True Passion Horsemanship

12/19/2024

Refinement!
Just how little leg and rein can you use?
How light can you be with your aids to receive a response from your horse?

People often think of “refining” as sometjing that can have an end to it. You can refine your house’s livingroom to be comfortable and well decorated. You can refine a cars tuning so it runs better. However with horses, few people refine until they’ve truly reached the limits!

Even in Dressage, a sport all about refinement, we see people riding to a certain limit. Certainly, your leg and seat aids could be lighter, unnoticeable and undetectable to those unable to feel what you feel.

When we look at sports such as Barrels and Jumping, we see an obsession with the objects themselves, and rarely an attention to the refinement of the aids to get the horse to perform their best.

Refinement can be a moving goalpost. Truely refining something is an art, a process, and an endeavor that should not be rushed!

12/10/2024

FULL TRAINING NOW OPEN!

⭐️ 5-7 sessions a week!

⭐️ Immaculate show quality grooming!

⭐️ Horses fed 3 times a day!

⭐️ Chiro, PMF, Dental, Specialty Vet on property every 1-2 months!

⭐️ Flexible training options!

⭐️ Connections to horse nutritionalist and natural supplement expert!

True Passion Horsemanship is accepting clients for full training, Lessons, Travel training, Independent groom, and more!

With an emphasis on getting to the roots and finding solutions, TPH will help you achieve your goals no matter how big or small with our flexible training offerings!

💌 Shoot us a text: 623-313-8018

💌 Or Send an Email: [email protected]

We look forward to becoming a friend!

12/08/2024

Curently seeking rescue partnerships!

TPH is looking for rescues that would like free or discounted (only responsible for board and Ferrier work!) training!

I am dedicated to giving back to the animals that do so much for us and educating others on how they can too! As a lifelong animal rescue volunteer, I know that wonderful animals sometimes end up down-on-their luck either in the wrong hands or victims of circumstance.

The goal is to provide valuable training and advertisement to rescue horses while educating the public on why animals end up in rescues and how they can make an impact!

Contact us at 623-313-8018
Or [email protected]

Pictured: Mustang Mare dated May 8th, and that same mare June 27th showing off her tricks!
Last picture is from my first rescue job as “the official duck raiser” Ironically with a baby goose!

12/06/2024

Every muscle in your body is helpful for differant things, be it lifting a heavy object or running long distances. This applies to all work done in the saddle as well!

Legs- Your leg muscles help hold your seat together. The muscles that make up your hip flexors (Psoas, Iliacus, and Pectineus in particular) are notorious among riders for cramping up. They are hard to train with normal workouts and benefit largely from targeted training.
A lot of riders know the importance of strong legs, however, most overlook the simple bodyweight excersizes they could add to their riding routine!

Arms, Shoulders- Arm and shoulder muscles help maintain still and independant arms, improving communication between you and your horse’s mouth. If you rope, ride trail obstacles, or jump, you use your arms extra so good seperation is important! Your release upon jumping, aim and longevity during roping, and your ability to reach down and grab an object or open a gate, all depend on having strong, independent arms.
Upper body often gets overlooked when talking about rider fitness, however, in order to be a balanced rider, we need our upper body just as strong as our lower half! Your upper body also makes barn chores easier and more importantly safer! Nobody wants to pull a muscle while tossing hay!

Core, Back- A strong core plays a very crucial role in keeping us upright in the saddle. Stops, tight turns, and proper jumping position all require a core that is flexible and strong. Your posture while riding helps tremendously with your horse’s back health, as your weight should be distributed evenly not only by using your legs, but by holding yourself even with your core. The best thing about your core is that it’s one of the fastest recovering muscles!
Your core can be worked every day within reason. Posture is important not only to riding, but to overall health. Back pain is pretty common in older age, but can be improved by working not only your back but your core. Muscles often get sore from overuse or inability to perform actions we do anyways!

Overall, no mucle should be overlooked for rider fitness!

12/05/2024

DID YOU KNOW:
The amount of Large Animal Veterinarians has decreased by 90% since the end of World War II?

That’s a devistating amount that can lead to not only issues in our food system (which effects us all), but the Equestrian industry as well! Now is a better time than ever to learn first aid and prevention!

Be sure to keep a regular deworming routine, as well as ensuring that your horse isn’t ingesting sand to prevent colic! Here in the sandy desert, sand and gas colic are incredibly common, but can be prevented easily with a monthy dose of psyllium. Always keep some Banamine on hand to help sooth colic symptoms. Most supplements on the market for “preventing” colic don’t look at the root causes of stomach issues, so do some research before putting out the money!

Check your fences, walls, trailers, and shelters often to ensure nothing sharp that could cut your horse is within their reach. Spots where a leg might get caught are also worth looking out for. Cuts and scrapes are no reason to panic, injuries that require stitches include wounds with flaps, visible exposed tissue, and deep cuts longer than an inch. Keeping smaller wounds well cleaned and fly free is key to good healing. Constant bandaging may not be the best choice, as wounds need to be dry in order to heal.

Never use feed that is questionable, and make sure that the treats you feed your horse are acceptable for them to have! Reactions to bad food can happen fast. Horses can have allergies just like us, so use caution when feeding new treats.

Emergency visits are no fun, and our hard working Veterinarians are overworked enough as is! While accidents and emergency’s do happen, do your part to prevent them when possible!

12/04/2024

What do you notice about these three pieces of tack? I’ll give you a real world hint! If you’ve ever taken a tight bolt off with hand-tools, you’ve practiced the same effect they have on a horse!

That’s right, all three have “shanks” and thus leverage!

Leverage can be used by a pair of educated hands to use less pressure to ask things of our horses. Gear with leverage may not be the best choice for you and your horse, but leverage is very helpful to many horse-rider pairs that would like help staying in frame and enabling more percise use of the hands.

In a shank bit, light manipulation of the reins pulls the mouthpiece down on the horse’s tongue, the larger the shank, the more pressure is felt by the horse using the same amount of rein pressure. The same applies to a Hackamore or over-the-nose contraptions. It’s worth noting that a hackamore requires a very different amount of contact, giving the horse more freedom and using longer reins, as a horse is likely to get annoyed quickly with a constant tickle of pressure on the nose! It’s also a good way to mess up your horses relation to their halter, resulting in unsafe situations if contentious. Essentially the horse will ask the question, “why would I listen to you if you continue to bother my face even when I do the right thing?”

Shanks and Leverage are very useful tools to have in your toolbox, just make sure you’re using them right and remembering that not every horse may do their best with leverage!

12/02/2024

Accepting clients and freelancing!

True Passion Horsemanship has availability for the North Phoenix, New River, Peoria, and Cave Creek areas!

WHAT MAKES TPH SPECIAL?

- What I offer is all encompassing horsemanship that is unbiased by a sport, discipline, or breed! I work with professionals of all kinds contentiously to provide the best horsemanship and instruction possible, always in the pursuit of equine excellence!

- My training packages are flexible, including split payment options for full training.

- I can assist in your riding fitness journey as well as your riding skillset!

- I am always willing to recomend other like-minded trainers with differant expertise, with the stipulation that you teach me about what you learned from them!

- I can assist with your barn chores, be they as simple as cleaning stalls or as important as being present for Ferrier and Vet appointments!

WHAT DO I SPECIALIZE IN?

- Western speed events such as Barrels, Poles, and Gymkhana events.

- Trail, desensitizing, and life skills for you and your horse.

- Foundational Dressage that can help you succeed in any sport.

- Natural Horsemanship that also covers a horse’s needs beyond training.

- Building a foundation that is light and balanced for you and your horse.

- Problem solving that goes beyond behavior and assists in saddle fitting, correct Ferrier work, and dietary and supplemental needs.

- Mustang and Untouched C**t starting and finishing.

- Providing top quality care to your horses and other animals.

- Assisting you in what extra work you need to get done.

True Passion Horsemanship is here to assist you no matter if you’re a casual weekend rider or a professional looking for freelance help! I have lifelong experience working with animals of all kinds. I named my business for just that, Horsemanship is my True Passion!

10/31/2024

BIOMECHANICS;
What the heck are they? Why should you care?
Breaking the word down we see Bio- Meaning biological and mechanics- the breakdown of how things move. I can’t speak for you but I personally prioritize how my horse moves while I’m working with them!

Biomechanics go in to absolutely everything we do with our horses as well as how we move alongside them so knowing your bio-mechanical basics can take your riding to the next level!

Our basic bio-mechanical lesson for today:
Horses are balanced with 60% of their weight in the front. Depending on conformation, the exact percentage may vary. A downhill, long necked horse may cary a lot more weight on it’s forehand than an uphill, short necked horse. Other factors include the slope of the shoulder, positioning of the neck from the withers, and chest shape.

Face-planting is no way to get high scores or fast times. I recommend, for all horses because they are naturally heavier in the front, abdominal strength training and learning awareness of the hindquarters. This all sounds very complex, however, some long trotting with a neutral headset makes for a good core exercise and can be achieved every ride. For hind-end awareness, and still to benefit abdominals, try setting up some ground polls in awkward patterns so your horse has to think about their footing and hold their back legs up; Think standing bicycle crunches for horses. There’s a lot of conditioning that can be done to help even the most top-heavy horses!

Biomechanics don’t have to be intimidating and overcomplicated, let’s break them down!

Photo Credit: Canadian Pony Club!

05/15/2024

A new plague sweeping the social media landscape is what I call “ego softness”. We’ve all seen videos of people working bridle-less, ba****ck, or at liberty. A good 60% of these look fantastic and are done correctly, at least to the extent that the horse looks happy and has relaxed, or semi relaxed body language. Unfortunately, some put their ego and internet clout before considering what the horse is really feeling or telling them.

If your horse’s ears are pinned, their muscles are tense, their tail is in line with their spine or swooshing, your horse needs you to be a better advocate for them, not a performer. These are just some of the signs that a horse is stressed. Noticing these things and addressing them should take paramount over putting on a “soft” façade. The horse is always the judge of your treatment, and when I see a horse displaying signs like these, I’m going to take their side no matter what gear or lack of is being used during training.

In recent years, we’ve had a push twords being more gentle with our horses, and that’s fantastic! Yet, we can’t choose appearing “soft” over acknowledging our horse’s true feelings. In my opinion, the roughest thing you can do with a horse is ignore their cries for help. When done right, a person can certainly ride with little equipment and with little pressure. However, to truly have a harmonious relationship with any animal it takes time, effort, and a whole lot of knowledge.

To truly show softness in our riding, we have to be educated in why gear and cues are used. No matter how little we use or if we reward with a cookie, we’re asking things of our horse, and if we are clueless as to what we’re asking, might we as well go back to square one!

02/13/2024

Do you tip your farrier?
Here’s another ‘tip’ your farrier will appreciate!

My horses are very commonly complemented for their behavior and ease of handling; I take the safety of those handling my horses extremely seriously! It’s not fair to your horse or those working with your horse to deal with a hazardous situation! Farriers put themselves in backbreaking positions to make sure your horses stay sound. It’s an exhausting and often thankless career that could be made safer and easier with some simple additional training. I make sure that my horses are never the cause of a hard day, or even a life altering or ending injury!

It’s not just about lifting all 4 feet. Farriers need to hold up a foot for a long time, and often move and stretch legs to a position that is easier to work with. Prepare your horse by doing far more than just cleaning feet! All my horses are trained from the very beginning that I’m someone that can be trusted with just about anything, including holding their legs and moving them around. These skills can be transferred to things like doing beneficial stretches, putting on leg-gear, treating injuries, and a lot more!

The horse below is a Mustang yearling. Teach them these lessons in a gentle and understanding way while their young and they’ll be a valuable and trusting partner though-out the entirety of their life!

02/09/2024

We’re experts at Wenglish and Eastern here!

02/06/2024

True Passion Horsemanship would like to give a big Thank You to Marina Tarvida-Scegoleva For designing our amazing new Logo!

02/05/2024

Beautiful 🙌 Right on the Money to me!

What defines "SUCCESS" as a professional in the equine industry?

I think to most riders, success is determined by how many shows you have won, what level you ride at, how expensive your horses are, what brands of tack you use, how fancy your facility is etc.
This exact mindset is why I have had my name dragged through the mud more than once, due to other rider's insecurities trying to poke holes at me and bring me down.

But to me, if you have this perspective on what is the defining factor for success with horses, I truly believe you have lost the plot entirely.

Horses don't care about fancy stables, big manicured rings, ribbons on the walls, being pushed harder and harder, year after year, to achieve more and more for their rider.

Horses care about their needs being met, and the freedom to be a horse. The freedom to have ample turnout space, socializing in a herd with other horses. Plentiful hay and water, with no need for resource guarding. A loving owner who rides compassionately with the horse's best interest in mind. And one that does not value the ride above the welfare of the horse.

Yet almost everything mentioned there, is typically lost with the normal show horse routine and care mindset. And at that point, I believe we are truly letting the horses down. As this no longer becomes a passion for our love of horses, but instead a selfish obsession with our own desire for greatness.

We all started our riding journey out of a simple love and curiosity for thr animal.
How sad is it, that almost all of us seem to outgrow and forget this?

For me, success lies with the horse.

Success is when I am able to rescue a beaten, broken, neglected horse, heal and nurture them and find them and amazing forever home.

Success is looking out my kitchen window, and seeing all the horses living with zero anxiety, out on turnout, socializing and playing. Being horses, as horses should be.

Success is taking discarded, unsound, "worthless" horses and helping them heal in both body and mind, turning them into revitalized, sound, and talented horses.

Success is picking riders up who have lost their confidence in their ability, and watching them flourish and grow, with newfound understanding and strength.

Success is taking in dangerous horses, and working with them to heal and problem solve, and give them a second chance.

Success is seeing the obvious before/after of my program, the absolute transformations of both body and mind through biomechanics and R+

Success is having every single one of my horses so happy to work, that they all swarm me in the field wanting to participate.

Success is having horses that are comfortable enough to be vulnerable and expressive

Success is watching horses who had never had a chance to "be horses" transform in magical ways once they're allowed the freedom they deserve.

Success is putting the horse's needs before my own.

Also keep in mind, that the ability to show and show rated, upper level shows is a very elitist privilege that most people can not realistically afford. It's wonderful if you have that privilege, but looking down on others for not having the same is simply prejudice.

In my perspective, I was raised poor. I never had any family contributions for my riding, even as a child I paid for my own riding lessons with collecting recycling, baby sitting, working on farms / cash jobs etc. Until I was old enough to get a real job. I funded my riding all through my childhood, teens, and adulthood, without a single outside contribution.

Personal success for me would be the fact that I was able to dig my way through this industry at all, considering the absolute zero support that I had.

And for those who know me, you'd know that I am also a para rider with a serious spinal cord injury. I should not even be able to walk, let alone ride, train, coach etc.

Riding in general for me is a success. If I can reach my goals, that would be just a cherry on top! However, being in the saddle PERIOD for me is a success, and other's insecurities resulting in the demand for the shown ring does not change that for me.

This is not to put down riders for having goals and wanting to reach achievements, not at all! I personally have big aspirations in dressage, which is why I lesson with 2 grand prix coaches, and constantly am working on my own education and ability.
However my own goals, will never, ever, be at the deficit of my horses.

And I encourage others to explore ways they can modify how they do things with their horses to reach their goals, while still keeping the horse at the front line priority.

At the end of the day, success isn't something that can be easily pin pointed and judged upon. And the mindset of the necessity to be an accomplished show rider just further breeds the ablesist, self serving, toxicity that the horse industry is so well known for. This may be how you define success, but that does not mean it's the same for someone else.

How do you define success?

(Picture of one of my rescue mares who unfortunately had to cross the rainbow bridge 🌈)

01/23/2024

Your trainer is just as important as the horse you choose! Conveniently, the good ones often have the same qualities!

You want a patient one, that understands you may have flaws and places you need help. They shouldn’t be too harsh on honest mistakes, and have the know-how to help you when they arise.
Your trainer, and horse, should greet you excitedly when you arrive at the barn, ready to work with you in a friendly and caring way. They should not be prickly and unfriendly, unprofessional, and not someone you want to be around.
They should challenge you to be the best you can be, while respecting your limits. You should be able to achieve your goals alongside them, while being humbled at every turn. Good horses and trainers have in common that they are there for you as you grow, even if in the beginning you have a long way to go!

I’ve had my share of great trainers, and ones that are still awesome, but not a great fit for me! Each rider, like each horse, requires something a little different! More encouragement, more tough love, or even just a different point of view. Trainers, much like horses, are not something you should choose lightly!