Heart Horse Training

09/02/2024

My new Canadian Horse Fable had her first ever ride today!

Fable is a gorgeous, sweet and level-headed mare.

I'm really excited for our future and to see what we accomplish together.

08/31/2024

I am always questioning if I'm going things good enough for my horse.

Am I going to fast or too slow?

Am I doing what's best for them?

Why are we back sliding?

Yet, I can say I'm proud of each of my horses right now.

Working with young horses is tough.

And not just in the "hold on and hope you stay in the saddle" kind of way.

No one warns you how challenging it truly is. How often you'll doubt yourself, wondering: Am I doing this right? Am I moving too fast? Too slow? Is this too much? Not enough? You'll constantly be questioning your approach, trying to figure out the best way forward while tuning out the opinions of the trainer down the road or the livery next door, who throws judgmental glances every time you do groundwork.

No one tells you how, on some days, you'll feel like you're failing. You'll question if this horse would be better off with someone else, convincing yourself you're either wasting their potential or outright ruining them. After all, there are four-year-olds excelling in young horse classes while yours is still struggling to trot in a straight line.

No one tells you how attached you'll become. This horse is your baby, maybe one you helped bring into the world. Every setback feels personal, like a wound to your heart. You care so deeply about their well-being that it physically hurts when things go wrong. You’ll also become fiercely protective—God help anyone who dares to criticize your horse.

No one tells you how humbling, even brutal, these horses can be. They'll expose every weakness you have and practically shout it from the rooftops. While they are forgiving, they have a way of knocking you down a peg, reminding you there's always more work to be done.

No one tells you how these horses will change you. They'll force you to look inwards, to question everything you thought you knew. If you thought you had everything figured out, this horse will quickly show you that you don't. But they'll also ignite in you a fierce determination to prove everyone wrong and show them what you saw in this horse from the very beginning.

No one quite tells you how difficult young horses can be, but anyone who's been through it knows...

As tough as they are, they’re absolutely worth it.

08/29/2024

Day 192
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

Today, Twilight and I went through the trail course at OHC.

She did every single obstacle minus the water boxes. She has never seen anything except ground poles before today!

Pedestals ✅
bridges ✅
Ditches ✅
Going over logs ✅
Going over the rock steps ✅
3 tier step ✅
Suspension bridge ✅
Narrow water ✅
Donkey/cow props ✅

Narrow log attempted
Water box attempted

It was so cool to see another South Steens mustang while we were in there.

Super proud of her!

08/28/2024

SS Makha
3 years old
16.1+ hh
South Steens HMA
Not available

No pictures/vidoes since I had the whole obstacle course to myself and it was Makha's first time being ridden through any.

I can see where we have some confidence building to do on some things but then I can see how much she's grown with other things.

I think we have the potential to be competitors in trail next year.

In hand:
Pedestals ✅
Suspension bridge ✅✅
Going over logs ✅
Going over the rock steps ✅✅
3 tier step ✅
Narrow log ✅

Refused ditches which she hasn't before
Refused water which she usually does

Pedestal ✅
Solid bridges✅
Going over logs ✅
Picking random paths ✅

08/28/2024

Day 191
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

We are now going out front to the main area of Oregon Horse Center.

Twilight seemed pretty unphased by the trucks and trailers going by.

She was really soft with her cues for lunging, lateral flexion, forehand and haunch turns.

She stands perfectly still while I bounce up and down next to her. She is a little nervous about me putting my leg over. Once we work through that, she is officially ready for her first ride.

I picked out 3 of her 4 feet today, which means she's almost ready for her first full trim. I want to be sure she's ready for the right hind that she's been very protective of so far.

08/22/2024

Have you fallen off of a horse?

The idea of getting back on the horse that just bucked you off, is rarely a good idea, in my opinion. Whether you got bucked off or just fell off, chances are you are not in the best frame of mind to get back on that horse. Chances are also good that your horse is not in the best frame of mind either—he’s probably scared or anxious and something led to the problem to begin with. The adrenalin rush that comes from this kind of incident can often mask injuries that you may have sustained and getting back on may make the injuries worse.

When a rider comes off the horse, we’ll call it an “unscheduled dismount,” I prefer that she take a break, sit down and rest, get checked out medically if needed, get control of her emotions, debrief the incident, and only think about getting back on when ready. Maybe that’s today; maybe not.

Often, I’ll get up on the horse after an incident, to settle it and let the rider see what’s going on. If the rider feels strongly about getting back on, that’s fine and I will support her as best I can. But no one else has the right to tell you to get back on. Not your husband, not your friend and not your trainer.

If you are struggling to regain your confidence after a fall (or just in general), I have great resources to give you the help you need. https://shop.juliegoodnight.com/product/building-your-confidence-with-horses-audio-mp3/

08/20/2024

Day 184
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

Twilight has started to really come around since our move. I noticed yesterday she moved towards me for scratches for the first time. Today, I got it on video!!

This isn't a big deal for a lot of horses, but this really is a sign that she is truly beginning to trust me. She has been closed off and guarded, but now she's letting me in.

She has been lunging beautifully and listening to me despite things going on around her. Tomorrow we might try to venture to in front of the barns so she can see more of the action.

08/14/2024

Day 178
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

Well, we had to focus on trailer loading because we have moved! We are now at the Oregon Horse Center.

Twilight has now settled in and finally got to come out of her stall (first time ever being stalled). She is still a little scared of everything going on but I think she handled herself better than I expected today.

Looking forward to giving her time to settle in, exposure and then work on getting her under saddle officially.

08/11/2024

Sorry for being so quiet here!

I have a ton of updates to share this week, so be on the lookout for some announcements.

I never thought I'd enjoy teaching, but to tell the truth, I do actually like helping people and watching the lightbulbs click for them.

Anyone can put a shingle out and take money-
But
What does it take to be a true teacher?

What separates an instructor from a lifetime mentor -

A sincere desire to help
The passion and drive to spend long hours learning
The discipline to be the kind of person you want your students to be
Thick skin when people come after you, insult you, don’t appreciate you, or brush you off
Humility enough to see how much people sacrifice to learn from you, to let go of self importance and make it aboht the student
Curiosity enough to keep learning even if you’ve established a “system”

It takes everything to put yourself out there, and to do it well

Anyone can get quick admiration, and be an authority on something

But a true teacher is an earth angel, and I have deep gratitude for mine. They shine a light for all in dark corners, even for those who can’t or won’t see it.

08/05/2024

No photos today, but it truly was full of great moments.

1) Legend (Fresian Gelding) was the softest he's every been to my leg aids (no spurs required). I truly feel like he's starting to get what I'm asking of him. He was very relaxed and willing.

2) Gemma (Warm Springs HMA) only has about 12-14 rides under her belt. She is slowly getting stronger and more forward. She really is special and her owners are smitten with her.

3) Twilight (south steens HMA) loaded immediately on the trailer today, and after a few minutes of eating, my husband closed the door with me inside. She did immediately get really scared and tried to come over me. I told her it was okay and she settled down. I let her eat half her mash and then I had him open the door. I really paused and took my time backing her out. We only backed one foot at a time. A couple of the times she got nervous and wanted to go backwards but I kept a light pressure on the halter and asked her to stop. This was almost her best backing out of the trailer.

08/02/2024

I've been working on trailer loading with the horses this week since I got a new (to me) trailer.

At first, I was unable to close the dividers on my two personal horses. My previous trailers were front/back box type stock stalls and my horses always chose to ride backwards.

They are now accepting the slant dividers being closed. Pancho is in the front and Makha is jn the middle. I'm probably going to swap their positions since I will have another horse in with them.

Twilight didn't even have to be asked to get in today, she just walked right in. Sunday, we will take out the dividers and close the door with me inside with her.

07/31/2024

Day 164
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

It's been quiet lately! We have been working on trailer loading.

Today, twilight finally got on! Excuse the horrible photo.

I am so proud of this mare. Here are some of her current skills:

✅ Pick up all 4 hooves
✅ Catch in a large area
✅ halters easily
✅ leads
✅ haunch turns
✅ forehand turns
✅ accepts fly spray
✅ pick out and trim front hooves
✅ accepts hosing
✅ accepts saddle/girth
✅ lines up to the mounting block
✅ lunges on and off line
✅ lateral flexion

Still working on:
Loading in the trailer confidently
Picking out and doing a trim on her back hooves
Backing
Occasional sticky shoulders
Halter over the ears
Has not been bridled yet

Just about ready for her first ride but need to focus on loading for now.

07/27/2024

Day 159
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

Twilight was doing really well with all the hustle and bustle at the barn today.

She doesn't seem bothered by the tractor or the gator if she can see it.

She has gained a ton of confidence at the mounting block and with me working above her. I stood in each stirrup Wednesday without her bolting away. She is nearly ready to do her first ride as her lateral flexion is also soft.

We are working on the trailer but she's not so sure about it. I will stay diligent until she calmly goes in and out. She did get spooked by equipment on the other side of the wall on the other property an she did bolt. However she did eventually stop and I asked her to come to me, and she did willingly. I took her back to the trailer and waited for a lick and chew with her attempting to put a foot inside. Then I called it a day.

07/24/2024

Horse abuse scandals at the upper levels are merely a reflection of a sickness in the horse world as a whole.

Let me explain.

Every time a video surfaces of an upper level rider mistreating a horse, there are often 3 major reactions seen from the general public.

The first is from those who loved and respect the rider. In the interests of justifying the affection they still feel for the rider, they seek to downplay and justify the mistreatment, playing it off as a one off occurrence, a fluke or trying to claim that the reaction is warranted. It is a protective mechanism for them, as admitting that your idol is not who you thought they were is a grieving process that can take time.

The second is from those who completely write off and cancel the rider, labelling them as a wholly bad and cruel person, rather than recognizing the cruelty in that moment and the duality of being human, that more than one thing can true at a time. Someone can do terrible things in the name of competition without being completely rotten to the core.

The third reaction falls between the two of these. It may acknowledge the wrongs of the person under fire while putting emphasis on the idea that this is a one off occurrence, that the person in question is the issue, rather than a symptom of a far greater problem. They may say that not all upper level riders are like that, that most aren't, downplaying the problem by maintaining the perspective that the rider who mistreated the horse is a fluke. An outlier. Not representative of the collective whole in any capacity.

There's a problem with all these mindsets.

1. Our idols, no matter how much we love them, are people. They can be misled. They can be taught to do wrongs without even having full awareness of the degree of how wrong they are, due to being immersed in an echo chamber of people who are all doing the same thing. It feels less bad when you look around and see everyone close to you participating in the same things.

They are human, meaning they aren't perfect. And, they should never be expected to be. We should never idolize someone to the point where we seek to find justification for every behaviour they demonstrate, no matter how bad it is. We must maintain individuality to look at their behaviour for what it is, rather than seeing it through the rose tinted glasses that come with idolization.

2. Completely writing off all hope of someone ever learning from their mistakes and self improving, even if it takes the pressure of being found out to happen, defeats any purpose of pushing for reform and change in this industry. There is no hope in improving welfare if we approach the movement with the idea that anyone who has ever been guilty of cruelty will never improve and better themselves.

The entire notion of welfare improvement is reliant on the concept that people can learn, unlearn and relearn. That even those who have been directly involved in unethical practice can be educated and bettered. That the riders that unethical upper level professionals have educated are reachable and can do better, learn from past mistakes and let go of outdated, unkind methods.

If we don't have the belief that reforming the minds of people who've been taught to operate with unkindness is possible, then there is no way of improving the industry. It is gone and dead, if we don't think people can have perspectives altered and learn to do things better.

Even if the primary push for change for some people is reliant on policy change and good welfare practices being what wins them ribbons and attention. Even if they just make that change to follow the rules. It is still change nonetheless.

But, if we don't believe in the capacity for change, if we think that everyone will remain as rotten as their worst moment forevermore, then what even is the point in promoting welfare reform?

There isn't one. We must operate with the perspective that people are reachable.

3. This perspective is one that lacks accountability and fails to acknowledge the problem at hand. It isn't one singular person who is guilty of abuse of horses. It isn't even a handful of people. It is an entire environment that is so toxic and sick that it results in the creation of people who have the capacity to mistreat in such a way. Like an illness, it spreads slowly, without those involved often even realizing it when it happens.

Most people enter the horse world because of their love for horses. At some point, that love becomes skewed and becomes a love where competition and wins are prioritized. The horse then becomes an adversary, any time their behaviour stands in the way of progress towards successful competition. Their lack of compliance is viewed as defiance and their humans feel entitled to their obedience and therefore justified in demanding it through any means of force necessary.

This happens so slowly that people don't even realize when they're in the thick of it. When they've become a person who would be perceived as a monster in the closet of the horse loving child they once were.

It is the industry environment that creates this.

The pressures of competitions, the predetermined timelines, the entire concept that the quickness with which people can produce horses is a measure of their talents. That competition wins are what make someone a good rider and trainer. That results supersede everything, no matter how those results are obtained.

Competitions in which the winners are not required to act with ethical practice are not going to produce ethical equestrians. If those winning are people who are guilty of the most mistreatment, there is little incentive to do things the "right" way, especially if it takes longer.

And so, the responsibility falls to our judges and governing competitive organizations to structure competition in such a way that people who abuse their power and mistreat their horses to get to the top will find no reward for doing so.

Rip the incentive to "cheat" the system through horse abuse away from them by absolutely destroying the marks people will receive if they show up with a stressed and over bent horse.

Make an example of them by making it clear how unpleasant and incorrect a dressage test with a horse showing 101 pain and stress signals is.

Strip them of all medals and rewards until they show up demonstrating signs of ethical practice.

Doing so will w**d out even those who cannot be reached through compassionate education as to why it is not acceptable to mistreat horses in pursuit of a win.

It will hold accountable even those who are within the industry not for the love of the horse, but for the love of status, awards and fame.

This is not an issue of a single person. It is not Charlotte Dujardin who is the "bad guy," she is merely a symptom of a far more insidious plague that has been brewing and spreading within the horse industry for decades.

She is a symptom of a far greater problem. The outcome of a normalized attitude in the horse world that is justified at all levels of the sport.

The video released of her is simply different level of intensity of the attitudes behind the justification of use of harsher bits, spanking horses for refusals, working them to the point of exhaustion when they're bad and otherwise blaming the horse for the rider and trainer's inability to create an environment that fosters a calm and willing horse.

Every time we do not get the outcome we want with horses, the fault only lies with the people.

If horses misbehave, we are at fault for missing the source and not supporting them in the manner that they needed.

At no point are we ever entitled in deliberately leveraging pain and discomfort to force a response from them, but yet, this is one of the most common means of problem solving in traditional horse training.

The fact of the matter is that there is no surprise things like this keep happening. This is the outcome of the environment we've created and what we have normalized in the horse world.

The entire horse community is guilty of it and we have all witnessed instances of mistreatment to horses and where people have lost patience and taken out their frustration on horses.

And, honestly, most of us have participated, too.

Because that is what many of us have been taught to do by role models and perceived experts because it is that normalized.

So, what is the ticket to solving this problem?

Acknowledging it for what it is.

It is not a fluke. Not a one off occurrence. Not a bad apple.

It is a community attitude that we have fostered and enabled in this industry and continue to do so every time people mock and laugh at modern research findings that aptly depict how often horse people use stress, pain and other coercive forces to get to a destination in training.

If we keep trying to ignore the elephant in the room, it only gets bigger.

Horse training and competition needs a serious overhaul.

We need to cancel out biases and modernize the horse world using evidence based approaches rather than traditional belief systems and emotional thinking patterns.

The best way of doing so is turning the reins over to equine science professionals and letting them effectively "rewrite" competition as we know it.

Science backed information is a heck of a lot more reliable than the biased belief systems of people who have been conditioned and wired to view excessive force as necessary in horse training and see no way around it due to the pigeon-holed training systems they have been brought up in.

And, so, it's about time we become more open to a complete overhaul and re-education of the horse world as we know it.

What we keep witnessing is simply the unavoidable outcome of the environment we've created.

We have a community of people who are conditioned to treat horses unfairly from the age of childhood onward. They're taught over a period of time to no longer flinch at their role models smacking their horse for XYZ reason.

Then, they participate themselves.

It'll continue to happen unless we actually treat the illness behind it, instead of merely trying to suppress the symptoms of it.

Much like horse training, when you actually deal with the underlying causes of behaviour, the unwanted behaviour goes away.

But, here we are in a community that largely relies on coercive suppression in horse training as well as our handling of "scandals" we don't want the public to see.

It is about time we actual treat the causes.

Or, the industry as we know it will die the death it deserves.

So, what is your choice?

Do we work to alter the competitive horse world as we know it and lose out on "tradition" or do we lose it entirely due to stubbornly clinging to tradition at the expense of the welfare of our beloved horses?

07/24/2024

Charlotte Dujardin exposed whipping horse 24 times in video. Check out my product line: http://shopmilestoneeq.comSubscribe to Patreon: http://patreon.com/sd...

07/22/2024

Day 154
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

We have been quietly working. I am pleased to say she is now a reformed bolter! Twilight understands to come off of pressure, and is able to softly and calmly back up.

I am working on having her more comfortable with me working over head on the mounting block. She is finally able to relax and lick and chew while I am up there. Once she is soft with her lateral flexion and has no tension in her body, it will be finally time for the first ride. I feel it's so close!

She did let me trim her front hooves yesterday and I put her hoof on the stand for the first time. I will have to use a rope for safety to finally get ahold of the back feet but we are closer to picking them up.

Today we worked on trailer loading again. I ended the session after she calmly steppped up with one foot. She calmly put it down and we walked away. This trailer is quite a bit higher off the ground compared to the stock trailer she was run onto in February.

07/15/2024

I take huge pride in cleaning my stalls every day. I am very particular about how clean I get them and I do the same for every horse in my care. I want people to know I'm taking pride in their horses and I treat them as my own.

Let’s talk stalls.

Your stall is a representation of you. The proper amount of bedding means you care. A clean stall (including how you store your tack) shows you like to keep things neat and tidy. Full, clean water buckets and full hay nets (unless giving meds which dictate you pull these for a period of time) shows you have basic understanding of welfare. All these show you care about your image, how you present yourself, your horse, and the sport.

But a stall with no water or hay and full of manure and muck means you’re full of….well, we won’t go into details.

Not picking your stall and forcing your horse to stand in its own filth says a lot about you, your lack of respect for the sport, and most importantly your lack of respect for the horse. A properly kept stall is the most basic task every horseman should be capable of perfecting and should be done without complaint. A properly tended stall is a horseman’s sign of a horse that’s properly cared for.

📸 of a stall after 24hrs

07/14/2024

Day 146? 🫠
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1hh
Black

Twilight and I have been working on going out around the property and seeing new things including the goats up close. She's not bothered at all. The gator was started behind her today and she was totally chill.

She had her first exposure to a trailer since I picked her up from the corrals in February. I didn't ask her to go in, but she was very curious and did get her head inside the door without any tension.

We decided to turn the 3 mustangs (Pancho 9 Warm Springe HMA, Makha 3 South Steens HMA, Twilight 6 South Steens HMA) out together for the first time. This was also Twilight's first time in the arena with no halter.

🐎💨

Photo of her at the trailer will be in the comments.

07/08/2024

Yessssss!!

I agree so much with Twin Pines Performance Horses

I was 16 yrs old when I finally got to shop around for my first horse. At the time I was riding hunter/jumper and had a fairly small budget. Most of the horses I looked at were Thoroughbreds or very green crossbred horses although I did try out a few that were more "trained". I remember one in particular was a smaller draft cross from a more cowboy type trainer. After watching him ride this gelding around, I hopped on. I may have been shopping for my first horse but I was not new to horses. Years of riding lessons, 4-H, leasing a horse... But as I started riding this horse around, the owner/trainer basically had to tell me to ride the horse to be able to get the horse to do even the most basic things.

Fast forward now having trained horses professionally for over 14 years. When I'm training horses, I am not "making" them for me. I will not be the rider of these horses for the years to come. These horses need to be user friendly. The cues need to be simple and universal. I want the majority of riders to be able to get on and at least be able to walk, trot, canter and whoa without having me yacking at them. Lateral movements, spins, stops, lead changes, those might need some instruction but the rest should be pretty plain and simple. I shouldn't have to tell you to place your leg in a "numbered" position or pick up a rein or bend them a certain way just to get the basics. What's the point of you training a horse for a client if they aren't going to be able to do the basics? Lessons are always key to make sure everyone is on the same page but the basics should be pretty standard. I feel like there are so many people who have problems with their horses or don't feel like they know how to ride them because they sent them off to a trainer and now they aren't "user friendly". They may be broke but if it's not for the owner then what's it for?
As the trainer it's your job to communicate with the owner as to what the expectations are for the horse and what it's life/job will be, not what you want it to be. Are sliding stops cool? Sure! But I'm not going to go put a sliding stops on a dressage horse (dressage people also aren't too impressed when you put slide marks in their footing. I've done it by accident, trust me). Just like I'm not going to spend hours teaching a prospective trail horse to do spins, or half pass... Exposure to things and "buttons" are great but it has to make sense for the horse, rider and then length of time the horse is in training.

06/27/2024

Day 131
#8064
Twilight of the South Steens
~6 years old
Mare
~15.1 hh
Black

It has been awhile since I updated on Twilight.

I called in Talartha of Mustangs and More LLC this past Monday. I had still been having some trouble sending her off to the left and not having her bolt. While working I told her we also have been struggling with backing up. Twilight would just brace and bolt any time I asked her to back.

It has been a few days, and we have had only one successful bolt. I have been able to shut down any other bolt attempts. She is backing very nicely and softly now.

Look at her gaits! She is such a nice mover.

I am looking forward to continuing with creating a soft horse so that I can back her soon. I've stood in the stirrup but I knew she wasn't ready for me to swing my leg. It will come!