Carpe Diem Training

02/15/2025

I hate the word "head set" for this reason...

01/12/2025

Happy New Year from Carpe Diem Training! Looking for a fun and challenging clinic for riders of all levels and disciplines? How about hosting a Fun with Ground Poles clinic at your facility? Learn how ground pole work benefits both horse and rider in a clinic that welcomes all types of equestrians. From competition horses to young horses to riders that just want to learn new skills, this is the clinic for you! Currently putting together the 2025 schedule so grab a spot for your farm! Not enough riders to host a full clinic? Check out Carpe Diem Training's "Mini" Ground Pole Sessions for the small farms. For more information go to:
https://www.carpediemeqtraining.com/ground-poles
or email me at [email protected]

01/02/2025

Please read....

The use of horses historically should be a clear sign that we can, in fact, force horses to do our bidding and that the creation of the society we live in today was largely reliant on that.

People like to claim that you cannot force a horse to do something they don’t want to do.

This implies that if we can get them to do something, I means they wanted to.

This is a dangerous connotation because it justifies any means to an end, provided the horse complies.

Horses didn’t “want” to go to war.

They didn’t “want” to work in mines.

They haven’t “wanted” to work through injuries and illnesses, which you can bet they absolutely had to back in the day as work horses and still do today even in their use as animals for leisure.

They are animals that want to choose the path of least resistance and try to seek harmony.

They often initially do try to communicate their lack of desire to do certain tasks by balking, bolting, bucking, rearing, refusing, trying to avoid being caught etc…

But, if the response to this by the human involves the horse being more scared, more forced or more uncomfortable in the absence of compliance, they pretty quickly realize that complying is the more comfortable route.

Aka the path of least resistance.

This isn’t to say horses cannot give a willing yes to certain tasks.

But we need to be honest about the fact that you can absolutely force them to do things they don’t want to do and that this has been proven again and again historically.

For hundreds and hundreds of years.

Humans have capitalized off of the docile nature of horses and how easy it actually is to force them to do our bidding, oftentimes without severe injury on the part of the human.

There are a lot of animals that would respond to the level of force imposed on horses with aggression if we attempted to handle them that way.

Horses seldom opt for aggression and this has been of major benefit for people because it makes them easier to exploit.

So, yes, you can absolutely force horses to do things they don’t want to do.

And, if anything, that just further exemplifies the gentle nature of the horse.

Let’s not take that for granted.

And let’s most certainly not let ourselves off the hook by taking the easy way out and pretending that any time a horse does something for us, it means they wanted to do it.

This mindset can and is used to justify a lot of abuse, whether you personally handle your horse in an abusive manner or not.

Perpetuating this sentiment can be used to push the logic that if the horse ends up complying, the pressure to get that compliance cannot be abusive because if the horse didn’t want to they wouldn’t.

Horses have done a lot for humans against their will.

We can show our appreciation for this by acknowledging that sacrifice and appreciating the nature of the horse, while being more cognizant of our horsemanship

12/12/2024

❤️❤️❤️❤️

12/07/2024

♥️Yes♥️

11/19/2024

A new Fun with Ground Poles exercise! How many different lines do you see??

11/02/2024

Fantastic lesson under the lights with the amazing ladies of Sun Fire Stables! So much fun to watch the lovely Clydesdales in such harmony. It is lessons like this that make me love my job.♥️

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from Carpe Diem Training!🎃🐴🎃🐴

10/31/2024

Love it when my clients dress up for their lessons around Halloween!!🎃 Pirate Sarah and Ember!☠️

10/17/2024

It is a serious disorder!!

10/12/2024

True♥️

10/08/2024

Help your horse learn to carry themselves like a riding horse....don't force them.

Do you ride your horse in a tie down?

The next time you choose your equipment, remember this picture.
The next time you have to choose a "harsher" noseband because your horse is "running through" your current choice, remember this picture.

Consider the fact that you may be causing nerve damage.
Consider the fact that maybe your horse can't even feel their face anymore.

These are the images of a quarter horse ridden in a tie down with a wire noseband in their futurity year of barrel racing.
This horse is now 15.

Correct infrared imaging of the horse tells us more than just a story of anatomy, more than just a story of physiology.

10/06/2024

Here is another analogy I have used in Carpe Diem Training!

🐴DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS:🐴 To feel correct contact …

Imagine a fishing line. When the horse is behind the hand or “empty,” the contact feels like the fishing line is just hanging on the water (image on left), but once you get the horse pushing into the bit, the contact you feel is like a draw on your back, elbows, forearm and hand—just like a fish taking the line (image on right).
— Mica Mabragaña

08/18/2024

Proud trainer day! This young, beautiful Andalusian gelding was imported from Spain last Fall and his lucky owner has taken the time and had the patience to bring him along to be started under saddle. Learning different ground work exercises and lunging techniques, Galan has learned to have manners and proving to have a nice work ethnic. His owner, Mary had the exciting chance to be the first one on his back and he was a rockstar!! Great job Mary and Galan!!

08/11/2024

Always enjoy a Carpe Diem Training lesson with the Clydesdales of Sun Fire Stables!❤️