Sarah Zeman Horsemanship, LLC

08/07/2024

He’s getting a b***y! Growing boy!

08/06/2024

HUGE shoutout to Nord Excavating. With all of the rain that we have had this year our arena has drained so well. I can usually ride the next day after a big downpour. Yesterday we got 3 inches and I thought there was no way I could ride in it today, but I went down to check it out and sure enough, I can ride in my arena! Unreal! 

08/02/2024

Had a great morning ride with King and Butter!

07/28/2024

Yesterday we had a body control clinic at my place and had an awesome group of riders. They put the work in and made some real good progress and we all had fun to go with it. Super thankful for the breeze that we had to keep us cool the whole time! 

07/25/2024

Just some pictures of my morning rides 🥰 I never tire of this view

07/24/2024

I LOVE this view 😍
With my mom here I’ve finally gotten some really good quality training in with Finan and loving every minute of it.

07/23/2024

This is the 7th ride for me and Binky. This loose reined, slow walk is a very big deal for us. And an even bigger deal that we started out our ride with it! When Binky isn’t quite sure what you are asking, she guards herself by picking up her head and sticking her nose out and going faster. She’s still controllable, but I don’t just want controllable, I want relaxed and willing to do what I am asking. Most horses have an adjustment period when they come in for training and I definitely take that into consideration but the goal is still the same, to help the horse figure out how to calm themselves instead of getting anxious. That way, the next new experience won’t take as long to settle into. 

Getting horses to figure out how to regulate their own emotions and relax while still learning new things is probably one of the things that takes the longest in training. Binky is really starting to pick up on it now and hopefully we can progress to other things in her training now that she is getting the hang of this whole relaxation thing. 👏🏻👏🏻


07/16/2024

Welcome King (bay) and Binky (grey)!
They’re in for the next month. We just finished our second training day together on this beautiful day! Their owners would like some speed control and some fun “buttons” to play with and that are very useful on trails or the arena. So we have a lot of focus going into body control for this next month, my favorite 🤗🤗

07/12/2024

Oh man, how true is this?!

How much weight can a horse carry?

In my experience, a horse can carry an infinite amount.

They can carry the weight of broken hearts, broken homes, and broken bodies. Countless tears sometimes comb their tangled manes. Moments when parents and friends cannot be there to help and hold a person, horses embrace and empower. They carry physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. They carry hopes and dreams; and they will carry the stress from your day when you can’t carry it anymore.

They carry graduations, they carry new careers, they carry moves away from everything familiar, they carry marriages, they carry divorces, they carry funerals, they carry babies before they are born, and sometimes they carry the mothers who cannot carry their own baby. They carry mistakes, they carry joy, they carry the good and they carry the bad. They carry drugs and addictions, but they also carry the celebrations.

They will carry you to success when all you have felt is failure. They will carry you, never knowing the weight of your burdens and triumphs.

If you let them, they will carry you through life, and life is hard, life is heavy. But a horse will make you feel weightless under it all.

06/30/2024

8 wonderful horses and riders on this beautiful day. All the training horses got to get out and ride and it was great! Shay got to come too! What’s better!?

06/22/2024

If some of my training friends could chime in, I would love to hear their opinion on this.

It’s a fun thing to observe with new training horses. One of the most encouraging things that the Lyons family has taught me is that horses learn from good to bad, bad to worse, worse to a little bit better, and better to learned.

It’s been so encouraging because usually around the 2 to 3 week mark I hit a major slump with the horse that I have in training. I feel like I’m not making progress and I feel like I might even be regressing. Thankfully, it’s usually short lived. And then it just clicks. The rest of the time is smooth like butter and progression continues in more harmony than you’ve had the first part of the month.

Every slump I hit is at the 2-3 week mark and I STILL have to remind myself that the light is around the corner. But man is that light beautiful when it comes around. I used to offer two week training for horses, but I have found that it takes almost 2 to 3 weeks to break through and really get that horse to understand what you are asking of them. Specifically when it comes to balance and body control. That takes strength build up over time and step-by-step process built up over time before it finally clicks.

If you feel like you made great steps with your horse and then regressed, keep at it! You might just be hitting a breakthrough the very next day.

06/20/2024

Ace and I trying to beat the rain on this early morning ride.

06/08/2024

Once the riders get on I don’t take my phone out much but here are some pictures of a wonderful obstacle clinic today. Had a nice small group which makes for lots of 1 on 1 time and a more relaxed feel. It was a pleasure getting to know these ladies and seeing how attuned to their horses they were. And all on a beautiful 75 degree day.

06/07/2024

We are all set for another obstacle clinic tomorrow! As requested, we have lowered the teeter totter so it’s much less of a drop. There are still spots available if anyone wants to sign up for this Clinic! It’s going to be a beautiful day! 

06/07/2024

Welcome Blue (left) and Ace (right)
Ace is in for full time training. He was purchased about six weeks ago and the owner wants to make sure that he is going to be ready and set for whoever wants to ride him on the trails and on camping trips. Blue is owned by the same person, and is in for part-time training but mostly to keep Ace company while he is here so he doesn’t have to stay home all by himself. Ace and I had our first ride today and it went wonderfully. It was just me and my daughter at home and she wanted to ride too so we decided to take a little trip around the top of our property and ride around with the dogs on this beautiful day. super grateful to do the coolest job ever and share it with my kids.
They have gotten fond of being the little noisemakers and Shay had fun riding her electric moped up and down the driveway as I was getting blue and Ace groomed this morning. My son playing fetch with the dogs and causing all kind of movement around the horses is how we do things around here. Get them used to all the craziness! 

06/04/2024

Welcome Faith!! Wow, what a cool horse! Faith is a Clydesdale cross and absolutely stunning. She’s eight years old and here for some miles and to put a little bit of technique on her cues and movements. I’m excited to have her in for the next month. 

06/03/2024

The Horse
“Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is laced with muscle, and strength by gentleness confined”

Happy Monday!

06/02/2024

What a FUN day! Friends, horses, learning… the trifecta. Thanks so much Sammi Korinek for teaching these three groups about Working Equitation! It was a great day!

06/02/2024

Hey who’s that handsome guy that got the arena ready to go for the Working Equitation clinic? 🤗
It’s a beautiful day for a clinic!!

06/01/2024

Sent Louie and Bella home to their owners this weekend! I forgot to get a last picture with Bella, but man did she turn out to be an excellent trail horse, which is exactly what the hope for her was. Louie and Cash and I went on a farewell trail ride with Louie’s owner this morning and we had a wonderful time.
It’s always bittersweet when the training horses go home. Part of me feels like I want to do more and part of me looks back at the first week and loves the progress made. I treat and care for these horses as if they were mine so saying goodbye always pulls at the heart strings a bit.
These pictures were from my last ride with Louie last night. The kids and I took a ride around the property with the pups.

05/31/2024

“One thing to do is reject the notion that horses must always bow to human ways of thinking. Of course, you set clear boundaries and firm expectations, but training is much more effective and more rewarding when you listen to what your horse is trying to convey. Hollywood sells that romantic myth of horse whispering. But the best trainers don’t whisper - they watch, listen, learn, and think.

The horses do the whispering.

The humans job is to rivet attention to their faintest hints. Let’s try to connect with animals at their level, instead of demanding that they constantly adjust to us.”

- Horse Brain Human Brain

05/30/2024

Happy 15th(!!!) birthday to the horse that changed with me! Still pretty new out of school I had a lot to learn and Cash endured all of my learning and trials and errors and taught me a ton. He continues to be incredibly faithful and reliable when teaching clinics and he is always up for a good snuggle, being the most gentle and soft horse to kids and adults alike on the ground. I am fortunate to have spent the last 11 years with this guy! Can’t believe it’s been that long.

05/27/2024

Sometimes you have to make things happen!! Both of the training horses, Bella and Louie, have been doing so good and I’ve been waiting for the right day to take them on the trails. The weather has not been nice for outdoor riding this month and I’ve been hauling to a friends indoor (thank you 🙌🏻🙌🏻) to get my rides in. But you can’t trail ride in the indoor!!
So one of the days that friend said “let’s go up my road!” So we did about 4 miles up and back to get them out.
Yesterday, Justin and I were going to haul to the trails but my son came down with the stomach bug 🥴 so we opened up all of our pastures and had the dogs out and running and took the horses for a long few laps around the property while my son stayed in and rested.
Today another friend and I watched the weather app super close, pushing the time back three times, to find a *tiny* break in the rain (that ended up staying nice till we got back to the trailer) and she rode one and I rode the other out at Crow!
Super thankful for great friends helping me get my job done with these great horses and having successful rides!

05/25/2024

A super thorough explanation into the reason why I do not teach lateral flexion or one rein stops. Before you get defensive, I really encourage you to read this super thorough explanation. I agree with everything said here. I have seen far too many horses that need retraining to be done because they have been ingrained with lateral flexion. 

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TEACH LATERAL FLEXION

My previous post started some debate about the use of lateral flexion in training. This has prompted me to explain my view on lateral flexion by reposting an essay I wrote in August 2022.
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Lateral flexion is one of the most common exercises taught to horses that are being started. Virtually every trainer, 90% or more, in the “Natural Horsemanship” sphere teaches it. I am one of the few trainers who won’t teach lateral flexions and discourage its practice at my clinics.

For those that don’t know what a lateral flexion is, it is when a person applies a feel to the inside rein and asks a horse to softly bend its neck around in the direction of the feel, while the horse keeps its feet absolutely still. It can be one on the ground and under saddle.

The purpose of teaching lateral flexion to a horse is to ingrain them to offer a soft lateral bend to the inside rein. From talking to trainers who teach lateral flexion to horses and riders, it is intended to teach a horse to give to the inside rein without resistance and to build strength and control. That sounds like a worthy goal, right?

So what’s my problem with teaching lateral flexion?

I have two objections.

The first objection is easy to explain and get out of the way quickly.

I have never heard a single trainer, who teaches lateral flexion, talk about the horse giving its thought to the feel of the inside rein or to be looking in the direction of the bend. Not one person! Without a change of thought, bending the neck is just a trick and avoidance of rein pressure. Nothing of significant value is learned without the horse thinking in the direction of the feel of the rein. Go to YouTube and watch videos and notice how all the talk is about how the horse bends and how light the feel is in the reins. Nothing about getting a change of thought. Even more telling, is the fact that when most riders release the inside rein, the horse instantly flips its neck straight like a spring, as if he has been just waiting for the second the rein is dropped. Anytime we ask a horse a question we should be waiting for a change of thought, not just a movement.

My second objection to teaching lateral flexion is gravely serious.

Trainers make a big deal that when performing a lateral flexion the feet should not move. I believe this is a serious mistake that makes lateral flexions damaging to how a horse operates. When asking for flexion to the inside, the thought should follow the feel, the neck should follow the feel and the inside hind foot should yield across the outside hind foot. This should occur because the inside rein inspires the horse to think to the inside and line up its body in that direction without the need for the rider’s leg to drive the hindquarters to disengage. The inside rein should connect to the entire body, not just from nose to wither.

By insisting the feet are stationary when the horse yields to the inside rein, we are teaching a horse that the rein should not connect to the hindquarters. In other words, giving to the inside rein should only go as far back as the wither and not to the whole horse. To create straightness, balance, softness, and correctness I need the inside rein to connect to the inside hind.

Without a connection to the inside hind foot, when we ask a horse to move in a circle or turn, the hindquarters will push the shoulders to the outside of the circle or turn. It creates imbalance and crookedness. We taught the horse to be crooked. Then to fix it we often apply an outside rein to block the shoulders from drifting to the outside. The outside rein blocks the shoulders, but the real cause of the problem stems from the inside rein not connecting to the hindquarters.

At the very least it causes crookedness, and we need to call on the outside rein. But in the worst case, it causes rubber-necking and we need to call an ambulance (rubber-necking is when a horse is bent say to the left, but traveling to the right). Don’t ride a horse that rubber-necks until it has been re-trained to connect the inside rein to the hindquarters.

I have asked dozens of trainers and clinicians who teach lateral flexion why they require the horse’s feet to be still. Some of these trainers are the biggest names in the business and people some of you no doubt admire and follow. Not one of them can give me a rational explanation of why the horse must stand still. Never have I heard a logical reason why you can’t teach a horse to softly bend to the inside rein while at the same time connecting the hindquarters to the inside rein. It stuns me that so far nobody has been able to explain what it is about lateral flexion that I don’t understand.

The closest it has come to an answer is that lateral flexion is setting a horse up for the one-rein stop. But this is not true because it is the disengagement of the hindquarters that sets up a horse for the one-rein stop. When a horse is having a meltdown, your best chance of gaining back control is to disengage the hindquarters as soon as possible to shut down any bucking or bolting.

I am totally in agreement that we should teach to softly give to the inside rein. I’m not in agreement with why we can’t do that and have the hindquarters softly yielding too.

What advantage is gained by having the feet standstill? What disadvantage is created by connecting the hindquarters to the inside rein? Maybe next time you attend a horsemanship clinic or have a lesson, you could ask your teacher these two questions. If you get a perfectly rational explanation, please let me know. I want to understand if I missing something.

05/15/2024

Training horses ridden ✅
A ride with my daughter ✅
Blessed ✅✅

05/12/2024

Had such a great time with an awesome team this weekend! The Scott County Mounted Posse was so fun to ride with. Thanks for a great weekend ladies!

05/09/2024

Another obstacle built!

05/09/2024

When there’s a pile of wood in the truck bed Justin is probably building another obstacle 🤪 I did help!! We have a teeter totter!! 🤗👏🏻

05/07/2024

Had a great semi-private clinic last weekend in Brownsville WI! So much hospitality and fun and a great time working on horses. Two days of doing body control and one day obstacles, a few trail rides, and loads of progress! What a great clinic to start off the riding season!

07/27/2023

It’s easy to look at someone’s results with their horse this way…

All too often I come across people who get to feeling frustrated and impatient that their horse isn’t doing the thing they want them to do.

It’s a hard one to respond to because the honest answer is this picture.

Are you doing all the work below the surface or are you just expecting to get the result.

What has to happen under the surface?

discipline…

Discipline yourself in how you behave… Discipline your mindset, attitude, habits, effort, education, etc are all the things that don’t require talent but are required to get the bigger picture you seek.