Embark Farms

03/04/2026

I haven't posted in a while. Thought I'd share some hard-earned wisdom.
What is a horse trainer? Sounds pretty straight forward, don't it? The reality is far different. A horse trainer is dependent on what they do and what they know..... If you are a Hunter Jumper that is what you train, if you are a Reiner that is what you train, if you are a Western Pleasure person that is what you train. Are they all horse trainers? Yes, for their respective disciplines. I view a horse trainer differently. I believe they should be able to train horses from the ground up. Putting under saddle, giving them the basics to start a career in whatever they are suited for. I also believe a horse trainer should be able to train riders for the basics of riding. I like to get my students started so a Reiner or a Hunter Jumper doesn't have to worry about the basics. A true horse trainer is a TRAINER. Period! We deal with all aspects of horsemanship. We are the Jack of All Trades, Master of none.
I've trained horses for Western Pleasure, Barrel racing, Hunter Jumper, Dressage and Mounted Patrol, Trail riding, even some hunting horses. I've trained riders to stay on their horses. Am I better than the others? No. Just a different set of skills. And like other trainers I have paid my dues to get where I am at.
When looking for a trainer look for the one that suits your needs. Not everyone wants to do Dressage, and Lord knows not everyone wants to go flat out running barrels. Some just like to have that solid control of their mounts.
I just want people to understand that there is a large variation in horses and horse sports. Learn to make sound decisions based on your overall goals. If you are wanting to start riding, find someone to teach you the basics. Later you can go to the specialist that will take you where you want to go.

10/31/2025

Long time since I've ridden over here. Lot of changes. The horses still think everything is going to eat them.

10/30/2025

https://www.embarkfarms.com/

Something Mike often says to me "Just sit deep and breath out."

As an apprentice, with her own ideas about horse riding and training, I roll my eyes. Of course, Mike is not sitting on the proverbial dragon, snorting into the wind, and tensed from tip of tail to tip of ears.

I find myself asking Mike "Am I doing this, or are you?" My oppositional defiance is a direct result of red hair.

Mike giggles and walks away, seemingly minding his own business. Then, it happens - I do exactly what he asked me to do. I sit deep, exhale, and let all the years of saddle time become muscle memory.

Now the snorting dragon becomes a pony, giving me a collected canter, a counter bend, a small lead change as I change directions.

Mike smiles quietly and mumbles to himself. The wind we are getting in Texas muffles any intelligible words.

"Did you sort him out?"

I want to puff out my chest and declare myself as God's gift to horses, but I do not. I shrink inwardly as I recall moments ago the defiance in my voice.

"Yeah, I sat deep. He listened."

Regardless of accolades or years of training, sometimes the simplest thing we do for our horses is emotionally regulate. You would not believe how much our horses know about us before we ever step into the irons. Was I a little frayed that day? Was I sleep deprived? Did my day job kick me in the rear? My horse knew.

What is stupid of me is to assume my horse would not feel every ounce of that stress and frustration.

As the winter weather rolls in and the air cools to a crisp, remember to take a moment and leave all the life stressors to the wind. Let your horse know you are present. Breath in and breath out. How we feel in that saddle is just as important as what we do in the saddle.

M-Bar-K Farms | Horse Riding lessons, Horse Boarding | Horse Training in Dallas and DFW area | Texas

10/30/2025

Winter is on its way. Need a fresh horse tuned up and settled down? Bought a young project but need a good start? Found yourself a horse with more screws loose than an Ikea shelf?

Looks like you might need a trainer.

Michael Aldridge of Embark Farms LLC. has 40 years of experience with horses and I imagine he will try and stick around for 40 more years because horses are in his blood.

Mike has two slots coming available for November.

What Mike is:

A trainer. Plain and simple. He won't sell you on a gimmick, he is not cookie cutter, and he is horse focused.

Honest - Mike is an open book. You can drop in anytime, you are welcome to videos, facetime (with his assistant's help because technology is not this man's forte), and lessons with your horse to improve TOGETHER.

Collaborative - Mike will teach you what he does to continue and strengthen the training process.

What Mike is Not:

A cowboy who will break your horse in 30 days for half a pack of ci******es and a case of warm beer.

Rough and Tough - he will not work your horse for 8+ hours until it is too tired to do anything. He doesnt hit or spur. He trains. Simple as it gets. To him, a scared and exhausted horse isnt trained - it is just too tired or worried to carry on.

A money snatcher - if he tells you he wants 120 days, that is the honest truth. He wont want to send you home with a half-finished project for your money.

Offerings:

Full care board
Complimentary weekly lesson with the horse to see how training is going and to strengthen that horse / rider bond
Ample turnout
Blanketing
Facility has indoor, outdoor, canter field, and round pen.

Training board is $850 monthly.

Horse will be worked 5-6 times a week.

Mike has an apprentice who is small enough to ride ponies. She will be the rider; Mike will be the guiding hand. At almost 60, he will still mount up if needed. But give the man some grace. He likes to stay out of the hospital when he can. This is why apprentices are so important (the crash dummy).

Horse receives turnout daily.

Training clients are allowed a complementary lesson each week (totally optional) to learn about their horse's progress and further their bond.

Visits, phone calls, facetime are welcome.

Once we finish your horse, you become part of the Embark family. Mike will happily lend advice and tune ups as needed. We never throw a client away - not when we've put our hearts into their journey.
"I am a simple and practical horseman with a knack for knowing what a horse needs."

For more information, please text 469-682-4405.

09/10/2025

Embark Farms is pleased to offer fall lesson packages. Beginners of all ages welcome.

07/04/2025

I have ALWAYS said that a rider needs to move WITH the horse. Become a part of them. The union between horse and rider is what brought the horse to the point that they were revered throughout history. From Bucephalon to Trigger the horse has symbolized a bond that defies logic. The importance of the connection, both physical and spiritual with the horse has never been matched by any other animal other than the canine. I fully believe in the human horse connection, and with it in place the pair can achieve greatness that neither could alone.

Is horsemanship dead? Has it been changed to peopleship? What I mean is, where is the focus today, on the horses or on the riders? I think it is now on the riders. My core post last week is still getting complaints from cutters and reiners telling me that the collapsed core "slouch" they use is a valid riding position. I tell them I worked on a ranch for a couple years and I never saw a ranch hand ride in a slouch. Still, they say things like "You couldn't ride a cutting horse unless you slouch."

It's all about the riders, and the horses are secondary. Instead of riding with the focus being on the horse's need for a balanced rider, the focus is on how to get a poor rider to stay on a cutting horse when they don't have the core strength to stay with the horse. So, the discipline gives the collapsed core the name "slouch" and the problem is solved. Never mind the horses.

As a rider who started riding in the 1950s, I have seen the shift in focus in riding instruction, show judging and general riding away from the horse and onto the riders. How did all this get started?

George Morris had a lot to do with it beginning in the 1970s. As Morris abandoned his training in the US Fort Riley Seat that he learned from Gordon Wright, a Fort Riley instructor, he invented Hunter Seat Equitation. His 1977 book departed from centuries of effective military principles of riding. He introduced new rider training methods like perching and the crest release as being "training wheels" for faster learning how to ride.

But more than that, he shifted the focus away from the horse's need for balance and shared movement with the rider. Instead, he placed almost all the attention on static rider forms that please judges. Before the Morris method, instructors constantly made students aware of how their riding aided or interfered with their horse. Unity of shared motion and balance between horse and rider was the goal, not pleasing a judge.

This is why we see so many riding lessons with instructors yelling instructions to students like "heels down", the classic chorus from George. We see student riders bouncing in the saddle at the canter, pounding their horse's back, and there is no intervention or instruction in how to sit in unity with the horse's canter movement. Apparently, today judges don't focus on riders pounding their horses' backs.

But I don't think horsemanship is dead. Based on the growth in the number of this page's followers, particularly the new younger riders, it appears to me that peopleship, may have peaked. The importance of poses, styles and shortcuts, rather than riding in unity, could be ending.

I think people are beginning to see the subtle and not so subtle abuse imposed on horses from poor riding is unacceptable. Instructors who know how to teach effective unified riding will increasingly be in demand. The horse world is waking up to the commercial Morris, Parelli, etc. fabricated methods that sounded so good for so long but didn't deliver.

06/22/2025

Another step towards rebranding the business. Welcome to Embark Farms.

06/17/2025

A New Beginning!

Check out Embark Farms’s video.

06/16/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Hk7vB3Wjh/

Check out Embark Farms’s video.

06/16/2025

Check out Embark Farms’s video.