Amy Skinner Horsemanship

11/01/2025

Learn well, learn for yourself. Question everything, and develop your own “flavor.”

There are some natural principles that are irrefutable, but many details that are very dependent on the situation and person. Find these principles for yourself through experience and questioning, and learn to see every situation in the moment as a unique point in time

Then you can truly help yourself and your horse

10/01/2025

Horse sales, expectations, an epidemic in problems getting along with animals, and why I’ll never sell the horses I have

All this has been on my mind more than usual recently as I’ve helped a few students navigate the process of finding and purchasing a suitable horse for them.

I’ve been on about every side of a horse sale there is, and find every angle distasteful personally. I used to sell a few horses here and there and found the expectations of those looking to purchase unreasonable, and the horse quickly reduced to an object sold for a price- one that should come with buttons and a manual and not change no matter what the handling or environment was like.

As I helped my students find horses, I found the sale and presentation dishonest, and uncomfortable as well. These horses carry high price tags and are presented as these types of robots that fulfill the desires of a purchaser : ten minutes of video of all the things the horse will tolerate- tarps blowing, people standing on their backs, but very little into WHO this horse is and what they need.

For clarity, it’s not that I’m opposed to purchasing or selling horses. I just have very few personal experiences of it being any fun

The focus on horses in the industry often is very much on what the person needs or wants to get out of an experience with horses. Because of this, we struggle to get along with horses. Over the years, I’ve found my heart broken time and time again to hear some of the gentlest and easiest horses I loved moved along because their owners simply could not get along with them - often because they took too much, expected too much, and gave to the horse too little of what a horse actually needs.

What a horse actually needs - that is such a nebulous concept anymore. Of course it’s fine to purchase a horse that suits your needs, and we aren’t required to get along with horses who’s temperaments don’t suit us - but any horse can quickly unravel when we don’t commit to husbandry, to rising to the occasion, to being the kind of person and having the kind of life a horse needs. They didn’t ask to come into our lives - it is not their responsibility to bend to unrealistic requirements, and it isn’t even possible for them to do so most of the time.

I’ve had reports of my horses, the most gentle ones who I can’t imagine being difficult for someone to handle, becoming unruly and unmanageable for folks - won’t stand for trims, won’t lead, aggressive or spooky. These are the horses my children ride , the quietest ones I have - what does it take for a horse to unravel? A persons lack of awareness, poor support to the horse; and unreasonable expectations.

So long as we societally don’t focus on GIVING to our animals but instead taking, we will continue to have problems getting along, and horses will continue to bounce through homes, with their stressed behavior becoming increasingly described as their personality

09/01/2025

To be light, truly, is a feeling from within
A feeling of buoyancy - finding the beauty, the humor, the whimsy everywhere. To be vibrant, and open is to see the possibilities everywhere, and instead of trying to make, finding instead a wave to simply ride.

To be unchained by the heaviness of insecurity, by the need to feel important or cover a damaged heart.

To be light is to be free enough to take in the world and reflect it everywhere -

To be truly light with horses, we must cultivate an inner lightness - a true reflection of selflessness, as we reflect the beauty of the world around us back out, no longer bogged down by a desire to be anyone at all.

Photo by hatch art

07/01/2025

When your teacher gives you feedback about missing basics you didn’t like hearing

07/01/2025

Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.

After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.

- Zen Proverb

I've been thinking about this a lot, particularly after many conversations with Amy Skinner Horsemanship about the importance of the basics. The mundane, daily tasks and the smallest pieces that make up the foundation of our training.

In a society that has become so focused on instant gratification and a need to be wowed by what we consider to be beautiful and difficult, we have lost appreciation for the "ordinary". We "can't see the forest for the trees". You can't get to the extraordinary without the ordinary.

One of the things I appreciate about my mentors, is they continue to return to the basics. No matter their experience or achievements, they come back to beginning with a new lense with which they can view their foundation and get curious about the ways they can improve what they're offering to the horse.

Personally, I don't want to see your piaffe. I would rather see how you got there...what did the beginning look like? There's a lot of people teaching tricks on poor or rushed basics.

Considering advanced work is just your basics done well...I want to see what it looks like when you "chop wood and carry water".

- Terra

05/01/2025

Clinics are filling up and two are completely full! There is still room in MN and NY clinics. Contact me for signup info!

05/01/2025

04/01/2025

How to train with minimal time:

I’m of the mind that quality, consistent work ten minutes here and there is far better than an hour or two on the weekend. Everybody’s schedules are crazy, everybody has stuff going on, and probably everybody feels guilty all the time for what they’re not doing.

I have a busy life too. It can be hard to prioritize my own horses, but I’ve had several teachers essentially grab me by my shirt collar and emphasize with gusto how important my own horses training is- and so I present to you my secret plan for short sessions with quality

1- have a plan going in. I don’t mean decide exactly what you’re gonna do, because life happens and you have to work with the horse you have in front of you. But have a plan to give this session your all- to be 110% present for ten, fifteen minutes. No distractions. And calm. If you shoot for 110%, you might hit 70%, and that would be a great success. Get your head on straight, then go in to the pasture.

2- focus on quality in everything. How much care can you invest in putting the halter on? How did your horse feel? How nicely did they lead? How much attention can you give to brushing in a way your horse likes? How well did they stand at the mounting block, how much attention to detail did you give picking up their feet with softness? These things matter, and add up.

3- focus on being smooth and rhythmic. The more I can get me and my horse moving in a smooth, rhythmic way, the sooner the distractions fall away, the sooner my horse breathes and calms, the sooner every thing gets awesome. So get that rhythm!

4- if things go wrong, as they can do, backtrack to something easy. Spend your time building successes, so find something you can do well and quit on without eating up your whole evening being frustrated.

5- be happy with less. Don’t expect flying changes in ten minutes- be happy with breathing, be happy with standing still, be happy with moving nicely, be happy with moving at all. If you have minimal time, your expectations should fit the bill: small and simple, and learn to get happy with less. Resist the urge to do it one more time, keep that greed monster away and accept what is fair to accept.

If
You’re in the video library community, join us for a haltering with excellence challenge!

Photo by Jasmine Cope

03/01/2025

Is there something more detrimental to growth than early success?

When I was a young trainer, I was incredibly frustrated. I didn’t feel respected, and I definitely didn’t get that “big fish in a small pond” situation I wanted. Other trainers my age nearby seemed happily in control of a large group of clients, admired for their skill, and bordering or tipping over the arrogance scale.

At the time, when you aren’t getting what you want, it can feel like such a hindrance. But this frustration was based in me wanting to fight reality - I was young, uneducated and unskilled, though I could ride a c**t I couldn’t really guide one. And I sure didn’t know what I was talking about.

And so not being taken seriously gave me the gift of pushing me to get more educated, to get more experiences, to take more horses. It pushed me to horses others wouldn’t take for need for work, and gave me a skill set of problem solving physical and behavioral issues.

Some arduous years helped me drop the desire to be admired, molding them instead into a desire to help. It was my great fortune that I was not taken at my word, and that I was hungry and broke enough to need to push toward better skills.

The trainers that I was jealous of at the time show stagnated skills - still continuing in the same vein they were over a decade ago. And I really wonder, if I had been admired back then, would I have the strength to leave what wasn’t working, or leave what was incomplete behind? Would I have been able to leave my admiration for growth? I’m not so sure.

I have had the great fortune of being pushed to prove myself to the horse and not the public, and the even better fortune of having mentors who did not reward my ego but instead pushed my growth.

01/01/2025

Stay tuned for a new self study course on training your eye for balance, simply

01/01/2025

Sounds serious! I’d comply if I were you

🐎🐎🐎https://www.brentgraef.com/schedule/

31/12/2024

Happy new year to you all! Wishing you all the same amount of maturity I’ll be sure to develop in the coming year

31/12/2024

Is your horse actually lazy, or are they stiff, heavy on the forehand, and have learned to shut out your aids?

Is your horse actually forward and hot, or are they nervous, off balance, over stimulated and frustrated?

True impulsion to me means directable energy. If you have energy you can’t control, you don’t have impulsion, you have worry.

Being “in front of the leg” to me means that the horse’s front legs are literally in front of yours. If their forehand is tight, their front legs will take stiff, quick choppy steps beneath them, as opposed to out in front of them.

If your horse isn’t forward, chasing them with driving aids will only create more tense, choppy steps, but will not fix the problem. There is a big difference between faster, and with more impulsion.

Often we look at the forward and slow types of horses as different, but they both are showing symptoms of the same problem: stiffness and lack of balance. One is running away from his lack of balance, the other’s lack of balance has created an inability to go forward. Both horses can be helped with suppling the shoulders, lengthening and straightening the neck, and developing a swing through the back.

30/12/2024

More leg!

Many of us who’ve learned about riding horses from the leg into the hand have been taught to lay our legs on endlessly. This often makes a horse stiff, resistant, and requiring more leg aids. It can be exhausting! When I teach, many riders often complain about having to constantly push their horses with their legs. This is unpleasant for both horse and rider.

The truth is, the more leg you put on your horse, the more leg you will be required to keep on your horse. A bracing leg from a rider creates a bracing rib cage in a horse, and this makes their backs tense, which in turn makes it harder for them to go forward.

In riding a horse with lightness as the goal, we look for the horse to be responsive to the leg, and to carry himself. This means the seat is the first and most important message, and the leg is used as needed. Once the leg aid is received, it comes back off. Leg aids are never applied in a tight or “grinding” way, but rhythmically, to maintain looseness in the horse.

A horse in true self carriage is a joy to ride, but they can’t get there if we constantly hold them up.

Leg position and timing here is the key - if your low back and hips are tight, your horse will brace against your leg. Too, if your timing with the leg aids isn’t right, it will be hard to achieve lightness.

When I think about applying a leg aid, I think first:

-is my seat blocking what the leg here would ask?
-Am I asking with the leg at a time my horse would be able to carry out my request? Do I know what the order of footfalls is in the current gait and do I know when to take my leg off?
-Am I able to apply the leg aid without my hands, seat or body moving out of position?

Some food for thought in the journey toward self carriage.
Happy riding!

29/12/2024

Tell me more, dear student! 😂

28/12/2024

Anyone can do anything with good coaching, the right mindset and practice

In the last year, I have learned tons of new skills. It’s been eye opening for me how a self limiting belief of what I’m good and not good at has been the main issue here-
Plus having really good teachers, has opened my world right up.

But one issue that was bugging me as I prepare for a new clinic year is that projecting my voice through a whole weekend leaves me hoarse and exhausted. I knew I needed to work on it, so I took a short singing course.

I never thought of myself as much of a singer, but decided to give it a try. The coach claims anyone can sing, so why not me?

Within minutes, his explanation of driving your voice from your core and relaxing between breaths illuminated my problem: I was pushing my voice from my throat, leading to strain and loss of breath.

One of the drills was to prove his point, that driving from your core and alternating relaxed breaths gives you endless stamina. We started with saying “hey” repeatedly, and progressively saying it louder and longer. To my surprise, within minutes I could say it louder than I expected and with full strength.

It really reaffirms my new found belief : anyone can do anything with the right coaching, mindset and practice.

So what are you limiting yourself in ? What do you want to learn but never thought you could? The first step is to be open to the possibility that you can do it. Then the right teacher appears- and the practice is up to you.

27/12/2024

What the heck am I doing??

Beyond giving up any last lingering shred of dignity left me, I am doing what’s called a pencil push up

I’ll explain in a minute what and why

But first, it’s important to understand I’ve had many concussions. As you may know, your brain is the operating system for that electrified meat sack you walk around in. Its main job is to keep you upright and balanced - so it doesn’t really care if you look pretty, and when riding, it’s not interested in whether your right leg does that scrunchy thing your instructor hates, or whether you have a head tilt.

I have battled a head tilt and an annoying scrunchy leg my whole career. So when I met Leah Astrup, a certified witch doctor (just kidding, she has extensive knowledge of the body and nervous system, with methods such as Feldenkreis, among many others), she told me my right eye was basically on for decoration. It wasn’t tracking movements like my left was.

Why is this such a big deal? Your eyes receive inputs and help your body decide where and how to move next. So if your right eye has taken a vacation, your brain will rotate your head to keep the good eye forward.

This has body wide implications of crookedness - interestingly , I’ve only had major right sided injuries, never on the left.

So any attempt on my part to correct crookedness has not stuck because it goes against my nervous systems decisions to keep me safe by letting me take in inputs the best it can.

So this pencil push up teaches both my eyes to track a target - my right eye is still getting out of bed and in its jammies , but at least it’s in the right county now.

Leah could explain better than me, but these visual drills also stimulate a lot of cranial nerves, so beyond better vision, I’ve seen a lot of other benefits - such as improved balance in the saddle and sleep (though my sleep in the saddle still hasn’t improved)

I love what Leah has helped me with because it makes so much sense to me, given the way I think about horses movement and posture. If there’s a root cause, no amount of repetition will fix what the nervous system is protecting.

Leah and I are getting ready to do a “not a workshop” discussion to cover some of these details and help you understand how to balance best, and to stop fighting your body and starting your brain what it needs to love you back. Stay tuned !