Moon River Training

10/21/2024

Can’t wait to listen to this one!!!

Very excited about episode 33 with the incredible Helen Ingersoll! Every time I meet with Helen my mind is blown.

Her story is one of survival, grit, profound intellect and intuition. A rider, trainer, coach and facilitator, you really don’t want to miss this episode.

Find it everywhere you get your podcasts

Thank you Helen!

09/28/2024

Nuno Oliveira told us: ‘If the horse is happy, everything will be all right; if he is constrained everything will go wrong. And in case that it is necessary to use force, then one enters a domain that does not fit the equestrian art, neither for that matter, in the circle in which civilised people dwell’.
“I urge my readers to apply the aids to help the horse, not to put him in a mould.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/10/the-aids-and-the-horse-a-classical-approach/

09/22/2024

Horse show days are the best days! and Stella looking gorgeous

09/15/2024

Such a fun few days!!

09/14/2024

Had so much fun with aka Genevieve Andrews today! Such a great afternoon working on quality canter over fences.

Can’t wait for my lessons tomorrow!

09/12/2024

Starting the search for a morning feeder in Chapel Hill!

Sadly our current feeder has to focus on school, so looking for someone to take her spot.

The job: morning feeding of ~11 horses, fluctuates some but not by much, filling hay bags, some turn in/out, some stalls as it gets colder and the horses are in more. Sunday-Friday available, but days can be flexible. More hours available as desired.

You: detail oriented and passionate about horse care, we can teach everything else!

Our ideal person wants to join our lesson program, bring their own horse, and/or lease a horse with us.

Pay commensurate with experience

09/08/2024

Snagged some pictures from from their show yesterday!

Big learning moments for everyone, it was a super day!

08/27/2024

Where is the next generation of horse trainers going to come from?

In a world and an industry that values ribbons and wins right now. And in a discipline that the junior years are so valued, and time isn't to be "wasted;"

People are buying the horse that is ready to "step into the ring" with an automatic lead change, a steady canter, and a point-and-shoot jump. Riders seem to be becoming passengers, and the sport is more pay to play than it's ever been.

We saw this all the way into the Olympics. Riders competing on horses that they'd only had a matter of months, and had no hand in bringing along.

I was talking to a trainer friend yesterday about what it would take to have my ponies ready to lease out, what boxes I needed to check for them. She told me that parents won't touch a pony without a lead change, but not just ANY lead change, an automatic, the kid just has to pull on the inside rein and it happens, lead change. I'm not shocked by this, but I am saddened by it.

It brings up the conversation, if these kids never learn to actually ride a lead change correctly, how are they ever going to learn to teach a lead change? If they are only moving on to the next made up pony or horse, where will our next generation of horse trainers come from? If the only riders who are getting accolades and ribbons are the ones who can afford these horses that already know the job, who will be left to bring along the young stock?

I lament not being able to provide the environment that I grew up in to my current students. My family couldn't afford the nice made up pony, so I always had to make it. I bought my first 4 year old pony as a 10 year old and brought her up to go be a kids pony behind me, same with a number of my instructor's ponies, and my high school horse, and dozens of client horses, and now my string of ponies. I've always had to make them. I try to provide opportunities for my current students to do that where I can, but it is so easy to fall into the trap of leasing or buying the horse that can already do the job to see immediate success.

It takes riders who are hungry, gritty, up for a challenge, and willing to be patient to see success. I hope we aren't making this next generation too soft that we lose the grind, and the grit to make good horse trainers.

08/25/2024

Lord, yes.

08/08/2024

08/08/2024

THIS! Do as I say not as I do, I’m still learning too! (Did not intend for that to rhyme, but I’m not mad at it 🤣)

The tricky thing about learning not to pull is, few people who are pulling think they are.

As humans, we are hard wired to be handsy. You can think all of the nice things about your hands that you want, but fact is, you probably pull.

I didn’t think I did, until my coaches made me aware, many times, over many years, of how unaware I was of my habits.

Now I work extremely hard to not pull, and have had years of coaching to teach my brain and hands to cooperate, and to give, ride the body, and not micromanage the head of the horse.

But I still pull. I still need coaching on it. I wonder if by the end of my lifetime I will have mastered my hands, but who knows. If I can do it, it will be the masterpiece of my life.

Learning to connect with the horse and provide a feel that guides without pulling, to have awareness of our own bodies as well as the entire horse’s body, might be the hardest task we can take on.
Many of us will learn a little, call ourselves good, and describe our hands as soft, regardless of what they actually do. I know how tempting that is. It isn’t fun to realize how much we pull, but the first step to self mastery is self awareness - and that might be the most unpleasant part of the journey.

08/05/2024

Living for the Olympics!! I do love everyone coming together over a common event (that’s positive!!). Truly an amazing human accomplishment

Why do we bother with the Olympics? Every four years, humanity comes together all across the globe at huge expense, great sacrifices, and often big disappointments…

I for one am an Olympics lover. I adore seeing sports I’ve never watched before - just yesterday I saw men’s kayaking (awesome), women’s rugby (amazing), judo (super impressive) and surfing (what? Surfing is in the Olympics and it’s in Tahiti? So beautiful.) And people from so many countries coming together in joyous celebration of the amazing human body’s abilities and the human spirit needed to accomplish such things.

And I’ve really enjoyed watching the dressage. So many beautiful performances, many from those you would expect - Carl Hester, Jessica Werndl, Catherine Dufour. But also I saw some folks I’d never heard of who rode so beautifully - William Matthew of AUS, Rita Ralao of POR, and Becky Moody of GBR showing what an incredible lifelong partnership looks like, to name just a few.

Like many of you, my social media feed has been full of many “controversies” and all the chatter to go with it. I think a few things are happening. There’s some serious “common enemy intemicy” going on, to quote Brene Brown. This is what I think of when people feel connected because they hate the same things and people. You despise a horse going behind the vertical? You’re in my tribe! We can connect and feel good about ourselves because we can screen shot bad moments from peoples’ rides and point out all their faults. This makes me crazy because it’s connecting with others only through negativity. People start to feel an identity by what they hate together rather than what they DO want. And guess what, it’s a lot easier to point out faults than to show an example of “excellence,” however you might define that?

There’s also a lot of “purists” getting lots of air time. I think purists in any realm are dangerous, because they can never be truly satisfied. They want to harken back to a time before when things were done “properly,” but there was never such a time. Humans are always fallible and also always striving to be better. If riding with a beautiful seat and quiet connection in a double bridle is wrong, is riding in a snaffle the “one true and right way?” Or bitless…. Or not riding… Or not keeping horses in fences at all?? No one can ever be pure enough for these folks.

But mostly what’s happening is that the social media algorithms are really working. They’re making you spend more time on their platforms. They’re outraging you. They’re making you outraged at the outrage. They’re making you want to check back and see the new comments. They’re the only ones winning here.

So pay attention to what you’re paying attention to. Is it true that there’s “so much horrible riding?” I don’t see that if I watch the actual rides. Is it true that “everyone is so negative?” Go watch Steffen Peter’s beautiful video of him grazing Mopsie and pouring his heart out, and see that 99% of the comments are loving and hugely positive.

Don’t feed the beast. Ignore the troll accounts that are only there to stir up hate. Don’t comment on others’ obnoxious comments. And if you don’t like what you’re seeing, please share something better, more beautiful, more “correct” in your opinion. I don’t agree that people are not allowed to have an opinion if they themselves can’t produce a perfect Grand Prix ride, but show us what it is we SHOULD aspire to. Because most everyone I’ve met in this sport, is trying really really hard to do right by their horses and ride better. Always better. I’ve never met anyone trying to do it badly. This sport is so hard. It’s SO hard. Let’s keep trying to be better for our horses.

Congratulations to every rider who has made it this far and are willing to put themselves “in the arena,” both literally and figuratively. Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together!

07/30/2024

When we know better, we can do better.

As I’ve shared on here previously, I attended an amazing clinic taught by . She took us through the functional anatomy of the horse, and how those pieces influence our riding and the longevity of our horses.

This photo of me riding Clover during the last summer Olympics came up today, and I cringed.

Today I know so much more about how I was riding and the stressors that ride was adding to my already tense horse.

I’m not here to nitpick or look for reassurance. Just to call out that learning is a never ending process in our sport. Anyone who says they have all the answers, run, anyone who doesn’t actively seek education for themselves, run.

I’ve written about that before, if your trainer doesn’t have a trainer, leave. In this moment of change in the horse world to kinder, more correct work with horses, I believe that is true more than ever.

There is so much to sort through and learn, we can’t take this journey alone.

As one of my favorite TikTokers says “come along if you want to.”

07/30/2024

Bless the lesson horse 💕

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎

07/28/2024

Keep an eye out for the neighbor’s horses!

Had two horses escape last night, between Farrington Mill and Kepley Road, SW Durham county just north of the Mason Point Gamelands Equestrian trails. They pushed down a gate, have only had them 2 weeks so they don’t know the neighborhood.

07/23/2024

I just spent almost two hours grooming three horses.

Following the amazing lecture this weekend by ; I was inspired to think really conscientiously about my work on the ground with my horses.

Spending nearly 40 minutes a piece with Stella, River and Clover I worked really specifically on their trouble areas. Spending more time currying areas of tightness, more time in small brush strokes in areas that their small postural muscles need to fire.

I can tell you that each of my girls finished their sessions more relaxed, more attuned, and more balanced.

This picture of Clover is possibly one of the best conformationally I’ve ever taken of her. She also hasn’t been in consistent work for almost 6 months at this point. That speaks volumes to time off for tense/anxious horses, and targeted grooming to get the right muscles to fire.

I’m so excited to see where the rest of this work takes me! Thank you to and for putting on such an amazing clinic!

07/18/2024

We learn by questioning. This post questions one of the most foundational ideas in modern dressage, the training scale, in order to learn more about it. On the left we see the German Training scale. At the risk of committing equestrian sacrilege, I want to question its universal validity because I train in a different way. The official scale starts with the idea that we should mount up and develop a rhythm, and after that we should achieve relaxation. I mount up and go for relaxation first.

Ray Hunt told us to start training, not at square one, but as square zero before square one. This is because we need to be aware of the situation first. We need to start with situational awareness, then train. I found that awareness is easier for me if I begin with relaxation instead of rhythm. With a very green prospect, I will mount up and sit a horse without moving. I will feel the horse's body, their breath and heartbeat and they can feel mine. Ba****ck is best for this.

Next, we will wander around in a round pen, a stall or an arena. I will not be very directive, instead I will let the horse make some decisions. What the horse does informs me, and it starts a conversation about what we will do and how we will do it together. This is us forming a Connection that leads to establishing a shared Rhythm in our movement. It's a good time to remember Henry Wynmalen's advice, "Let the horse move you".

My training scale has a sequence of Relaxation, Connection and Rhythm and the work of training movement and balance begins at step three, not at one. Before step three the training is about relationship. I like my sequence better because in the end, I want a horse that contributes, that optimizes the ride on their own in collaboration with me. I feel that if I hop on a horse and set the rhythm from the beginning, I might squash some of the horse's initiative. This is why I begin with Relaxation and Connection.

At step three we start to move rhythmically while more or less wandering around, I keep in mind the top goal of Collection, something I think of as natural self carriage. There are two steps, Impulsion and Straightness, in between where we are at, Rhythm, and where I want us to get to. The German sequence has Impulsion and then Straightness. I have never understood why they prefer this order. I believe that asking a horse to engage to develop Impulsion when a horse may not be tracking in Straightness would only lead to a more powerful flawed track. In other words, it could lead to a bad habit.

Therefore, I establish Straightness in a clear two track before I ask for Impulsion. And there we are, relaxed, connected, rhythmic, tracking straight with impulsion. If a rider cannot flow into collection or self carriage from this sequence, I feel they have no business training horses.

Questioning the training scale will, no doubt, draw some comments of blasphemy from "serious" dressage riders. In anticipation of those comments, I want to add that translations from German to English are not simple. In addition to this, many German words common to dressage have loaded meanings from centuries of specific use that are lost on Americans. But regardless, let's discuss it.

*Note - I did not write this to start arguments, but rather to look at the traditional sequence of the training scale and understand it better. Please, let's discuss it, not argue about it. ;)

07/16/2024

Last chance to sign up to audit Daniel Stewart next week! Tuesday is 9-2 (riding and lectures), Wednesday is 8-1:30 (riding and lectures)

Sign up to audit here-
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhzjG1PzumpuoPS0V3H6mFGGL0Aga4vbVCFa2YKiBkrrDZxg/viewform

07/12/2024

💯💯💯💯💯

“I can’t find any good places to board where they put horses first-“

This is a huge problem. In just about every consult I have where we are seeking a solution for a behavior problem, i ask about husbandry and we almost always find a major problem there. Not to blame the owner- often it is near impossible to find a good place to board where horses get the kind of care they need

To me, it’s non negotiable that horses live outside, in herds, with forage. Yes they’ll be dirty, be in the elements, and interact with horses. This is what they were perfectly designed for -

But I’d like to offer you some perspective from someone who has cared for other people’s horses for fifteen years in some capacity -

For the entire time I’ve been caring for horses where I’m in charge and able to make these choices for their needs and putting them first, I have-

-had clients pull their horses out of training when the first superficial scratch happens (I have had people cuss me out as they load their horse in tears with one very small scratch on their coats from socializing )

-fielded texts from worry stricken owners at ten pm, midnight, 3 am, 5 am, you get the idea… panicking over a light rain, a minor drop in temps, a little heat, some bugs etc. You never get to be “off duty” because at any hour someone’s concern over their horses minor discomfort means your great discomfort

-play musical pastures trying to placate every owner so they can all have the ideal pasture set up (for their desires, not the horses) and just about p**s off everyone in the barn

-had clients livid I didn’t put the horses in stalls for every minor weather event

-had plenty of drama between owners over who’s horse they don’t like for “bullying” their horse in the pasture when it’s usually simply herd dynamics at work

You get the idea. I’m sure every boarding barn owner can back me up on this

I’ve had excellent clients so this is in no way generalizing ALL of them. The excellent ones took me forever to find and I will seriously miss them, but - But the ones I’ve had that were a headache were a SERIOUS headache, the kind that can make you miserable living in your own home.

When I worked at other barns and we had all horses in stalls or in private, tiny paddocks I had barely a husbandry related complaint (plenty about behavior though). Everyone was happy to have their horses “tucked in safely.”

So my point is - doing it right for the horse is not profitable, a huge pain in the rear and a ton of stress (hope you love texts at 3 am), and a giant liability.

I don’t agree with keeping horses separate or confined but I totally get it from a business perspective

So what’s the solution?

We live in a worry stricken, obsessive, results driven, and very litigious society. We’re losing land quickly , losing touch with animal sense, and good places are just harder to come by every day. Everyone is pressed from all angles and there’s no clear villain or hero here -

I think everybody could get a little chiller, personally. But maybe we’re looking at a total societal overhaul. Again, one of those things I don’t see a simple solution for.

06/30/2024

Rearing2Read is searching for volunteers! High Schoolers welcome 😎

06/19/2024

Early mornings in the summer are magic

06/02/2024

My is worth their weight in gold! Mares always!

Mares aren’t always well liked, and for the same reasons strong women aren’t. 

Opinionated? Those opinions are not without good cause, and maybe you can't figure them out, or maybe you just don’t like her opinion of you. Change it, and she will always be on your side. 

Stubborn? She just won’t let you bulldoze her. Treat her with respect, and her resilience will be an asset to you. 

Difficult? You just can’t handle her. You don’t have what it takes. 

Stick with geldings then, and leave the mare for someone who understands her and appreciates the same qualities society has subtlety taught you not to like. 

Here’s to mares, to strong women, and to those who CAN and DO appreciate them!

05/30/2024

➡️ As much turnout as you can. Seriously. As much as you can. Yes, there are horses who can’t eat grass. And yes, there are horses who hate the bugs and the heat. But seriously, as much turnout as you can. Turnout cures or improves so much: their bodies, their minds, their energy levels, their outlook on life. Invest in good bell boots, fly mask and Bow Horse USA fly sheet, and let them go out. Can they get hurt in turnout? Sure. But they can get hurt in their stalls too. And for me, the risk versus reward is a no brainer. Out they go.

05/28/2024

A belated post for our amazing AWARENESS clinic we had with the other weekend. The horses and riders really showed up.

We spent time in a classroom setting on Saturday morning setting up the weekend and two days really digging into the work of handling our horses with care.

I highly recommend this clinic for any program wanting to push forward soundness and kind handling of their horses.