TESTIMONIALS

"A Magical Place"                                JANUARY 2010
After spending well over a year, researching Twh's, their conformation, gait and trying my best to educate myself with dvd's & clinics, my husband & I came to Alberta, in search of a TWH. I absolutely had a blast meeting some very kind & generous Albertans who despite the cold of November were very proud to show me their lovely horses & treat us to coffee & home cooking.
In our travels we ended up at Karla's farm. We climbed thru the fence into the large horse paddock following Karla.  We were soon quietly surrounded by several soft noses, very gently breathing on us, sniffing our ears, cheeks and hair, carefully investigating these new humans. I knew I was in "a magical place". We were in a sea of tickling muzzles & it just made me laugh. Normally I would have been afraid that somebody was going to get bitten or kicked because of so many horses crowded so closely together around us, but I sensed that this would not happen here. There was such a calmness amongst these horses, young and older. They were very gentle and respectful of each other and us humans and were just enjoying meeting us.
I watched as Karla interacted with the horses. She brought a bucket of treats and they all lined up along the fence to wait for their treat, no scuffling, no fighting. She showed us several of her horses by bringing them without halters into her yard. They just followed her around, where ever she went and did whatever she asked of them. She walked them into a pitch-black tack shed, with a narrow entrance and they went in without question and came out without panic. She tied them & they stood quietly. They led without an ounce of pressure on the lead line. They totally trusted Karla, absolute total trust! Surprisingly there were several kittens around, leaping playfully from horse to horse, curling up on the horse's backs, purring away. One kitten even walked up the neck to the horses ears and back.
Karla's horses were all in good condition and well cared for. Their manes were tangle free, their coats were shiny & healthy, their hooves were nicely trimmed, yes that's what I said, their hooves, the whole herd, their hooves were nicely trimmed!...and this was November in Alberta!..that's big!
In my search for a nice TWH, we literally saw well over 100 horses. Karla & her horses stood out head and shoulders above the rest. I am not saying I didn't see some lovely horses and loving, caring owners, but what you can clearly see in Karla's horses is the "time"  she spends on her horses and her incredible horsetraining skills. Her horses trust her and respect her.   They look to her as a lead mare, they know she is fair in her training and handling of them. She looks at everything from the horse's perspective and is willing to accommodate that.  As a result her horses have a strong foundation and trust of humans and lead as natural a life a domestic horse could lead.
Another thing that I must say about Karla is that despite the fact that she can ride anything bareback & is soooo knowledgeable about horses, breeding, training, etc...she is still very open minded and eager to learn new things about horses & training.......now how many horse people can you say that about!!
I ended up going back to Karla's farm 3 times. I was not able to purchase the riding age horse that I wanted (someday maybe), but I did buy my first horse from Karla. He is "Karla's Black Magic Shadow", a 3 1/2 yr old gelding who is extremely calm and sweet, yet a very confident little guy, who loves human attention and is very brave. I am hoping that he will grow nice and tall. He pays attention to my every move. He walks quietly beside me, stops when I do, turns when I do, backs when I do, does not run over me, even when introduced to all the new and scary things at his new home. He lowers his head when I touch his neck, he stands for the hoof trimmer, he loves being brushed. He trailers quietly and willingly. He even parks out..LOL! These skills were all taught to him by Karla, before I purchased him. My next TWH will be from Karla too, you can bet on that!
Laurie Joslin, BC

Prospective Horse buyer: May. 2008

I purchased two horses from Karla Freeman at Ride Easy Ranch. The first was a 5 year old gelding called Red about a year and a half ago. The second was a nine year old mare called Donna for my girlfriend last summer. I had been riding for a number of years at the field trials I participate in with my pointing dogs. Most of the horses used at trials are walkers so I was already sold on the breed. I was using other peoples horses but had never taken any lessons and decided that it was time to get my own horse. I was about to find out a lot about horses and riding.

I had been checking with a number of breeders and one who felt they did not have anything that suited me suggested I give Karla a call. I called Karla and explained what I was looking for and what I wanted to do with my horse. She thought she had a number that might be a fit. I made my first trip to Ride Easy Ranch that afternoon. Karla had a number of horses tied to the hitching rail when I arrived. I realized right away that Karla was very concerned with ensuring that I got the right Horse for me. She said she would rather not sell me a horse than sell me the wrong one. Right away I was impressed with the manners of all her horses. They all respected people's space, put heads down for bridle, lifted feet easily etc. I rode a number of horses that day and Karla gave me tips on how to ride to complement her training.

I would certainly reccomend a horse from Karla. The service she provides is excellent both during the buying process and after the sale. I still call with questions and she is more than happy to help. I would be happy to speak with anyone considering a horse from Karla.

Don Nelson, Alberta

MARCH 2008
To Whom It May Concern:

This year was a new year of trying to find the perfect horse or horses for my family. I my self had rode a walking horse when I was younger and just loved it. My husband and I searched the web looking for answers to our many questions, but no one could take the time till we spoke to Karla. We absolutely loved her web page and her knowledge of horse training. On Feb. 15, 2008 we headed to Rimbey to see Karla’s herd of walkers. We were amazed when we walked out to the pens and all horses young and old come to the fence without even a thought to the strangers in their yard, plus I must add I have four year old daughter who loves horses and is not quiet about it at all. I know that my husband and I have not rode in many years so Karla saddled up some horses and away we rode. Karla gave us helpful pointers on every different horse we rode she also tries to match the horse to the rider by their experience which helps greatly when you are unsure of your self and the horse. Now comes the very exciting news, we own two beautiful mares named Windy and Amber we love them dearly. They are always willing to please and endure what ever we want them to do.

THANKS KARLA WE LOVE OUR GIRLS!!

Sheldon, Kim and Abbi Grieve

       October 18/2007

After reading many of Karla’s submissions to the “Walking Horse News” magazine, I was very pleased to meet her at the Sparks clinic in the spring of 2007.

Then in October, three others and myself drove to her farm to see her horses.

            We were very impressed with the quietness of her horses. Karla spends a lot of time with them, doing a lot of ground work and riding, and the benefits are apparent.

She is able to bring them out of their paddock without halter; they are very respectful and willing to please. She has a large selection of horses available; tall, small, some young, and some more mature, but all very good natured, quiet horses.

            The four of us, saddled up on Walkers, rode for a couple of hours with Karla.

It was a great experience, as 2 of the riders had never ridden a Tennessee Walker before.

            In talking to Karla, her passion for the Walkers is very apparent. She is very conscientious about placing the right horse with the right person, and is honest about what skills and personality the horses have. She is a pleasure to visit with, and a great ambassador for the Tennessee Walking horse breed!

Sandra Smith

Olds, Ab.

  JUNE 5TH/2007

On the May long weekend I met Karla and her family at their ranch just southwest of Edmonton.

     I saw the Ride Easy website and was very impressed with Karla's values and methods with her Walkers, so I needed to see for myself.

Even more impressive was the trust I witnessed between Karla and her horses. Apart from individual personalities, each Walker Karla brought out of the herd to show me behaved calmly, and trusted every request she made of them.

   Willingness is a word to sum them up. I have chosen to pursue the Tennessee Walkers as a pleasure horse since a back injury left me unable to tolerate the impact of trotting.

          After a lovely, one hour ride on two different Walkers, I suffered no tenderness in my back the following day. The best part of the day though was connecting with a lovely black mare.

                                      Tracy Shelrud

                                                B.C.

August 7, 2007

Karla and Family,

Terry and I would like to sincerely thank you and your family for an informative and thorough visit of your ranch and horses.

We are taking our time looking for the right horses that have been trained to suit our experience level and our needs. Since spending the hours with you and your horses it has been hard to visit any other horse person. It seems to be such a “business” that the personal touch is left at the gate and rather more about the dollar rather than suiting the right horse with the right person.

    Your personal attention to our needs and your ability to match the right horse with the right rider made us feel very comfortable.

   We are continuing to prepare our property and our now aiming for spring to purchase our 2 horses. You can be sure you will get a call from us at that time. Keep us in mind as you continue to develop your herd.

   Thanks again for a wonderful experience riding, we learned so much.

Regards,

Eric McIntyre

Terry Thompson

29/9/06

To whom it may concern,

This testimonial is written for the express use of Karla Freeman of the Easy Ride Ranch.

My wife and I are 68 years old. We decided that before it was too late we would acquire a couple of horses to ride on our acreage. My wife had no experience with horses and my experience dated back many years when as a kid my sister and I shared a saddle horse and subsequently for two summers I worked as a groom on the racetrack. We decided to consider the Tennessee Walking Horse, mainly for their temperament and smooth ride. In our search we visited several places that had such horses for sale. We decided to purchase from Karla Freeman after an extensive review of her operation and a good look at the general behaviour of her stock. We were really impressed by how gentle all her horses were, including all the foals.

We realized Karla constantly works with her horses and they were all extremely easy to be around. We then picked an 11 year old brood mare for my wife, mainly because she was so easy to work with and ride. For myself I picked a 7 year old gelding that Karla had trained using the Pat Parelli method. The gelding was an absolute pussy cat on groundwork although I must say he had a lot of getup and go when it was time to ride. Karla delivered the horses to our property in May 06 and we commenced to ride on our many trails. After some getting used to our place, they both settled down into very reliable and predictable horses. We ride just about every day and enjoy the moment tremendously. There are a lot of steep hills on our trails and when wet they are rather slippery and because of that we decided to shoe the horses and install corks. The result was excellent however I wanted to mention when the farrier put shoes on the mare using the hot shoe method (keep in mind she had never been shod before) the mare stood through the entire procedure (smoke included) and the farrier commented this horse must have had a lot of previous shoes installed because she was so quiet and cooperated so well. We kind of summed it up that Karla Freeman’s horses come that way.

Sincerely,

Dennis and Gisela Love