All American Performance Horses

All American Performance Horses We are a riding lesson & horse training company in Terrell, TX
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Slow down ๐Ÿข ๐ŸŒ
12/05/2024

Slow down ๐Ÿข ๐ŸŒ

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:

๐Ÿง  problem solving
๐Ÿง  decision making
๐Ÿง  reasoning
๐Ÿง  risk assessment
๐Ÿง  forward planning
๐Ÿง  impulse control
๐Ÿง  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.

โ˜๏ธ 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).

โ˜๏ธ 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.

โ˜๏ธ 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 ๐Ÿง 
Charlotte ๐Ÿ˜Š

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

Available to new and current clients, our special riding lesson packages make a great gift for your horse-crazy family m...
11/16/2024

Available to new and current clients, our special riding lesson packages make a great gift for your horse-crazy family member or friend. Or, if youโ€™re looking for a nicely discounted rate to start or continue your horseback riding journey, they can begin immediately.

*แด˜แด€แด„แด‹แด€ษขแด‡๊œฑ แดกษชสŸสŸ แดษดสŸส ส™แด‡ แด€แด แด€ษชสŸแด€ส™สŸแด‡ แด›แด แด˜แดœส€แด„สœแด€๊œฑแด‡ แด›สœส€แดแดœษขสœ แด…แด‡แด„ 15แด›สœ.*

We are conveniently located in Terrell, TX, off I-20 & FM-429 South.

11/04/2024

โค๏ธ

11/02/2024
We have two stalls for training horses coming available November 1.  Send us a message or call/text Jennifer (214)405-25...
10/23/2024

We have two stalls for training horses coming available November 1. Send us a message or call/text Jennifer (214)405-2584 to reserve your spot!
Tune ups/finishing is $1000/month.
Starting or restarting under saddle is $1300/month for 3 months.

โ€œSteelโ€ went home on the Tuesday after spending his first 30 days with us going under saddle. We love a good muscle glow...
10/03/2024

โ€œSteelโ€ went home on the Tuesday after spending his first 30 days with us going under saddle. We love a good muscle glow-up ๐Ÿคฉ

Who else can relate? ๐Ÿคช
09/29/2024

Who else can relate? ๐Ÿคช

09/28/2024

Itโ€™s a beautiful morning for lessons โ˜€๏ธ

Lately, weโ€™ve had a lot of concern about one of our resident guineas, Hopalong. He is currently recovering after being c...
09/01/2024

Lately, weโ€™ve had a lot of concern about one of our resident guineas, Hopalong. He is currently recovering after being caught by one of the dogs, but Jennifer is taking good care of him ๐Ÿ˜

Just a reminder: anything worth while isnโ€™t easy ๐Ÿ˜˜
08/13/2024

Just a reminder: anything worth while isnโ€™t easy ๐Ÿ˜˜

We had a good time this morning ๐ŸŽ
08/10/2024

We had a good time this morning ๐ŸŽ

๐‚๐๐‘ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐›๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ2020 ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐น๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐ป๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐บ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”Standing 16hh at the withers, โ€œFlynnโ€ has the personality of a ...
08/09/2024

๐‚๐๐‘ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐›๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ค๐ž๐ซ
2020 ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐น๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐ป๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐บ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”

Standing 16hh at the withers, โ€œFlynnโ€ has the personality of a giant puppy dog. He is respectfully in your pocket and will stand quietly for the few hours it takes to rebraid his mane and forelock, only requesting a few snuggles and kisses ๐Ÿ’‹. Being 4 years old, Flynn has one full year of under saddle training. He has been trainer owned (by me) since he was a weanling, and life circumstances are the only reason he is being made available. Flynn has held my heart for a long time, and Iโ€™m hoping to find his person.

๐˜ˆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜จ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ:
โœ… Rides in a curb or in a snaffle
๐ŸŒณ Trail rides (solo/in front, middle, or back)
๐Ÿฎ LOVES to work cattle - spent 30 days on a feedlot
๐Ÿชต Drag logs
๐ŸŽ Pony other horses
โž– Go over jumps/ground poles/logs
๐Ÿ’ซ Has all upward and downward transitions (including collected/extended trot & lope/canter)
๐Ÿชข Ground ties
๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿผ Given lessons to intermediate youth riders

Flynn would excel in a working home - whether that be on a ranch, hitting the trail, or in competitions. He loves having a job! Heโ€™s been shod all the way around (wears a size 3 shoe ๐Ÿ˜ณ), but is currently barefoot. He has no blemishes or bad habits and is an easy keeper.
I have been collecting video on this boy for years, so if youโ€™re interested, please message me and I will gladly forward them.

๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น, ๐—ง๐—ซ
๐— ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐Ÿฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐Ÿฐ

Address

13117 FM 429
Terrell, TX
75161

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8am - 8pm
Wednesday 8am - 8pm
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Friday 8am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+12144052584

Website

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