Royston Performance Horses

05/21/2024

‼️Hannah Kaufman is coming back to Michigan this year‼️
〰️2 day clinic
〰️ Bring your young horses or seasoned horses
〰️ Lunch provided
Limited spots available!

Message me to get your spot!

Some stalls / pens available!

12/25/2023

06/05/2023

♥️🙏🏽

Re-share! 💗 This is me and Swish. We are both built like quarter horses. 😅 Swish is a real quarter horse. I do not ask Swish to long trot 5+ miles to stay in shape. If I long trot 5 miles my IT bands hurt so bad I need a real doctor 🤣 I can however train to run long distance by doing interval training, watching my heart rate, and conditioning. I train my barrel horses the same. I work on correct body positioning to compliment soundness and I don’t train her for a marathon I’m never going to run with her.

Want the BEST horse?

•Pay attention to how they respond, heart rate getting too high? You’re not accomplishing anything, it’s important to keep them in the right range, to burn optimal calories. Remember calories in, calories out, feed more or less based on your workouts. We do not feed perfectly “a scoop and a flake.” I evaluate regularly, looking thinner? Feed more. Hard week coming up, feed more. Too chunky? Feed less. This is a RACE event, you cannot eat twinkies everyday and go win a foot race lol. Unless you’re racing a turtle or a small child. 🤣

•Keep their mind engaged. I see this so much where the horse is literally just going through the motions. They are not challenging themselves or working for that matter, at all. Does your horse ride around collected?

•Think about the extra concussion from long trotting or lateral stress from lunging for long periods of time. Did you know some of the top halter horse trainers only pony in straight lines? To reduce stress on knees. Food for thought.

•Not seeing the results you think you should have? Reevaluate your feed program. Is your horse getting enough protein to have the muscles you desire? Is there an underlying cause? Epm? Ulcers? Etc...?

04/03/2023

Yes! 🙌🏽🙌🏽

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘋𝘰 𝐘𝐎𝐔⁣⁣
⁣⁣
As we enter rodeo/jackpot season, it may be hard to not compare yourself to others.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
👉 You might be the barrel racer who just started learning the sport and feel intimidated every time you unload at the race. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴. ⁣
⁣
👉 You might be the barrel racer with a young horse and you are barely running in the 5D, but you have dreams of winning the 1D. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝟷𝘋 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝟷𝘋 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
👉 You might be the barrel racer who lost their good horse and are starting over from scratch with a young horse. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘴.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
👉 You might be the barrel racer who cleaned house last year. But you find yourself in a rut as you start to compete this year. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
👉 You might be the barrel racer who is winning everything this year. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.

02/18/2023

♥️🙏🏽🙏🏽

🎤Here to remind everyone🎤

It’s spring time (almost/close enough)
💰 if you haven’t had your horse checked to see if they need injected/ chiropractor and your competing with them and asking them for their best- get it done.
💰 if you haven’t had their teeth floated or checked yet- get it done
💰 if you haven’t had their feet done in the last 2-3 months- do it
💰 spring shots and coggins are due
💰 if you don’t have a hay bag and can’t take hay with you to a show do yourself a favor and get one. A horse CANNOT go all day without any food while you have it tied to the trailer and then decide to jump on it and run it .
AND lastly if you can’t afford to do these things at least minimally maybe you shouldn’t be competing
These animals can’t compete at their best if we don’t give them the best chance at it. Off the soap box now.

02/09/2023

🙌🏽🙌🏽♥️♥️

PSA!! ***Do not bargain shop for a barrel trainer or c**t starter!!***

Do not send your best c**t off to the “best deal.”

>>>It WILL NOT end up a good deal.
>>>It WILL cost you significantly more money.
>>>It can seriously screw a horse up for LIFE.

Pick a trainer you admire. Do your research. See if you think you can ride behind them or if it’s a marketable finished product, depending on your goals.

I have sure seen a lot of horror stories lately… so here is your warning!

12/26/2022

For my fellow barn owners/ trainers out there!

Lessons learned long and hard in the horse business as a professional..

1. It's easy to fall in love with your customers. They become a family who you spend a lot of time with. However, in the end they will do what's best for themselves. And, for you and them, those paths may not be the same. Prepare to get your heart broken. Keep business and personal relationships separate.

2. People will not always trust in your experience and will second guess you. They will think they know better because they read it in a book, or saw it online. Don't try to be all things to all people. Do what you are good at. Run your barn in a way that you can sleep at night knowing that you did right in your mind by them and their horses. The clients opinion of that may be different than your beliefs, but you have to live with choices that leave you at peace. That may mean confrontation, hard conversations and even asking people to move on for your own peace.

3. Horses are easy 99% of the time. It's the people who come with them that make things complicated.

4. Remember that horses need to be horses.

5. People will always judge you, and have opinions. The better you are, the more haters will have opinions.

6. Success isn't measured by ribbons and show placings. It's measured in happy animals and the quality of their lives.

7. There is always an exception or quirk that doesn't " follow the rules" in horse care. Do what works, not what the books say works.

8. When you get annoyed by seeing somebody's car pull in to the barn, it's time to let that person move on. Your barn should be a happy place. It literally only takes one bad sour apple to ruin the whole atmosphere and dynamic in a barn.

9. Let it go.... if someone moves on don't be upset by it. Ignore what they say. Don't take it personally. Every barn is not a good fit for every person.

10. This is a business. If a person or horse isn't working for you, or the compensation isn't offsetting your cost, it's time for them to go. The exception to this is your retired horses, see #11.

11. Horses only have so many jumps, so many runs, so many rides. Don’t waste your horses. Teach your students they aren’t machines. You owe it to your retired horses to have a safe, comfortable and dignified end. Your schoolies worked for you. When the time comes they can no longer do that, either give them a pleasant retirement, or put them in the ground where you know they are safe. Do not dump them at auctions or onto other people where you are not 100% sure that they will be cared for.

12. There is no shame in euthanasia for a horse owner. Always better a week too early then a second too late. Do not judge anyone for their reasons for doing this.

13. Most clients fall Into two categories. Those who are "high maintenance", open in their opinions and will confront situations head on. The second is the quiet type who will not say a word and will not openly talk with you about their expectations or issues. You have no idea they have a problem until it's too late. The people in between these two are the clients you want. They will be long term and make life easy.

14. Know your worth. KNOW YOUR WORTH. Your time and experience has a monetary value. Don't do things for free, even if you like the person. Every bit of time or effort you give to clients has value. So when you don't value your effort, neither will a client. They will come to expect "freebies", which always leads to resentment from someone.

15. Be honest. It's not always easy. But in this business it takes forever to build reputation and seconds to destroy it.

16. Remember horses are dangerous. Always use your best judgment and air on the side of caution when working with horses and students. Their lives and your own life can change in an instant.

17. Get paid up front. Keep good records. People don't go to the grocery store and ask for food they will pay for next week. Good business practices keep everyone honest and sets boundaries for clients.

18. Normalize passing on price increases. Service industries, especially ones like ours always "feel guilty " when raising prices. You are not there to subsidize someone else's horse habit. Prices have been going up on costs, so should your fees.

19. The buck stops with you. Your employees mistakes fall back to your responsibility. Always verify and check on important care aspects of daily activities.

20. Make time for family and rest. Too many of us get burnt out from the stress of expectations in this industry. In the end, boarders and students come and go. Your family is who you will have left.

Thanks for reading my thoughts. I hope it can help support some of you feeling burnt out, and maybe help some people who are starting out in their journey into this industry.

Written by Rhea Distefano

11/21/2022

My Happy Place ♥️ Swayze

06/25/2022

I’m so proud of how far this mare has come, this video may not seem like a big deal to most, but for Rebel and us it’s a HUGE deal, she came into training 2 weeks ago, scared of everything, to lead her she would walk a couple steps get scared and run backwards away from the situation! The owner said they couldn’t catch her so she had a halter on, I don’t leave halters on here EVER, so I took it off her after she was in the round pen for a little while settling in and I started to gain her trust. She now leads wherever you want to go, is gaining more and more trust everyday, she wouldn’t let you on her right side and now she does and loves her scratches!!!! She is very kind, but was so scared of everything! I love the training process, and taking it one day at a time on the horses time, they all don’t do everything the same in 30 days! Next week we get her feet done and I think she is ready for the saddle!

I’m so blessed for the clients I have! I treat every horse here as if they were my own, and trust me mine are spoiled beyond belief! This little mare is something special for sure! 🤎🤎 Patience and trust goes a long way!

06/06/2022

🤎🙏🏽

06/02/2022

Loving these beautiful summer days! 🤎🤎🤎

05/30/2022

Thank you to all who served and are still serving. 🇺🇸

05/14/2022

Sisters 🤎🤎🤎 Fuse is now bigger than Viper

05/11/2022

04/21/2022

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

We often get asked what Neil can do with a c**t in 30 days…. But the answer is completely dependent on your horse! No two horses learn at the same rate.
Breeding, confirmation, temperament and maturity all play a major part in your horses training, especially in the beginning.
30 days is just a START. Some horses are loping circles and riding quiet outside in 30 days, some are not ready to leave the round pen!
Broke horses are not made in months, it takes years!
When sending them to a trainer- you are taking them to a new barn with new people, a new routine, new water, hay and feed and so many new experiences. It can be very overwhelming for a horse! And rushing the process just adds to the stress.

This is such a crucial time as your c**t begins its career! Stop putting unrealistic expectations on your horse. And your trainer.
Give your trainer time to work and your horse the time to progress at his/her own rate.

02/28/2022

Love this! 100% agree!

Lately I have had several clients come to me and say “my vet says they are good.” Their vets aren’t wrong…. what you see trotting across pavement and what I feel mid turn in an arena are DIFFERENT. I need a vet that will listen to what I feel, because

🚨>>>I know my horse best!

02/11/2022

Vitalix tubs I have in stock are
20lb buckets 🪣 -$30
50lb tubs -$60
125tubs- $100
250lb tubs -$200

I will be at Rosebud 🌹tomorrow delivering tubs!

The vitalix are a family owned business that the tubs are made to order and they make the lix specific for the area to which they are coming to and what season, also vitalix have:
✔️lysine for growth and muscle development
✔️Biotin for skin and hoof health
✔️Organic selenium
✔️Diatomaceous earth-natural vitamin E
✔️Enzyme package for gut health
✔️Essential oils and prebiotics for overall health and strong immune function

We also have a few cattle tubs in stock!

If your interested in goat or sheep tubs I’m placing another order tomorrow!

02/09/2022

Thank you @ Lexi Miller for this picture! Love it! The gang today! Missing is Bacardi! We were hard at work while Lexi was taking this cute picture’ ♥️♥️

02/03/2022

♥️♥️♥️♥️ So blessed ♥️♥️♥️♥️