PHOTOS FROM Around the Farm

INFORMATION ABOUT Our Lesson PROGRAM

Welcome to the Timepiece Arabians Lesson page, here you will find information on our program. How it works and what to expect for your first couple of times at the farm.

Our lesson program offers students a wide variety of learning opportunities, whether it is working the horse on the ground, riding, cleaning tack, medicating or feeding horses, or learning how to work with a group to accomplish tasks. We teach students how to safely maneuver around the horses, both on the ground and while riding. Safety, learning responsibility, and practicing critical thinking, all the while learning about the horse, are our main goals in each and every lesson.

Our lesson program is designed to be a 3-hour block, and a lot of information is included in that time frame. Due to our unique program, we invite you to come to tour the farm, meet the instructors, meet the horses, and see if Timepiece Arabians is a good fit for you before signing up for lessons. We want you to have the opportunity to ask questions and get a feel for the farm so that you have a good idea of what future lessons will look like and what our philosophy truly is.

In divide our students up based on age and skill level. We offer group Lessons only Monday through Thursday from 4-7 pm.

We no longer have a Young Riders program. Contact Keev Farms for information on their wonderful program for younger riders.

Since our regular lessons are in a 3-hour block, we break that block up to ensure the students feel confident and comfortable with the tasks they are doing. The first hour is catching, grooming, and saddling the horse under the eye of an instructor or advanced student/mentor who is in the barn at all times. The second hour is the actual time in the saddle, while the final hour is taking care of the lesson horse, cleaning any gear used, and learning to shut the barn down for the evening.

All lessons are $75.00

All lessons will increase to $80.00 September 1st, 2024

We do NOT OFFER PRIVATE LESSONS of any type.

Our Regular lesson structure:

1 The first lesson taken will be about an hour TO AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES long and is called the "catching and grooming" lesson. In this lesson, we teach how to walk up to a horse safely, put a halter on, and lead the horse safely. We then teach how we want the horses to be groomed, both correctly and safely. We always give reasons why we want certain things done and how we have evolved to the present teaching criteria.
2 The second lesson is a review of the first lesson, PLUS information on putting tack on the horse. This lesson will be about an hour and a half long, depending upon the age of the student. This is called the "groom and tack" lesson, and again we spend a great deal of time explaining exactly why we do what we do. We invite our students to ask as many questions and are always striving to clarify and explain.
3 The third lesson is the full 3-hour lesson. During the first hour, the students groom and tack their assigned horses, always under the supervision of an instructor or advanced student/mentor; the second hour is full of groundwork and riding, while the third hour is untacking, grooming, putting the horse out, and cleaning the tack and learning how to close up the barn.

We have developed the lesson program in such a manner so that the students start to feel comfortable with the process and tasks of the 3-hour lesson. We feel that if students start with the 3-hour lesson, they would simply be overwhelmed with information.

Our motto is that we want to teach our students as much as we possibly can so that one day if they wish, they can take over our jobs. We teach all our students, no matter the age, that there is a responsibility to care for the horses properly, to understand that one has to be responsible in life no matter age, and that what they put into lessons is what they will get out of them. The lessons learned with horses are lessons applicable to work, school, and all of the life itself.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGE LIMITS FOR OUR MAIN LESSON PROGRAM

Because our main lesson program can be very labor and time-intensive, we do not take students less than eight years old. We suggest that you come out and visit our farm to learn more about our lessons and to see if we're a great fit.

Please call or visit Keev Farm at http://www.keevfarm.com to learn about the availability of programs for much younger students. They have incredible programs for students who may not have the time available for our program.

A close up of the eye and mane of a horse.

WEIGHT LIMITS FOR OUR STUDENTS

Most of our horses are 15.2 hands or less. Because we use smaller horses, we cannot take students who weigh more than 200 lbs.

HELMETS AND BOOTS

We provide helmets for the first four lessons. After that, we ask that you buy your own helmet and make sure that your name is written in or on it. Tack Room Too on Lee Street in Tumwater can help fit the perfect helmet. Horse Tack & Horse Supplies - Tack Room Too

Please wear boots with a heel. We do not work around horses in tennis shoes, school shoes, or anything other than either English or Western boots. Boots do not need to be expensive, but they do need to have a heel. Often, students outgrow boots, and they can be found in our "back room," where items are to be given away or sold. Inexpensive boots can be bought at Value Village and Goodwill.

A pink rose is shown against a blue background.

OUR INSTRUCTORS

CHARLIE ANDERSON

Instructor

Charlie started Timepiece Arabians in 1976 as a business but had been teaching for many years before that. And she has been teaching ever since. She has ridden with top hunter jumper instructors in Connecticut before moving to Alaska, where she won the 1974 rodeo Cowgirl of the Year buckle in Kodiak. She followed that up with riding for Mike and Karrie Osinski, John Camlin, Kevin Freeman, Ellen Mahaney, and a variety of other NW dressage, jumping, and eventing instructors. In 1999, she was introduced to Buck Brannaman and rode with Buck for 13 years. She's ridden with Ray Hunt, Peter Campbell, and Joe Wolter, to name just a few, and is currently riding with Martin Black.

She brings years of experience in all sorts of disciplines to each lesson at the farm, as well as a sense of humor and a sense of purpose.

Come ride with us on great horses in a great setting.

Josh Wilson

Is our youngest instructor. People describe him as an old soul in a young body. He has the ability to get our students posting and steering correctly in just a few lessons. He often thinks outside the box and is always the first to step in to help in whatever way he can. The amount of information that he imparts to the younger students, his understanding of what needs to be done, and his ability to sympathize and empathize are just outstanding.

We are extremely excited to share our journey with him as he continues to grow in his horsemanship and teaching education. More importantly, he plans on taking all that he has learned about people, horses, and dogs to vet school in the future.