Keenan Performance Horses

07/03/2025

The value of time... one thing that I found to be really important is to "take time to do what's right for the horse". It takes time to ride them consistently and time to train them for long term success. It also takes focus. It takes quiet time to think about how they learn and interpret training, and it takes time to let that soak in. How you spend your TIME MATTERS, and usually speaks volumes of a program.

27/02/2025

AUCKLAND - Next week’s Monday and Wednesday (3 & 5 March) lesson spots in Helensville are booked.

We still have lesson spots available Tuesday and Thursday (4 & 6 March).

26/02/2025

When it’s just you and the horse out there competing, it’s important to appear confident in posture and decisive in action.

Easily said.

Where do we go about finding this elusive thing, “confidence”?

I’m not a confident person by nature. I don’t have confidence in every aspect of myself, the work in progress I am.

I have confidence in the training that has gone into my partner. I have confidence in my preparation. I have confidence in my instincts and muscle memory.

Self-confidence is not the only type of confidence that matters in the pen. To be honest, apart from making you more comfortable, I don’t see how it’s relevant at all. Maybe that’s what people mean when they say “I’m not confident”, perhaps they mean “I’m not comfortable.”

Confidence in your basics, your training, your preparation, are what matter most.

It’s not YOUR moment, heck it’s not even about you. It’s a moment for the PARTNERSHIP to shine, or to learn how to prepare better next time. Both are good for us in moderation. - kk

Pictured: 3yo Savvy navigating a cowboy challenge obstacle course at Equifest Taupo 2024

25/02/2025

Knowing when to quit is like saying "Thank You, you've done your best today" to your horse. The more experience you have, the quicker you look to praise and reward your horse's efforts.

18/02/2025

Hey Amanda March your 3yo is doing pretty good!

Just kidding it’s Shining N Stylish slide tracks 😂😂😂😂🤠

18/02/2025

❄️ WINTER CLINICS ❄️

The winter books are now officially open! Please message or call if you would like to set up a clinic or Club Day between May - October 2025.

Public Holidays excluded. Special consideration given to the clubs who have consistently had winter trainings over the past 4 years.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again!
❤️🤠❄️

18/02/2025

SURVEY

After the enormous success of this year’s Young Horse Training and Wellness Clinic & Symposium, I am considering producing more specialized clinics for the public.

Which type of clinic (to be held in Auckland and Waikato regions) would you be most interested in attending? Each would include ample socialising, demonstrations and Q-and -A’s as well as one-on-one time with appropriate specialists for the subject.

1. Show Day Prep (Turnout & Warmup)
2. Horse & Rider Wellness
3. Young Horse Development
4. High School Reining and Sports Medicine
5. Other (please specify)

Thank you very much for your input!!!

- Kelly

📸 Steph Godfrey

16/02/2025

Special thank you to Sports Massage Specialist Elequine, and to C&T Farrier Services for helping my horses to stay healthy enough to train and perform which they cannot do without sound feet and bodies.

13/02/2025

10/02/2025

Soreness

“If your horse pins their ears while you walk toward them with the saddle, the three main reasons I have found for this behaviour are:

1. Lack of established groundwork, rider not establishing and maintaining leadership.
2. Soreness.
3. Pain.

It happens to me. it really does matter to me if a horse pins their ears. It doesn’t mean that I stop what I’m doing, it means that I think about what I will do next.

Lack of established ground work is self-explanatory. You can pause saddling and do a groundwork session and/or do groundwork after saddling. Also, MAKE SURE YOU ARE TIGHTENING THE GIRTH SLOWLY.

Soreness through the body resulting in association of work with soreness, (in a cycle of fitness, there will be soreness. We all expect soreness after a day at the gym.).

Pain. The horse has a gall, ill-fitting tack, is in need of dentistry or the farrier, extremely sore through the back. This is non-routine pain. Such that would make me class the horse as unsound. Not rideable.

I wanted to specifically address soreness.

Just as we expect to get sore after working out at the gym, your horse will be tearing and knitting stronger muscles in the process of building up their body to the requirements of your sport.

Hydration, therapeutics and rest are essential parts of the cycle of fitness, but you should not stop activity completely for long periods to “avoid riding your horse sore”.

Riding can be therapeutic, there are exercises you can do to limber up their muscles and reinforce what you’re building up.

I saddled up a horse today who is usually very mild-mannered and I could tell by their expression that they were associating the saddle with their sore and cold muscles.

From an outside perspective, it may have looked like I was soothing the horse, but I rubbed their whole body over lightly to get the blood flow going, then hand walked around the pen a couple of times and did some slow inhand backing before I got on. An unskilled massage just to get the blood going is very helpful to them, I wasn’t releasing muscles, I’m no expert, but I knew by getting the blood flow to those muscles they would be less cold, less achy. A curry comb is great to get excess hair off your horse and get the oils coming out, but it’s also great for getting blood flow going over those muscles, which is why I use a curry comb so much, especially in the winter.

I will still work the horse, but I will avoid stressing the muscles that I stressed yesterday in order to let them knit. Stressing those muscles again today may lead to a failure because they are weak or fatigued, when muscles fail, the stress goes on joints or soft tissues.

I hope this helps some riders with the idea of recovery. Happy training!” - kk

📸 BRV Creative

10/02/2025

Please click the link to complete this form.

10/02/2025

This is possibly our favorite show of the season!!!! Huge warmup areas, fun and supportive environment, many classes to choose from, with amazing sponsorships thanks to the KWRC Committee!!!

08/02/2025

PRESSURE
Part 2

“Pick your battles.

Pressure will show up. If you do not lope your horse at home and take them out on the trail, a pheasant will fly out of the tall grass and send your horse into a lope or a gallop, and you won’t feel ready or coordinated - and your horse will be just as surprised as you. You didn’t prepare for this situation. Your horse is now scared because they feel they are not allowed to go fast but they are already going fast so they panic more.

This is why I lope the horse in the first ride, it’s under my control and my horse needs the confidence that we can go together at that gait. Putting things off for longer just builds the anticipation of the rider and sometimes the horse too.

If you avoid addressing something with your horse in the hopes that it will go away, it will show up again in most spectacular fashion, likely at competition or when you are under stress or in need of a partner the most.

Aside from just training my horses, I’m putting myself and them into scenarios that are sometimes unrealistically difficult to manage, to test our skills together and make sure they are constantly working with me to overcome things. Soon it becomes very routine to them. There are challenges in life but they trust me to guide them through them.

It’s very important for me as a competitor, that I’m putting myself in unrealistically challenging situations to sharpen my skills as a pilot so when I get into a crisis, I smoothly and skilfully work my way out of it.

The easiest example of this is if you are meant to weave cones at a competition, make sure your cones are tighter than they will be at the horse show. If you’re meant to cross a bridge, make sure yours at home is fairly narrow. Make the degree of difficulty harder at home.

Make sure you aren’t sitting in your own comfort zone doing theoretically perfect practice and never working on your own stress response.

Stress and pressure aren’t dirty words. Thoughtfully applied, they can create amazing results for our horses and us as riders.” - kk

07/02/2025

PRESSURE
Part 1

“When I apply pressure to a horse, it is not the means to an end. When I apply pressure to a horse, it is less about the exercise or maneuver that I am training and more about the horse’s response to pressure.

There is pressure in life, for horses and people. It is uncomfortable.

People who cannot withstand pressure in life have many reactions. Some resort to criminality or throw up their hands in apathy. Some dig in and become stronger than they ever thought possible.

People and horses have varied responses to pressure and adversity based on their personalities.

Some ignore it until it comes to head and explodes one way or another,

Some put a lot of effort into running from it,

Some fight it,

Some give up and have no fight.

Which coping mechanism does your horse naturally choose?

This has A LOT to do with the way I train them.

The more I know a horse, the more I can start to shift their response to pressure.

The end goal is that a horse and I can face adversity and pressure TOGETHER. They must be shown throughout the process that it’s you and the horse against the problem, not you against them and their weaknesses, or the pressure backfires into eroded confidence and willingness to try.” - kk

06/02/2025

The “Working Western Rail” class

From the AQHA Handbook:
SHW425. Working Western Rail. The working western rail class measures the ability of the horse to be a pleasure to ride and should reflect the versatility, attitude, and movement of a working horse. The horse should be well-broke, relaxed, quiet, soft and cadenced at all gaits. The movement of the working western rail horse should simulate a horse needing to cover long distances, softly and quietly. The overall manners and responsiveness of the horse and the horse's quality of movement are the primary considerations. Maximum credit should be given to the horse that has a natural flowing stride and consistent, ground covering gaits.
Transitions should be performed when requested, with smoothness and responsiveness. The ideal working western rail horse should have a natural head carriage at each gait. The horse should be ridden on a relatively loose rein with light contact and without requiring undue restraint while being responsive to the rider and making timely transitions in a smooth and correct manner. The horse should be soft in the bridle, yield to contact and shall not be shown on a full drape of rein. Riders are encouraged to use adequate space given the extension of gaits required.
This class should show the horse's ability to work at a forward, working pace while under control by the rider. The horse shall be balanced and appear willing and a pleasure to ride in a group situation.