Duo Horsemanship

Duo Horsemanship Performance Through Partnership

03/10/2025

Who else was personally victimized by a wall clock today? ✋ but so ready for more sunshine!

02/22/2025

A lot of riding focuses on endless body micromanagement- pick up a shoulder here, hold the haunches there, squeeze this, hold that. It’s almost like herding cats, because as soon as you get something where you wanted it, some other body part is bound to get out of place. When we ride this way, we are always reacting to the symptoms of imbalance, as opposed to guiding the body into balance.

A horse in self carriage knows how to manage his own body. Our job is to teach them to find this, little by little, by showing them how to move in rhythm, how to find their hind legs, and how to move unimpeded as a whole unit- not pieces and parts. Then we can watch him shape up before our eyes, in a way that doesn’t require squeezing and pulling and squishing the body into a shape- the shape he gets into comes from his own balance.

Photo by Jasmine cope

If you could ride any horse (real or fictional), who would it be?🐴Drop your dream ride in the comments! ⬇️P.S. Want to m...
02/22/2025

If you could ride any horse (real or fictional), who would it be?🐴
Drop your dream ride in the comments! ⬇️

P.S. Want to make real riding dreams come true? We’ve got lesson spots open—message us to book!

We were fortunate to be able to attend Emma Daily Kline’s clinic when Bellwether Farm hosted her here in the Midwest las...
02/19/2025

We were fortunate to be able to attend Emma Daily Kline’s clinic when Bellwether Farm hosted her here in the Midwest last weekend. Both horses made great progress in the span of 3 days and I came away with a lot of improved tools in my toolbox and a more developed eye for a few little things that really aren’t so little.

Our student Karrigan did a great job with Bowie and came away with a ton more knowledge about developing green horses which will serve her well as she continues to educate her own young mare at home.

It’s good for the soul to gather up there with “my people” from a few different states who are all on the same neverending journey to improve ourselves for the sake of the horse.

Thank you Diane for the photos!

Building confidence and skill one ride at a time! This little cowboy is mastering the art of mounting smoothly.
02/09/2025

Building confidence and skill one ride at a time! This little cowboy is mastering the art of mounting smoothly.

Who’s ready for some color in the world again? ✋
02/06/2025

Who’s ready for some color in the world again? ✋

At Duo Horsemanship, we believe in building confidence, trust, and a strong foundation—both in and out of the saddle. Ou...
02/05/2025

At Duo Horsemanship, we believe in building confidence, trust, and a strong foundation—both in and out of the saddle. Our lessons focus on balanced riding, effective communication, and most importantly, having fun!

💡 Perfect for beginners & experienced riders
🐴 Patient, knowledgeable instruction
🤍 Safe & supportive environment

Come ride with us and discover the joy of horses! DM us for more info!

Some of us at the barn are participating in the 2025 Northwood Farms Twelve Week Horsemanship Challenge! (It’s closed to...
01/27/2025

Some of us at the barn are participating in the 2025 Northwood Farms Twelve Week Horsemanship Challenge! (It’s closed to new entrants for this year, but it’ll happen again next year.) One horse, 40 horsemanship hours, and 30 rides in 12 weeks. This challenge horse is nervous about vehicles, so we’ve been spending time doing lots of short serpentines in the field by the road. The ground was finally good enough to lope on, but when it’s been softer this has also been a great way to stay productive and find some improvement at slower speeds.

01/13/2025

The urge to change or fix others

This has been a struggle of mine for years - the over focus on what others should be doing. Watching people make mistakes or reject information I know could help them has left me squirming internally more often than I care to admit

And my mentors, my dear teachers who have been ever patient with me while I do the very same - reject or misunderstand information that they know I need - have helped me over the years to understand this. They have a calm and peaceful way of watching people’s journeys without becoming internally disrupted. They have a security I envy- and over time I’ve come to understand this security, though I can’t say I possess it 100% of the time, I am happily improving.

This security comes from focusing on ourselves, and understanding excess focus on others is a diversion from our own work. It means that the more we take our craft seriously and weave it into our whole lives, the more grace we have for others - because it is serious and sometimes very difficult business. When we really understand the struggle to change ourselves, we realize how difficult or even impossible it is to change someone else.

We come to accept that nothing will “take” until the subject is ready, and the attempt to pressure someone ahead of their time will surely detract from the beautiful and very unique path to growth of the individual.

It really helps to look back on my own path, and to think what my teachers thought of me all those years ago. I’d like to think I’m unrecognizable compared to that person back then - and I remember the power of a seed planted, and the no judgement of a teacher who leads the way by example.

Chronological wrap up of what I got up to with my own ponies this year! What a dream it is to get to pursue horsemanship...
01/02/2025

Chronological wrap up of what I got up to with my own ponies this year! What a dream it is to get to pursue horsemanship every day, and get to travel and collect knowledge to bring home to help others where I can. Here’s to another wonderful year of growth, fun, and connection. ☀️

Merry Christmas from (some of) our herd to yours 💚❤️
12/26/2024

Merry Christmas from (some of) our herd to yours 💚❤️

Just a couple pretty mares I’ve gotten to enjoy working with this month 🎀Daisey is just getting started under saddle, an...
09/13/2024

Just a couple pretty mares I’ve gotten to enjoy working with this month 🎀
Daisey is just getting started under saddle, and Dixie has been working on turning loose, following a feel, and letting her guard down.
Excited to see how both these girls go in the future!

We have a big announcement coming soon… any guesses?
08/27/2024

We have a big announcement coming soon… any guesses?

08/26/2024

Talking about whisker clipping is a really great litmus test to get an idea of how much of competition is human centred.

It’s a far more controversial topic than it should be.

In FEI classes, whisker clipping was banned recently and this caused a major uproar.

But in lower level classes and many other show organizations, it’s perfectly legal.

Regardless of anyone’s personal preferences, a simple fact remains — whiskers are a sensory organ for horses.

Each individual whisker even has its own blood supply.

The debate of how much they help with sensation is still ongoing but what is fact is that we know they’re used for sensory input by the horse.

It really isn’t up to us to argue to what extent they are used when that argument is only being used to justify us clipping them off for totally shallow reasons.

The only “benefit” humans get from whisker clipping is a “cleaner look” that they’ve been conditioned to like better.

There’s no other incentive, it’s all aesthetic based.

So, the fact that this is still as controversial of a debate as it is when it’s rooted in shallow human preferences really speaks for how much competition centres around human desires.

Because WHY are we enabling ourselves in promoting mindsets that flippantly take away protection and sensory output from the horse, with no care of the impact, just because we like they look better?

Whiskers are cute, for one.

For two, you can’t even see them in the show ring, only close up.

And then third, and most obviously, THEY ARE A SENSORY ORGAN.

Competiton can be done ethically, in my opinion.

But we will struggle to get to the destination of ethical competition so long as human desires are centred to the extent they currently are.

Torque got to be the “dressage” horse for a local business’s “Average Joe Olympics” last week! What a fun way to spend t...
08/06/2024

Torque got to be the “dressage” horse for a local business’s “Average Joe Olympics” last week! What a fun way to spend the morning!

One of several new projects around here… we should have another fun announcement soon! 🔜 📣
08/06/2024

One of several new projects around here… we should have another fun announcement soon! 🔜 📣

💥 Super cute young prospect! 💥Effie is a 4-year-old Gypsy Vanner who has a fun, bright personality and is put together r...
07/30/2024

💥 Super cute young prospect! 💥

Effie is a 4-year-old Gypsy Vanner who has a fun, bright personality and is put together right. She has been lightly started with a western, horsemanship-based foundation but could truly excel in any direction. (Even carriage driving?) Effie has always been barefoot and an easy keeper, although she does benefit from allergy pills in the summer, otherwise, no maintenance required. She has wonderful ground manners and will remain in partial training until sold. 14.3 hh. Located in Runnells, Iowa.

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Runnells, IA

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+15152433074

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Who else was personally victimized by a wall clock today? ✋ but so ready for more sunshine!

How to tie a buckaroo knot! This is a scarf from Wild Wild Rags - highly recommend them; lightweight and soft but still so warm!

💥 Super cute young prospect! 💥Effie is a 4-year-old Gypsy Vanner who has a fun, bright personality and is put together right. She has been lightly started with a western, horsemanship-based foundation but could truly excel in any direction. (Even carriage driving?) Effie has always been barefoot and an easy keeper, although she does benefit from allergy pills in the summer, otherwise, no maintenance required. She has wonderful ground manners and will remain in partial training until sold. 14.3 hh. Located in Runnells, Iowa.

Looking forward to the Brannaman colt start in Wyoming next week 😄 ready as we’ll ever be!

Herding cats… #thatkindofweek

Catching a foot in the air How do we do it? The goal is to choose one of your horse’s legs and change the direction of the foot while it is in the air. If you’re leading your horse forward, the foot should leave the ground going forward, hang in the air for a split second, reverse course, and land traveling backwards near where it left the ground. This can be done forwards-to-backwards, or backwards-to-forwards. It’s best to start this exercise along the fence to help the horse stay straight. Why do we do it? It helps the horse stay accurate and timely in response to our cues. It also helps the human develop their timing. The only time a horse’s foot can be directed is as it’s leaving the ground. If the foot is already on its way down to the ground, or the horse’s weight is fully on it, it’s not available to be directed. We want our guidance to feel smooth and fluid to the horse, not like we’re tripping him and taking his balance away. It’s all a dance! 💃🏼

Working with Vironika on getting in time with Red’s feet. This basic skill has endless applications, from simply increasing balance and harmony between you and your horse, to setting them up to execute balanced athletic maneuvers. A beautiful day to get some practice in! ☀️

I have so much fun with these kids. Leo is such a little scientist. He always has a “fun fact” for me (usually more than one) and he loves to experiment with which flavor of treat Red prefers each week. Red really enjoys being the test subject. Also - check out last night’s sunset! #lifeisgood

It’s already been an inspiring weekend of horsemanship with Gamilah Unbridled at one of our favorite organizations, Animal Rescue League of Iowa! Patrick and Avery are on an amazing journey to help horses without homes. It’s really fun to get out of my sandbox and learn a new method of horsemanship to help develop a partnership between horse and human. We’re still practicing with our horses at home! Tomorrow is the last day of the clinic, which is open for public auditing.

We had some really fulfilling rides at the Upper Iowa Western Weekend last week! Drop Your Guns, an APHA gelding owned by Faye Murray

Hope your hydration game is as strong as Beckham’s 🌞☀️🌞☀️

Happy colt starting season! 💯 we sure are blessed to have some beautiful cow ponies to start this year.

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