Frayed Feather Horsemanship

09/17/2024

My happiest day with a client is our last. Now you might think that’s crazy to say, but hear me out…
From the start, I make abundantly clear to my clients that I am not a “forever trainer.” I will forever be here for you after training, but my job is to teach you skills and build your confidence to the point that you feel capable of conquering any challenge that comes your way.
How many times have you seen someone in an endless cycle of relying on trainer after trainer? The moment they have an issue they throw in the towel and give a trainer a ring? Spending thousands and thousands of dollars over the years and still not feeling capable. That’s not how I do things.
You see, I’m hired to fix problems. But what you don’t see in the fine print of my job description? Building confidence in chaos, the strong desire for you to believe in yourself and your capabilities enough that you know how to apply your horsemanship knowledge in any scenario. Every client of mine, regardless of age, doesn’t leave the program until that point is reached.
That process is different for everybody! Sometimes it takes weeks, months, or even years.
I will forever be here for my clients, but need them to know that they are more capable than they know. More confident than they believe. More skilled than they feel.
So my happiest day with my clients is my last. Because that means I did a good job creating a well rounded, confident and capable team. Not just a temporary fix to a problem. 💙

09/10/2024

Rip is studying the gymkhana patterns to take good care of his owner in their first gymkhana soon! Who said horses can’t read? 😉

07/19/2024

It is ok if you get referred elsewhere, and it is ok to refer elsewhere.
Again, it is ok to say you are not the right person for the job.
This client horse had been doing well in training, until he had a traumatic incident with the saddle. To be specific, he did a little crow hop, then the off billet snapped, causing a huge pressure shift, so off to bucking he went. Replaced the off billet, and the brand new one out of the package snapped when this poor gelding didn’t even do anything. Talk about reassuring a bad behavior lol. Replaced it again, but now of course the bucking is a reassured behavior, so he started up a little bit. Nothing too crazy, but then he got the stirrup stuck to the fence, meaning of course, he was stuck too.
Based on this incident, other bad behaviors started to come up with the saddle.
For those unfamiliar, my process is very slow. For the horses that need it, it has made a WORLD of difference for them. But some horses don’t need that, and this was one that didn’t need that. He needed a more “rip the bandaid off” approach, which is not my specialty. He needed traditional, older “cowboy” methods without the hard handed aspect of that.
My client did not want anyone else to work with her horse. Although I appreciated the loyalty, I kept insisting that I am not the person for this task and her horse would better benefit from somebody else’s training. Eventually, she reached out to the referral I sent her which didn’t end up working out. But that person referred her to a gentleman named Dakota Bell.
I was finally able to go out to watch a second session, and this gelding is doing awesome with Dakota.
Dakota shares the same mindset as I, open and fresh. Dakota even asked my opinion on how to get his backing more fluent, to which I showed, and the gelding was almost 100% better at it. Between the two of us, but primarily Dakota, this gelding will be successful in any avenue his owner decides to take with him.
But please remember, it is ok to be referred out, and to refer out. Everybody specializes in their own things, and that should always be used to the horse’s advantage.
What a refreshing experience this is so far, to find a local, like minded trainer. I will definitely be using Dakota as a primary reference from here on, and am excited that this horse has found the ideal trainer for his circumstances.

07/04/2024

All my northern Arizona clients and friends, I heard you loud and clear! All your heartfelt messages about wishing you would have known about my quick previous trip up there means so much. I will be shooting Saturday the 13th at the White Mountain Mounted Shooters shoot, as a sponsored rider for Guns Plus. I miss you all so much, and hope to be able to visit with some of you on the 13th/14th.
Come on out to support, and see some very talented riders showcase what this sport is all about!
For all of your gun needs, Guns Plus has got you covered. Located in the west valley of Arizona, owned by Ken Senft, know that you will be treated with the quality care and service that we as customers deserve, while getting some of the best deals. A win win!
I am hoping to see some of you there, and praying for clean, fast, and safe runs for all.💙

06/07/2024

The second picture is probably my favorite one I’ve ever received. When Steve Petronsky sent me these pictures I knew exactly what run and what section it was.
I had the biggest smile on my face because Major and I have been working on rating. Working on slowing down and having a relaxed stride, especially down a rundown. And he did excellent for this one!
The second picture is what pride looks and feels like. A special feeling that we all get, but I was lucky enough to get an awesome picture of it.
Major and I were clean this day, bringing home our first clean shooter $ as a team.

03/28/2024

My biggest bragging right with my training horses is that I form such a strong connection with all of them. However, I rarely get video proof of it. I started recording to show Forrest’s owner that he was sad I was leaving, and he let out the sweetest little nicker as soon as I started recording. He watched me like a hawk as I gathered my belongings, put his equipment away, and as I drove away. How adorable is this?

03/23/2024

What a wonderful day! I think these videos(in the comments) are such a good example of how to have a conversation with your horse! Spicy Girl was pretty spicy on the first stage, and my personal preference is that they have to earn the speed, not demand it, vice versa of course.
So I held her back as she shook her head unhappy with me in Stage 1. The shutdown of this was of course unpleasant.
Stage 2 first 5 balloons I hold her back just enough until I feel her come to me, which you see during the gun change, and immediately after the 6th balloon is shot. Notice her take a slow stride on her own with no increase in pressure from me. As soon as I felt that, I let her move out at a controlled speed. I did slip my thumb off the hammer to miss but oh well! The shut down was so much better of course.
Stage 3 she turned ahead of the barrel, entirely my fault, I should have been clearer on direction, I deserved to miss that shot! She started to pick up speed going into the 3rd barrel turn, I barely checked her, and she instantly slowed down. That deserved her a rundown at her pace, so off I let her go. You can’t see all of the shutdown, but it was so fluent and peaceful.
I hate to be on any horse’s mouth so much, but remember that the purpose of a bit is to communicate things with your horse! Not to yank and cause pressure or pain to get results by gaining “control” but to have a conversation about expectations and boundaries!
I am no mounted shooting horse trainer, I’ve never had a single lesson on it. I really have no idea what I’m actually doing other than how to be safe while doing it. However, I am a person who knows how to have a conversation with a horse, and this conversation really helped Spicy and I today! The point being, regardless of discipline, regardless of issue, regardless of knowledge, having a conversation will help every time.
So I’m not sure who needs to hear this…Have a conversation with your horse the next time you have a problem! Don’t give into demands, and don’t make demands. I have this mentality with ALL of my training horses and personal horses, each and every time they love this approach. They are the same as us, they would rather a conversation than an argument. These videos are a perfect example of how the argument progresses into a conversation. A conversation of compromise and healthy communication.
I also, for the first time, holstered my gun without looking down, a couple times! Really cool!

03/12/2024

When I moved back to the valley, I announced that I would only be offering my services part time. However, you all are amazing and filled my books full time.
Which saddens me to say that come May, I will strictly be doing part time training, and it seems that most of my spots are already full.
Meaning, if you want to get your horse or yourself in training with me, now is the time!
Training onsite and offsite:
I specialize in problem solving and starting/restarting. I use techniques catered to each individual horse and owner to ensure their short term and long term goals are met leaving no holes in the process. Even the most reactive horses have the right to feel confident in their own skin.
Lessons offsite (on your own horse):
I specialize in beginners and have extensive experience teaching all ages and skill levels. I teach only with a positive, encouraging tone. Building your confidence from a bad wreck, wanting pointers on your seat, needing your child taught how to ride, and everything in between.
I do also offer exercising services.
It has been my pleasure helping so many people and horses along the way. For just over 7 years, when I started offering my services, you have all kept me full time the whole way. I could not be more grateful to be a part of your horsemanship journey. It is unclear if full time training will come back at any point. If it does, I will update on here.
As always, ride confidently. 💙

02/28/2024

UPDATE: Buddie has been adopted to a wonderful adopter❤️ thank you all for the shares and inquiries. We look forward to helping Buddie get to his person soon!
I have had the greatest pleasure of working with Buddie for almost 2 years, and have watched him grow into the proud, brave gentleman that I always knew he could be. He is undoubtedly one that I would love to adopt and keep as my own, however pursuing education will bring limitations in my life. Meaning, I would not be able to fulfill the needs he deserves, or offer the life experiences he would love to encounter.
Which means that Buddie is up for adoption through Equine WellBeing Rescue Inc.
He has been here in the valley with me since December to get serious about his training in hopes to have him adopted out. He, as always, has been excelling and we now feel it is time for him to have his own person for the rest of his long life.
Buddie’s ground manners are wonderful and his foundation is laid correctly. He has never been anything but a gentleman. Under saddle he has absolutely blossomed, being able to feel the calm of a human on top of him has comforted him dramatically more than just on the ground bonding. I have met very few horses have this amazing quality.
To make the adoption process smooth for the adopter and dear Buddie, I am offering 10 free sessions to any adopter within reasonable travel range. Yes, 10 sessions at absolutely no cost to you.
Buddie has a very special place in my heart and so many others. Finding the right home is a must. We are excited to find a home that will continue Buddie’s life experience, and enjoy the special bond that Buddie offers. It is truly like no other.
With any questions about Buddie’s training, please reach out to me via Messenger or call/text at 602-531-0060
With any interest in filling out an adoption application, please visit Equine WellBeing Rescue Inc.’s website.
We know Buddie’s forever human is out there, can you share to help them find him?❤️

02/26/2024

Just little ol’ Spicy Girl taking good care of me yet again. 2 clean shooters in a row that we won the money back with some extra!
As always, a big thank you to Becky for letting me borrow everything I need to participate in such a fun thing. Horse, guns, gun belt, you name it. The continued offers today to borrow different horses is so generous and kind, even from people I just met. All of our disciplines have their good and bad of course, but mounted shooting has definitely been the most welcoming to me, it feels just like home. I never could have got into it without Becky, and am so lucky to call her another client turned friend.❤️
Videos in the comments🪶

12/14/2023

My northern boys are here!
Buddie and Ryder arrived from Snowflake yesterday, and oh did I miss them.
For a couple of inexperienced youngins, they handled the haul extremely well and unloaded like the gentlemen they are.
They are both here to continue being started under saddle, and will be ready to blaze the northern trails just in time for the beautiful spring weather.
I took these pictures right when the free range cattle strolled by. I found them to be perfect examples of how much we can hear our horse speak, by looking at their body. What do you interpret from these pictures? My answer is below each one.
Please welcome the boys to their first desert adventure! There is a wonderful world out there, and I can’t wait for them to be able to explore it!🪶

12/06/2023

What a whirlwind these last couple of days have been…
Spicy Girl took great care of me at the shoot this weekend and I won my first $$$ from a shoot.
Then we said a sorrow filled goodbye to dear Eclipse. Eclipse had been with me for 4 years, and his time had come. Eclipse had given a few lessons here and there in his time with me, but I loved him with no expectation of performance. It was the least I could do, after everyone else in his life had only loved him for what he could offer in return. He only worked when he wanted to with me.
Moon and I mourn. Eclipse was the last influential horse in her life. She had been raised from a yearling by Sonny, Jupiter, Storm, and Eclipse. All gone now. She is now almost 8. My sensitive girl, always coming to me for comfort. Losing 2 in one year, 3 counting my mom’s horse, has been tough.
Please give your horses an extra hug for me today. Appreciate them, love them, and value them as they deserve. 💙

11/28/2023

Thank you all so much for all the birthday wishes already so early in the day! These were hand done by Jacob’s mom, what a great present and so well done! Thank you all💙

11/08/2023

🪶

Comparative neurobiology of horse and human.

Horses and humans are both mammals.
Our brains may not be the same size, but they are almost identical in their structure and function.

Why can our brains look so similar but our behaviours and sensitivity to the world look so different?

The area in the picture highlighted is the prefrontal cortex or the (PFC). Its job in humans, horses, dogs, dolphins, elephants, cats, mice, rats, all mammals, and even birds is to carry out "higher executive functions" such as:

🧠 problem solving
🧠 decision making
🧠 reasoning
🧠 risk assessment
🧠 forward planning
🧠 impulse control
🧠 intention

Obviously, these executive functions are more advanced in humans than in other species of mammals, but this part of the brain plays a pivotal role in higher levels of learning beyond primal behaviours and learning survival skills.

So why aren't we seeing these higher executive functioning skills and behaviours in horses as much as what we see them in dogs, dolphins, elephants and even birds?

Ultimately it comes down to safety!

The latest neuroscience research suggests that when the brain feels unsafe it causes the body to produce stress response hormones and these stress response hormones cause the PFC to go "offline".
This means that subcortical regions of the brain (deeper parts of the brain) such as the primal brain (AKA limbic system, survival brain, flight/fight brain) completely take over to increase the chances of survival.

Feeling unsafe causes the feeling of fear and it is fear that gets this party started.

So behaviours come from two areas:

1. The PFC, carrying out problem solving skills, reasoning, impulse control, forward planning etc. that may be interpreted as "obedience" and "partnership".

2. The primal brain, carrying out reactive survival behaviours. This brain does NOT carry out impulse control, forward planning, problem solving, etc. It just reacts to the world. This brain heavily relies on patterns and consistency. This brain will cause freeze/flight/fight behaviours such as shutting down, bolting, biting, rearing, bucking, kicking, barging, etc.

Which brain is the domesticated horse spending most of it's time in?
It's primal brain!

This is why we don't get to see their full intellectual and cognitive potential because most of the time, domesticated horses are perceiving their world in a fearful way to some degree.

We can help our horses with this!

Feeling fearful is the OPPOSITE to feeling calm.
If we want to help our horses access their PFC then we MUST do whatever it takes to help them feel calm.

☝️ ONLY when a brain feels calm can it slow down enough to develop TRUE confidence. Only when the brain feels confident will it access TRUE cognition (PFC).

☝️ We first need to understand that when we get "bad behaviour" from our horses, it's not intentional or naughty or rude. What you are seeing is either a horse that is just reacting to the fear they feel or they are carrying out their "coping mechanism" in response to their anticipation of feeling fear.

☝️ Try to remove expectations that your horse should "know better".
"Knowing better" implies that all behaviours are coming from the PFC and there should be some impulse control and reasoning. Unless your horse feels calm, they can't access the PFC to "know better".

THIS STARTS WITH YOU!!!

You need to be consciously aware if YOU feel calm first. If you feel calm, your horse will have a better chance at feeling calm. Expecting them to feel calm when you don't is unfair.

The best way to create calmness is to intentionally be SLOW!!!
SLOW EVERYTHING you do down.
SLOW your movement down.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your walking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your horse down.
If you feel too slow, then you're going slow enough.

Calmness is slow, not fast.

This will help you and your horse to connect and feel safe together.
When the brain feels stressed, the stress response hormones cause the body to speed up.

Stress = speed

We can reverse engineer this process and create a calm mind through slow intentional movement and a relaxed posture.

The by-product of a calm brain is confidence and cognition (PFC access).

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 😊

Photo: Credit: Adult horse (equine) brain, sagittal section. Michael Frank, Royal Veterinary College. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

10/19/2023

What a thoughtful and gracious gift from Linda. It will be such a lovely daily reminder of all our adventures and achievements with Rayne. Thank you so much💙

10/12/2023

What stunning photos Equinery Images takes. He always makes me look better than I am, and faster than I go! These are from the clean shooter in March earlier this year.❤️

09/28/2023

POSTING FOR A CLIENT
Meet Dutton! Dutton is a grade 15-17 y/o gelding with quite the story. Full disclosure as usual:
Dutton was rescued out of a pen about 6 months ago with a horrible body condition score. The story he came with was that he came off a ranch and was presumably used for working cattle. After a lot of rehab work, he has made it to where his owner is comfortable re🏠ing him. To the right home.
After getting to an appropriate body condition, his owner started him back under saddle. He takes the saddle and bridle with no issues. About a month ago his owner’s daughter laid across him with no issues, until asking for a step forward. Dutton started bucking his way away from her daughter. His owner has back issues and can not take him further in training, nor has the schedule to allow the consistent work he needs.
About a month ago, Dutton was also fully vetted. He is UTD on shots, deworming, and his teeth were fine.
The only other vice that has been found with Dutton is he backs up when asking to lift a leg for cleaning or the farrier. I worked very briefly with him on a front, and he knows how to. He was administered Dorm on his last trim for safety of the farrier. He will need work on this, but has not offered to kick out at any time when lifting a leg.
Dutton keeps a very calm and stoic demeanor. He is not spooky, and takes new things like desensitizing in stride. He loads and unloads, ground ties, ties, cross ties, bathes, disengages the hindquarters, lunges, knows vocal and hand cues, etc. Dutton is 100% sound, but cosmetically his body tells us more about his treatment in his life. He comes with some scars from horrible cinch sores.
The most important thing for Dutton and his owner, is a good 🏠. Priced appropriately for an educated and ideal 🏠. Please pm for any additional information.

09/19/2023

As some of you know, my time in the White Mountains is coming to an end. I will be leaving this November to return to Wittmann. My return is prompted by my desire to pursue veterinary school.
It has been my pleasure teaching and helping so many people and horses in my time up here. Every single one of you has come so far, and will continue to go far in your future with horses. It is bittersweet, but I will always be just a call or text away.
I am incredibly grateful that just small talk alone has filled most of my spots in the valley. However, that leaves me with very few spots to offer.
This is what I have:
ON-SITE training, February I will have (1) opening. I am full until then. Wait list options available in case of cancellations or a sooner opening.
Located in Wittmann, AZ.
OFF-SITE training, riding lessons, and exercising, I have (3) openings.
I travel to you, up to 40 miles from Wittmann, AZ.
ON-SITE riding lessons, TBD if offering.
Contact via messenger or
Call/Text 602-531-0060
Thank you for all of your kind and encouraging worlds for this next chapter in my life. I look forward to honoring my purpose in life more than ever. Helping those who can’t speak for themselves, and are so often misunderstood. Not just with training, but now in time, medically.