Welcome! We're glad you're here.

Welcome to LeFebre Horsemanship LLC. Nationally renowned colt starter located just North of Aztec, New Mexico.

LeFebre Horsemanship serves the entire continental United States and has even gained international clients.

Publicly voted "Best Horse Trainer of the Four Corners" 2021-2022-2023-2024-2025

"Most Recommended Business" 2023-2024

Mancos Chamber of Commerce "Cowboy of the Year" Nominee

and winner of the "Triple Crown Award" 2023-2024 for their excellence in the horse industry.

Not to mention multiple 5 star reviews on Facebook, Yelp, Better Business Bureau and many more!

Hundreds of references and proven horses.

Our Mission

We strive to produce well rounded, well prepared horses. We train horses to be respectful, useful, and good minded members of society. Even if horses are coming in to be trained in one area, they will experience many other aspects and disciplines to widen their perspective and broaden their resume. All horses that train with us will be rode in the arena and outside in the hills and sandwash. Among a large list of tasks they will learn to stand tied, they will see children & cattle, they will be ridden out alone, and they will practice patience.

Requirements for Training

-Horses must be UNDER 4 YEARS OF AGE if they are in training to be started under saddle. (Tune ups and halter breaking exempt)

-Horses must be healthy to the owners knowledge and have had no sickness or lameness issues 30 days prior to arriving.

-If horses have been previously started or messed with, dangerous behavioral problems must be discussed during scheduling.

-A pre training vet check, farrier visit, and dental float/ wolf teeth extraction is highly recommended prior to arrival.

-A training, emergency, liability, and payment contract must be signed during drop off. 

WE DO NOT ACCEPT 

Arabians, any gaited horses, mustangs, ponies or mini horses, known "flippers", horses 5 and older to be "fixed" from dangerous behavior or started under saddle, horses that have been to more than 3 trainers in under a year. This may also include draft/ half draft horses depending on situation.

Owner Interaction

We encourage our owners to visit their horse in training every 30 days. Our ultimate goal is for a horse that YOU can ride and enjoy!

Owners are also encouraged to bring other personal horses to ride with us up the sand wash, in the arena, or in the round pen if desired. Interaction while your horse is in training is not required if not desired.

Real Life Experiences

We believe that horses need arena work but real life interaction as well. With 25,000 acres of BLM and a 30 mile sand wash out our backdoor we have the country! We have real life ranching opportunities that horses have the chance to experience while in training with us. This can include, shipping, doctoring, hunting, packing, and much more valuable experience that working horses need.

Our Pricing

Our pricing as of JANUARY 1, 2025 has changed based off of age.

This is determined by the age of the horse when they arrive for training, not the age of the horse during time of scheduling. Please take into consideration that our waiting list does book multiple months in advanced.

Here is the changed pricing for starting under saddle:

2 year old's-  $1,000 / month (30 days)

3 year old's-  $1,100 / month (30 days)

4 year old's-  $1,200 / month (30 days)

Tune Ups-  $1,000 / month (30 days)

Horses over 4 years old are not accepted unless broke and coming in for a tune up.

Halter breaking : $200/ week  ($800 / month) weanlings and yearlings only

ALL PRICING INCLUDES FREE FEED PREMIUM HAY,  DAILY STALL CARE, BOARDING, AND TRAINING.

Costs for shoeing, dental, brand inspections, vet work, insurance, and sale pictures will be the responsibility of owners.

We do not have any online banking (venmo, paypal, zelle, etc). 

We accept:

Personal checks, cash, or money orders. Please plan accordingly.

PAYMENT IS DUE AT THE END OF EVERY 30 DAYS

*However advanced payments are accepted*

Why Does Horse Age Matter?

It's been a long time debate and personal preference as to when to start horses under saddle. As far as physical ability many studies have been held to observe how earlier starts under saddle correlate with career success and soundness. It has been found that "they have longer and more successful careers than horses that start later". Studies indicate that starting to train horses when young strengthens their bones and ligaments, making them more durable and less prone to injury later in life, with some research showing a lower risk of catastrophic injury in horses that start their careers at an earlier age. Provided below is links to multiple studies on this topic, and very interesting to read. Our personal experience is that horses started between 18 months and in their 2 year old year tend to retain training better, learn better, and tend to have significantly more successful careers. Horses age significantly faster in comparison to humans as shown in the chart below.

In a mental capacity, starting a 2 year old horse is the human equivalent as a teenager getting their first job.

When horses get out of that timeframe and start getting older 5 =23, 6 =25, 7 =28, 8 =30, etc.

It's similar to putting a person in their 20's and 30's whos never done physical labor or had a job in their life into bootcamp. They generally don't take to training as easily, and have a few extra hundred pounds to throw around.