Posts Tagged ‘riding’
Episode 180: Help, my horse started laying down while riding
What would you do if your horse started to lie down while you were riding? Here are some reasons a horse might try to lay down when riding: Horse is interested in rolling in water, mud or sand. Horse is itchy from sweat or bugs. Horse is colicky. Horse has discovered that laying down is…
Read MoreEpisode 161: The power of “I don’t know how…”
The phrase “I don’t know how” is often said with a sense of defeat but it can also be freeing. ‘I don’t know how…but I’m going for it anyway.’ What if it means you are ready to learn? If you do decide to go for it…you’ll likely experience ‘want’, as in wanting it. ‘Want’ can…
Read MoreEpisode 155: Abandoning hopes and dreams.
“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid…
Read MoreEpisode 147: This is the awkward, uncomfortable part of the journey.
Increasing a riders awareness of the feelings or emotions that come up during the learning process is extremely beneficial. For most riders, learning to train their own horse means learning new skills and experiencing the feelings that often accompany that like; vulnerable, nervous, disappointed, frightened, uncertain and awkward. In this podcast I explain the role…
Read MoreEpisode 146-Why patterns can help & why riders resist riding patterns
Today I’m talking about patterns…why I recommend riding patterns and why riders often have resistance to riding patterns. I’ll discuss anticipation in multiple forms, increasing your awareness by getting feedback from your horse and how your focus, or lack of focus, is impacting your ride. I posted two of my favorite training patterns over on…
Read MoreEpisode 141: My horse is on the wrong lead…
Learn how to identify what lead your horse is on when watching from the ground or when riding. What makes a lead ‘right or wrong’ or correct or incorrect? What is counter canter? What is cross firing? If a horse is constantly cross firing…what’s going on? Is this a soundness or a weakness issue? I…
Read MoreEpisode 129: Physical and mental comfort zones for horses
In this episode I’m answering two questions that illustrate the dance between the horses body and the horses mind. The goal for us humans is to learn to read the body…to see what the horses is giving us for feedback. The challenge is that as we train our horses we are often working to increase…
Read MoreAQHA Journal story on Stacy Westfall
The AQHA Journal magazine story. Scroll through this PDF or click to download. I’m kinda speechless (can you believe it?) and I don’t know what to add except, thank you to Holly Clanahan for telling the story, Donnie Rosie for the beautiful photos and those who were interviewed, my husband Jesse, and friends Suzi Vlietstra…
Read MoreEpisode 102- Riding one horse in multiple disciplines
How many things can a horse excel at? In this episode, I discuss riding horses in different disciplines. I talk specifically about which classes I believe overlap well as well as the order that I introduce them to my horses. My horse Popcorn did these things, in this order: Trail, Reining, Pony Horse, Ranch,…
Read MoreEpisode 92: Building a horses confidence on the trails
How do horses develop confidence on the trails? Does confidence come from riding with another confident horse? Are some horses just born confident and others will always struggle? Can confidence be trained? I answer this listener question while out riding on the trails. Full Transcript Links mentioned in podcast: Video of Presto’s first trail…
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