Posts by Stacy Westfall
Snowy Presto…❄️
I call this “Why are you taking my photo instead of bringing me inside?”❄️ Decades of experience…at your service. ? Your welcome Presto.?
Read MoreThe power of acceptance and curiosity when training a horse.
It’s interesting to think about horses growing and changing mentally. I think it is often overlooked. We visually see their bodies grow. And we know the they learn or accept training or advance. But how often do we really stop and think about how much they change. One of my favorite part of training is…
Read MoreEpisode 115: Using curiosity, receiving feedback and stages of relationship impact training your horse
What do these three topics have in common: a confident, dominant mare who doesn’t really want to connect, a two year old that pins her ears at certain movements, and a horse that wrings its tail when ridden. I’m answering these listener questions and tying them all together with the themes of using curiosity when…
Read MoreWhy do horses swish or wring or use their tails? With and without riders…
I know I am opening a huge can of worms here….but lets talk about horses using their tails. I am talking about tail swishing, tail wringing, etc. Here are some questions for you…(my answer follows the question.) Do horses ever use their tails because of the rider? Yes Do horses ever use their tails because…
Read MoreDressage Masters: Techniques And Philosophies Of Four Legendary Trainers
It’s cold out…and I notice that I’m reading more. Yes, I think there is a direct correlation here. I might as well take advantage of it because I know when the weather gets nice I’ll probably be hitting the trails instead of hitting the books! I’ve recently been re-reading Dressage Masters: Techniques And Philosophies Of…
Read More“Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.”-Eleanor Roosevelt
Here is another screen shot I’ve had on my phone since 2016! I’m sure there would be ways that the quote could be misused or misrepresented but for me I read it as be true to yourself. I accepted that I’ll always aim to learn and grow…which means that I could look back in time…
Read MoreRiding circles inside of circles to improve accuracy
This video shows one of my favorite training exercises. It helps the rider be more accurate with their aids, which in turn allows the horse to see the ‘pattern’ of the aids. When the horse can see the subtle changes in the rider they are more likely to respond willingly. Riding a pattern like this,…
Read MoreMy exercise partner is a horse!
Check out my ‘equine-cross-fit’ video from 2018 with my running partner, Willow! The weather is cold and snowy here but I’m looking forward to the time when I can exercise out on the trail with her again! The video is a bit jumpy so I added a still photo showing my set up. Basically I…
Read MoreCan resistance in the horse be caused by lack of fitness in the rider?
Have you ever seen resistance in a horse…that you suspected was caused by an unbalanced rider? This week’s theme on my podcast and blogs has been rider fitness. A fit and balanced rider is much easier for the horse to carry. As riders aim to advance inevitable they will experience one of two things regarding…
Read MoreEpisode 114: Exercise: coach yourself to coach your horse
I’m wrapping up this season of the podcast and headed into season 11 which will be answering listener questions. But before I leave this season I wanted to speak about a sometimes dreaded subject: Exercise. Here are four ways exercise can improve your riding. 1-To exercise regularly you’ll need to coach yourself 2-…
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