Providing professional gaited horsemanship
THAYER, MO. – “In the past, we’ve sold horses, sight unseen, but I won’t do that again,” Mike Meizler of Rafter M Training Stables stated recently when describing their training operation at Thayer, Missouri in Oregon County. Mike and Joy Meizler train gaited Missouri Fox Trotters, specifically for trail riding.
“Our goal is to provide a safe enjoyable trail riding experience, primarily for older people,” he explained. “We’ve placed horses in 40 states. People come here from all over – Florida, Ohio, New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Missouri, just to name a few. While they are here, we provide training in Thayer, first in the barn and then once the horse and rider are comfortable with each other here, it’s on to the woods and trails. Our training includes horses of all ages, from the young two- and three-year-olds as well as ‘tune-ups’ for older horses. The majority of our customers are 60- to 70-year-old women who are looking to enjoy safe comfortable trail riding.”
He continued. “The problem that so many have with riding a horse is they don’t feel like they have control. There is no way to shut the horse down. We teach that, a way to shut the horse down and that gives the rider control. Our primary concern in training our gaited horses to comfortable trail riding is safety and trail etiquette. We focus on loose rein training and the one rein stop.”
Joy added. “ The Ozarks has so many good horse camps. There are six or seven within a three-hour circle from here. A lot of states don’t have that. We also do several trail rides a year. These are multiple day rides. We have 22 people signed up to go on a ride we’re doing soon.”
“We try to do something different each year,” Mike continued. “We’ve developed an annual South Dakota ride in July. It started as a vacation and then we invited a few friends along and now it’s developed into quite a ride.
“I watch a number of famous trainers on YouTube. You never want to get to the point where you think you know it all. I’m a copycat but you need to copy off the right cat. I’ve been training horses and their riders for years now but there is always something new to learn, something that makes you feel—that’s the way I want my horse to ride. Take what you learn from us and make it your own to get better and better as a horseman.”
Mike continued. “For years, everything about training gaited horses was about show horses but there is a big difference between show horses and trail horses and the training involved. Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths about riding, the right way to ride and so on. For instance, some people have problems working with two year olds but I think they are wonderful. They are so ready and willing to learn.”
In addition to training horses, Mike and Joy raise Missouri Fox Trotters. They are expecting nine colts this year and currently have about 35 horses on their 30 acres. That includes breeding mares and colts. Each of the horses they sell carry their Roof Rafter M brand, a little peaked roof over the letter ‘M’ for Meizler, sitting in a horseshoe. They have a Patreon page which allows an owner to watch a video as to how their horse is being trained. They also have 26,000 followers on the Rafter M Training Stables Facebook page.
“In having people come here, it allows us to train both the horse and the rider. We are the only ones who insist on this. We had a PTSD survivor share that our training also helped her to get past the worst of it. Our work also complements the local community as our people employ local veterinarians and horse transport services as they bring their horses here for us to train.”
Mike concluded. “It’s really all about horsemanship, whether it’s a gaited horse or a quarter horse. That’s what our training is all about and it makes the trail riding a more enjoyable experience for everyone.”
