Reflection Equine - Empowerment Through Education

25/02/2023

Love this! Often my students say they "probably look ridiculous" when riding. As an observer with professional experience A) that is usually not true, and B) if it IS true, I encourage you to think about what provides more clarity and effectiveness to your horse. If it works and your horse understands, who cares what it looks like?! 🐎💕🌟

" Equitation is the art of looking good on a horse. It has little to do with being good on a horse". Kresney Ann
I give clinics on horse training and development all over the world. We work on many of the keys to the development of a well trained equine. Steering, speed control, stopping, spinning, lead changes transitions, gaits and movement as well as softness, positions, and gaining mental focus. I'm the clinician that watches the horse and helps you figure out how to build your dream. Or at least clean up your nightmare.
Not once in all my years of teaching have I ever given a riding lesson. That's someone else's job. It's always been my goal to make the horse look good, and sometimes in the process, it may not look pretty from an equation perspective. So what. Do I know how to look good on a horse? Of course, but I save that for when I'm showing. Up until then it's about riding in whatever way gets it done.
Sometimes my heels are up, sometimes I'm off to one side. I might be shoulders forward or back. Hands up, down, right or left. Standing up, sitting down, back arched or slouching. Basically I'll do whatever I have to in order to get the horse to free up, move the part I'm working on, and find the place or position I'm trying to get to .
I know that my position can affect so many things from their chin to their tail and from their back to their feet. That's called riding. To me training is about being good on a horse. Who cares what it looks like.
Occasionally however, I will get the student or attendee who is so hung up on equitation that it actually creates a problem for the horse. They think that if they have excellent posture and balance that the horse will suddenly be able to make magnificent changes. If only that were true my job would be so much easier. Wouldn't it be great if all we had to do was put our heels down and shoulders back, that suddenly our horse could do all the physical acrobatics that we hope for.
So my equitation advice at clinics is pretty basic. As long as you don't fall off, you're probably riding. So when does it become important to ride pretty? When your horse is fully trained and you're at the show. It causes the judge to watch the horse and not the ugly way you're riding. Up until then, and even in your warm ups and between shows, it's ok and even effective, to ride ugly. If your horse isn't riding pretty, it's not going to matter if you are.
My wife Kresney Ann said it perfectly in a lesson the other day when a student was having all kinds of issues with her horse and was mostly concerned if her heels were down. "Equitation is the art of looking good on a horse. It has very little to do with riding good on a horse ".

19/02/2023

"When you finish your ride and you get down from the saddle, it isn't the people who watched you ride, the officials at some event or exhibition who have any right to judge you. The real thing that matters, the true judge of your ability as a horseman is standing next to you. It is the horse who will tell you by his expression, his body, and the look in his eye if you helped him if you showed him how he can be better and if you have a partner in this dance.” —John Saint Ryan

🐴🤍✨

04/01/2023

Wholeheartedly agree 💕 your horse will tell you when they are ready for the next steps in your partnership journey!

Your horse is not miraculously one year older when January 1st hits.

As someone who has had a lot of Thoroughbreds, I find myself seeing this date used on a yearly basis to put horses into work or rush them to harder degrees of work under the assumption that they’re older.

My two TBs I have currently are born in April and May. They are several months out from their birthdays still. They are, however, fully mature so this would have less damage to them due to their age but if they were both younger, I would be looking at another 4&5 months of growth before they’d actually be their respective age.

The number of 2 year olds I see people getting on the second the clock strikes midnight (hyperbolic statement but you get my point) is disheartening to see.

I notice it a lot in the QH world as well. Horses are treated as a year older on this date and people clamber to put the first ride on their baby 2 year old, failing to remember that even if they did wait till their birthday, they’d be sitting on a horse who will not be fully matured in their spine for another 3+ years.

When you start riding the second you view it as some what justifiable based on a made up rule, it pretty much guarantees that rushing will be present in other ways.

Sometimes, we need to pause for a moment and seriously consider what rules serve us and which serve and protect the horses.

This is a great example of a rule and mindset that really only serves the human desire to rush.

I had to share some thoughts on this as it’s hard to watch it happen online every year.

Your horse is still a yearling on January 1st unless they literally evacuated the womb on January 1st.

16/11/2022

HOLIDAY PROMOTION!!

Give the gift of knowledge - purchase 3 private sessions before Dec 25 and get the 4th free!**

Reflection Equine will help you learn to:

- Read horse behaviour and recognize what to do in a variety of situations
- Communicate clearly and develop good leadership with horses
- Develop great ground work skills that easily translate to riding in a way that makes sense to your horse
- Improve your confidence in your horsemanship skills
- Feel empowered by developing a happy, healthy partnership with your horse

Mobile sessions available throughout the Lower Mainland - sessions start at $60

Contact me for more information!
www.reflectionequine.com

**Sessions will be available to book in 2023. Digital gift card will be issued with your paid balance. 3 sessions must be paid for together to be eligible for the free session. Offer available to new and existing clients**

10/11/2022

💕💕💕

"Never give up on your dreams because you have struggled with how things are done.

How about we transform the way things are done—how about we change that.

And that doesn't come by us backing away."

-Josh Nichol (Warwick Schiller Podcast Summit)

16/09/2022

I often get asked about what and how much to do with young horses. The "extreme middle-of-the-road" approach is what I recommend! Horses can be taught a lot at an early age, without overwhelming them; they do, however, need to learn boundaries! Teach them that humans are friendly, but also to be respected 🐎💕🌟

What Can I Do with My Yearling?

When determining how to engage with your yearling horse, the first thing to remember is that horses are prey animals and precocial species. This means that they are full-faculty learners at birth. As soon as a foal is about a month old, they start playing with the other foals. Guess what they do: they play prey animal pecking-order games! . .

With these young horses, you want to take the approach of being the “extreme middle-of-the-road”. On one extreme is to not touch your horse until they’re mature enough to ride (somewhere between two and four years old). This extreme is akin to having a teenager that basically raises himself when the parents finally decide to step in and start showing leadership. Imagine what a wreck that would be! And they call it tough love in those scenarios with humans. That would be a misguided scenario of “tough love”. The other extreme is to turn a young horse into a barnyard pet. The barnyard pet is when everything is just fun and friendly but completely lacks obedience.

Read more about what to do with your yearling from Pat Parelli himself, new on the Parelli Blog 👉https://bit.ly/3KzlW11

09/08/2022

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14/07/2022

How to do a change of direction without breaking your draw! I learned this neat little trick recently, and filmed it on request of a couple of my students. This is a fun "energy" exercise to see how well your horse can stay with you and tune into the subtlest cues. Bring your energy up and down and see if they speed up and slow down with you, and see how much slack you can leave in the line. The draw is their reward for matching their energy with yours, and the change of direction makes it that much more interesting!

05/06/2022

My brave girls have some construction going on in their backyard! The property they live on has an easement for a pipeline project that they have recently started. To get to the back field, they have to go through this narrow chute, over a "bridge" and up and down ramps. Quite the obstacle course that has the lovely side effect of building their confidence with new things!

26/05/2022

My girl Lyra took me on a beautiful journey this week while at a Horsemanship and Bridle Horse clinic with Devanee and Buddy Cardinal. It was a physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding week in the absolute best way possible. Can't wait to share what I learned... and hope to pass on the emotional revelations I experienced 💕🐎🥕

24/05/2022

Working on loose rein riding & sweet spots with Buddy Cardinal at Jandana Ranch

Cardinal Ranch

11/05/2022

Reflection Equine will be CLOSED May 17-29th for a continuing education clinic with Buddy and Devanee Cardinal 💕🐎🥕

25/04/2022

If you are persistent you will get it.
If you are consistent you will keep it.

Join us at one of our upcoming Horsemanship Camps to learn how you can be more consistent with your horse (spots are limited, so reserve now) www.HorseTeacher.com

20/04/2022

Love this! ❤️

Worth the Read Wednesday

Whenever I ask people what their biggest fear is when working with their horse, they often say they are worried that they will somehow make their horse worse.

Knowing what you don’t want is the first step to learning how to get what you actually want from your horse.

Horses are very forgiving animals, and although it is true that they learn fast, this also means that they can be re-taught and corrected to get rid of the unwanted habits if you are good at communicating, being consistent, and learn to reward the “right” behavior.

When I was younger, I spent years of my life on the road helping people with “problem” horses; the horses that were on their “last chance”. I have seen my fair share (and probably yours too) of horses that have learned “bad” behavior. I used to ask people at my clinics to bring me the most untrainable horses, just so I could test myself and my methods. Now, sure, back then I was a young kid with something to prove and loved the challenge of it all, but all of those horses, that experience, showed me that there is no horse that is “too far gone”. They all can learn the “right” behavior. Obviously, if a horse has been doing something for a very long time, it may take a long time to fully correct it; as with any habit, to break it you must stay consistent, but eventually the good behavior will become the new habit.

Sometimes all that is required is a different perspective to help you bring out the horse's good side.

For the Top 3 things that will essentially guarantee you won't train your horse to have habits you don't want, download our Free ebook at https://www.horseteacheru.com/free-ebook-how-not-to-ruin-your-horse

17/04/2022

Some horsey humor for your Easter Sunday! Hope you have a great long weekend with your ponies 🐎🥕💕

Looks pretty accurate to me...

16/04/2022

15/04/2022

vibes!!!

Chrissy has been doing an amazing job with her rescue mare! Saphie had been through several homes before finding her forever person. Saphie has not been the easiest horse to crack; you can see here she lives up to her fitting nickname "Sassy Saphie" 😉 But, these two have been working so hard to find this kind of connection for two full years and I'm so proud of their progress!

This is such an amazing win for these two. I'm so happy for you 💕🐎🎉🥕

Happy Good Friday!