Running T Horsemanship, Dana Lovell

09/03/2023

31/01/2023

This clinic is the product of dreams and two trainers colliding *in a warm embrace*.

Katie Ross and I are excited to collaborate for a weekend of horsemanship supporting the whole horse and human; mind, body and soul.


Join us at a private facility, sounded by mountains in beautiful Huntsville, Utah for an experience in conscious horsemanship and self-reflection.

Reach out with any questions or to reserve your spot.

*evenings will include stories, dream, goals, deliberation, observations, conclusions or just being, around the bonfire 🔥🪵*

*I may be able to haul a couple of participant's horses*

28/09/2022

Emotion Control, one of the most valuable tools in horsemanship.

Constraint, containment, self-regulation…

One of the most powerful skills we can give ourselves and our horses…
From The Horse's Truth with Angela Dunning

“The ability to effectively contain and process extreme emotional states is one of the linchpins both of effective, truly dynamical trauma therapy and of living a vital, robust life.

The key to not being swept away by intense emotional states is to catch them BEFORE they ignite and inflame us.

The Buddhists have an expression for this: to “cool and extinguish the glowing embers before they ignite into a consuming flame.”

Constraint allows us to tame and befriend emotions so that we may be guided by them.
It is the way we can become aware of our emotional undercurrent before it becomes an out-of-control emotion. The tools that allow us to do this are the twin sisters of awareness and embodiment.”

Peter Levine, ‘In An Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness’

10/08/2022

Pressure has a bad connotation in todays training climate. This typically happens because pressure has been overused, misunderstood, or abused.

I think it’s important to clarify that pressure can be direct or indirect, and is an inherent language horses understand. Horses move together in a herd as one through the subtleties of driving and drawing- manipulating pressure.
To plug into this is to tap into the horse’s amazing ability to flow. I prefer not to use training that chops up, disconnects or breaks away from the inherent nature of the horse.

Speaking their language directly allows you a type of flow and grace that isn’t possible when we chop things ip from our human perspective.

A lot of things we perceive as positive or more ethical are coming from our own perspective- something that might sound nice to us can actually create more stress to the horse than we realize.

Perhaps the word pressure might be more appealing to some if it was reframed in terms of feel and flow-
Because pressure is too vague a word. Pressure is everything from a blow to the head with a baseball bat, and a caress. Dancing with a partner requires some form of pressure to invite your partner across the dance floor- the same feel cannot be replicated with a carrot on a stick- the two partners must soften to a pressure that flows.

Some pressure loosens and invites, and other pressures brace, damage and cause fear. It is the handlers responsibility to learn to flow - to direct a horse into this, it must come from the desire to get along first.

20/07/2022

16/06/2022

Offering haul in private/group lessons and mini clinics.

Develop a stronger connection with your horse through more precise communication, by better understanding the how, why and when. Whether you are working with a younger horse or refining an older horse, our time together will help you better understand the fundamentals that will achieve a more supple, willing and responsive horse mentally and physically.
🌟 Conscious Horsemanship🌟
Our mindfulness on the ground and under saddle effects the whole picture. A simple shift in thought and intention can change the entire perspective of your partnership and set you up for success.
Gain the knowledge and confidence you need to continue your progress AFTER the lesson.
💥Dana Lovell is an accomplished horsewoman with a diverse background in English and Western horsemanship. She understands the success and joy that exists between horse and handler when the partnership is based on clear communication, understanding and mutual trust. Her passion is to help others achieve a deeper level of connection with their horse by teaching effective methods with an understanding of bio-mechanics and the horses perspective. Dana strives to continue her own education through different avenues and recognizes that horsemanship is a never-ending odyssey. With her unique style and authentic exuberance, she enjoys passing her knowledge and experience onto others. Dana’s clinics and lessons provide an engaging environment to further your horsemanship regardless of your discipline or level of experience.

11/06/2022

Next clinic being offered at Wind River Arena !

🐂To get the most out of the flag/cow clinic the participant should be able to comfortably walk, trot and lope your horse.

☯️ For the liberty clinic the horse should be well halter broke and understand the basic of yielding to pressure (back off the halter, yield hip, send in a circle).

A $50 deposit will hold your spot. This deposit is non refundable and non transferable. Deposits can be made via PayPal, Venmo or check.

Please reach out to me (Dana Lovell) with any questions or to reserve your spot.

Overnight stalls are available at Windriver.

💥 We will have an open ride Friday evening (specific time to be announced) the 8th at Windriver. Cost is $25. I will be available to offer some coaching and to encourage questionable but extremely fun activities.

06/05/2022

Great advice!

Emotionally charged reading

We’re easily emotionally triggered critters. While we have big frontal lobes capable of logic and reasoning, without practicing awareness of ourselves, we can quickly become emotional- angry, defensive, argumentative, excited, whatever the case may be-

I have a little guideline for myself for when I’m reading something, especially online-

1- what is the authors main point? Some articles have catchy titles that actually don’t reflect the content of the article well. Don’t get sucked into the emotionally charged title without reading the actual article and seeing what the point the author is meaning to convey. Sometimes the author has nothing to do with the title; but instead has had it changed by editors to grab peoples attention.

2- what is the authors intent of writing this? To stir emotion? To build an audience? To educate? To prove or disprove a point? Can you identify it in the work? That will give you a good hint toward whether you’re intended to get emotionally charged reading the content or not.

3- if you feel emotionally triggered, why? I like five why’s - for example- I feel angry! Why? Because I think the author is wrong - why? Because I do it this way- why? Because I think that’s what is right for horses - why? Because that’s what I was taught - why? Because that’s what my teacher was taught. Boom, we’re at the root of the problem- in this case, tradition is being called into question and it makes us uncomfortable (this is just an example. Your why may justify your emotion or not )

4- ask yourself, if emotionally triggered, what benefit does it serve? Does your being angry contribute anything? Think about this one truly.
Sometimes anger is justified- in the case that it can mobilize people to make change. And sometimes it drives us to make a whole lot of noise over nothing, to prove to ourselves that we exist and we matter, all in the comment section.

26/04/2022

Thank you to Right Time Productions and Wind River Arena for hosting the first of monthly clinics at this amazing facility.
I will never take for granted the trust participants put in me when coaching them to and towards their goals.