Sunny Side Horsemanship

Sunny Side Horsemanship Horsemanship trainer and coach. Helping others create connection & build confidence with compassion.

He gets to run off energy, I get to save my energy. šŸ˜†
03/07/2025

He gets to run off energy, I get to save my energy. šŸ˜†

03/06/2025

I love trail training on days like today because it lets me know exactly what I have underneath me and where the horse needs a bit more work.

I love good first rides on babies. This cutie I got to meet last year for baby manners is back in for starting under sad...
03/04/2025

I love good first rides on babies. This cutie I got to meet last year for baby manners is back in for starting under saddle and he picked right up where we left off.

Sienna is a 3yo blm mustang who arrived 2 days ago to be gentled before heading to her new home.
02/26/2025

Sienna is a 3yo blm mustang who arrived 2 days ago to be gentled before heading to her new home.

When they have that little bit of extra āœØšŸ’–šŸ˜GCA & Sport Horses
02/25/2025

When they have that little bit of extra āœØšŸ’–šŸ˜

GCA & Sport Horses

This sunny weekend brought Astraeaā€™s first rides with it. I normally do my first rides in my roundpen, but have found he...
02/24/2025

This sunny weekend brought Astraeaā€™s first rides with it. I normally do my first rides in my roundpen, but have found her much more tense in the smaller area so went with her lead and climbed on in the arena. She couldnā€™t have been any more perfect for those first steps and knew exactly what it was that I was looking for. Iā€™ve seen her watching me ride the horses in training here and truly believe she put it together in her mind

This sweet, smart little mare is going to make an awesome lil ride for someone. She has been incredibly smart picking up very quickly with the minimal time I have for my work with her and once she understands and is comfortable with something, I never have to do it again.

Astraea will be available for adoption after the Mustang Makeover mid June. If someone is interested in adopting her out of the auction, I do have that ability, but must know by end of April.

The best times are sharing our passions with family. Tank is the bestest pony for my kiddo.
02/22/2025

The best times are sharing our passions with family. Tank is the bestest pony for my kiddo.

When the Ottb settles enough to ground tieā€¦ Happy boy and happy me. šŸ˜†
02/21/2025

When the Ottb settles enough to ground tieā€¦ Happy boy and happy me. šŸ˜†

First time Iā€™ve seen Astraea sleeping in the middle of the day while Iā€™m out working.
02/21/2025

First time Iā€™ve seen Astraea sleeping in the middle of the day while Iā€™m out working.

Finally got together a second video of answering questions you all have. Find it below! Feel free to add any followup or...
02/20/2025

Finally got together a second video of answering questions you all have. Find it below! Feel free to add any followup or additional questions.

Are you not making changes in your life to reach the place you want to go because you believe you donā€™t deserve it? Or b...
02/20/2025

Are you not making changes in your life to reach the place you want to go because you believe you donā€™t deserve it? Or because you donā€™t believe your dreams could ever come true?

Each time I have wanted to reach for something new, I have had to purposely make the space in my life. There are things that I had pursued and enjoyed that I now have to let go of to make room for the new things I want to experience and enjoy; a removal of old to make space for the new. This has always meant a removal of habits and mindsets that no longer serve the goals I want to achieve, and has very little with other people in my circle.

From a young age I chose to relentlessly pursue the things that bring me joy no matter the discomfort it brings. To not hold myself tied to what the structure of society encourages, to release the things that make me feel trapped and bound, and to live my life excited for each moment it brings.

There have been a lot of really tough moments that have made me begin to sacrifice that which is most dear to me, but ultimately, I always find myself back on this path of wandering adventure unsure of where the next step will take me, but exhilarated that I get to live this life I have chosen.

Some horses need the blankets to stay warm during the cold wet, and others prefer to go naked. Just like with everything...
02/19/2025

Some horses need the blankets to stay warm during the cold wet, and others prefer to go naked. Just like with everything else, I adapt to what the horse is telling me. I prefer to have a blanket on hand for horses that come into training during the winter months in case they need it, but not all need one. Tank rarely needs his blanket to stay warm even in the wet of winter; Anakin has the typical TB sensitivity and is quick to start shivering.

Vikhtory is chicken broke. GCA & Sport Horses
02/18/2025

Vikhtory is chicken broke. GCA & Sport Horses

02/18/2025

Gideon is here getting started under saddle and this is his first time out of the arena and heā€™s solo. This is how it should look. When they have a good mind and a great foundation, things just fall right into place beautifully. Heā€™s going to be a great one for his mama.

February is the make it or break it month for professionals. The exhausting cold and mud and snow and ice and wind and l...
02/17/2025

February is the make it or break it month for professionals. The exhausting cold and mud and snow and ice and wind and loss of power and wild or grumpy horses and clients disappearing until warmth returns have driven more people out of the profession than anything else I see. This is my 15th winter as a professional and here are a few of the things I have learned to not just survive, but thrive.

Buy. The. Generator. Then get it wired by a professional. We just spent a few days without power and I had no worries about keeping the horses and my family taken care of because of our generator and keeping plenty of fuel on hand. You do not want to be without one in the winter.

Buy the quality winter gear. Buy it at the end of winter when itā€™s on sale and get rid of the stuff that isnā€™t working anymore. Good quality gear is what will keep you going in all the crud. If youā€™re freezing and drenched day after day youā€™re not going to keep working happily.

Invest in good footing and equipment. Prioritize what you need to make life easier until you can acquire everything you need. Good footing and learning how to work it properly is a priority for me as it keeps me working when others canā€™t. Before I got this right, I have had to extend training times and cancel lessons because the footing was just to sloppy. Learn what works best for your area and your needs then do it!

Prepare for winter before winter. Have all of these things mentioned done before winter. In addition, depending on your business structure, location, and amenities, squirrel away 50-75% of each monthā€™s business expenses for 3-4 months of winter. This one is huge if your business is the sole source of income for you as my business is for my family and you end up in a winter that is wetter and colder. Horses will be delayed from coming into training and lessons cancelled, but if youā€™ve stuffed some extras away, it can be a stress free, rejuvenating time.

All of this took me years to learn and to get setup to the level that winter is no longer stressful for me to operate during. Sit down and prioritize what would make the most difference for you and is within budget, then expand on that each year.

02/16/2025

What are we all about here? Take a peek.

We live in a time with so much knowledge at our fingertips to learn better ways for ourselves and our horses. Daily I am...
02/15/2025

We live in a time with so much knowledge at our fingertips to learn better ways for ourselves and our horses. Daily I am down a rabbit hole searching out answers for questions that come to mind about myself and my horses. Nutrition, different training practices, movement based therapy, how our brains and bodies work together to try to keep us safe that sometimes actually inhibits the things we want to accomplish. The down side I have seen to this so readily available mental knowledge, is the fear of trying it can implant in so many people that only want the best for their horses.

We have so many differing opinions available on how things should be approached. Some things compliment different programs and others will just confuse and frustrate both horse and owner. We see how things ā€œshouldā€ be but havenā€™t learned everything that went into that process for it to become that way. I regularly have conversations with people who canā€™t understand why they arenā€™t moving forward with their horse; who are afraid to get out there in try for fear of ā€œruining their horseā€, who believe that they should have this beautifully magical connection with a horse they have only had for a couple months.

The first thing I encourage people to do is find a trainer with a training and teaching style they respect and want to model. Chose a trainer who is doing the things that you want to do and teaches the things you want to learn. Carve out the time to travel the distance if you canā€™t find someone you like in your area. If you decide to do an online course while working with a trainer, ask about bringing some of that work into your lessons. This is something I love to do; to help my students work through the information they are being taught in a way that incorporates into the program I have them working through.

Try. This is the word I always say to those under my instruction. You will never get the hang of something, or the confidence to do it, if the only time you try it is in a lesson. You will mess it up. Donā€™t worry though, you will NOT ruin your horse. We might have to take a step back and clean up a few things, but the only way we learn anything is to put forth the effort and then learn what we want to do differently before trying again. The only way to develop a connection with your horse is to go through the uncomfortable confusing moments and allow yourself and your horse the grace to mess up without the frustration and anger of ā€œdoing it wrongā€. Trying things outside of lessons gives the freedom to be fully engaged solely with your horse and develop a confidence with each other that canā€™t be developed if your focus is on an instructor.

Find a professional you trust and respect, stick to a program with them on a time line that works for you both, use their expertise to help filter the many voices and opinions that are available; then get out there to do the work. Try and let things be messy until they no longer are.

A valentines wish: I often joke with Will that some days I am the boss, and other days I am the employee. The days I am ...
02/14/2025

A valentines wish: I often joke with Will that some days I am the boss, and other days I am the employee. The days I am the boss I am on top of everything from the moment my feet hit the floor. I get a good workout in, a healthy breakfast, the messages are answered, Iā€™m out the door and rolling and keep on rolling right through the entire day and good luck trying to keep up. I got things to get done! Then those other days, it feels like the bed is holding me hostage, if I do anything for my body itā€™s more like a quick stretch as Iā€™m on the way to the coffee machine. Breakfast these days rarely helps me get going better if Iā€™m not paying attention as Iā€™ll listen to my cravings and make something thatā€™ll take me straight back to the couch for a chance to regest as my kiddo calls it.

Beyond these, there some days I love being around people and other days Iā€™d rather live a mile from the nearest gas station. Days I want to sit and read away my entire day and others I canā€™t focus on any of the words on a page. Days I want to wear the cutest clothes in my taste of fashion, and days I literally donā€™t care as long as the smell doesnā€™t offend my sensitive nose. Days that every animal I have drives me insane and I just need some space, and days I feel I could take on 50 more. Days I want to pursue one thing and then the next day something else grabs at my interest.

I used to fight the days that I deemed were ā€œlessā€ based on a value system that was not my own. I would mentally berate myself for not being able to consistently do all the things that I thought were ā€œhigher valueā€ based on someone elseā€™s perspective. I would fight and try to rid myself of the forms that I deemed unacceptable, and yet the more I fought it, the more it wanted to creep into everything.

Over time, I have learned that all of these parts are just different archetypes of myself. A vast array of interests, desires, and feelings that all make up the me that I am in the world. The me that can connect to so many people in different walks of life and yet also be content never seeing anyone. The me that seriously checks my sanity sometimes and also can be so incredibly responsible and extremely literal about everything.

When I began to integrate all these parts of myself, that I previously thought had no value, into my daily life; the struggling, self loathing, anxiety ridden, people pleasing, codependent, exhausted, depressed, and hungry me vanished. I began to see the value in the days I was the ā€œemployeeā€ because those were the days I became more approachable to others and made space for them to help me instead of having everything under my thumb. I saw the value in having the attention span of a gnat because it helped diversify my education and now I get to share everything I have learned with so many different people of different interests. I value the days I am a hermit as I learn so much from the horses those days, and the days Iā€™m around people all day brings community and friendship.

As we grow, we are taught what is acceptable and what parts we should be ashamed of and do our best to rid ourselves; but true freedom and passion for life comes when we begin to love every single different version of ourselves that comes along and find a way to integrate it into this life we live. So for this day to celebrate love, celebrate yourself and learn to love the parts of you that you learned were "unloveable".

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66 Lula Lane
Farmville, VA
23901

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+15406340040

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Videos

Birdie
Birdie

I love trail training on days like today because it lets me know exactly what I have underneath me and where the horse needs a bit more work.

Gideon
Gideon

Gideon is here getting started under saddle and this is his first time out of the arena and heā€™s solo. This is how it should look. When they have a good mind and a great foundation, things just fall right into place beautifully. Heā€™s going to be a great one for his mama.

Sunny Side
Sunny Side

What are we all about here? Take a peek.

Babies
Babies

The trouble that children create when you ignore them and they want your attention.

Quiet babies getting started under saddle are always the dream; and sometimes I get to have a few come through training that makes my life easy.

Vikhtory says post workout scratches are always the best.

Allie is learning how to drag the barrel. There were a lot of steps prior to this video to get him to this point, but this step was the last before mounting and having him pull it with the rider in the saddle.

When the race horse is learning to become a trail horse. Look at that walk!

Ready or not here comes show season. Vikhtory says heā€™s game to get ready, heā€™s so over the winter boredom.

How do I know spring is on the horizon? My days and months start getting super busy again after the holiday and winter lull with horses to get ready for the warm months and lesson times start filling weeks in advance. Hereā€™s to sunshine and great footing for us all.

Donā€™t get stuck into a style and method when changing something so minor as adding a couple cones can make all the difference. Astraea is learning how to lunge and one of the tools I like to use is placing cones as a guide for where I want the horse to go. This teaches them very quickly what it is Iā€™m actually looking for and reduces the diving in or pulling out that usually happens when a horse first learns to lunge. It becomes a visual guide for the horse to easily develop a correct circle.

Cold weather days are perfect for riding out from the barn solo to teach the horses how to walk out quietly and stand for a bit before continuing their walk. There are quite a few horses I work with that will happily stand in the middle of a trail with a buddy, but take them out in the field solo away from the barn and itā€™s a whole different ball game with their mind on the barn. This exercise is another of the ones I use to prepare a horse to remain focused on me while other horses ride away from them. If they canā€™t stand calmly and focused on me solo, how will they be able to remain calm and focused with a friend leaving them?

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