Posts by Stacy Westfall
Visiting Melbourne, Australia
It would seem that my ‘time zone change at home’ project may have worked! For about 12 days before we left home, I started shifting my sleep/awake times. Most notably I shifted my coffee drinking times. Just before leaving I was drinking my ‘morning’ coffee at 3 pm and my ‘afternoon’ coffee at 9 pm.…
Read MoreTravel: Leaving the horses at home
Owning horses is a lifestyle choice. Feeding, cleaning and caring for them is often considered by those around us (who don’t own horses) to look a lot like a full-time job. Or at least a very full part time job. I admit, it is. We choose it and we love it. Which is why leaving the…
Read More“Are you flying your horses to Australia with you?”
“Are you flying your horses to Australia with you?” When I went to Australia in 2011 the most asked question leading up to the event was, “Are you taking your horses?” The short answer was no. I’m headed back to Australia THIS WEEK and the answer is still the same. The horses get to skip…
Read MoreWhy riders often experience fear, frustration, confusion with their horse.
Mismatch:(noun) a failure to correspond or match. a discrepancy. Mismatched: (verb) match (people or things) unsuitably or incorrectly In sports, there is something called a mismatch. I’m not a sports person but my husband is. My understanding of a mismatch is that when teams are preparing to play each other they study the strengths and…
Read More3 scary horse stories just in time for Halloween 2018
Here are some ‘scary’ horse stories for you to enjoy, plus many more in the comments! Feel free to add yours! Story #1 My husband and I volunteer at a horse rescue and one early spring day a few years ago were involved in a rescue training exercise that involved a life-size but very lightweight…
Read MoreQuickly Evaluating Problems with Horses and Riders
Have you ever felt stuck when evaluating a problem with your horse? I found myself drawing this chart over and over again in my journals and explaining it to friends. It is my simple evaluation tool that I use to analyzing problems or answer questions about horses and riders. The problem. When someone poses a problem…
Read MoreDo it again…and again.
If you found your way to this post, and you’ve been to this website before, you probably notice a few changes. Ok, a LOT of changes. A do-over of sorts. I remember a time earlier in my life when I treated progress as a checklist. Completed grade 4. Completed grade 5. Completed grade 6. On…
Read MoreDoes your horse find you predictable AND interesting?
When we train, we train using patterns. Patterns of behavior that create habits. Lead to the saddling area. Ground-tie. Brush. Saddle. Mount. Warm up. Work period. Rest period. Work period. On the surface it may look to an outside observer that we are teaching the horse to perform a pattern, like a trick, however, we…
Read MoreIs training a pony different than training a horse?
“Hi Stacy, We have just got a pony he is 1 year old and he is still a stud colt we plan on getting him gelded as soon as we can. But I have all but the smart start DVDs of yours but do you have any pointers for me this will be my first…
Read MoreWhy use a bit in a horses mouth?
Snaffle or shank? Why not free, nothing in the mouth of your horse. Sidepull, that’s all. One of my horses reacted real good when we stopped with the snaffle. He was very stiff in the neck and became easy and willing, bending his neck in both left and right directions. I’ve noticed this before with other…
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