We train horses for outside horse owners at both The Hideout Barn and The Trapper Creek Ranch using our AH Concept.
Ramon Castro is the primary horse trainer at AH Horsemanship who will be working with your horse(s). Additional AH-approved trainers may assist him under his observation and instruction.
How to get your Horse involved with AH Horse Training
- If you are interested in having your horse trained please e-mail Peter De Cabooter at peter@thehideout.com or call at (307) 765-2080. Peter will provide a consultation during which you can discuss your training goals. It is also possible to schedule an appointment to bring your horse to The Hideout for Ramon to look at, visit about your hopes for both you and your horse. From here, we can discuss and decide the best way to go about training your horse.
- Upon deciding to bring your horse to AH for training, Peter will fax, mail or e-mail our training contract, which you will need to fill out and sign.
- At all times, we will be honest about realistic expectations for the amount of time, training, etc. that will be necessary to accomplish your goals. We will also be able to tell you how to better communicate with your horse, and, if necessary, look at the chemistry of the horse-rider relationship. Our goal is to be realistic about expectations for both horse and rider.
- We encourage you to come in and observe how the AH training process works and watch training sessions with your horse. At the end of the training period, we strongly encourage you to come and ride with Ramon, who will be able to walk you through the correct ways to communicate with your horse once it has been trained. It’s helpful to use the same aids and technique Ramon instilled during the training period, making it easier on your horse.
- It’s important to fine-tune your horse on a regular basis. Since a horse is a living creature with a mind of its own, it’s all the more important to maintain training on a regular basis.
What Training do we Provide?
- Foundation Training & Starting your Horse
One of Ramon Castro’s strongest skills is his ability to train young horses using a non-stressful, non-time pressured way. This provides them a great foundation for future specialization. Groundwork and a rush-free approach to letting the horse learn how to move its feet are essential to his method.
Please read under AH Horsemanship Clinics & Trainings more on this subject.
More and more “problem horse” owners are bringing their horses to Ramon after having no success with other trainers. Of course there are no golden bullets, but Ramon is able to do some pretty magical things with problem horses. The key to maintaining success after bringing a problem horse to AH is continuing to fine-tune it after taking it home.
- Help & Advice in Selecting the Right Horse
AH is an independent, authentic concept not related to any breeders, horse sellers, etc. This means that we give independent advice when it comes to horses and focus on finding a horse that meets your requirements and riding level. Ramon is committed to finding clients a horse that is safe, enjoyable and an overall good fit for the rider.
Prior to looking for a horse or advising a rider on buying a horse we require you agree that the horse you buy will spend a minimum of 3 months on training at AH Horsemanship at the going rates and under the leadership of Ramon Castro. We do not charge the usual Barn finding fee of 15 %, but insist that given we find a horse with the right Character and Conduct it will be trained the right way.
This way you spend you money on something that adds value, not paying a commission. We back up our concept and this process assures that we will only recommend a horse of which we are sure that it can be trained to be a great horse for you.
If a horse we recommend does not work out after the 3 month training period, we will either add more training or help find you another horse.
This is just one way of showing how firmly we believe in our method.
In terms of riding discipline, most of Ramon’s experience is in Western Ranch Riding disciplines. He worked as a cowboy for many years with livestock in feedlots, loading, roping at brandings and big loop competitions, team roping, cutting, sorting, etc.
He will be happy to start your horse in any of these disciplines and will also tell you if your horse has potential to excel in a particular discipline. On his Mustang, Castro, Ramon won the cattle-work and reining division during The 2010 Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Collins, CO. In this competition, he trained Castro from scratch and rode him to victory in a short 90-day time frame.
For Ramon, being in charge for The Hideout Guest Ranch’s barn and horse program includes taking riders of all levels on trail rides in challenging country. It means matching horses with the right riders every week for six months out of the year. It also means keeping people safe during trail rides, looking for cattle in the area and instructing guests on how to effectively handle the livestock.
Needless to say, Ramon and the Hideout crew are skilled in teaching people how to ride trails in a safe and enjoyable way, ensuring that the horses are “bulletproof” enough to take on these trail rides.
Only Trainable Horses
We will work with your horse and will soon find out if your horse is trainable or trainable in a safe way. We have received horses that are not even safe for the trainers and will refrain from continuing to work on such horse for the simple reason that if a horse is unsafe or not consistently safe for a skilled trainer like Ramon, it will be a liability for the owner. We do not want to endanger the owner, Ramon or any of our other trainers.
Training & Boarding Rates
- (Most) Training…………………………………………….$700 / month
- Specialized Training & very challenging horses…………..Call to discuss
- Boarding……………………………………………………$150 / month
