Heather Johnson Dressage

02/22/2025

Green light to go back to work!! Adios, Corona! 🙌🎈

02/21/2025

🤩

02/19/2025

💙

Consistency doesn’t mean never messing up... 🌱💪

02/17/2025

So much of my effort in training horses and riders is dedicated to helping them understand how to use the left and right sides of their bodies evenly. Then…POOF!…all of a sudden it feels amazing! The horse is naturally forward, the rider has a wonderful back to sit on and you can whisper with your aids. Sometimes that is achieved by simply teaching them how to ride a straight line properly then maintain evenness when bringing it on to a bending line. Often times it is more complex than that. The use of lateral movements or simple counter flexion to improve a horse’s ability to track evenly is the next step. I can teach you how to do that. Once you understand your horse’s body mechanics and how your position affects it all it will seem simple. Good basics for the win! 🏆

02/14/2025

“Why?” is a question you should all be asking.

Why does my horse lean on my left leg?
Why does he shorten his neck and put his head up in the air when I ask for a transition up or down?
Why doesn’t my leg work when I put it on?
Why does my horse not take the right lead?
Why is she not putting topline muscle on?

There is always a reason. Part of the fun is figuring it out! So long as it doesn’t entail $5,000 worth of diagnostics and selling your left arm to do it. 🫣 Additionally, ask yourself if your horse is CAPABLE of doing what you’d like them to do. Are you being fair (age, soundness, body type)?

The answer is NEVER that your horse is difficult or bad. I’m going to repeat that so it sinks in…The answer is NEVER that your horse is difficult or bad. That’s a lazy, uneducated answer. It also prevents progress.

USUALLY the answer is that you aren’t doing it right…sorry, but it’s true. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Sometimes it has to do with a physical restriction of the horse or rider. This means you need to do your homework with your trainer or the vet and get on top of it to help. It could also be because of a poor experience that yielded a negative outcome. Sometimes it has to do with poor fitting tack or another influential source. Again, homework.

The bottom line is we are here to learn. Don’t be lazy. Ask the difficult questions and be open minded to what you might find. 🤓

(Pic of a very dirty, very good horse for giggles 😆)

02/12/2025

Exactly

02/10/2025

“Communication”…relationships are build on it. If it’s great the world is a pleasant place. If it’s not situations are created. I’ve had a number of conversations with people about the fact that, as a whole, the world is lacking in ability to make eye contact, acknowledge someone’s presence, offer respect, show support, and be a team member in a community. I grew up with parents that tried very hard to instill these things in me. I wish for the present and future that people can learn to better interact with these values and that they bring those values to their relationship with their horses. Every day I try to lead by example there. Thank you to my students who also show these values. I see you! ♥️

02/09/2025

Amen!

I can picture my seventh-grade teacher, let’s call her Mrs. Smith, with her bun wound almost as tightly as she was, wagging her finger at me, and putting on a very stern look.

02/03/2025

02/02/2025

Exactly…Ask yourself why you ride horses and understand deeply that it is a process oriented activity.

02/02/2025

♥️

🤍

02/02/2025

⚠️⚠️⚠️ We are hiring for a Weekend Stable Manager!!! Experience required - this is not an entry level position.
⚠️⚠️⚠️

The successful candidate should have experience managing a large herd of pampered horses in a full service boarding barn environment, and knowledge of:

✅️ Stall and stable cleaning and daily stable management
✅️ Horse feeding to prescribed diets
✅ ️Horse wellness supervision
✅️ Medication dispensing/monitoring
✅ ️Horse handling for turn out/in and blanketing

✅️ We have many young horses and high energy performance horses and require handling to be done kindly, with a consistent and fair training philosophy.

💲💲💲
$20/hour paid bi-weekly W2 direct deposit

🕓🕓🕓
Friday 6:30 - 4:30 and 8-9 Nightcheck
Saturday 6:30 - 4:30 and 8-9 Nightcheck
Sunday 6:30 - 4:30 and 8-9 Nightcheck

⚠️⚠️⚠️
To apply, please text Tom at 207-322-6256 to set up an interview.

01/27/2025

Lessons learned and confirmed in 2024 🤩

1) You WILL make mistakes. You have big responsibilities to yourself and your horse in riding, training, and competing them. WHEN you mess up learn from it. THAT is gold. It’s only a shame if you don’t learn from it. Good athletes say, “well that sucked”, and try again in a smarter way.
2) Soak up every moment of glory. These successes are what you do it for. Smile, laugh, cry, hi-five your friends and appreciate every moment and effort your horse gives you.
3) Every management detail counts, especially when doing advanced work: when you arrive, the footing, the environment, your horse’s comfort, how long you warm up, how you warm up, your mindset, sleeping well, eating well, staying hydrated. All of it. You and your horse are athletes.
4) Trust yourself. That GUT instinct? It’s there for a reason.
5) Ask your trusted peers for advice. Use your village! They are rooting for you too.
6) Go all in. Do your best. But if your horse isn’t themselves in warm up don’t ride the test just to ride the test. That doesn’t benefit anyone. Tomorrow is another day. 😊
7) Knowing and understanding your test inside and out saves you in moments where things aren’t ideal. Then your efforts can be focused on making things better and not worrying about what the next movement entails. Isolate your mistakes and don’t let them trickle into the next one.
8…Beduino is the best boy. 😁

01/25/2025

Preride shenanigans 😆🥰 (📸 cred: Andre Schehr)

01/22/2025

♥️

Absolutely!

01/22/2025

Day 2 - FEI Trainers Conference ✨