Welcome to Equine Excellence
“The rider understands the horse’s needs and takes care that the horse is never placed in a situation that can lead to the horse being hurt or frightened. The horse knows this, trusts the rider, respects the rider, sees the rider as its leader and cares enough to want to please the rider.
When all these things come together, when communication between rider and horse is so refined that the aids cannot be seen, when the horse willingly holds itself in self carriage and offers soft feel, the body is soft and flowing. The rider is sitting straight up in the saddle , the horse is balanced , the rider is balanced -they are working as one. This is refinement”
Bryan McVicar on refinement
SADDLE MAKING COURSES
Take two weeks break and learn to make a Western Saddle. Come to Bryan's fully equipped workshop, set in the rolling foothills behind Amberley in North Canterbury, Stay on site or commute each day. It’s up to you.
Over the ten days of the course you learn everything from forming the ground seat right through to adding the finishing touches to the complete saddle. Some of the skills you will learn are - using and maintaining cutting tools and knives, hand stitching, stamping and finishing edges, Leather cutting and shaping.
It’s a great course, mix with like-minded people in a friendly ,
supportive and informative environment.
CUSTOM SADDLE MAKING
Want a saddle that fits you and your horse?
Bryan goes to great lengths to ensure the tree he gets to build your saddle on ,fits you and your horse. After that he then can add tooling , design, colour and fittings to your requirements to make the saddle a truely individual and iconic heirloom saddle.
LEARN THE SECRETS TO GREAT HORSEMANSHIP WHICH HAVE BEEN LEARNED OVER A LIFETIME
Bryan specialises in methods which emphasise the importance of working with the horse’s mind. In winning the mind Bryan can achieve complete control over the horse’s body, forming a willing partnership beneficial to both parties. You can now take advantage of these methods, and gain direct access to Bryan’s wealth of knowledge, through the many learning resources and range of teaching material Bryan has made available on this site.