Trosclair Equine

Trosclair Equine Performance horse breeding, training & sales

Groundwork is not what you do when you’re afraid to ride. Groundwork is a deeper connection to the horse, and CSI so to ...
04/12/2025

Groundwork is not what you do when you’re afraid to ride. Groundwork is a deeper connection to the horse, and CSI so to speak. It’s like being a detective and figuring out what is going on in the horses head. But you have to put your goals and ego aside to listen. Slow is fast- when you take the time to go slow and let the horse figure things out, things go quicker.

“My horse wouldn’t hurt a fly!” said his owner, yet the tension at the mounting block was palpable. It was so thick that I could barely breathe.

While she and her horse were here for a mounted lesson, I stopped them from going ahead. I realized that we had to take it back a notch, to do something else, entirely. Before that horse and rider could ever learn, we had to go back to the place where things went wrong.

While she seemed disappointed that this was going to start out an unmounted lesson on the value of meaningful ground work, I was intrigued. The rider was sending me an unspoken message that she was frightened… but that unless she was riding, she wasn’t going to be learning. She was wasting her time and money. That by stopping at her horse’s ‘mounting block issue’, she was backing down.

This disconnect between basic c**t starting and achieving goals is actually quite common in riders who want to compete. The discipline is of no consequence; they just have their eye fixed upon the prize. Over and over, we've been told that higher horsemanship means setting goals. Thing is, a faraway goal can blind us to fundamental skills that are shaky to the point of crumbling, entirely.

“What does ground work mean to you?” I remember asking. Her reply was telling, though I had to give her credit for being truthful.

“It’s what you do when you’re scared to get on!”

Fair enough. The best I could probably hope for was to convince her that ground work might be what we do when our horse was scared, or otherwise concerned, about US getting on, too. That if not for us, let’s do it for them.

I explained that we were about to do some unmounted work with her horse, to find out what was really going on inside. Rather than ‘run the horse around in circles until it became tired’, a phrase used by so many people to deride any sort of unmounted work, especially lungeing, I wanted to get an idea of where the horse’s brace and worry lived.

You see, her horse had been quietly coming apart, long before he was failing to stand still at the mounting block.

He’d been feeling the pressure long before she’d struggled with his saddling and bridling. She’d been witness to his meltdown once she’d managed to load him into the trailer by herself, for I’d heard his pawing and stamping as their truck and trailer came up our lane. I rather suspect his ‘mounting block problem’ began the minute the horse was caught and brought from his herd. Riding, to him—no, to both of them—was underlined with dread.

While she absolutely needed to do all these things—to travel and ride and build resilience and usefulness in her horse—she needed to go back to the last place the horse was ‘fine’ and go on from there.

I explained that it was more about waiting and digging around in the dirt, until we could see the truth. That soon everything would feel fine, or that the rider might say it’s not a good day to ride, or that the horse might say something similar. That even though this was a paid lesson, this was actually the perfect time and place to wait for an answer, without any attachment as to what the horse’s answer might be.

To ignore the frayed part was like knitting a sweater and wearing it, despite the fact that we'd seen that we'd dropped a stitch. Yes, it's still a sweater. It will keep us warm, for a while. But we've ignored the fact that we could have made it better by fixing the weak link. You know, making sure that all our good work doesn't come undone.

Once we made the decision to treat the lesson as a detective might piece together a crime scene, the horse very quickly came around and got into the spirit of the thing. I do remember his rider feeling surprised that the minute she let go her intention to mount up and ride at dawn, so to speak, he relaxed!

Despite their shaky start, both began to feel the other out. There was a lot of blowing and head shaking, as we encouraged the horse to walk and trot around us on the lunge. We changed direction quite a bit, did a lot of in-hand bendy work, then made a big deal of standing together for a puff.

Soon, the horse said that he was ready for the responsibility of riding in this strange place and doing his best for us. He very generously went on to stand at the mounting block. With a few pointers from me, regarding his rider's timing and helping him find his balance, along with settling very softly into the saddle, all was good.

The lesson went on as planned, because we’d taken the time to make things okay, first. We spent the majority of the lesson at the walk, which was another hard pill to swallow for our competitive-minded rider but I was seeing a need for her to slow things down and wait, until…

There is no judgement here because I was learning from this horse and rider, too.

There are many horses that I am afraid to step across; the difference being, I do not berate myself into riding them. I do not step on until the horse says, “OK. Sure.” Riding them is then something of an anticlimax. You know, we’ll tell ourselves that it is ridiculous to try lying to a horse and yet, we do it all the time.

“You’re fine, you’re fine,” we’ll mutter to the dancing horse, as we reach for the stirrup… when clearly, he is anything but.

There are still so many of us who are afraid of what our horses are telling us. We’ll resolutely ignore them, deny their truth, in the spirit of being brave. Why do we disregard the very real risk to our own personal safety? What is the reasoning here? Would we get into an elevator with a scary man? Would we sign up for friendship with someone who might hurt us, should we forget to walk on eggshells in their company?

Why do we choose to pursue relationship with another who puts that lump in our throat, that familiar heaviness in our chest, that hollow ache in our gut, every single time?

Do we honestly believe that it is in this horse’s best interests to be handled and ridden by someone who is afraid? Does he not deserve to get out from under that dark cloud? Don't we?

What is it all about? Why are we saying that our horse would never harm us and yet, it is obvious that he is not a pleasure to ride, or to be around?

What is the answer here? What is really going on?

The last time we ran here (a year ago) Zesty was having back pain I wasn’t aware of and ducked the third barrel. I could...
04/11/2025

The last time we ran here (a year ago) Zesty was having back pain I wasn’t aware of and ducked the third barrel. I could feel she remembered and was hesitant to go in the arena. Happy to say she has been pain free and laid down a clean run last night.
Horse sports are full of ups and downs. It’s important to cherish every good run and to be thankful, while continuing to work on our craft and get faster.

So blessed and thankful! Another run on this amazing horse. 🥰 I went to just get out the house and have fun, not expecti...
03/29/2025

So blessed and thankful! Another run on this amazing horse. 🥰
I went to just get out the house and have fun, not expecting anything since I haven’t ran her in almost two months, and im just getting over being ill.
Ran a 15.5 winning 2d and some monies 🥰

Mind had a huge C**t at 7 this morning by Unified. His barn name is Hans. He was up quickly and nursing by himself. 💙🦕  ...
03/20/2025

Mind had a huge C**t at 7 this morning by Unified. His barn name is Hans. He was up quickly and nursing by himself. 💙🦕

**t

Baby Elsa is getting bigger every day! We’ve been turning them out in the bigger arena lately and she waits at the stall...
03/13/2025

Baby Elsa is getting bigger every day! We’ve been turning them out in the bigger arena lately and she waits at the stall door every morning after breakfast!

“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦...
03/04/2025

“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘤𝘺𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.” ⁣

― 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘯é 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

2.27.25 Filly by Tiz the Law out of Scarlet Dixie (broken vow). Arrived at 12:30 am and up in an hour. Barn name Elsa.  ...
02/27/2025

2.27.25 Filly by Tiz the Law out of Scarlet Dixie (broken vow). Arrived at 12:30 am and up in an hour. Barn name Elsa.

“Fear has to do with helplessness. The only thing that conquers it is knowledge. When you learn about how a horse thinks...
02/24/2025

“Fear has to do with helplessness. The only thing that conquers it is knowledge. When you learn about how a horse thinks and makes decisions, that helplessness goes away.” - Buck Brannaman

Babies are arriving! First up 2.20.25 c**t by Bobby’s wicked one out of First Daylight (medaglia doro). ❄️Since it’s fre...
02/22/2025

Babies are arriving! First up 2.20.25 c**t by Bobby’s wicked one out of First Daylight (medaglia doro).
❄️Since it’s freezing cold, we decided to go with a Frozen theme for the barn names. This guy is Olaf! And he loves to eat! ⛄️🌨️

**t

Long overdo horsey day today! Worked V8 getting him ready for his first ride soon. Hobbled his leg to make sure he is ok...
02/09/2025

Long overdo horsey day today!
Worked V8 getting him ready for his first ride soon. Hobbled his leg to make sure he is ok with it and doesn’t panick. He did great. In fact I’ve never had a horse just lay down after restricting their leg.
Alexa saddled Peppe and got him ready to ride for our lesson. While on zesty, I coached her through the four leaf clover exercise and posting Diagnals.

02/04/2025

FlyliketheWind places second in Oaklawn race 6. Came back sound, on to the next one! 🐎

The weather has been so yuck lately. This is the worst weather we have had in years. It won’t dry up so my riding has be...
01/30/2025

The weather has been so yuck lately. This is the worst weather we have had in years. It won’t dry up so my riding has been limited. Hauled to a private local arena and got some good workouts in. Very thankful to the Dixon’s for allowing us to ride.
Mom has been riding and getting Remi in shape the last couple months and continuing his basic training. I’m still offering advice and knowledge where I can, and decided to put a tie down on him. I’ve always been against them honestly, as so many misuse them. But Remi is built like a giraffe. We did not have the privilege to train him young before he learned a lot of bad habits, and he is very high headed when sped up.
It’s already helped tremendously in not allowing him to throw his head way up and evade the bit when stopping and turning.
When it comes to training tools, there are many things I don’t like for my program, but I’ll never say never bc there could be one horse that comes along that really needs it. Had we got him in for training as a young horse things may be different or they may not due to his conformation.

First run of the year, it was clean and turns were nice. We will speed back up with more conditioning. Out of the money ...
01/27/2025

First run of the year, it was clean and turns were nice. We will speed back up with more conditioning. Out of the money in the 3D.

Best day ever!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
01/22/2025

Best day ever!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Hauled Zesty to arena Friday and Wednesday due to nasty wet weather we’ve had. Just mud everywhere and no signs of dryin...
01/16/2025

Hauled Zesty to arena Friday and Wednesday due to nasty wet weather we’ve had. Just mud everywhere and no signs of drying up. Next week more wet and frigid temps.
Loaded up the yearling V8 Wednesday, teaching him trailering, tying and how to behave at new places. He’s doing great and hopefully it will go smoothly when I start riding him in the spring by preparing him early on.

I just realized I never posted my personal best run from 2024. 🙌🏻
01/06/2025

I just realized I never posted my personal best run from 2024. 🙌🏻

First ride of new year. Here’s to goals!
01/05/2025

First ride of new year. Here’s to goals!

12/29/2024

Address

42141 Ficklin Wells Road
Gonzales, LA
70737

Telephone

+12255714349

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