Horse Lover's Bunkhouse Home of Heart in Your Hand Horsemanship

06/26/2025

Not many places you can ride without mud after 3 days of at least 6 inches of rain. But the sandhills are like a sponge absorbing it nicely.
Most people don't believe me until they have actually
experienced it.
And another thing we do have nice cool breezes in the summer time in the early morning but you gotta get up early to enjoy it.
No sleeping in.

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06/22/2025

I didn't have guests this weekend, so I did the colored pencil piece for the open show at the fair.
But I have riders next two weekends so I will have to bare the heat.
Hope it cools off a little.

06/11/2025

Meet 3 year old Luna and 13 year old Emma
here for a few days to get off to the right start.
We did a lot of ground work today,
and the changes in Luna were amazing.
So we decided it was time for Emma's first ride on Luna.
This picture was at the end after she had gotten
on and off several times in between rides.
This was the last mounting.
Like Rose she was very tense and bunchy
when Emma first mounted.
But this last time was super good.
Emma just walked on her today,
I was a safety net on lead line.
Mainly practice go whoa, and back up.
Like Rose turning got her a little worried
when she felt stuff on her sides.
So we are doing the same things I did
to help Rose.
And I have the best news about Rose today.
She gave me permission twice to mount.
No tension, head and eyebrow raising, tight lips,
moving away etc.
I was so stoked the first time, so I rode her a bit,
dismounted relaxed for a while, and then
mounted again to see if I had permission
a second time.
And Yippee I think it was even better the 2nd time.
Plus small circles were a huge success today,
a lot more bend through the rib cage,
and she did not bunch up even once
while riding.
This is definitely a first.
I could not be happier.
We worked hard for 3 hours in the heat.
But tomorrow we will get out to play
early in the morning when it is cooler.
We didn't get out before noon today,
because emma got here about 10:30...
while she put her stuff away,
I did my workout,
and then we headed out after lunch.
She is doing the teenage thing tonight,
going to the carnival with friends.
I am sitting in my easy chair in the AC.
My best idea of fun tonight. LOL
Maybe we can get some videos tomorrow.
Hope you all had a great day too.

05/25/2025

By the way I do phone consultations too.

05/20/2025

I didn’t post yesterday because I had to have
a day of rest and recovery
after the weekend Youth/horse/art camp.
One of the main themes that kept popping up
was focus and aim accurately.
We talked about how David had to aim accurately
to hit Goliath in just the right spot.
Having a strong focus or an object to aim at
while riding is very powerful.
Getting people to actually look where they want the horse to go,
and with a certain amount of energy, speed, straightness, relaxation, balance and rhythm
is one of the most challenging things to teach.
This goes along with keeping the horse
between your legs and reins.
If you don’t have a line of direction to travel on,
then most people do not even realize
the horse is no longer between their legs and reins.
Too many people ride aimlessly without a deliberate strategy.
The girls learned they need to take aim at the right targets.
Too many times we forget the old saying “Ready, aim, fire”,
Instead we favor a hasty unfocused “Fire and aim”.
Completely ignoring the “get ready” part.
It always better to do less sooner instead of more later.
The girls learned how important it is to prepare for a transition.
(which could be speed, direction, gait, stride, etc.)
The good riders is like a sharpshooter: selecting targets wisely,
prepares in advance, then aims with accuracy
before pulling the trigger.
They also pursue the target diligently rather than just
expending lots of random energy that is not focused.
When you take this approach you won’t be so reactive to the horse.
Instead you learn to respond to each situation and movement
before or as it happens, not after it is out of control.
Wise and observant horsemen are proactive.
They take the initiative, rather than adopting a passive attitude,
in handling and riding the horse.
Aim for perfection but don’t beat yourself up when you make mistakes.
Be thankful for the level you are at.
Live up to that level and don’t fall back.
But don’t stop.
Aim for your best and your horse will too!
That is just a small portion of what the girls learned.
I hope there was a good reminder in this post for you too.

05/16/2025

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05/16/2025

When she did Rose settled right back in with her.
I was very proud of both of them.
First person besides me to ride her since i have been developing her.
I won't let anyone else ride her..
But Emma proved herself yesterday...
So, she can ride her anytime she wants.
To back up a bit..
It took about a half hour of groundwork to prepare rose for riding...
She wanted to speed off in an emotional state and buck.
But i upped the annite a little more yesterday backing her with energy every time she lost it.
It is so obvious she tells you before she wants to explode with high head and pressed lips with the top one protruding out.
Emma didn't know to look at the lips so that was a new sign for her to watch.
Rose is what they would call cold-backed..
She doesn't act the same doing groundwork without the saddle...
Put the saddle on and her flight mode comes into strong play.
But i know it won't always be that way. At least i hope not.
It is getting better.
I rode Rose first...while Emma rode sonny ba****ck.
Then we switched...
I loped around and had fun on sonny ba****ck like I was 50 again... until i went to the house and my sciatic was on fire until midnight...
Took a while to calm it down.
Getting ready for girls horse camp today through Sunday.
Remember next week in the 70's and i don't have any reservations.
So why not make a last-minute plan to come and ride.

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05/15/2025

Oh boy, had a last minute cancelation for next weekend.
So Horse Lover's Bunkhouse is now free from the 19th through the 1st of June.
Bring your horse for lessons.
Take a lesson on mine.
Trail Ride.
Or just come and enjoy lake time at Calamus Reservoir.
Message me for details.

05/15/2025

Lately I have been hearing the statement in the pic over and over in my head.
I mean I have been on the back of a horse pretty much my whole life.
And maybe now I am actually becoming a true rider...
at least I am getting a little closer to it.
Yes, when I was young I could stay on just about anything,
because I was very athletic and fearless.
But now that I am older,
I am discovering there is so much
more to riding than just staying on.
Been giving some lessons to a gal my age who
has never taken lessons her whole life,
but like me has ridden pretty much her whole life.
She said the same thing I did when I
took my first lessons at 40 years old.
She didn't know how much she didn't know,
and she sure wish she had learned all this when
she was younger.
Yes, if we had known we would have been a
real force to be reckoned with.
But thankfully it isn't too late for us.
And now we will use brains and finesse
instead of relying on our young flexible strong body and force.
I was preparing her horse yesterday while she went after her saddle.
The horse is a thoroughbred and a little buddy sour.
She was hard to catch and after she came out of the pen
she was flying high.
I started to do lots of million dollar moves on a half circle.
Every time she got goofy, animated and quite speedy,
I got just as goofy, animated and brough my energy up to match hers.
She was quite shocked.
Because most of the time people try to get real quiet and calm
to get their horse to relax.
But I did the opposite and it worked great.
You see, she started looking for a way to get me quiet.
Asking, "What do I have to do to get this human to stop
acting so stupid?".
Remember horses really like to train us. LOL
So I let her train me how to be quiet and calm.
As soon as she was, so was I,
And as soon as she was goofy, so was I.
It wasn't long maybe 7 or 8 minutes and
she chose quiet and calm.
Just another fun what to be creative,
change things up and see what happens.
She stood quiet for saddling mounting,
and stayed that way during the ride.
Even forgot about her buddy over in the corral.
I guess I was much more interesting.
Hope you enjoyed today's training tale.
Are you a passenger or a rider?

05/13/2025

The last two weeks I have spent doing individualized horsemanship camps at Horse Lover's Bunkhouse for one person at a time.
All of the gals have said they enjoyed their time here more by
themselves than with a group.
Not that they don't like their friends.
But to have the instruction all to yourself for 4 days in a row
is really a game changer.
Plus you can do your own schedule and don't have to be concerned with what the other person wants to do and when.
So if you are looking for a concentrated growth in your horsemanship completely designed for you and your horses
specific needs at this time in your journey...
then I suggest you give it a try.
It is much different than a cookie cutter clinic where everybody does the same thing whether they need it or not.
I did completely different things with the gals who came the last couple of weeks.
Angie pictured here is the only one that did the 7/7/7 exercise to find her balance point and worked on alignment.
All of the gals who came said they need to come back again
for their individualized program to take it to the next level.
All of them are reading the Spring Tune Up Course.
This weekend I have 5 young girls for a horse/art camp.
Then next week it is suppose to be in the 70's here.
Perfect weather for riding, and guess what...
I don't have anyone scheduled from May 19-21
So if you are a last minute person.
Why not reserve this perfect time for you.
You could actually arrive the evening of the 18th.
get started on the 19th and leave the morning of the 22nd.
Who is going to be the first one to sign up for those dates?
I will give a free copy of my book and the Spring Tune Up Course
to the person who reserves those dates.
Ready Set Go.
Start planning your last minute trip now.

05/11/2025

Happy Mothers day
Part of my greeting card collection

05/04/2025

Spring turn out is always fun.
I haven't posted in a few days because
been very busy giving lessons here
at horse lovers bunkhouse...
to people with young horses...
And just forget to take pictures ...
It has been a pleasure to watch
both horses and riders make
significant positive changes.
Make your reservation now for a life changing
one on one experience, that you just
can't get from a clinic.

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