program. For myself, I will also be adjusting to a new home, all of which is going to be very exciting! They say variety is the spice of life, so I guess I’m in for some serious “spice”.

Two years ago my wife Caroline and I leased a training facility in Spring Bank, a community on the western edge of the Calgary city limits. Like our facility in BC, we are using the name “Stoddart Creek Stables” for the Spring Bank facility. For the past two years Caroline has built up a cliental of both junior and adult riders who are wonderful people, so wonderful in fact that we consider them as family. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the atmosphere at the barn is very warm and friendly. I should mention here that Caroline and our daughter “Erin” are Hunter/Jumper riders and trainers. Caroline has worked hard to break into the Calgary horse show scene, and her students keep proving how effective she is as a coach. On a competitive level, they keep bring home the ribbons!

I will also be using the Stoddart Creek Stables facility here in Calgary as a home base when I’m not traveling down the road with “Horses Naturally” doing clinics or demonstrations.

On a closing note, I would just like to say that I am now on a journey of connection, or should I say, a journey of getting “re-connected”, as I work my way into the horse industry here in Alberta. I look forward to meeting new friends, I know there are a lot of good people and good horses in this part of the world and I hope to meet as many of them as I can. So, don’t be shy, send me a note or a letter and let me know what’s happening!

Cheers,
Jay O’Jay

From my window seat, my eyes followed along as a river laced its way through the quilted patchwork of the Canadian prairies. I was flying to Winnipeg, Manitoba en-route to the Bar K Ranch, where I was scheduled to do a three-day horsemanship clinic.

I was traveling with the lovely Janet Werstroh we all know from the head offices of “Horses… Naturally” with Jay O’Jay in Calgary Alberta. Yes, Janet was truly excited about leaving the city behind and immersing herself into the lifestyle of a 16,000-acre working cattle ranch. And may I add; a ranch that is very well known for its foundation bred quarter horses and breeding program. Click here to check out their website.

I was impressed with the natural ease with which Janet calmly turned off the buzz of urban living, allowing herself to fall into the day-to-day routines of this working ranch. Let me put it to you this way; her jeans were dirtier than mine at the end of each day and I don’t think she even noticed.

Just in case you’re wondering! Janet was traveling with me mainly because she was going to be taking photographs of all the different aspects of the clinic; including all the participants, their horse and whatever else she had time for. I was amazed; in three days Janet took over 1800 images! Now she has the tedious task of editing, sorting and burning selected images onto CD discs to send out to all those who made requests. My bet is that the next time she travels with me, the amount of photos taken will be considerably less.

The images attached to this blog are Janet’s, so if you like them please drop her a line and let her know. We will also be adding more of her images throughout the web site – see if you can identify them.

As we disembarked from the airplane and headed over to pick up our baggage, the anticipation of getting to the Bar K Ranch caused me to tingle with excitement. I truly was looking forward to meeting up with all the people and all the horses that would be taking part in this spring tune-up clinic.

There she was, I spotted her right away! Susan Kopec was waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator. And as we made our way over to her with the mounds of baggage we were packing, I could feel the warmth of her welcome reaching out to us from across the room. I could tell this was going to be a good clinic!

From their family owned and operated Bar K Ranch, Susan and her husband David Kopec were my clinic hosts for what was being officially named the “Spring Tune-Up Clinic”. Their hospitality was second to none. I even got to stay in an attached cabin to the main house with lots of room to spread out my traveling gear and relax.

David and Susan had all the bases covered, right from a portable round pen set up in the indoor arena, a quality sound system, bleachers for the spectators and, they even had the parents of local 4H kids cooking up great lunches.

Right from trailer parking, camp sites, stabling and portable toilets, nothing was overlooked. Heck, they even had an evening trail ride planed for those who cared to join in. We actually rode home under the light of a full moon – hard to beat!

In my humble opinion, being aware of the needs of others is a good thing, but doing something about it deserves to be commended.

“Win a Colt”! For five bucks you could buy a ticket in an effort to raise money for the “Riding for the Disabled”. The Bar K Ranch donated the newborn foal for this draw, but the interesting part was that there were approximately 52 foals to choose from. That’s right, there were 52 brood mares in their foaling pasture and every morning of the clinic, there was sure to be the cutest newborn baby found standing along side its mother.

Monique, a clinic participant, won the contest draw and when I saw her last, she was still walking amongst all those newborns scratching her head. A bit confusing for sure – good luck with your decision Monique!

Staying with David and Susan at the Bar K Ranch was an exceptional experience for me. I think the intentions behind all we do in life speak louder than any words and are a direct reflection of our integrity and self worth. I hope they know how much I appreciated those days I spent in Winnipeg, and that I can’t wait to return again in the fall.

It’s time for the episode you’ve all been waiting for: The First Ride! Jay has gentled this mustang enough that he thinks it’s time for Matt to get on for the first time. Check it out to see how it goes! This isn’t the last episode of the series though, so stay tuned.

Hello everyone, Colette here. I’m happy to announce the release of episode six in A Mustang Story: A New Perspective! In this episode, Jay does some fencework with the mustang. It’s a great technique to use before someone actually gets into the saddle, that’s for sure.

Also, the very last segment of the interview with Matthew Ford has been released, too. Jay and Matt look back on the whole experience of the mustang and talk about what an impression it made on them.

My truck was in four-wheel drive and I was hanging onto the steering wheel with my eyes wide open. It sure didn’t look like springtime in Alberta with all the snow and ice I was driving through.

I was on my way to the Mane Event Horse Expo in Red Deer, Alberta for the 2008 Trainer’s Challenge. Equine Canada had invited me to be their color commentator for this very popular event. Together with Sylvia Schneider and Diana Balbar we were going to be interviewing each of the trainers and following their progress throughout this challenge. What a flip/flop!

Last year I was one of the featured trainers and Canada Equine covering my progress. It was fun being on the other side of the fence! You won’t be disappointed if you tune into these comprehensive podcasts. Visit The Equine Podcast and Clinician interviews on my web site.

Now for more exciting news! Lammles Western Wear is now selling my DVD’s along with some of my horse tack. They kicked off my new product line at the Mane Event – so, whenever I wasn’t covering the Trainer’s Challenge, I was at the Lammles Booth. Let me tell you that I have been shopping at Lammles for years and have the shirt collection to prove it!

On a closing note, I would like to thank all the people who came over to talk to me. There were so many and I must apologize for not remembering everyone’s name. If you only knew how encouraging it is to have that much support from the horse community! I want to thank each and every one of you for your support because it gives me the opportunity to be out there doing clinics, workshops and demonstrations. What a wonderful way to make a living - working with people and their horses – it’s my passion and it’s my life.

Jay O’Jay

Hi guys! This is Colette again. We’re up to episode five in One Man, One Horse - A Mustang Story. This is a very pivotal episode because this is when Jay first tries to get a saddle onto the mustang. Up until now, he’s been doing exercises with the horse to get her ready for this step. I think it’s pretty amazing that anyone could get a saddle on a horse that started out so fearful. In the beginning he could hardly walk up to her without her running away frantically!

The next section of our interview with Matthew Ford is a good one, too. He talks about how he was about ready to give up finding a place for the mustang to stay when he moved back to Invermere. When he was told about Jay, it gave him some hope and then when Jay took on the challenge, well, that’s where this whole adventure begins.

“Spring has sprung” and with it we are rewarded with all that Mother Nature has to offer. The beginning of new life! What could be more adorable and touching then a newborn foal. Share this special moment with Jay as this newborn filly named “Late Lass” faces the challenge of standing on her own to take her first drink of mother’s milk.

Click “New Born Foal” to view!

Some Advice and tips from Jay about New Born Foals:

When you have the good fortune to watch a newborn foal struggling to stand up on her own and not having much success, the desire to help can become overwhelming. Why? As you watch her repeated unsuccessful attempts, you worry about the foal hurting herself. You also worry that if she doesn’t get the colostrum from mother’s milk within just a few hours after birth, she will not survive.

Colostrum is the first fluid a mare secretes from her udder after foaling. It contains the antibodies, which protect the foal from infection. There are protective immunoglobulins in the colostrum, which is more concentrated in the early hours of lactation. As time goes on milk production will dilute them. Also, the foal’s ability to absorb them decreases as her digestive tract matures. Peak absorption time is between 2 and 4 hours of birth.

However, I like to let nature unfold “naturally”, I think it’s important for the foal to face the challenge of standing on her own. I believe that it gives them spirit and builds character with a sense of drive. Like all things in life - if it is handed to us on a silver platter, it doesn’t have the same value as it would if we had worked for it. My recommendation, don’t help unless it is absolutely necessary!

Jay O’Jay

It’s not that I didn’t notice! It’s like watching your kids grow up; from one day to the next there really isn’t any change in size. Then one day they’re taller than you are. That’s how this winter felt to me; each day blended into the next and I thought for sure it was never going to end. Finally, spring is in the air!

Yes, and even with a winter blanketing program, the amount of hair my horses are now shedding is nothing short of amazing. I’m legging them up slowly to avoid any physical injuries, I want to have them in reasonable good shape to start what will be an exciting summer of clinics, workshops, and demonstrations, and of course a whole lot of traveling down the road. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you on my travels.
 
On a personal level, one of the more exciting things for me this summer will be my colt starting workshops. I’d honestly have to say that I absolutely love watching these colts getting connected with their owners and then gaining the confidence in themselves to accept a saddle and rider. Giving a colt the right start in life goes a long way when you think of his future years. After all, don’t we all want a horse that is pleasant to be around and a real pleasure to train? It all boils down to building that solid foundation, a foundation that can be expanded upon as they continue to mature and grow. If there is a secret to producing a willing attitude and creating a horse that is light and responsive to your cues, it would be found here.

I’m limiting my colt starting workshops to four horses and riders simply because I want to give everyone a maximum amount of my personal time. When you leave this workshop, you will be leaving with a whole lot of my personal experience, knowledge and understanding of how to start a colt the right way. I want each participant to start their own colt under my guidance, I want them to learn and understand each step of the way. I will not have them hanging off the fence watching me start the colt. Being involved is how you learn. When they go home I want them to leave with more confidence in themselves than when they first arrived.
 
These workshops will be the number one ticket for this coming season, especially for anyone who is truly interested in learning how to start a colt correctly. I’ve always wondered how anyone can learn colt starting in a group of ten or more horses. In a situation like this it’s the trainer that does all the work because there just isn’t enough time to spend on either individual horses or their riders.
 
One of the things I always pride myself in is that I teach transferable skills and anyone taking this workshop is going to go home with a lot of knowledge and understanding.
 
Well, if you let me start rambling, it seems that I never stop, so on that note, I’ll just say – “keep on keeping on” as you prepare both yourself and your horse for another season of horse’n around.

A new episode of One Man, One Horse - A Mustang Story is out today! 

At this point in the series, Jay has been able to touch this scared and wild mustang, and get a halter on her. But, the horse is still quite frightened. Jay uses his three principles of training – cause movement, follow a feel, and yield to pressure – to help the horse recognize him as a leader. So it makes sense that this episode is called “Respect and Control“!

The thing I like about this episode is watching Jay how takes control and leadership of his horses peacefully and not using brute force. It’s in the little reinforcements like getting the horse to move out of his personal space. Jay’s always working on how quiet he can be around horses and still be in full control of them. I think that’s really great because it gives horses the respect they deserve!

We’ve got another segment of the interview with Matt Ford up today, too. He tells us the story about how he got the Mustang to begin with… and how he got a sore toe that day! Definitely a must-see!

Hello everyone! Colette here, from the Jay O Jay Inc. team. Some of you may know that I’m the one who’s doing the editing of the footage for the mustang series. Well, I’m happy to announce that today we released the latest episode of A Mustang Story. This episode is called “Building Trust“. I think my favourite part of this episode is when our mustang goes back in the program a little bit, and Jay says, “This is where some people give up, but this is where I get strong.” And it’s true, he does have a lot of patience and confidence with horses.

One thing I’ve learned from Jay while watching and editing these video clips is that patience does grow out of understanding. This is true of people as well as of horses. At first, I’m sure it’s easy to get angry when your horse seems to always run away and forget what you teach it. But then when you work to understand what the horse is feeling, it helps give you patience. When you remember, horses are prey animals and predators sometimes try to jump on their back when they attack, then it’s quite easy to understand why horses can be fearful sometimes! I find it’s the same thing with people, too. When you really understand where someone’s coming from, you can be more patient with them and their mistakes than you would be if you didn’t know anything about them.

Something special about the release of this episode is that also on the Jay O Jay website, we’ve released an interview with Matthew Ford, the owner of the mustang. This is a great inside peek at how he got the horse and what he was feeling when he first saw the wild mustangs. I remember when Matt came into our office to do these interviews with Jay. He was a little shy at first but he really got the hang of it fast. And what a nice guy he is! I think the mustang is lucky to have such a loving owner. There’ll be more segments of the interview to come, so that’s something to look forward to. Until next time!