Taressa Rankin Horsemanship: TR Horsemanship LLC

Bandit

Bandit went home last week after a month of training. He came with the goal of needing to “slow down.”He is such a good boy, but creating connection was difficult. It took every bit of the first few weeks before he started looking forward to working with me, rather than just tolerating me. I absolutely love liberty circles, to use drive and draw, and balance communication. Here’s Bandit “slowing down,” and staying connected. Oh, and he is 20! Teaching connection with communication will continue to help reduce anxiety, and help him find people more predictable through these principles. I’m so glad his owner invested in creating this foundation.

Anyone else, have a husband that thinks he’s funny, and you get “short” with a sharp “What?!” response sometimes.. If you can’t hear him well, he’s saying, “Excuse me, Miss. Excuse me. I have a questionnnn.” In his defense, he has to interrupt me riding to get words in sometimes.. In my defense, many times he’s just being ornery and picking on me.. For this important interruption, he was inquiring about boat cover straps😅🤣. Side note: I didn’t have Woody setup great for a stop, but he sure did good regardless.

Here’s a compilation of photos and videos of Woodrow, aka Woody, and some of his time with me in training. While it’s a long video, it’s so much shorter than it could be 😅. Woody’s owner is planning to begin looking for his next home soon. Woody is a draft cross, specifically: Percheron, Quarter, Arabian, and Friesian. Foal date: 5/15/21. He’s gorgeous, and his mane and tail just keeping filling in more and more. Woody is young, with a solid mind, and has experienced a good, solid, healthy start. He will line up/sidepass to a mounting block or panel to be mounted. He has ridden on dozens of trails, solo, and with others. He is very used to and okay with dogs all around (he kind of enjoys them). He understands getting off your leg, independently for forequarter and hindquarter yields, or putting them together for side passes and half passes. He can line up and stand to open gates under saddle. He can two track, and understands simple lead changes. Woody can also stop nicely by seat, and has a smooth back up. He has tracked four wheelers and been roped off of (dummies). He has dragged tires (sometimes with kids riding the tire and playing in it) at all gaits. He has been stood on multiple times, had us slide off his bottom, and just generally wollered by myself and kids, without minding at all. He has been ridden double. He bridles like a dream, and looks forward to the bit being in his mouth (the drawback is that sometimes he enjoys it so much, it takes him a second to think “softness,” because he’s mentally playing and okay with pressure☺️). He doesn’t just tolerate things, he really accepts them.. and rather enjoys watching and interacting with our family shenanigans. Woody understands some liberty work, both on the ground and ridden. He has been ridden bridleless in the round pen, and done great, but isn’t quite mature enough for bridleless in larger areas.. He could get there with the right continued guidance. He’s a very curious

Some days horses are fun in a more sarcastic sort of way..😅🤪 The manure fork was too far gone by the time I noticed, so I let him continue the destruction..

Clancy’s second ride, and first ride loping! He’s putting together voice cues from groundwork so well. With voice cues nearly alone, he’s picking up correct gaits. This is him stopping by seat cue and voice cues (note that I did not use bit pressure to get a stop), and again, this was his first ride loping. 🧡

Clancy’s second ride, and first ride loping. He’s already figuring out stopping and backing by seat and voice cues alone. 🥰

A little funny clip I made of throwing a saddle on Woody. The camera angle doesn’t do justice to his size, but when you see my hat disappear as I go to the other side, you can get a better idea of how tall he is..

Clancy’s second time with a saddle on, and second time ever asked to come over to the mounting block (1/31/24). 💛

Yesterday we practiced roping the dummy from Woody for the first time. I was gifted this roping dummy, which is just so cool! Woody did so well learning something new.. I got to practice my own patience through my frustrations… And these kids of mine.. I am so grateful for them.

This big, goofy guy is always super excited about getting bridled.. even when I’m clumsy with tack, and he has to practice patience. 😅🥰

Playing with the young fella that’s in training. The winter layers had me lacking my normal grace (insert sarcasm 😉), but here are some fun clips from the session.

Prayers for real peace and divine direction to everyone this upcoming year! Some ways I have peace are: -Through seeking Jesus.. From the more scheduled type interactions that help hold me accountable, to the more “in the moment” instances where the Holy Spirit comforts and guides.. -Try to freely admit to mistakes (esp to our kids), and seek to be better moving forward. It’s so nice to not have to be “right” all the time, and actually helps to build credibility to when you are in the right. -Don’t take “it” too personal, but know when to reflect for needed personal improvement.. -Balance when to set boundaries and disconnect from unhealthy situations. -Practice gratitude. -Find joy in watching others do well. -Healthy, open, productive, confrontation.. I don’t love all confrontation, but I am a direct, to-the-root, type of person.. Try to be a peace maker, not a false peace keeper. -I listen to audiobooks.. from sci-fi crazy stuff, to sweet Christian stories, to romance, and self-help.. I’m all over with what I like to listen to. -And last, but definitely not least, horses.. All things horses. From scooping poop and trimming hooves, all the care taking, to training, and enjoying all weather trail rides, I love allllll the feelings. Horses require so much hard work, and planning, life structures I value. Horses also hold so much emotional purity, requiring us to really be in the moment. Many life values can be observed, learned, and applied when interacting with horses.. Here’s a simple clip from one of those peaceful, solo, cold weather trail rides.. 🩶

I’m heading to teach and do demos at the Rouge and Rogue Retreat at Panther Creek this weekend. I spontaneously decided to sign up for a competition that has a roping element. I’m well prepared to make a fool of myself in the competition, but still decided to try and practice a bit, since I’m pretty unqualified at roping. An old hose reel, in a wagon, behind a four wheeler, actually worked pretty well! A big thanks to my kids for helping me practice, even sometimes practicing on them 😅🤣.

We’d been riding in the storm, but when I saw a massive bolt of lightning, I used some quick thinking to consider the excessive thunder clap that’d surely follow. This little gal in training did so well, but I won’t second guess listening to my instinct either. ☺️

A funny clip of when a young horse in training thinks, “What is straight? And why would we not turn and enjoy all of this beautiful grass?!” over and over. Lol.

The process of teaching a horse to go through a gate starts off so slow. It’s not about the gate: It’s about the communication and patience for the understanding of correct individual steps/body yielding. This was Doc, and our first time going through a “gate” together. He needed to understand taking one specific, guided, step at a time, and pausing. That’s really it. The sequence and flow comes with refinement. Doc went home about a month ago, but I’m just now really getting internet and technology to work together where I can share better. He was such a fun horse!

From dangerous, explosive, behaviors, just a couple of weeks ago.. to now loping bareback on a trail ride. 💛 Here is a quote from the owner, “I was so at a loss, and just so upset, and just defeated, and done, at the point she came to you, with the whole horse industry… So, thank you so much for all your help, and getting her back on track and going in the right direction… It means so much to me.”

When you start to see the potential in the new training horse’s lope.. 💛 Third time loping, and he’s getting more confident and relaxed each time. He’s floaty. 💛

I made this training video for an owner a few weeks back. I thought I’d go ahead and share a glimpse of my process for building confidence. I wish I had started recording the video sooner, but since I didn’t, it is what it is, and can still be educational. Flurry came to me after having been at three other trainers. The weekend before coming to me, she had done some very dangerous, explosive, behaviors with her owner, who had just picked her up from three months with her third trainer. I am her fourth trainer. This horse’s nature seemed so calm and relaxed, that the explosive behaviors really surprised me. She had blew up on a trail ride, due to hearing a water bottle on her back, and she had nearly seriously injured her owner in another incident. With me, when ponying for the first time, she’d be ponying along super, then she’d explode up, and nearly rear over backward. This happened repeatedly. Thank God for my good pony horse (Lucy was amazing), who kept things dallied her very best, and kept Flurry from probably killing herself (Lucy holding her, kept her from rearing over backward). My hip took a serious beating.. but things like this are exactly why I pony.. even a horse that’s been at other trainers for monthssss.. Ponying, esp on trails, is a great way to see where a horse is at, their holes, their positives, etc., and it’s a practical form of health insurance for myself. My first thought in seeing Flurry’s unpredictable behavior was “pain.” I know I can sure react sporadically when I’m hit with a sharp pain. The owner was wonderful to work with, and I scheduled a chiropractic appointment and a dental exam. Flurry was out in multiple places, and had never had a dental. She was sharp, had wolf teeth, and one was broken, which could’ve been causing extreme sudden pain. After pain was addressed, we moved on to the training aspect. She also had major training holes. She either just didn’t know things, or she’d been taught to tol

Doc went home yesterday. His fun and outgoing personality is going to be missed, but I’m happy that he gets to go home being his goofy self, with a bit of etiquette now ☺️. Today, I’m so very thankful to live in the USA, and for the freedom and lifestyle I am fortunate to have. Here’s a clip of Doc and I enjoying the river on a hundred plus degree day. 💛