Posts by Stacy Westfall

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you have probably heard me say, “Your horse is asking you questions.” Sometimes people will reply, “My horse isn’t asking questions…he is making statements!” In this episode, I explain how horses develop limiting beliefs, what useful beliefs are, and how viewing something as a statement…

The questions you ask will impact the information you gather and your entire riding experience. Often times, the question “Am I doing this right” Or “Is this correct?” is a lightly veiled, “Is this wrong?” or “This is probably wrong…” or some variation. You’ll know by the way it feels in your body. One way…

One goal when riding is an increasing consistency in your horses’ response to your cues. This will only be possible when YOU are consistent with the application of, and release of, the cue. The quickest, most reliable way to develop this is by keeping things simple and repeating them: riding a pattern. But then what?…

Have you ever wondered, but how do I get him to do it for longer? Maybe you want your horse to keep loping until you tell him to stop. Maybe you want him to stand until you ask him to go. Maybe you show in western dressage, and your horse keeps popping his head up…

Training a horse involves creating a language between horse and rider. It is very common for a horse to be somewhat guessing at the answer at times during this process. 
Your response to their best guess, is what helps them narrow down to the one correct answer. 
If you are consistent… This language includes your…

Simply put: a pattern is a planned ride. When you ride with a plan…you’ll begin to show up consistent. The more consistent you are…the easier it is for your horse to become consistent. The magic of riding a pattern, especially a simple, boring pattern, is that it allows the rider to begin to observe their…

In this podcast, I discuss two ideas, the challenge of asking questions, and ‘why bend?’ The theme of this season of the podcast is, “No question is too small.” Today, I explain: why riders don’t ask more questions why the teacher might hesitate before answering what the moment of awkwardness could really be Why bend?…

One major difference between the early rides on a horse, and the more finished rides on a horse, is the way the cues are used in combination. In this podcast, I describe cues as ‘doors’. The beauty of watching an advanced horse and rider is that the cues seem so subtle that they are often…

In this episode, I’m sharing three reasons it can feel like the training process is going slower than you thought it would…. This is particularly interesting when my opinion is that THEY ARE making progress…but the rider perceives they are not. If you are consistently taking action, and you recognize that you are having some…

Many riders experience doubt, tension, or frustration when riding because they are unsure of themselves, or are confused by their horse’s response. Many horses exhibit resistance and behavior issues because they are confused. 
In this podcast I discuss: Common reasons riders unintentionally give conflicting cues. How and why the cue system changes as a horse…