StableManners, LLC

11/15/2025

⭐ Horses don’t think like humans.

They don’t plan, ruminate, imagine the future, replay the past, build stories, or interpret “meaning.”
They live in the present — in pure sensory experience, moment to moment.

But here’s the part most people miss ⬇️

⭐ Horses do share the same core survival systems we do.

These systems are nearly universal across mammals:

• amygdala (threat detection)
• hippocampus (context + memory)
• hypothalamus (stress hormones)
• autonomic nervous system (fight/flight/freeze)
• vagal pathways (connection + regulation)

So yes —
fear, startle, freeze, shutdown, hypervigilance, overwhelm, relief, and safety all follow the same neurological patterns in humans and horses.

Not the same thoughts.
The same wiring.

⭐ Humans and horses DO NOT share the same thought-based emotions.

Horses don’t feel guilt, shame, embarrassment, resentment, or pride.
Those emotions require:

• narrative
• language
• meaning
• time (past/future)
• abstract thought

Horses don’t have that.

But…

⭐ Mammals DO share the same primary emotional systems.

(A huge thank you to neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp for his decades of research.)

These deep emotional circuits exist in every mammalian brain, including horses:

• FEAR
• RAGE (activation)
• PANIC/GRIEF (separation distress)
• SEEKING (curiosity + exploration)
• CARE (bonding + nurturing)
• PLAY
• LUST

These are NOT “thinking emotions.”
They’re neural circuits — instinctual, biological, and powerful.

Which means:
✔ Curiosity is real.
✔ Social bonding is real.
✔ Play is real.
✔ Safety is real.
✔ Fear is real.
✔ Relief is real.

No stories.
No drama.
Just biology.

⭐ **When we stop guessing what our horse “might be thinking”…
and start understanding what their brain is expressing…everything becomes clearer.**
Communication improves.
Training gets easier.
Trust gets stronger.
And the horse finally stays in the thinking, curious brain —
instead of falling into survival mode.

11/15/2025

Chronic tension reduces your ability to follow your horse's motion. Learn how to eliminate stiffness and encourage your muscles to work in harmony for confidence, calmness and balance in the saddle.

11/14/2025

Practice makes perfect!

"It takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert, though the exact number can vary based on the field, individual skill, and other factors. This rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, is often simplified but the underlying idea is that mastery requires significant, focused time and effort. "

That means that if you ride 20 hours a week it would take you 10 years to become and expert! That's 3 hours a day. How many amateur riders get that opportunity? If you have one horse that you ride 1 hour a day 7 days a week it would take a little over 27 years to be an expert!!

Now remember, this must be deliberate practice. That's also important.

Are you setting yourself and your horse up for success? Do you ride between lessons? Are you showing up and putting in the work it takes? You must keep your goals in check with the amount of time and work you are willing to put into them. You won't progress much past the basics taking lessons once a week without other dedicated practice time. Both because your skills won't advance as well as you and your horses fitness.

Get out there and ride!

11/14/2025

Excited for our schooling show series too! More information and prize list to come in December!

11/14/2025

At UDJC, we’re all about safe, class-appropriate footing at horse shows. Notice I didn’t say “the most expensive footing”! Because here’s the truth: not every show facility needs the latest and greatest artificial blend to safely run a 90cm class.

Of course, perfectly groomed GGT footing is the gold standard — together with a well-maintained grass arena. Those surfaces give you everything: stability, cushion, drainage, and consistency. Nobody is arguing against that. But let’s not pretend that if the ring doesn’t have fiber footing, it suddenly becomes unsafe. That mindset is exactly what drives venue costs - and show costs - through the roof. And who ends up footing the bill? Riders and trainers.

Here’s the science: well-maintained sand is still one of the very best surfaces for horses. Research has consistently shown that properly prepared sand provides the optimal balance of stability, cushion, and traction.¹ When groomed and watered correctly, sand absorbs shock, reduces concussion on joints, and offers the natural surface horses have been galloping and jumping on for centuries. Just because it doesn’t look as fancy on Instagram doesn’t mean it’s bad for your horse.

And let’s not forget: some of the most famous horse shows in the world are still run on grass fields. Aachen, Hickstead, Spruce Meadows, Hamburg — the biggest, most historic venues showcase top-level sport on grass. A well-kept grass arena provides spring, cushion, and grip that no fiber mix can fully replicate. Grass has hosted Olympic Games, World Championships, and countless five-star events. It’s not outdated — it’s still being used at the highest level.

Yes, it’s more challenging for show venues to handle unpredictable weather without all-weather footing. A downpour can make a ring unrideable. But let’s be honest: we as customers have gotten too picky. Your horse will not be crippled jumping on a safe sand arena or a grass field for a weekend.

Case in point: An Equestrian Center we host shows at just spent $300,000 redoing a ring because it had a four-foot slope over 300 feet. Which is nothing. The ring was so good, they could have hosted FEI Grand Prix’s in it. Now it has a two-foot slope - basically the same. The main complaints came from riders jumping 3’0” and below. And guess what’s gone up since the “fix”? Ring rental. And who pays for that? The exhibitors.

At UDJC, we’re not saying footing doesn’t matter - it does. But footing should be appropriate for the level and discipline, not part of a luxury arms race that prices people out of the sport. Perfectly groomed GGT or grass is fantastic. But a well-kept sand ring is still a great and safe surface.

So maybe it’s time to stop chasing photo-op perfection and start focusing on what really matters: fair, affordable, and safe competition for both horses and riders.

Blog Post by David Reichert - Founder of UDJC

11/12/2025

Lately it feels like things are closing in.

Our farm used to be miles away from the city. Now residential homes and a new school are 700 meters from our fence line. My parents are getting older. A few special horses had to leave sooner than my heart was ready for. Emotions that used to float now seem to sink straight to the bottom.

It’s strange, getting older. The world that once felt wide and endless slowly narrows. Responsibilities grow. Silence thins. Loss becomes a more familiar visitor than I ever agreed to.

And somehow, I keep thinking about dressage.

Because what getting older feels like to me…
is exactly what we ask of our horses as they become more trained.

Their world, too, closes in.
But in a refining way.

The big, loose, sprawling gaits of youth become gathered, intentional, distilled. We ask them to take all that freedom and organize it. To compress power without losing softness. To collect, to carry more weight without losing spirit. To become more by using less.

That is what life is asking of us, isn’t it?

To stay supple while our surroundings compress.
To keep our hearts forward while the world narrows.
To hold more weight with more grace.
To find balance inside smaller spaces.

But if done right, a well-trained horse doesn’t feel trapped in collection, it feels powerful, supported, and ready.

And maybe a well-lived life is the same.

Maybe the closing-in is simply the beginning of a different kind of strength.
Maybe it’s the moment we learn to elevate.

Maybe the narrowing isn’t a negative, maybe it’s refinement.
Maybe it’s strength gathering at the center.
Maybe it’s our chance to discover that we can still lift, still soften, still carry.

Dressage isn’t the antidote to life closing in.
It’s the companion that teaches us how to stay open as it happens.

And in that way, yes, dressage is absolutely a metaphor for life.

Both ask for the same thing:

When the world closes in, don’t shrink.

Stay supple. And rise.

11/12/2025

11/12/2025

11/12/2025