Posts by Stacy Westfall
Episode 280: Gratitude Amidst Adversity: Caring for Orphaned Foals
Stacy Westfall shares a deeply personal journey of unexpected challenges and gratitude in her latest podcast episode. Following the sudden loss of her husband’s mare Lucy, who left behind a ten-day-old foal named Lefty, Stacy found herself unexpectedly caring for two orphaned foals. She adopted another foal, Stormy, from Last Chance Corral to raise alongside…
Read MoreEpisode 279-The Pitfalls of Regret: Tracing Its Effects on Thought Patterns
In this episode, you will hear a segment from a recent Zoom call where Stacy celebrates a student’s first horse show experience. Within this conversation, three key themes emerge: the show as an evaluation of training, the challenge of riding within a structure, and the subtle presence of regret. Topics include: How regret can sneak…
Read MoreJesse Westfall: “I’ll miss her for the rest of my life.”
Life’s Tough Moments: Lucy, Little Lefty, and the Art of Not Rushing
Learning life lessons through horses Although I love learning my life lessons through horses, there are some lessons I would prefer to skip. This week has been one of them. The unfortunate reality is that there will be hard times in life, and although I can’t always make them better…I certainly can make them worse.…
Read MoreEpisode 278: Rushing Forward: Overcoming the Temptation to Rush
In this episode, Stacy shares a challenging moment she very much wants to rush through. Drawing parallels between human behavior and equine tendencies, Stacy emphasizes that rushing is not merely a physical action but a way of thinking that can impact emotions. Using her expertise in horse training, she provides insights into how rushing manifests…
Read MoreEpisode 277: Two ways you may be disconnecting from your horse
In this podcast, Stacy explains two unintentional releases riders often overlook and the challenges they cause for the horse. These are also things that can happen in your everyday life. Topics include: • freezing, shrinking, and withdrawing • rider’s lack of awareness of the horse’s experience • how to solve for freezing • the challenge…
Read MoreEpisode 276: Resolving Resistance: Believe your horse’s feedback
In this episode, Stacy explains how to know if your horse is ready to move to a more advanced technique, or combination of cues, or when you should return to the basics. If you find yourself wondering, “Is my horse ready to move on?” or if you have moved on, but your horse shows signs…
Read MoreEpisode 275: The biggest relationship mistake I see riders make with their horses.
In this podcast, I’m going to share an audio clip from a recent free class that I thought about relationship mistakes I see riders make. You’ll learn: Two keywords that define relationship My ‘declaration of my beliefs’, which is the foundation for my definition How I define a good relationship with my horses – my…
Read More🥰Love can be soft, hard, strong, fierce and bold.
Your horse has priorities. These are like rungs on a ladder, and when you skip one, things don’t work well. Many empathetic riders accidentally skip the second rung. They want their horse to feel safe and secure, but they make the mistake of trying to create safety with ‘soft’ love. Love is amazing, but it…
Read MoreEpisode 274: From Doubt to Discovery: See your horse more clearly to bring back the wonder and joy
Anger, frustration, fear… to wonder and joy. In this episode, three students share their challenges and growth with their horses inside the Resourceful Rider Program. What stands out to me is how the riders are describing that they can see themselves and their horses more clearly. If I say it backward, before they experienced the…
Read More