Isidro Espinoza Horsemanship

26/06/2025

There’s this old, tired idea that riding is about control. That dressage is about making the horse submit. Taming the wild. Forcing precision.

But here’s the truth:

You don’t ride to break the horse. You ride so 𝑦𝑜𝑢 don’t break.

Because the horse isn’t the chaos. You are.

Your fear. Your tension. Your ego. Your overthinking.
Every crooked thought runs straight down the reins.
And the horse? He doesn’t care about your excuses. He shows you exactly who you are.

So you learn to breathe. To feel. To listen more than you speak.
You learn to hold your position in the storm.
You learn to ride into the fire, not to dominate it, but to survive it.

Dressage doesn’t make you perfect.
Done right, it makes you unbreakable.

Not because you control everything. But because you learn to hold your seat when everything falls apart.

It’s not about who you are when the ride begins, it’s who you are when you dismount.

24/06/2025

The Need To Be Right

This is a plague 🧟‍♂️ on our world.

I struggled with this immensely, especially during Covid. I am an INFJ-A (the Advocate). The one to stand up when others won’t when I see wrong done.

This helped me a lot in life as someone who was bullied and stood up for myself. Then later standing up for others who were bullied. Standing up for my patients as a nurse 👩‍⚕️ when a doctor tried killing them or their family tried to make decisions for them.

It was natural for me to see something I saw as wrong and stand up to prove I was right. To do what I felt was right.

The problem with proving people wrong on social media is they will die 😵 on their hill. They don’t want to hear other perspectives. They just want to shout THEIR truth.

So it is a fruitless battle to what end and for what reason?

The need to be right.🙄

Now, I don’t care. You do you boo 🤷🏻‍♀️. It has nothing to do with me and that realization has been incredibly liberating.

With all the information out there we are flooded with and available at a click of the button, any ignorance is truly willful. It is not my job nor your job to educate 📕 people. They can educate themselves or learn the hard way like so many of us insist on doing.

This seeps into our work with horses. We NEED to be right. We will stay working, long past when we should have quit, because we WILL make them do what we want and “end on a good note”.

Because, damn it, we gotta WIN 💪🏼 . We can’t let them win!!!! We gotta be RIGHT!

Unfortunately, that rigid mindset causes all of us to lose, especially the horse.

It’s our ego. The perpetual need to be right.

🐴 Your horse doesn’t need to be right. He just needs to get the hell away from you to LIVE. That’s how horses think. They want to just live and be safe.

You overwhelm them, you are inconsistent, you are unfair, you have unrealistic expectations, you don’t listen to them telling you they hurt, you-you-you.

It’s all about you and what you want when you want it.

And they generously give it to us. Over and over and over again at their expense. And we still aren’t content. We want more.

Shelve that ego and let it go. It really isn’t that important you are right. The horse doesn’t care. He isn’t getting one over on you.

He just wants to live. He doesn’t give a 💩 about right or wrong. He is just a horse.

If things aren’t working out, pivot. Or better yet, just let it go.

Tomorrow is another day you GET to be in their presence.

21/06/2025

Heard this today and it really resonated with me.

20/06/2025

Here is IEH Modelo’s trail class. He was absolutely flawless!!!

I made a mistake by not completing the pinwheel which cost us the win (you can see me realizing and looking back 🤦🏽‍♀️). Modelo can be pretty spooky sometimes and he didn’t show it at all! I was so grateful he really focused on me and trusted me to keep him safe. He came in third in this class.

Wanted to take a moment to thank some of our sponsors. We only have sponsors with products we use daily and stand by.

Modelo is wearing my favorite halters from Ridge Creek Tack. They are their lunging rope halters. Absolutely love them and their lead ropes. Use code IEH10 for 10% off storewide!

Modelo’s incredible body condition and shine comes from this combo:
🌟 2oz ExcelEQ ProElite from Excel Supplements (use code Espinoza5)
🌟 Equalizer from Western Wildling Holistics
🌟 Daily Red Fortified with Garlic from Redmond Equine (use code IEH-AZ for discount)
🌟 Hay Chix hay net always filled with grass hay to keep him and his gut happy (use code Espinoza20 for discount)

We also love Daily Gold Stress Relief and Electrolytes at the shows from Equine. Huge help with being sucked up and not drinking plus ulcer symptoms.

Thank you Mustang Heritage Foundation for this fun show and this In-Hand Division! Thank you Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals for this incredible horse!

18/06/2025

It’s going international!!!!

Hallo Deutschland!

"Beyond the Herd" is going international this weekend at the Equinale Film Festival in Germany.

is a festival dedicated to stories about the human-horse connection, and we’re excited to be part of this year’s lineup.

📍 Gut Heinrichshof, Germany
🗓 Screening Times:
• Friday, June 21st at 13:25
• Saturday, June 22nd at 14:00 (not July, ignore the typo on the infographic please!)

Full festival details: equinale.de/programm-2025

15/06/2025

What an incredible week at the Mustang Heritage Foundation Spectacular.

I could not be more proud of our horses and these incredible people we are privileged to have in our lives.

Let’s start with Modelo!
🥇1st - Handling & Conditioning
🥈2nd - Freestyle
🥉3rd - Trail (my error caused this placing, Modelo was perfect)

🏆Grand Champion Overall of the first ever Adult In-Hand Extreme Mustang Makeover!!!!

There was a scoring error that caused another trainer to be announced as the winner during awards. It was later fixed and thankfully we were allowed to get our picture taken with our ribbons and Modelo got the recognition he so deserved. He was the most steady and consistent horse all week 🥹.

I had so many people want to buy Modelo. Even one of Dan James crew came up to see if he was for sale 🤭. He will be staying with us forever. We only have two personal mustangs, Leyenda and Modelo. They have filled a hole in our hearts and we are incredibly grateful for them.

I don’t want to steal the thunder of these two incredible women making their own posts but did want to brag on them a little.

Ashen with Canyon State Horsemanship, LLC has been our assistant trainer for almost two years now. She has been working so hard getting better and better. Each mustang she trains has helped her horsemanship grow and transform. She cleaned up this weekend with phenomenal round after phenomenal round, each getting better. She stepped up and became the rider her horse needed her to be. Ashen walked away with Horsemanship Champion and the Grand Champion!!!

Naomi with interned with us for over a year (2021-2022) and continues to grow as a very successful trainer. Placing well in a ridden makeover has been one of her goals for awhile and she reached that goal this week! She didn’t have the easiest horse to show but kept her mare calm and confident. They claimed the Reserve Horsemanship Championship as well as overall Reserve Champion of the makeover!

🥰We are over the moon proud of these young trainers. This is what real hard work, dedication and a willingness to learn and grow, looks like.🙌🏼

Many young people don’t realize what it actually takes to be successful and eventually win. The tenacity, drive, and unwavering dedication it takes. I cannot stress enough how these two young women embody those values.

A heartfelt Congratulations 🎉 to them both!!!