Halcyon Acres is nestled in the beautiful New York Finger Lakes. The expansive and diverse 117 acres of groomed trails including hills, water, fields, woods and obstacles provide an ideal training ground for young riding mounts being introduced to tack and a rider for the first time. The farm is also a good training resource for those seeking early conditioning for older horses with an eye toward maintaining soundness with a program that effectively legs up a mount prior to the competitive season. Older and young horses alike seem to tackle the trails and slopes with relish once they gain confidence and learn to enjoy the diversity and fun associated with their training regimen. 

In addition to the, unusual by design frontier offerings, the facility includes a dirt floor shed row in the barn for starting young horses when appropriate, a round pen, varied sized enclosures and an indoor training chute ideal for helping young horses face trailers or starting gates with ease.

Meet our four-legged helping hands

Porky is one of the most talented and intuitive mares we’ve ever encountered for working with young horses – or with any other request, for that matter.  We started her as a yearling for the owner with sights set on a racing career, bought her as a three-year-old and have found her to be a delightful ready aid for whatever is requested of her in the twelve subsequent years she’s spent at Halcyon Acres. Porky is an exquisite lead pony for the babies (smart as a whip and hasn’t lost one yet, no matter what they pull), so each young horse that leaves here is comfortable being in close proximity to another horse and learns resistance is fruitless. She’s little, so doesn’t intimidate the babies, but fearless and unflappable. Plus, a young horse without a mount will offer to cock a leg or two toward her only once, finding a very quick, harmless, but very effective schooling immediately ensues, teaching young mounts that kicking is unacceptable. Interestingly, she knows not to retaliate if a rider is in the mix. She’s also a firm but tolerant and safe pasture companion for any young horse or older animal being acclimated to turn-out company for the first time. Porky is also on the ready to cart any level owner around the property to witness the progress of their young or problem horse and/or enjoy the scenery and the tranquility of a quiet and peaceful trek through  the wilderness.

Gatsby, our resident 90-pound white and black mutt, accompanies all babies through training – starting in the round pen, through the trails and extending to the fine-tuning. He’s trained to settle them by tracking at their heels to start, acclimate them to company and motion by jogging along side once they are ready, and, ultimately, dull them to distractions as he careens in and out of bushes, woods and pathways or leaps in the pond for a swim, rendering movement and noise an easy thing to take for any baby he’s schooled. He also serves as a guide and companion for the older horses that come to the property for reprogramming – forging ahead of the mount when requested to clear obstacles that concern them and offering a steady friend to bolster confidence. Gatsby is also an amazing aid with nervous or mean horses that arrive at Halcyon Acres. All equines seem to quickly respond positively to his kind and deliberate intrusion of their space. It’s like having a goat with manners to calm the crazies that seem to occupy every waking hour of some of the cases that arrive at the farm. His influence on these animals can help enhance and shorten the necessary ground work time required to turn these problems into suitable mounts.  

Conditioning Capabilities

Halcyon Acres is ideally designed for the young horse starting under saddle with confined areas to start. Once aids are understood, these youngsters benefit from the 117 acres of hills, orchards, woods and fields that provide not only an excellent venue for legging up a young horse with the objective of reducing stress injuries once a baby is ready to progress to the rigors of more intense performance training, but also introduces them to all kinds of activity and scenes that prepare and quiet them for any unexpected concerns they may face. The slopes are really key from an initial conditioning standpoint, but, additionally, a ¾ mile and a 1¼ mile training loop is located on the property for more intense speed sessions.

We also work with older horses who are sour, crazed or in need of some fine tuning or reprogramming and require a conditioning opportunity away from the arena or racetrack. If a horse is sore, but sound enough for training, we can create a customized program to strengthen areas of concern with minimal stress. This may include lengthy sessions traversing hills at slow paces. It may also involve varied activities that incorporate periodic galloping on our groomed training loops.

The facility is an outstanding opportunity for those interested in getting a head start and a leg up before the showing, eventing, hunting or racing season begins. The rigors of the steep hills on the property, even in inclement weather when slow paces are necessary, not only puts a good leg on a horse, but also reduces both the subsequent conditioning time and the probability of injury. This works well not only for those interested in getting a horse extra fit to perform against others, but also improves the likelihood of a long and productive season at shows, events and other competitions by ensuring a solid conditioning foundation is established prior to intensive and targeted performance training. This type of early conditioning work can be far more effective from a fitness, attitude and soundness standpoint than indoor or outdoor arena training.