01/17/2026
Yesterday my horse, my BLM wild horse that I started and use daily for my job as the Wild Horse and B***o Inmate program head trainer, revealed to me that I had missed some things along the way. She and I do a lot of fine movements to help my inmate trainers see what they need to work on with their horses. She and I can effortlessly do flying lead changes, pick up smooth transitions, spins, turnarounds, rollbacks, side passes, you name it. We typically do all this in an arena or out in an open field. She and I have conducted clinics, ridden in traffic, on trails, and even worked cows a little. But, yesterday, when I opened her up full throttle, she didn’t want to stop, slow down, or listen to my one rein stop command. It was like something switched on in her mind that she needed to take over the leadership. We both worked up a major sweat figuring this out and we ended on a good note. We both survived the day and we both grew from the experience. However, I went to bed beating myself up over what I missed and of course I questioned my horsemanship ability. But, here’s the thing. You can get your horse-human relationship pretty good in controlled environments. But , if you don’t push things in real world situations, if you don’t expand your horse’s boundaries, if you only do the safe things your horse will expose your failings as a leader. You can’t shelter your child and expect him or her to be equipped to handle real world stuff. This is why so many riders get hurt, and then blame the horse. My horse told me yesterday that as good as things have been, we still have a long way to go. It’s what I needed to hear, and I’m resolved to meet the challenges of being a better leader and horseman.
