Throughout Saturday’s lesson at Rose Wood Stables in Alna, Gagne spoke encouragingly and humorously, to Sanborn and her brother, Tristam, 8. The two are among Gagne’s students at the facility she and fiancé Mike Averill opened off That’s It Lane, about six months ago.

In lessons as well as the horse-training portion of the business, Gagne, 27, focuses on developing relationships with horses. She practices a kind approach – involving learning through games – that is known in the horse world as "natural horsemanship."

It works, and it keeps the process a positive experience for the horses, Gagne noted. That’s important to her, whether it’s her horses involved, or someone else’s.

"We make sure they’re happy," she said of the horses. "And from that base, we start riding."

The Topsham native took up riding at the age of 9, and went on to compete in the rigorous horse sport of eventing. She worked as a barn manager in Topsham for about six years, followed by three years as a full-time veterinary technician for the New Gloucester-based Maine Equine Associates.

"Then I took a year off, to kind of decompress," she recalled. "I’d worked hard my whole life, and I took time to just enjoy. And I started thinking, what do I want to do with the rest of my life, and here we are."

"I learned a lot from horses, life lessons," Gagne said. "They were there when I was sad. They were there when I was happy. And I want everyone to know how that feels, and how much horses can affect people’s lives."

Gagne still works one day a week for Maine Equine Associates. The rest of the time, she is training horses, giving riding lessons (mostly in the dressage and western disciplines), and tending to her and Averill’s five horses, as well as other people’s horses boarded at the stables.

Signs hanging outside the heated tack room read: "This barn is maintained for the comfort of the horse," and "Have you hugged your horse today?"

The newly built facility includes the 32-feett-by-74-feet barn with ten, 12-feet-by-12-feet stalls, a 6,000-square foot outdoor arena, and a round pen where some of the training takes place. Manure is removed from the stalls and outside paddocks multiple times a day, Gagne said.

Her assistant, Brooke Howard of Wiscasset, enjoys the work, whether she’s cleaning stalls, helping with training, or leading a horse around the arena during a riding lesson.

"I love pretty much every second of it," Howard said. "I love being around horses."

Young Emily Sanborn, meanwhile, helps out as a volunteer. She and Tristam took part in this year’s summer camp. "They had a spectacular time," said their mother, Jennifer Sanborn.

"The kids love her, and they have a real bond with her," Sanborn said of Gagne.

During lessons, Gagne watches how a horse is responding, to both the rider and other stimuli. "Safety is a big part of what we teach," she explained.

"If a horse is having a bad day, or if the wind picks up just right (to affect the horse), I will take kids down and we’ll clean tack or do grooming," she said.

Gagne also educates her students on other aspects of horse care, including why horses’ feet need regular trimming, and why horses need dental care.

"Everything is not about riding, or so you can say, oh, I have a horse in my backyard," she explained. "Our biggest thing is teamwork. If a horse is swishing its tail, there’s a reason for it, and you have to figure it out."

In addition to her other clients, Gagne has therapeutic riding students from Mobius Inc. in Damariscotta. "We work on riding skills, and relaxing. They can enjoy themselves, and we encourage everyone to be as independent as possible," she said. This year, Rose Wood Stables put on its first annual horse show for the riding students from Mobius.

One of the lesson horses is Nell, a large breed of horse called the Percheron. "She’s just a solid horse, she’s friendly – a big teddy bear," Gagne said.

In addition to Nell, who is 9, and Markis, 7, Gagne and Averill’s herd includes quarter horses Oscar, 12, and Duke, 3, along with a pony named Rose, who’s about 7.

In another five years, Gagne would like to add an indoor arena, and be training more people’s horses. But her focus remains firmly in the present.

"I kind of take life as it comes. You have to live day by day, and enjoy it," Gagne said. "I think happiness is your best bet, like with me, having the horses here and basically living the dream."

For more information about Gagne’s services, call her at 449-8848, or e-mail her at amanda.rosewoodstables@gmail.com

The business also has a website, www.rosewoodstables.org.