I’m leaving another CE with a lot to reflect on. The horse that we set free from its broken body had much to tell us in the short time we had. This horse was completely over threshold in his physical body. He lived in his sympathetic nervous system constantly.

Your horse does not have to approach something they are scared of. In the wild a horse would never approach something it found troubling. They would view it from different angles at a distance they felt safe. They would smell the air for danger. They would listen for sounds that signaled a problem. They would watch to see what changed. Based on all the information they gathered, they would choose to flee or approach. The amount of time this decision takes would vary. It coul

Password: OCTOBER26

Don’t pre-spook. Often I see riders worrying about how their horse is going to respond to a new stimulus. It could be a banner, a new piece of equipment, a new trailer, an obstacle, you name it. I can tell how the horse is going to react by watching the human. The minute the human shows hesitation in their body language, it is telegraphed to their horse.

Wednesday 7pm cst

This year has been HARD. There are days I am exhausted to my bones and don’t feel like working horses. I suppress feelings all day and wake up in the middle of the night crying hysterically. Thankfully, it’s not happening multiple times a week anymore. I don’t say any of that for sympathy. It’s just facts and I understand people who are struggling. I had an episode Friday night. I have been exhausted since. I haven’t felt like working horses this week, but I did it anyway. I

Never miss a good opportunity to work outside the box. We are digging trenches to bury electric for the barn, arena and Tackroom. The trenches are deep so we have to keep the animals from falling in them. We have some HEAVY duty pallets that we threw over the trench in the arena. They have plastic coverings on them. The mounded dirt around them is super deep and soft. It’s a bit of an intimidating situation for the horses. The dirt gives under their weight and the pallets m

Horses can only respond to the information they are receiving. When we give good information, have good timing, and are smooth with our aids, we generally get good responses from our horses. When we give poor information, time the information incorrectly and are fumbling or unaware of our aids, we get poor responses from our horses. They learn to brace for what’s coming. They learn to ignore the chaos or become overwhelmed by it.

Tuesday I had a lot going on. Kyna had a vet recheck. I had some lessons. I needed to pack and get ready to leave Wednesday. There were bills to pay, training horse to ride, chores to do. I was dealing with some chronic pain from one of my 10,000 injuries. My brain was trying to convince me I didn’t really need to work my horses. No one would know the difference (except me). They were already going to get 5 days off while I was out of town. Did one extra day make that much di

Everyone is afraid of failure. I can remember being afraid of it as well. Now I see failure as a learning opportunity. Anyone can sit at home at talk about the reasons they “can’t” or “won’t” be successful so they don’t even try. Masters have failed more times than most of us have tried.

Password September26 From the dissection done by Trinity Equine Services, Lorre Mueller

Wednesday, September 30, 7p cst

In the last 13 months, I have been apart of the euthanasia and examination of 3 OTTB. Every single one had a genetic abnormality in the lumbar/SI region. Every single one came off the track after being a failed racehorse, were put into careeers as jumpers/barrel horses, and sold to amateur/first time horse owners. Everyone had behavioral issues that injured someone. Every single one was “correct for their behavior issues and required to perform. Two came to me for rehab and

I am currently attending another dissection with Lorre Mueller, Trinity Equine Services.

One of the most effective tools in your tool box but people are hesitant to use it.

I haven’t missed having outside horses. Like everyone else, I have bills to pay so I took one. It always comes with risk. Horses damage our property and that costs us money. The owners don’t reimburse us. If the horses hurt me, owners don’t pay my bills or medical expenses. Today, an outside horse attacked my dog. She was nowhere near him. He charged her, attacked her, and she never saw it coming nor was she looking for it because our horses don’t

I often tell people if I have swung a leg over one of my horses, you can no longer afford to buy them. I’m only 1/2 joking. Earlier this week I said that Jo and I had put the first rides on Grace. In those 1st four rides she has trotted straight lines, gone over cavaletties, done haunch turns, side passed, backed, worked the flag, weaved poles, etc. I said she’s had 29 months of training in preparation to make all of that possible. If you had to pay for 29 months of training

Password August26

Putting the first ride on a young horse should not be scary for the horse or the rider. If the proper preparation has been done with good in hand work, the first ride is simple. Keep your expectations low. Don’t stay on the saddle for a long time. Walk. Do a turn each direction. Get off.

I am not your crash test dummy. If your horse is showing pain responses and uncomfortable, I am going to recommend getting them treated. What I am not going to do is continue to put myself in a position where I am going to get hurt because you are unwilling to treat your horse. Yes, that is blunt. No, I’m not negotiating. I do this everyday. I look at more horses in a day that most people do in a week. I don’t make money off telling you your horse needs to be treated. I will