Posts by Stacy Westfall

It’s easy to feel unmotivated when you don’t know the next step to take with your horse. In this episode, I will share three actionable steps that you can take, no matter what your next goal is. I’ll explain how the ‘messy middle’ shows up in your mind as well as in your actual riding,…

I recorded this audio while riding Willow bridleless; day 2. My point: I didn’t set out to ride Willow bridleless, as in, the thought was NOWHERE in my mind. Yet, we arrived here. Looking back at our journey, you could say we took many detours…or you could say that I consistently took the next most…

200 episodes and over 1,000,000 downloads later… When I started this podcast, I wanted to help riders understand their horses, so they could create clear, confident, communication…and it’s working! To celebrate reaching these milestones, I’m sharing my student success stories. These moments are glimpses into the process of gaining clarity through understanding. You can hear…

The trickiest concept of them all…If the horse gives the ‘incorrect’ answer…it doesn’t necessarily mean you taught the lesson wrong. This one can make you crazy… Or it can make you micromanage… Or it can tempt you to force things to happen… The challenge is that in teaching the horse…we are always getting feedback from…

What stands in the way of reaching your dream? The ability to hold belief for the amount of time it takes to achieve it. But… If it’s as simple as believing…why don’t we just believe?
There are many hidden benefits to NOT believing. It conserves energy, allows you to stay where you are, and lets you…

Are you contributing to or causing the very habit you want to change with your horse? Often riders look for the ‘direct effect’ of their training, while the long game is often more impacted by the ’side effects’. These ‘side effects’ or inadvertently trained habits most commonly come from the HUMANS habit pattern. Habit patterns…

The difference between testing, training, and micromanaging is TIMING. If you are not sure of the difference in timing there, is a much higher chance that you will be frequently ‘correcting’ mistakes, or you’ll find yourself trying to prevent mistakes. There is a way to train your horse that feels like guiding instead of ‘correcting’.…

Have you every considered asking more of your horse and thought, “I’m afraid my horse might stop meeting me at the gate.” Or maybe you took a lesson or tried a new technique and the next day when you went out you thought, “I’m surprised my horse still met me at the gate.” If you…

Everything that creates safety or leads to advancing requires an ability to clearly communicate to the horse’s body. Yet, the system of communication changes as the horse’s understanding grows. Often the horse is first taught to turn from direct rein pressure…but many riders ideally want to steer with a neck rein or their body. How…

Are you struggling to advance with your horse? Does it feel like you are on a plateau thats ‘ok’…but not what you want it to be? You might be ready to enter the messy middle. I could try to dress it up with a better name but instead I’ll share with you: What the messy…