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1. When you ride bareback, you develop better balance.

Cause we all need better balance, right? As a rider I know there are two reasons to be better balanced. One, to ensure I don't fall if my horse does something sudden. Two, to offer my horse a package that works for him or her instead of just sitting up there like a sack of potatoes, or worse... working against him when he's busy working for me. Imagine trotting long distances without rising and falling in time with the rhythm of his feet but sitting and hanging on the whole time. If that happened both my horse and I would have a sore backside. 

Riding bareback is, for most people, waaaaayyyy harder than riding with a saddle but as you develop the skill of bareback riding you naturally develop your balance too. It's an organic experience of growth, core strength, and balance development. The more you do, the better you get. 

2. When you ride bareback, you feel tension you didn't even know your horse had.

Another reason to ride bareback more is because it's hard to feel your horse's body through a heavy leather saddle. For most riders who never ride bareback they never experience the small muscle movements that occur every single time your horse becomes ever so slightly tense. When you feel those things riding bareback you learn to feel them under saddle to but you always have to start bareback to really know what's going on. Plus, if you know what's really going on for your horse, you'll slow down and do more to help him or her rather than push through with the false sense of security the saddle offers. 

I shouldn't say it's false. The saddle does offer security, but it's for you, not your horse. Push a horse past his tension and you take away his security.

3. When you ride bareback, you train slower and more thorough because otherwise... you get hurt.

Also, because it's so much harder to balance, you usually end up slowing down your cues and expectations of your horse. In other words, if you want to canter but you fear you lack the balance, you ease into it and ask your horse to ease into too. If you rush it, like you might while riding in a saddle, you will probably not stick the transition, causing you discomfort or a lack of balance resulting in more discomfort. The point is, riding bareback literally forces you to slow down and ease into motion rather than blast into motion. A good rider wouldn't do that anyway but riding bareback teaches the true value of going slower for both you and the horse. 

4. When you ride bareback, it's easier, and can often be more fun.

Tacking up (putting on a saddle and bridle) takes time, precious time. Riding bareback takes no time at all. Brush off the dust, the snow, the excess hair and just hop up there and enjoy one of God's greatest gifts. 

5. When you ride bareback, it can be more comfortable for the horse on short rides. Unless you have a bony butt or weigh too much, compared to your horse.

Saddles do a much better job of distributing weight than riding bareback. But... poor fitting saddles are very uncomfortable for a horse and riding bareback is actually more comfortable for them simply because you're not pinching them in odd places. Long rides might be better suited for better tools but short rides offer much more comfort to the horse simply because there's less weight to carry, less belly straps to wear, less stuffy saddles to pinch the shoulders or dig into the hide, etc. 

In summary...

Riding bareback will develop you as a rider like no other skill, offering many benefits and few downsides. Naturally, you have to start slow and do easy things and only over time, develop greater skills. As a point of inspiration, when I see a student of mind take their first steps bareback, I smile big! When I see them take their first steps in the canter, I hold my breath and smile bigger! When I see them canter a course full of turns and jumps without a saddle or bridle... I see a master rider in the making. 

My old teacher Pat Parelli would often say these words in parting, "May the horse be with you!" I'm going to borrow them today because, one, I love the line, and two, it lends to our theme today. A bareback rider knows the horse better than any other type of rider because riding bareback demands that you keep your horse "with" you. It's a noble journey. Join me on that journey. I have the tools to help you succeed!

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When I look around and listen for the cues, I see there's a lot of shaming in the world. Have you noticed that? Body shaming, personality shaming, and even, believe it or not, shame for people who own horses but don't ride them. 

"I know, right?"

Let me be another voice for those out there who feel shamed about not riding. It's okay. In fact, most horses prefer it! Here's what a horse needs: Food, Water, Shelter, Hoof and health care, social interactions, and positive experiences. Can you offer those things... without riding? Absolutely! 

Who cares if someone thinks you should ride and you don't feel up to it! Don't let the voices around you dictate your experience. And... don't avoid your horse by not interacting just because you can't ride. Get out there and just "be" with your horse. Enjoy nature. It's good for the soul.

So, accept your feelings a bit, accept your position, accept your experience, and don't hate on yourself for not living up to someone else's idea of what you're supposed to be or do. 

Just one little caveat on the word "accept." I feel like people often think that if you accept the way things are now, you are resigning to that new norm and you'll never again be able to do things you used to be able to do. But the truth is, accepting something, means giving yourself some grace, not giving up on your dreams! If you want to ride, believe it will happen again for you, but don't pressure yourself. Just breathe, think positively about yourself and your current experiences and slowly move in the direction you want to go. 

I've helped many people recover (including myself) from setbacks. In the beginning it feels like you'll never have what you once had. But you have to shake loose of those feelings and just accept what is. "It is what it is, right?" Gotta thank my friend Patty for that phrase! Then... look at where you want to go and take one small step toward it. Don't focus on what you've lost, or you'll go crazy. Focus on your footwork. Take a step, breathe, reward yourself, then take another step. It won't be long before your acceptance turns to progress and pride of accomplishment. 

In short, don't give up on what you want, but also give yourself enormous doses of grace, every single day! Grace is that acceptance of things you didn't plan for. Give yourself that gift. Trust me, it will pay off in big ways.

Thanks for reading and please comment below and share with your friends.

Don Jessop

Most horse lovers eventually discover the art of liberty training. It's one of the most enriching, beautiful, inspiring parts of horsemanship and it's something you can do when you can't or don't want to ride. 

But did you know there are three different modes of liberty?

It's important to understand the distinction so you don't confuse your horse with your outcomes. 

The first type that most people are familiar with is called "round pen liberty" or what I like to call "foundation liberty," because honestly... you don't need a round pen. Read why... link to how round pens can ruin horses.

Foundation liberty is designed to teach a horse how to move freely in every gait, change direction, transition smoothly, learn to carry a saddle, and join up. "Join up" is a term coined by the famous horse trainer Monty Robert's. It simply means the horse turns to you and joins you where you stand and may even follow you around without the lead rope. 

Technically there are dozens of ways to achieve these foundation goals. Some people highlight voice cues to train transitions and such, other people highlight hand signals, some highlight body position relative to the horse, while some highlight flags and sticks as their primary tools of communication. It's important to know, the technique is not half as important as the clarity of your outcome.

Foundation liberty is typically done in a round pen to help a developing horse become more fluid and better prepared for riding. Don't confuse foundation liberty to the other modes because... I guarantee you... it will screw up your poor horse's brain and make the other types of liberty nearly impossible. 

Why would it screw up the other types, you might ask...? 

Because foundation liberty is primarily a driving away training style. Not a joining up training style. It may involve a small amount joining up but it's not the primary goal. It may teach a horse to canter, but on his own, not with you. And without any doubt, if your focus is foundation or round pen liberty, when you take the round pen away you will not succeed in keeping your horse close to you. For that, you need to learn the next types of liberty.

The second mode of liberty training I like to call "natural liberty training." This type of training indicates you leave a rope and halter on your horse while you guide and educate them to understand simple and/or complex maneuvers. Imagine asking your horse to walk next to you then as they learn it, tossing the rope over their back and testing the skill without the rope. Eventually you take the halter off completely and test the same skill with nothing on the horse. This game of naturally diminishing your use of tools supports learning without getting lost and allows for progress with more clarity.

This just happens to be the simplest version of liberty training and it can apply to every single training behavior from cantering next to you, to spins, to rearing up, lying down, working in open fields, working with multiple horses at once, you name it. When the horse learns the trick (behavior) then you toss the rope over their back and test it, ready to grab the rope just in case they don't know it as well as you thought. Then finally, you take the rope off altogether.

Anything is possible with this type of training. It takes patience and persistence to get to the upper level stuff, but it's fun and simple. I probably teach this mode of liberty at more clinics than anything else because it's so relatable and practical. Plus, horses seem to understand what you want much easier 

But it's not the only way.

One thing you'll learn when you study with me is there is always more than one way.  Deciding which one you want to challenge yourself with is up to you. 

The last type of liberty training is called "purest liberty training." This is analogist to the people who watch that famous old movie, "A River Runs Through It" with Brad Pitt, and decide they will master the art of fly fishing. So they throw away all their normal fishing tackle and only fly-fish, casting that new thousand dollar fly rod for the rest of their days. Purest means you're dedicated to the art, not the task. A "purest" fly fisherman or woman, won't fish with anything else because it's not about catching the fish, it's about being "one with the fish." Or so they say. It's the same for purest liberty trainers.

To be clear, I'm not strictly a purest, although I'm dedicated to the art too. I'm an educator. I love the magic of true connection-based liberty training but I understand the value of practical application too. But... for the sake of education, let's dive into what purest liberty training entails. I've certainly enjoyed the process. You might too. 

Here is how purest liberty works. It's ALL about connection. Your horse must learn and value being connected to you above all other things. And... you never use ropes to guide the experience. Some people even go so far to never use sticks or whips. And the goals remain the same. The outcomes remain the same.

In other words, if you master the art, you could teach your horse to canter next to you in an open field, lay down on command, rear on cue, and anything else, all without ever using a rope to guide the horse into compliance. It's a beautiful art form that takes enormous patience and skill. Often, in the beginning, the horse may refuse to participate and won't even follow you around. The skills required to encourage that simple task and discourage anything else requires finesse. Push too hard and you get a resentful, fearful horse. Push too little and you get nowhere. The balance is beautiful and worthy of pursuit. 

As a practical horseman I encourage studying all modes of liberty at different times. In my own practice I employ each mode for different personal experiences and practical reasons. For colt starting I may encourage fundamental gait work inside the round pen to reinforce a better riding experience. If I'm not colt starting, I may combine the different modes. For instance, I may be working toward purest liberty, teaching the horse to trot with me, only to find he or she gets lost and is finding it hard to understand my goals. Then briefly, I may use a rope to help guide and quickly reward the correct footwork. Sometimes the horse will appreciate the clarity and we can move to understanding and connection sooner.  

There is no "right" answer or "right" technique. The purest will try to convince you there is, the foundation trainer will try to convince you there is, the trick trainer will try to convince you there is, but... they are all right! All modes have their place, all techniques are worthy of learning. There is only one real wrong way of doing it. And that is through fear, force, and intimidation training infused with frustration and abusive feel or timing toward the horse. All other modes are acceptable and part of the art of learning together with an amazing equine partner.  

It's okay to get off track and lose your connection and then work to get it back, even if it takes longer than you expected. It's okay to learn about treats and clicker training and conditioned responses. It's okay to dive deeper and learn about feeling for the fragile thought connection, the weight shift, the muscle tension, the attitude shift, rather than always focus on positioning and footwork. Liberty is FUN, enriching, inspiring. It's meant to be a worthwhile journey.  

Would you like to experience it? Follow me. I'll guide you through it. Through each mode, through each step. 

Click here to learn more (LINK TO LIBERTY COURSE AND COACHING)

Comment below. I love hearing from you! 

The line I'm referring to is the balance between complacency and anxiety.

You can be too complacent with a horse, even a good horse, because if you let down your guard too much you might find yourself, like I did years ago, on your backside, catching your breath with your "calm" horse running off to greener pastures. 

The story goes like this... I was almost home and feeling quite tired from a long, successful ride gathering cattle from the mountains. As we rode those last few miles back, I noticed myself relaxing more and more into the safety of the moment with a great horse. Then, before I could gather my wits, my horse stepped on an underground nest and bucked. With reactions too slow, I found myself landing on my backside, then dragged for a few steps with my long rope reins tangled in my arm. My horse made his way home without me and I limped home short on everything but embarrassment. 

The morale of the story, when you let your guard down too far, even on a good horse, you trust circumstance to protect you. But Murphy's law suggests that is exactly the best moment to be reminded that circumstance is not always there to protect you but to teach you. So... be more alert, ride awake, stay energized and focused.

But the coin can flip over too far, from complacent to anxious. Riding with your guard up all the time has its own set of consequences. Namely, you dare not be a leader when you're most needed. And, if pushed too far, you may give up riding altogether because the thought of riding is too intense. If you find yourself in this state, there is a way out of it. I know the way because I've been there. 

As a natural trainer I often get the most challenging horses to rehabilitate. The kind of horses that both fear and disrespect humans. The kind of horses that have a history of injuring people, one such horse even had a person killed. Not on purpose of course, but that kind of experience sets a tone for how you work with the horse, and eventually, all horses. They are literally capable of the worst case scenario and when the fear and pain set into my own blood, coupled with injuries of my own, I found myself not asking horses for anything outside of extremely easy tasks on fair-weather days. Eventually, I faded even further to not riding at all for quite some time. 

That kind of anxiety makes you yelp with the smallest unexpected movements from the horse. It isn't healthy and luckily there is a path to recovery. Part of that path is finding small successes. Part of that path is rediscovering your own strength, balance, and stamina. It's not gone, no matter your age. You can recover those things and play at a new level you might not believe you can achieve. But you can! It's been done. You can do it too.

But here's the kicker... You'll never go back to complacent. Once you've been hurt, you'll never be able to shut off your senses completely. This feeling leaves many people believing they will never enjoy their horse again. They believe they have to be totally chill, like they were before, or as kids, but let that go! You'll never have that sense of ignorant based confidence again. You'll always be more alert, more careful. That's a good thing. 

All this leads to the simple concept that there is a fine line between complacence and anxiety. We call that line "alert, calm, and proactive." This fine line is within your reach. All you have to do is let go of your need to be bullet proof like you were as a kid, and at the same time, slowly build back your muscles, your balance, your stamina, your flexibility. You can do all that from the comfort of your living room. Or hire a trainer to help you get back to a fit state, mentally and physically. 

Here's the thing. Do you really want to let go of riding horses because it's a little scary? NO! You don't want that! What you want is to feel brave, confident, sure! You want to enjoy the majesty of the horse-human connection! You want to be free of anxiety. We are often jealous of the ignorant who seem confident and bulletproof. They often don't fear because they've never been hurt. But true confidence doesn't come from ignorance. True confidence comes from experience coupled with a dedication to not let gravity hold you down. 

When you get bucked off, get back on. It's not about the horse. Let that go. Take all the time you need to get back on. Get your horse right first. You don't have to prove anything to your horse. You have to prove it to yourself. Prove to yourself that gravity will only hold you down when you've lived your full life. Prove to yourself that you are capable, passionate, playful, and brilliant at your core. Don't give up. Believe! Believe! Persist! You'll never go back to complacency but the journey away from anxiety and back to that fine line between complacency and anxiety is a worthy journey! Take it with me. Join me. Follow your heart!

Ride the line!

Start your private coaching session now. Click here!

The little things you do matter to your horse. Small considerations are of great importance!  

Below is not a complete list of small things that matter but it's a pretty big bite out of a comprehensive list of small things we can do to ensure our horse knows we care. Put differently, if you don't do these things, you may be riding a puppet, not a partner.

Loosening the cinch at the end of a ride and tightening the cinch in stages in the beginning:

Just think about your own experience, imagine a rope tightening around your belly, would you like it slow and considerate, or sharp and thoughtless? Then, after a while of wearing that rope, would you like it to remain tight, or loosen just enough to add some comfort as we lead those last few steps back to the barn?

Wake up slowly:

Imagine standing at rest, then suddenly being asked to jump the moon without time to get the blood to the muscles required to perform that task. Almost all tasks, big and small, require a bit of warm up. Even stepping off from the tie rail or mounting block involves a few simple suggestions to shift the horses weight before steering away and walking off. Be considerate as you ask your horse to move after resting.

Be athletic, or be patient and prepared to demand less:

If I'm going to ask my horse to jump, I want to know I won't get in the way of his motions. That means I have to have a strong core, great balance, and the athleticism to proactively adjust to macro movements. In other words, don't ask a horse to perform something you, yourself aren't competent to keep up with. Consider his or her balance and longevity as you grow together.

Be present:

No cell phone unless it's for safety or communication on a trail ride. Don't put your headphones on and listen to audiobooks and music. Instead, tune into the beautiful nature around you. Don't text and ride. Don't untie yourself from the connection you are supposed to have with this magical beast. Be in the moment. Hear the heartbeat. Feel the breath. Feel the muscles warming up and fatiguing. See what he or she can and can't see and offer grace for what he or she misses.

Clean feet and be kind about it:

When you pick up a horse's foot you want to ask politely, then when you give it back you want to set it down kindly, don't drop it. Remember, horses get little pebbles in their feet and it's always nice to check it out before and even during the ride if you notice something feels off. If you're present, you will notice it. 

Avoid inconsistent, mixed cues:

It's time to break out your journal. What signal do you use for walking, trotting, and canter on the ground and in the saddle? Are you sure? Are you always the same? Sometimes I catch my students asking for canter with completely different signals than what they used last week. It's one thing to refine your signal through repetition. It's a whole other thing to switch it up daily. Also, your body language plays a huge role in your signal execution. For instance... imagine riding, asking your horse to sidestep to the right... If you lean too far left and push, you'll end up grabbing with your upper right thigh just to keep yourself from falling out of the saddle. Couple your grabbing right thigh with your pushing left leg and you have mixed signals. Be natural, don't exaggerate too much. Be as considerate as possible for their innate ability to get confused and always offer some grace to their learning experience.

Riding in the horse trailer:

Have you ever stood in the back of the horse trailer with your horse while someone else drives the truck down the road? You should try it (on a safe farm road of course). Get in the back and get a full understanding of their experience, from the noises they hear to the stability in your feet or lack of, to the sights and smells. When you do this, you'll realize how important it is to accelerate slowly as the driver and break slowly as well. Walking a mile in their shoes gives you a whole new perspective on the little things that matter and make a great relationship.

Understand they don't respond on their back the same as on the ground:

Don't get frustrated! Pretty much follow the "don't get frustrated" rule and you'll find success with horses regardless of technique or skill. When it comes to their understanding of your communication, understand that they will see you differently when you change positions from ground to saddle. So, if it was easy to canter on the ground, you can expect it WON'T be easy to canter in the saddle until the horse learns the signals from that new position. This simple perspective will help him trust you more because you'll be patient and kind with his learning.

Unnatural smells matter too:

Horses smell like grass and water and sweat. But even their sweat smells a bit like grass and water. People smell like MacDonald's and sweat. And their sweat smells like MacDonald's gone wrong. Eating a more natural diet, believe it or not, is more pleasant to your horse. Strong perfumes can be unpleasant too. Unnatural laundry, deodorant, etc., can all irritate your horse. That doesn't mean they can't learn to accept you like you are. It just means that if you really care, show it from time to time in ways he or she may never expect but most likely always appreciates.

Balance her stall time and free time:

Living in a stall is not cool. Imagine living in your bathroom. It's about the same size ratio. You need to get out. So does your horse. It's okay to be in that small space for a few hours at a time. Sometimes injury recovery requires days and weeks at a time in that small space. It's not life or death you're choosing, it's just sanity you're choosing. If you find a larger space where your horse can be free to move naturally, you should allow them in that space as often as possible. It's a small thing that makes all the difference for their heart and mind.

No preparation or conditioning for long rides:

"It's fall time, so let's go hunting..." But wait, have you ridden this horse all summer long to prepare for those long treks up the mountain? If not, just pause for a second and consider his or her experience. If you aren't willing to, or if you think it doesn't matter. Maybe you should buy a motorcycle instead, because, trust me, it matters. Walk a mile in their shoes and realize how important preparation and conditioning is to health and longevity. Offer your horse the best life you can, and when you want to ride, help him meet you in that space, don't just take him there.

Don't always ride for you:

Every once in a while, plan a ride that isn't about where you want to go, or what you want to see. Plan a ride that's structured to be a great experience for you horse. When I learned about this, I started planning weekly rides that took us to the best grazing areas around. After just a few weeks, my horse, one who used to resent riding away from the barn, showed all the signs of looking forward to our excursions. 

Let some things slide:

It's okay to let some minor things slide if it's not a safety issue. This one can be taken the wrong way. I don't mean to let the horse get away with murder. I mean if your horse doesn't like his ears being touched, take your time getting there. If he doesn't like the bit, ride without it. It's okay to adjust to your horse as long as he performs how you like and you know he is respectful if you need him to be. I once had a horse that didn't like being touched between her eyes. She'd let me do it. She was respectful, I made sure of that. But she didn't ever learn to love it. So... I let it go. I stopped making a mountain out of a molehill and I let it just be part of our quirky relationship. Be safe and don't let your horse get away with dangerous stuff just because he doesn't like it, but some small considerations are useful. Don't be uncompromising. Be a friend.

There are a million more. Such as... building up to your jumping, the importance of decent footing, not too many circles, understanding repetitive stress disorder, not disregarding tiny muscle stress in an effort to get the right lead, the right shape, the right attitude, the right response to a cue, etc., do less, end on a good one, give breaks and do it again tomorrow, build the small muscles, celebrate and build on small successes, reward often. It's all important. Just pick a few and focus on them this week. Then pick some more and get better in tune with your amazing equine partner.

Comment below. Share some small things you consider for your horse. I'm sure I've missed some, add them below. God bless, see you soon!

Don Jessop

If I've said it a thousand times... it may not have been enough. The way the human brain holds and uses memory is not always stellar. In other words, you can hear something once, then forget it, then days later, or even years later, hear it again and it seems like it's the first time. For instance. As a horse owner, you should spend time bonding with your horse outside of lesson time. Training is important for learning and progress but training without bonding is just plain inappropriate. Horses don't appreciate training, training, training, without bonding, bonding, bonding. 

Now I'm willing to bet, you've heard it before. Or, at least some version of it. Training and bonding need to balance out. Too much bonding without training and you get a horse that learns nothing and you can't take them outside their comfort zone. Too much training and you get a horse that's perfect, but totally resentful! So not perfect, not really. 

Now, here's where it gets interesting. I've repeated the same basic thing several times in the last two paragraphs. Will you remember it? Chances are, if you do remember it, it's because you've heard it before. MANY times before. See, the interesting thing about us is we hear things, but we need to see them, feel them, experience them, live with them for a while, then hear them again, and again and again. Repetition is the mother of skill. So if I want you to learn how important something is. I have to repeat it, over and over. And here's the kicker! I can't get frustrated by needing to repeat it. If I do, I risk losing your trust. Imagine if I yell at you for not remembering a conversation we had two days ago. How would you feel? Would you remember it better because I yelled at you. Or would you think more about how I feel about you than the very thing you were supposed to remember?

Learning, truly learning something takes constant... well... repetition. The only other way to truly learn something is to make the experience so emotionally charged, verging on trauma, that you'll never forget it. But we don't seek those kind of experiences with humans and horses. We seek basic communication and understanding in kind, compassionate ways. So the answer to getting something across is to repeat it, in kind, compassionate ways. 

The thing is, I know I'll have to repeat this message again. I know in a year or two another article will come out with a similar title and message. I know it because we need it. I need it. I need to remember as much as you need to. What we do in-between lessons matters. Little things matter. Loosening the cinch at the end of a ride matters, picking the feet before the ride matters, patiently asking the horse to accept the bit matters, waking the horse up slowly matters, flexible outcomes matter, preparing yourself to not be in a hurry matters, giving breaks matters because we all need breaks, all the little things matter. Horses remember details about you, about how kind you are when you ask for things, about how repetitive and persistent you can be to help something make sense. When they get it wrong. Instead of saying, "What the hell?" Say, "Oh, I knew this would come up again. Of course it would come up again." Be kind, patient, persistent. 

Be willing to be firm to get a point across, but not mean about it. Be willing to spend undemanding time after and between lessons to ensure your horse "remembers" you care about him or her. Because, trust me.... They forget about that really quickly.  

So I hope this helps. I hope you remember how much I care about you and how I know how we all learn. Some things stick better than others and we are slower to forget. Other times we need more time. I'll leave you with this... Nearly every year I have a big blinding flash of the obvious moment. Usually it's about something trivial, something I heard many years ago, and finally, it sinks in. Why does it sink in years later? You guessed it. I've heard it, felt it, seen it, lived it for long enough, that finally, it means something more to me.

Here is my latest "BFO" (blinding flash of the obvious):

I am filming a liberty course and my horse has sour ears. It doesn't look good and I don't like that he doesn't seem to like what he's doing. I want to change it and I search my memory for how to guide his expression from one of resentment about having to circle me without a rope to one of enjoyment as he wins a simple game. And then BANG! BFO comes right out of left field. I've been inadvertently punishing him for his ears back rather than allowing him to be that way and reward him only when his ears come forward. My timing was off and my own attitude was geared toward punishment rather than reward. I caught the whole thing on video, it's part of the Liberty course available to anyone in our Mastery Group or sold separately. Check it out.

In summary. Memory takes repetition. The more you repeat, the more it means, as long as it's done in a kind, compassionate way. So I'll repeat this one last thing in case you haven't heard it enough. YOU! ARE! AMAZING! I appreciate all you who choose to dig deep with me and read on.

Comment below and share with your friends. God bless

Don Jessop

I'm certain most horse people have had at least one horse that just didn't fit the mold. One that causes problems. One that is perhaps dangerous, or unsound, leading to lots of time and money and emotion trying to help them. And then comes the question of all questions... Should I get rid of them or open up and learn something valuable?

By the way, before we go further, I want you to know I have gotten rid of horses in the past for reasons that seemed important then but now I regret. So you need to know I hold no judgements against anyone who is trying to figure it all out and find their space in the wide world of horse experiences. Sometimes horses come and go and you don't have to spend all this energy trying to analyze it all holistically. But sometimes, taking a moment to understand what a horse can do for you and what you can do for them, even when you don't know if it's right yet, is worth the time.

Now that we're open to the truth that I will not judge you for your decisions to hold or let go of a horse, let's dive into the pool together and list what benefits there are in hanging on rather than letting go. In the end of course, you'll have to decide the best course of action but take what you can from this and let time do its work on you.

Why is this horse in my life?

So, you can't do what you'd hoped to do when you bought this horse for whatever reason... now what?

Well, as it turns out there are many things you can do. You can learn to be masterful at liberty! Guide your horse with no ropes to be connected, playful, controlled, elegant, artistic. Teach your horse to stay calm and lay down, or spin, or walk, trot, and canter on cue in a wide open field, trusting he or she won't leave you. It takes practice, it's a new discipline, but it's a noble pursuit for a horse that can't be or shouldn't be ridden just yet.

You could pour your attention to health care, and master the art of trimming, wrapping, supplements, you name it. Dive into what it takes to really help a horse thrive in our human world. Perhaps you can't trail ride, but you can support your horse and be an example to others to keep their horses around and make a good life for them.

Look, I'm practical. If you can't afford a horse, you probably shouldn't have one. But if you can't justify having a horse because you can't do what you thought you wanted, or its gonna take longer than you expected to get there, double check your motives. Why did you get a horse in the first place. Was it all about you? Are you willing to explore your options?  Are you going to jump into a different horse relationship because this one just doesn't fit the mold? I don't judge you. I've been there as I'll describe below. But just know, you're not alone and you do have options. The main option is making what you have meaningful and fruitful, rather than resenting what you don't have and moving on.

My journey in short form...

My journey started with Solare. An eleven-year-old Arabian chesnut gelding. Actually, it started one horse earlier, but Solare stands out in my memory because it was the first and last time, I let a horse go to the auction. At eighteen years old myself, I knew what I wanted. I wanted to win an endurance race. And it became apparent very quickly that he wouldn't help me achieve that goal because he was dangerous to ride. Coldly, not heartlessly, but ignorantly, after many months of attempted sales through the local newspaper, I decided to send him to the auction. In hindsight, I could have dove headfirst into horse psychology and tried to help him, but I didn't. Not yet anyway.

At the time, I could sense a pull on my heartstrings when he unloaded at the auction yard but didn't respond to it. I turned my eyes back to the prize and moved onto another horse, and another, never sending a horse to the auction again but rehoming many. Because I still didn't really see a horse for what it was and my eyes, well they just kept getting bigger, I wanted to win even more.

And finally, a horse named Prince came into my life. Another Arabian gelding made in the perfect mold, inspired by the God's. My dream horse. Prince was a true athlete. White as snow from head to toe, and unbelievably balanced and powerful, and strong in every way. But he was HOT! He loved to run. And then... one Saturday evening ride changed my life forever. That ride inspired a whole new outlook on horses, healing, and growth. That day my horse literally, and metaphorically, ran away with me. He took me on a journey I never imagined. One that has brought me full circle now to understanding that choice I made with Solare all those years ago. 

Imagine running at nearly thirty miles an hour on a twisted mountain road, with no brakes, very little steering, and a heart beating so fast, you're not sure if you're going to live or die. After more than a mile I finally gained control, pulled Prince up to a walking gait and gathered my shit together (not literally). As my heartbeat slowed, my mind and body began to feel something new, something inside the horse. I bonded with him at that point in way I didn't even know there was a word for. I now know it's called "trauma bonding." I felt him breathe. I felt his heart racing. I felt his thoughts, his fears, his desires. I saw the spirit in the horse, and not in that old standard way we talk about spirited horses. I saw through flesh and bone into his emotions, hopes, electric energy, and fatigue, physically, and mentally. I felt him looking for oxygen, and like me, finding it scarce. And I knew, I wasn't just riding a horse. I was riding, a thinking, breathing, feeling entity, not unlike... me!

I decided then and there I needed to learn more about the horses I loved. And I began my journey as a natural horse trainer, diving deep into horse psychology. Each year I learned more, and over the course of decades the reality of that day sank in deeper and deeper. In the beginning, I wanted a horse for me. In the end. I wanted to be something for my horse.

Many years later now and many horses later, I see the true value of a horse and I see the commitment required to truly be a steward of such a magnificent animal. Commitment means dedication to the cause. But what cause? Your cause to enjoy life, or the cause of ensuring your animals enjoy life too?

What we most often fail to realize in that choice to move onto another horse, is what we are missing. There is an opportunity with every challenging horse to grow as a leader. To become more natural, kinder, firmer, healthier, more balanced, more empathetic. To heal our hearts and minds. To give, rather than to take. It requires changing what we value. But perhaps it's worth it to you. It certainly took me a while, but I know the truth now. It's worth it to me to be the best steward I can.

If you'd asked me with Solare, all those years ago, to hang on to him because he'd help me grow as a leader, I'd say, "No thank you!" I get it. I remember focusing on my goals to win and not my new goals to truly care for and lead my horse to a new sense of freedom in our human world. I saw him as a vehicle. And he didn't fit the mold for what I wanted. I remember the labels I used for him too. "A pain in the butt. Dangerous. Horrible. Uncomfortable. Not as pretty as I want." All those labels helped me ship him off. But I know the truth. Those were excuses used to validate my desire to play my own game and not look at the animal's soul. To use the animal. It's harsh, but true. It's what many of us do until we see, truly see, the animal staring at us with questioning eyes. 

In a perfect world, before you even purchase a horse, you should take a deeper look at the meaning of the word "commitment." I was committed to winning but not committed to the horse. I believe, before you acquire a horse, you need to commit to the horse. Be his primary caretaker for as long as you can, and when it's time to move on, remember your commitment and find him a home that is as good or better than the one you offer. Don't just sell him or her. Don't just give them away. Ensure they have their friends, freedom (space to move), shelter, and food before you make arrangements to move on. Don't get a horse not knowing what you'd do if it doesn't work out as planned. 

Prince changed my life, my experience, and my perspective.  I'm deeply grateful for him and every horse before and after. I know why my horses are in my life. What about you? Why is your horse in your life now? Dig deep and answer below. 

Also, I want to hear your horse story. What horse have you decided to not let go, and as a result, you've been impacted on a deep change level?

Please comment below.

Imagine you own a horse. Now imagine that your horse sucks at something, or anything!

Let's say he doesn't do well with cantering on a left lead and you find yourself avoiding it because it's hard work. Or... let's say your horse is hard to catch and you just deal with it every day because you're not sure what to do about it. Or... let's say your horse is highly distractible and unreliable away from his comfort zones and you bravely try to win his heart and mind but ultimately just stick to his comfort zones. Any one of those problems, and any other problem for that matter, hides secret information about how to breakthrough the problem. Shall I go on? Are you interested in diving in with me?

The thing about all problems, is they aren't just problems. They're also gifts, and often just reframing the word itself puts you in a position to learn. Let's pretend your problem is a gift for a minute or two here. Can you do that with me?

Inside the problem exists the solution. All you have to do is know what to look for. Today I'm going to break it down as simple as possible so you can go out and be more successful right away. 

For every single thing a horse does, three things are required.

1. The body must align with the task. Horse won't canter on a left lead but will on the right. Guess what. The alignment is off, time to head to the tire center and get it sorted out. Don't waste any more time trying to force the lead, instead work on getting the alignment necessary to get the lead. You can do that kind of work in the walk and trot. 

2. The electric energy must be balanced. Is either too high or too low? When it's too high, you get jumpy, erratic movements. Too low and you get sluggish movements. Don't waste any more time practicing the maneuver. Instead, call the electrician and tighten the wires or turn down the voltage. In the case of the correct lead work, you may notice your horse is too jumpy in the transition leaving no time to get the alignment you need. Slow down, get smoother transitions in the other gaits, then come back up and work again. Or you may notice he's too sluggish off your leg. Take a minute to jump start your horse with a little extra electricity and big reward for giving the energy you want. In the event your horse is physically unwell, you'll need to dive into that solution differently. Perhaps with professional support.

3. Your horse must focus. If your horse is distracted, thinking about his food, or mates, or a scary thing over there, the likelihood of success goes down. Instead of trying to get the lead, get his attention. Don't waste your time with anything else. If the distraction is dangerous in anyway, don't be nice about your safety. Get what you need done to be safe for both of you.

Now, if you can read, alignment, electric energy, and concentration, you can do something about it. If you can't read it, you're out of luck until you learn how to read it. We have a whole course designed to help you. It's called Horse Psychology 101. Click here!

The bottom line is... when the horse is showing you a problem, he or she is also exposing the solution. A little nous, hard work, practice, persistence, and you can win over your horse and get past the problem. But please just remember this. The problem is not something you should avoid. Tackle it delicately, or firmly, or whateverly, but don't avoid it. People who avoid things get nowhere with their horse. If you're reading this article, you've made a conscious decision to not be an avoidaholic. Next level, here we come!

And, oh yeah... don't forget, by focusing on that problem, that one big problem with the intent to get past it every day. Within a week or two you're going to notice a completely different horse. Take for instance. The famous trailer loading incident. True Story... A woman brings a horse to us for trailer loading issues. Don't ask how she got the horse there. It was ugly. She says, "Keep him until he's good but DO NOT ride him or do anything but trailer loading." We say, "Okay, no problem, just trailer loading, no riding, got it!"

Two weeks later she returns. The horse is loading like a champion, absolutely no hesitation and travelling about short trips with no anxiety. A couple of weeks focus on solving a big problem goes a long way. But her response a day after she returned home with her horse caught us all by complete surprise. She called, fuming! Angry about what we'd done. She said, "I told you not to ride this horse!" We responded with the truth that we hadn't ridden the horse. But she wasn't convinced, and she continued to explain how "it's impossible that you didn't because before the horse came it was struggling with basic riding concepts and now was behaving as if there was no struggle at all. Willing, content to respond, and trained!" Ahhhhh... Ironic, right? She didn't realize that by solving the trailer loading issues all the other issues dissipated too. So don't forget. Solving the big problem solves many problems. The key to the next level is in fact the conscious choice to tackle a big problem your horse has on a super simple level from picking up feet, to catching, to loading, to saddling, to mounting, to jumping when he spooks instead of pausing or holding his ground, to gaits and leads, you name it. Define a problem, tackle it elegantly and watch your horse advance within weeks and sometimes mere days.

Please comment below, I love hearing from you each and every time!

Natural horsemanship gets a bad rap and if you want to know why, I've already written an article about it "The Reason Performance Riders Hate Natural Horsemanship." But I'm compelled to write again.

I've met many colleagues and students who fell for the same trap I did when I started in the natural horsemanship industry more than twenty years ago. The trap... believing that you can crouch in a field and smell like a carrot and your horse will connect his spirit with yours and you'll communicate via the magic of telepathy for the rest of your happily ever after. Said differently, it's the belief that if you just get good enough, your horse won't question you anymore, he or she will just be and do whatever you need, cause he trusts you and you have a special bond. 

This trap is real. I fell for it when I bought my first course. I saw how elegant and sophisticated the professionals presenting were. I dreamed of doing that myself. The overarching theme was "love, language, and leadership." And I believed, whether or not it was truly presented that way, that the bond and trust were the keys to success. When in reality, they were just bonuses for the horse. 

What do I mean? Thousands of horse professionals, for thousands of years now, have been forcing their horses to successful status without the bond or any kind of trust, just shear compliance training. Which means, put bluntly, you don't need the bond or trust to be successful. Unless... you view achievement without trust, not actually being successful. I see it that way. I hate seeing a horse comply but still hate their life.

But let me be clear. Perhaps clearer than I've ever been. The bond and trust DO NOT lead to higher levels of achievement. Only dedicated practice and firm, clear boundaries set persistently lead to high achievement. With practice those corrections that seem obvious in the beginning become very elegant, almost hidden, but don't fool yourself like I did. The corrections are still there. There is no telepathy going on between horse and rider. It's all training. There is obviously communication happening through body cues and voice cues and such, but those subtle signals are also made through repetitive training. The trainers that add in bonding... have happier horses, there is no doubt about that. It's a great bonus for sure, one worth pursuing, but don't get confused.

The truth is this, master horse trainers are masters because they've seen it all, they've tried it all. They know what the horse is apt to do and preemptively guide a different result in their favor. That's not magic, that's practice. It takes years to be that good. Sometimes people get sold on the magic of being that good and think it's a technique, or a feel born of this natural bond between horse and human. It's not! It's practice. That doesn't diminish the value of bond and trust exercises with your horse. In my opinion they are a must. Without them, you are just another abusive horse owner. In my book "Leadership and Horses" I share the 50/50 rule I live by. 50% bonding/50%training. Not enough bonding, you may still taste success, but your horse hates it. Not enough training, and you'll never get outside the trot and outside the arena walls. It takes both dedicated training and bonding to truly become great.

The whole point here is this. Setting boundaries, establishing a clear training path, being a real coach to a great athlete, or parent to a great kid, requires discipline and focus. "Being nice" isn't always an option. It would be super if it was, but reality creates situations where being firm and clear is more important than being nice. A great trainer knows this and will risk the relationship with the horse to get the result, knowing they will be able to go back and get the relationship back in the bonding and trust exercises. Every great coach knows this. Every great parent knows this. 

What we must do is look to the greats, not for how elegant and refined they can be, although that is pretty, but for how dedicated and willing they are to explore the full spectrum of leadership. 

I'll end with this. It's nice to be nice... just don't expect anything grand to ever happen. If you want more, you'll have to discover a leader in you that's willing to create plans, set boundaries, be disciplined. Since you're already probably very nice, you can allow that part to flow more naturally and put your energy into the rest.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your comments.

PS. Natural horse training masters aren't always nice, they just get really, really good at sugar coating the firmness. So good, you might not even notice it when it happens. Keep a keen eye. Just because a person is kind and rewarding, it doesn't mean they aren't firm. I can literally demonstrate that for you. I can show you how I get results while being kind, not by being kind, but while being kind.

Don't fall for the magic tricks. Instead, make a new kind of magic. For me, when I finally realized the truth that is wasn't some "nirvana state of awareness" that leads to success, I began making the journey to better my techniques, feel, timing, style, and emotional control, my new magic. The journey became the magic. The journey to help a horse trust the process became the magic. The smile on a students face as the horse began to understand a cue, became the magic. The magic is still there. It's just the kind of magic we can all experience and learn. You don't have to be gifted or special, or part horse. You just have to be willing to open your eyes to what it really takes and decide if you're up for the challenge!

Be sure to comment. I truly love hearing from you! 

Last week we talked about not riding a hungry horse.

This week. Let's dive just a bit deeper to cover three related topics.

Let's begin with eating while riding...

I used to ride endurance races. Fifty miles as fast as my horses could take me. There were two goals in every endurance race for every competitive rider. Goal number one: be the first across the finish line. Goal number two: Get in the top ten but receive the honored "best condition score." Which means, your horse proved to be the healthiest of all the other racers. I won several best condition scores and I attribute those wins, in part, to the fact I would let my horse eat while riding. Exercise consumes calories. Therefore exercise requires calories. I find that when people don't let their horses eat while riding they could be missing out on some needed calories. 

On the other hand... Some horses clearly don't need the calories and they are eating out of habit. Should you help that horse not eat? I would. I would use riding time to help the horse learn to focus and only eat during short breaks where it's my idea instead of his or hers. 

But what about eating with the bit? Okay... easy answer. You choose! Here are the pros and cons. Pro, your horse gets calories. Con, your bit gets messy and it's harder for the horse to eat correctly. Pro, you get to reward your horse for good behavior and create a deeper bond. Con, your horse can develop a habit and pull the reins out of your hands. I am constantly balancing these pros and cons and assessing daily what should happen. One thing you'll learn about me as a horse trainer is I don't make hard line rules. My intent is to guide you to deeper understanding so you can make your own judgements. Knowledge is power!

Number 2: How much do horses need to eat and how often?

Horses need between 2 to 3 percent of their body weight in food every day, generally speaking. 1000lb horse equals 20-30 pounds of food per day. That seems like a lot, because it is a lot and it should speak to the fact that you can't just run a horse ragged and expect them to keep their weight. But the next part of the question about how often they need to eat is up for debate. Sure, people say you should let them eat all day. Some people say you should feed them twice a day leaving windows where they don't eat at all. Others let their horses go hog wild on green grass while others are more consciously managing their sugars and calories.

At the end of the day, if your horse is healthy, you're probably doing something right. But one thing is certain. Horses don't eat all day. Even given the opportunity to eat all day they simply don't. They give themselves rest time and play time. So if you think your horse going without food for a couple hours, while you help him learn a new skill is bad for him, think again. They can totally do it. Keep everything in a balanced perspective and you can help them reduce their stress and keep learning while having fun and staying focused during training. They don't need to eat every second of the day. And if your horse is trying to convince you he does need to. Either he's hungry and you should read last weeks article or he's taking over your allowing it. Food for thought!

Number 3: How and when should you give treats?

This is the hottest topic of all. Should you give treats? Read this article to learn a bit more: "To Treat of Not to Treat"

Generally speaking, treats aren't a big deal either way. If you use them for training and you see they help you, not just bond, but grow too, then you're doing great. If the horse takes over and gets distracted or grabby about treats, you may want to think about how to deliver them differently to avoid bad behavior or just avoid using treats all together. I like to use treats but I have a rule. My horse isn't allowed to ask for them. If he asks by nudging me or digging in my pockets he doesn't get it. If he opens up like an alligator I hold them back then too. But if he behaves well and opens softly I'll often give my horse treats. It's a great way to bond and train emotions. Just keep this in mind... If he's anxiously grabbing for a treat, what emotion are you training? Sometimes it doesn't matter if he just did some amazing task because he's already forgotten what you wanted and he's anxious again because of the treats. Be careful to reward emotions, not just tasks.

Here is a simple illustration to understand what horses learn: Example... training the jump.

Horse jumps jump on command then anxiously dives toward you for his treat reward. Sure he learned to jump, but he also learned to anxiously dive toward you. Which will he remember? Food for thought again, right? You're always training more than just tasks. You're training emotions too and food treats will either hinder or help you.

Hope this all helps.

As always, I love your comments and feedback. Share and comment below.

PS. New book arrival, get it now before the end of the month sale is over!

Except when you have to. 

Good advice right?

Straight forward and simple. 

Let's dive in a bit deeper. When you're hungry, what's your attention span like? Are you focused or cranky? Most of us get cranky and distracted and look for anything that resembles food. Well, guess what... horses are similar. Instead of playing nice, they get crabby, trying to eat all the time, and it quickly becomes a fight instead of fun day. It can turn a good day into a bad day.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes, you have to persist past the hunger to get a job done. Even as I sit to write this article I feel the tingle of hunger in my belly and I know I need to refuel soon. But I can certainly hold my focus in spite of it. And therein lies the challenge. When a horse is hungry it's hard to hold the focus, but sometimes, horses think they are hungry when really they are frustrated, or bored. Have you ever eaten because you're frustrated or bored? I know someone named Jon Dessop who has done the same from time to time. But the trick is knowing when it's a real need for calories and a habit of eating that ensues. 

How do you know? I mean with a horse? One simple way is to feed them an hour before you ride or play. If, while you're playing they are still trying to eat, well then... you might have a habitual eater. In which case, it's okay to demand more focus and use food as a reward rather than a distraction. But if you find your horse doesn't want to eat while playing, with you or riding (up to a certain time because obviously they'll need food again) then you're in good shape. You did right by your horse by letting them fuel up before expending exercise. 

Naturally it would be wise to warm up slowly, so you don't give them stomach cramps. That's always a good plan. But at least you know your horse isn't starving and slowly building resentment about being caught because he's hungry every time you ride. 

If your horse is that habitual eater just because he can, and he already weighs in  fifty pounds overweight then it's perhaps time to train your horse to focus in spite of the need to eat. At this point, let's not call it hunger. It's a habit and it's totally curable. Just don't allow it! Tell your horse he can have food when the job is done. Just be fair and don't change the job on him half way through. I can't tell you how many times I've had to correct that with new students. They ask for one thing only to immediately ask for a new thing that just showed up in their mind without even giving the horse a break.

Good horsemanship means you honor your horse's experience, and guide them to be smarter, calmer, braver, more responsive, less distracted, and generally, a good citizen. If your horse isn't smarter this week than last, or less distracted, or more responsive, and braver, then you're possibly missing something simple in your program. We can help. Click this link...

I'm literally a phone call away. Have a question, call me. The first tele-conference is completely free for new students. I want to help. Click here

And remember, comment below, share your thoughts and click this link to get our latest online courses and books.

Sincerely,

Don Jessop

PS. Tune in for another article, even more in-depth article on eating: It's about whether or not you let them eat while riding and carrying a bit. It's also about how horses aren't really 24/7 grazers. We'll also cover snack, treats, when to and when not to treat, and more. All coming soon. Subscribe to the email list to keep getting updates. Thanks for tuning in. See you soon. 

Simplify your day with less on your plate. I mean your horse's plate. When I started training horses a million years ago, I joined a natural horsemanship program. I loved the program in many ways and still do. 

Many moons ago. There came to be a game we played. It was called 7 games in 7 minutes. We had to demonstrate all the techniques we knew in less than seven minutes and as fun as it sounds... it also created quite a bit of tension in the horses when asked to perform. Why? Because asking a horse for too many things all at once is confusing. 

Here's what we know about horses. They think, emotionally, like a four-year-old child. Distracted, anxious under pressure, confused easily, etc. Imagine being in preschool where... on day one you learn about the "ABC's" only to find out that on day two you have to remember them and recite them perfectly plus learn you times tables or else there will be no lunch break for you, or worse, severe berating from your teacher. Can you imagine that kind of pressure? Believe it or not, we inadvertently put our horses under that kind of pressure all the time. 

We put them under pressure because we often forget that just because a horse can "do" something, it doesn't mean they actually "get it," or have "learned it." So, when you do you know if a horse really learns? It's easy to think they learned because... when you ask, they respond. But do they really know it?

Luckily, it's easy enough to find out. Take the rope off, take the bridle off, take the fence away. Take away the strings on the puppet and see if the puppet still performs. It's a crude illustration but it lends to the truth about deeper learning not just surface learning. When we played seven games in seven seconds we were playing with a puppet on a string. Really, all we were testing for is how good the puppeteer is, not how much the horse understands and is okay with.

Again, sorry for the crude illustration. All I want to do is suggest that a horse learning can be just as enriching as a horse doing. A lot of the value horse people get up front is in the satisfaction of maneuvering a horse through space and time, but master trainers look for something more, something magical. In the human world, we call it "understanding."

But to accomplish such a worthy task requires a few special skills. Namely, don't stack on the tasks all at once. Learn in layers. Learn something so well that you can perform without any extra support from a stick, rope, bridle, fence, saddle, you name it. Then, only then, add the next layer.

Let me give you an example. Imagine the task Piaffe (generally known as trotting in place). A good puppeteer will guide the horse to move off the bit, and leg and stick, and fence, and whatever tool to start dancing in place. A master horseman will break the task down to the smallest form and truly teach the horse each piece, slowly stacking them together over a long period of time until the horse responds, not out of fear of not responding but out of true understanding and willingness and even happiness because the task is so rewarding and even, if done right, autotelic. Autotelic means the task itself becomes the reward. In the case of piaffe, the smallest, earliest step has nothing to do with the legs and more to do with the balance of the horse shifting. So, teach the balance shift, then the next part and the next and the next until finally, you have a horse performing in peak mental and physical condition. Who doesn't want that? I know I do!

So back to the beginning here. Too many tasks, stacked all together can be confusing. You may be able to manage it because you're a great horse manager. I know lots of great horse managers that call themselves trainers. But what about the horse's experience? How much does he/she actually absorb in the managing process? I think it's kind of an important question, don't you?

Food for thought... Learn in layers. Be okay with slower progress and find the value and enrichment in your experience with horses based more on their understanding and less on their feet and body moving mechanically through space.

Comment below, you know how I loooooovve hearing from you!

And in case you want more. Check out my books, courses and more right here! 

It's here! The first proof has arrived for my new book "The Beginners Guide to Foundation Training."  For the month of July we are giving you 20% off, if you pre-order in July using the code JULY20%OFF.  Books are coming soon.   

The two most common questions I get from students are "What's missing and what's next?" So here it is, the answer to those questions!

You do not have to be a beginner to get a lot out of this step by step guide. This fully illustrated book will you help you go back and fill in the holes in your foundation. Have you ever wondered why your flying lead changes aren't working, or you horse is still scared of the same old thing, or your horse struggles to lie down on command? Guess what! It's in the foundation!

The "Beginner’s Guide to Foundation Horse Training" contains 34 distinct steps, designed to give you a direction, a map, a step by step process, and a guide for that process. The message I want to give is, “Come with me, I’ll show you a path to help you and your horse to have a great partnership and some fun along the way.”

The foundation is the basis for everything you want to do with a horse. To prepare you for your next steps whether it is readiness for trail riding, upper-level training such as advanced liberty, bridle less riding, competitive, or collected riding. Foundation training is not about tools and techniques. It’s about progress through a basic syllabus using the tools you have in order to advance to higher level horsemanship and deeper levels of mastery. Keep in mind, a good foundation is built on trust. In most cases, before you can build trust, you have to be seen as a leader. This book starts with leadership and builds on trust.

This 34 step syllabus, fully illustrated with vibrant color pictures, comes to you today at an affordable price to help you to move forward toward your dreams and goals.

Click here to get your copy today!

 Whoa their Nelly! Don't run away with me.

If horses were a metaphor for life, wouldn't it be great? It seems if that were true, we could use the examples of leadership needed in guiding a horse to become a partner and transfer that information to our human experience. 

Imagine a runaway horse. Now imagine a runaway addiction, or any other human problem. Both need to be guided, reined in, controlled, sometimes with tough love, and sometimes with patient love. It doesn't mean the horse should be trapped or imprisoned, it just means it shouldn't run away with you, leaving you in massive danger. 

Let's take a look at a few human problems and use the metaphor of horse training to help understand how to lead with grace through those problems.

First things first, "I ain't no psychologist so don't go 'round thinking I is!

This is all just observations from a human who loves leadership training. I'm always open to deeper learning from you and everyone on the planet.

-Using horse training to understand shame!

Have you ever felt shame? I'm not talking about guilt. That's different. Guilt is feeling like your actions are the problem (easy to change). Shame is where you feel like YOU are the problem (not so easy to change). So, play with me here. Answer the question. Have you ever felt shame? Like you are not worthy, like you don't measure up? I lost my niece a year ago to that feeling. She left planet earth because she felt inadequate. In such dire emotions, is there something we can do? Of course, there is! But we have to understand the same thing great horse trainers understand. Grace! When a horse screws something up, the below average horse trainer will often revert to aggressive, angry tactics to force the horse to comply and "never do that thing again." Quite literally shaming the horse.  The above average trainer uses grace in those moments. A firm boundary must be set in times of safety but learning that boundaries shouldn't be coupled with fear and intimidation is important. Boundaries should be coupled with grace. The knowledge that it's normal to screw up. Everyone does it. Everyone is inadequate, that all feelings, including this one, will pass, opening the door for new, empowering thoughts and feelings. Had my niece been able to give herself some grace in that moment she would still be here today. It's heavy to think about, but imperative to teach. Heavy emotions require a large amount of grace and understanding.

-How 'bout depression? How would using the metaphor or horse training lend insights in to dealing with depression?

Well. More grace would help, right? But there's more. All the best horse trainers know something special about leadership and guiding a horse to peak performance. First, we dive deep into chemistry. Often there are chemical imbalances in the horses we're working with, so we look for ways to mitigate that with supplements and so on. But one of the most direct methods for changing chemistry in the body is by stimulating the body through healthy exercise and activities. My daughter is fourteen now and going through a "I'd rather sit and look at my phone stage." Her energy can plummet, and her emotions can match it." Is it chemical? Absolutely. Growing requires enormous energy and transitioning from a girl to a woman requires shifting that extraordinary biological makeup. So perhaps, like a horse trainer, ensuring the right balance of nutrients, minerals, oxygen, supplements, etc., will all help keep things moving in the right direction. Plus... perhaps exercise would benefit the issue too. Sure, it sucks to exercise when all you want to do is NOT exercise, but after... you feel sooooo good. The chemistry can change via body movement.  I'll never forget Tony Robbins talking about emotions and simply splitting the term in half. "e-motion!" Motion is a big part of emotion. Stop moving and die! So, Keep Moving! Sure, we need to rest, recharge. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about habitually dropping the exercise routine. It's unhealthy. It simply doesn't help any horse and maybe, it's useful to use that metaphor for humans too.

-How 'bout inappropriate behavior like lust or addiction? How could we use horse training to guide such extremely normal human behavior?

Well, once again. How about a little grace? Everyone experiences these things. With horses... and you must know it happens to horses too, boundaries have to be set. Imagine a stallion in training deciding that paying attention to his mother nature calling is more important that paying attention to his rider. Someone's getting hurt, and someone's getting pregnant. It's completely reasonable, therefore, to take the time to set boundaries. Not in the heat of the moment, but long before that moment. One thing equine therapist do for addicts is to simply teach them... to teach the horse... boundaries. Once the horse learns boundaries, the horse is easy to handle and bond with. But it was never about the horse. It was about themselves, guiding a wild animal (very similar to the instinctive human brain) to stay calm and be aware. To take a step back and see where this leads so in the future, we have tools to react differently. When that person, the addict, actually teaches the horse to respect boundaries, to not run away and not step on toes, that human learns the value of boundaries even more. Great horse trainers are always aware of boundaries and their horses are always respectful. It just so happens that most of the best horse trainers I know are also respectful people. They carry themselves differently, with integrity, kindness, keen awareness and more. It's like they used their training and crossed it over into the human world. (I'd be lying if I said they were all that way.) But those trainers that forget to crossover their knowledge, simply did just that. They forgot.

How about joy? Oooooohhhhh! This is a good one! Clearly joy isn't a problem. Joy is the opposite of a problem, but did you know that great horse trainers know how to infuse joy into the horse's experience? They even know how to train joy. Quite literally guiding the horse to that emotion and rewarding the expression of joy. Joy seems so elusive, so circumstantial, but have you ever met someone who is happy almost all the time regardless of pain, or horrible life circumstances? I have. These people are special because they are rare. But what's magical, is they aren't special because it's written in their DNA, they are special because they have literally learned the language of joy and continually practice it. That's right. I said language. Every emotion has a language set with it. And physiology that goes along with it too and focus patterns.

A joyful person tracks and checks their focus patterns, their language patterns and their physiology to ensure they don't become some other emotion. It is practice. Don't confuse lucky with practice. Everyone gets lucky and experiences joy, but anyone can learn to guide the experience too. We do that for our horses. We help change their focus patterns, their physiology through motion, their language patterns (internal thoughts, in their case), all related to an experience. Every good horse trainer knows that a sound horse can jump a jump. But a grumpy horse doesn't want to. With practice guiding those three things (focus pattern, internal dialogue, and physiology) the grumpy horse falls in love with jumping, looking forward to it every day!

So Rome wasn't built in a day. And not all human problems crossover perfectly, naturally, but I've always found it enriching to see how closely our instinct is to the instinct of the horse. It's like mother nature made us the same in so many ways. From that perspective, I find deep meaning in the values of leadership and life enriching activities for our horses and of course, for us too. Because if horses were a metaphor for life, wouldn't it be great?

I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you'd like more. Sign up and also... comment below. I loooove hearing from you!

Don Jessop

You asked for it, so here it is.  This just might be the most powerful tool in the whole tool kit when it comes to teaching horses about focus and rideability. 

I call it the flapping turtle because it's so easy to remember and, it looks just like... a flapping turtle.

Watch the video and learn how to master the game so your horse never runs over you, never loses focus, becomes a fantastic riding partner for riders of any age and skill level and also becomes an expert mountain trail horse. 

Welcome back.. Did that video help? Let us know. Comment below and share with your friends

By the way... a new book is coming soon. It's called the Beginners Guide to Foundation Horse Training and it's full color with 34 steps to help you fill in your holes in training and to help advance your horse to the perfect partner. 

by Don Jessop

Okay... let's keep this short and sweet because honestly, it wouldn't be a shortcut if it took longer :)

These are 5 things I do regularly to help horses become smarter, sooner!

1. Knock over the kingpin

Imagine bowling pins standing at the of that long wood plank. The big, heavy ball rolls toward those pins, aimed at the "kingpin." The first pin has the ability to knock all the others over too. All you have to do is hit that first pin just right and the rest will come easy. 

Horses have "kingpins." There are things that, when you fix them, almost everything else starts to work better. Finding those things takes some creativity but it's worth the work because it's a major shortcut to a smarter horse when you find it and address it. Here's a short story to illustrate...

I once met a horse that wouldn't stand still for much of anything. The woman who owns the horse said she didn't know what to do so I encouraged her to tell me about the spot on the horse that is the hardest to touch. She said the mouth area around the lips and tongue. So, I encouraged her to work daily on the mouth area, touching every chance she got, even making whole sessions out of just helping the horse be okay with that touch. One month later she emailed me and said her horse could not only stand for touching the mouth but could stand for literally everything else too. In other words, she found her kingpin. What's yours? In case you're not sure, call me. I can help. First call is free for new students! Click here.

2. Tight spot training, logs, tarps, ropes, barrels

Generally, horses aren't very good at things that make them feel claustrophobic. So... in the spirit of looking for kingpins, I often begin this training early. Instead of avoiding claustrophobic things. I engage in them. A rope wrapped around the belly, flank, or lower legs, can really scare a horse, so... Make it happen. I mean, try to be slow, kind, and natural in your approach, but don't avoid it. It's a major shortcut to a smarter horse. Walk your horse between two upright barrels standing too close together. Help her walk through that space. The barrels will fall and she'll realize she can walk through scary places. Then do it again and again until all the electric energy is gone. Play in and near the horse trailer often instead of only using it for traveling. It's a nice tight spot for training the horse and shortcutting to a smarter, more mature partner.

3. Head down training

Horses that carry their head high do so for a variety of reasons. But science has shown us enough about how horses use their body and brain in conjunction that a lower headset allows for better blood flow to all the muscles, including the brain muscle. I don't like my horses head dragging on the ground, I just like a nice, soft, lower neck. If that neck is tight, holding the head up high, it's a simple solution. Spend time teaching (not forcing) the head to come to a more neutral posture related to the rest of the body. Think about a quiet horse at rest. That's a wonderful headset posture that can be maintained for all but the most athletic endeavors. If you spend more time on head down training and less on canter departures. You'll have a smarter horse is less time. Trust me, it's worth it. There are lots of different ways to ask the head down. Just be nice, natural, and kind about it.

4. Stand in the box

Horses that don't stand, don't do most other things well too. Oh, they might jump the moon for you, or win the race, but they are quite literally going bananas on the inside. They are stressed! Or... overly excited and distracted. Either way, do you really want to reward that by just letting it go. NO! Take the time to teach standing. Think of it like a gait. Walk, trot, canter, stand. I like a well rounded, smarter horse. Not a robot or wild thing. Standing in the box simply means standing where you put them last. If they drift around to some other area it's okay, just not as effective. For instance, if you start saddling on the north side of the ring and finally get the saddle on when you reach the south side of the ring, you might want to think more local. The box is a space, just big enough to hold a horse, that can be drawn in the sand with the heel of your boot. Try it out, do it regularly and notice how your horse becomes so much smarter.

5. Turtle slow walk 

Horses are bigger than humans. At least that's what I've noticed. Therefore their pace when walking is their own. But what if you could cause them to adapt to a slower pace. Imagine walking as slow as a turtle while leading your horse. Imagine that horse trying to crowd you, or walk around you. But you keep correcting the horse to encourage him to stay at your pace, slow as a turtle. If you did this for a week and nothing else, you'd be amazed at how much smarter, more aware, more alert, and calmer your horse is. Then imagine doing that riding. I like to practice fast and slow paces in every gait. Starting with slow makes a bigger dent on the safety communication however so it's better to start slow. You can have so much fun teaching your horse the turtle slow walk. I'll even send a video if you'd like to learn more. Comment below if you'd like a video of the turtle slow walk.

Thanks for reading. I can't wait to see you all soon!

Don Jessop

Hello all you fabulous readers! This one's just for fun.

One of my favorite poems is written by Chalsey Wilder and it's called, "Two Dead Boys." My mother read it to me as a kid and you can Read it here. It's all backwards. Every phrase comically opposes the first. Phrases like, "Back to back they faced each other," and "Ask the blind man, he saw it too."

Following up... my wife and daughter agreed to help write a similar silly poem about horses. All backwards, all just having fun. Hope it makes you smile!

A Ride to Remember

Ladies and gentlemen, both lost and found,
I'll tell you a story most correctly unsound.
Of a midnight ride so bold, bright, and blurry,
with me and my horse in a slow motion hurry.
...
One dark night in the middle of the day,
my miniature draft horse ambled in for some hay.
Without speaking a word I began to talk,
of running to the barn ' fast as I could walk.

Through the big open door to a room filled with tack,
where I pulled out my saddle to ride bareback.
My horse, always aware of my manic state,
never failed to ignore me at an alarming rate.

I panicked and paced at the edge of the fence
while patiently waiting for this all to make sense.
At last, I bravely stood and sat on my horse,
only to be bucked off!!! I held on of course.

Off into the sunset, wet with morning due,
we rode all day 'til my feet were worn through.

We stopped at a dry creek for a long thirsty drink
and with water in our bellies, we began to think.

Where were we going on this meaningless ride,
so far from the ocean and close to the tide?
So we turned toward home and dropped to the floor
for a sleepless night on that bright sunny shore.

And when we finally awoke we noticed the time
Then raced back before the twelve o'clock chime
When we finally arrived, just before we departed,
with our minds understandably broken-hearted,

we shivered with relief from the harrowing ride,
completely discontented, yet... smiling inside.
At last, we stood at a distance, just inches apart,
knowing every good end can have a bad start.

It's a memorable tale we'll all soon forget
of that wild experience with my favorite pet.

And...

in case you doubt my faulty tale is true,
it's totally fine, I understand, I'm confused too.

Comment below, you know I love hearing your thoughts. I hope to bring a smile to you face and a brighter light in our fantastic, strange world.

Blessings to you!

Don Jessop

"My horse made me feel... scared, angry, frustrated, etc."

Insert big buzzer sound indicating I got that wrong!

Did he make me feel that? Or did I go there? The truth is, if I remained in those negative emotions, I allowed myself to go there. Perhaps you grew up believing emotions were unguided reactions to circumstances and you didn't know you could control your reactions. I certainly believed that for quite some time. But now we know better. We know you can control our emotions. How do we know? Because that's exactly what horse training is. It's controlling and conditioning responses to stimulus. We can literally teach a horse to react in a positive way to a negative stimulus. Therefore, if we can do it with a horse... we can do with ourselves.

The truth is, nobody and nothing can make you feel something for any length of time. That doesn't mean people and things don't affect us. Of course, they do. We get triggered just like a horse gets spooked. But we need to avoid blaming the trigger for the unconscious choice to remain triggered, or to remain hurt, or frustrated, or nervous.

Two stories:

I played basketball as a teenager and we, meaning the whole team, were abused verbally by the coach. It hurt so bad, and I didn't understand yet about owning emotions, I held onto resentment for five years after graduating high school. I blamed my coach for all things negative in my life. I imagined a life with a better coach and assumed I'd be successful and happy. I compared my two lives at the time and remained resentful.  

The point I'm making is I allowed the trigger to become the constant. Then... one day, fortunately for me, a dear friend invited me to study with an expert in human psychology and leadership. Guess what I learned? I am in control of my feelings. AND... I can learn to be in better control with awareness and practice.

I know a lot of people don't want to be cognitive about their reactions to life and horses. I get it. I didn't either. I was fueled in some perverse way when I was resentful.  But I also was not healthy. There are those who say, "I am this way," and those who say, "I acted this way." The latter is a much more powerful tool for change.

Take all this context now in contrast to horse people. When a horse misbehaves, do you find yourself frustrated? Triggered? Fearful? If so, do you own that feeling as an action on your part, or do you blame the horse, or people, or circumstance, or life?

Second story...

The big bay horse in my hand leapt up and kicked out with his hind legs over and over. I was on high alert. I couldn't let him hurt me or hurt himself as I patiently worked toward helping him enter the horse trailer. He wanted nothing to do with it from years of inadvertently learning to exit the trailer and quite literally running away. There were moments that I feared I'd lose him as he pulled hard on the line, and moments I thought I'd be crushed as he lunged forward through my personal space. In one single session, with little provocation from me except to gently guide him near the trailer, this horse reacted with enough vigor to scare even a seasoned horse trainer. And as a result, this horse triggered every emotion in me. Fear, frustration, sadness, excitement, and more. But none of those emotions stuck. I kept checking my breathing, checking my thoughts, checking my heart rate, checking my goals and diminishing the goals to support progress, always ensuring I could lead without holding negative emotion. 

I could have gotten mad. We can imagine how that would have gone. This was a twenty two year old horse that knew how rear, kick, pull, and leap forward, like he'd been doing it his whole life. And in fact he had! Did I feel mad? Was I triggered at times? Yes. He nearly injured me many times. Did I remain mad? NO! The feeling never lasted more than three seconds because I owned my experience. That's always the key. Don't blame circumstance. Own the experience!

I could have gotten fearful? We can imagine how that would go too. He'd only reinforce his ability to take over and do what he wanted regardless of what's safe. I had to stand my ground. In fact I had to move to a safe place so I could stand my ground. I encourage all my students that encounter extreme horses to use the best spaces to demonstrate clearer leadership. Like teaching a dangerous horse to back with a fence between you. He learns, and you both stay safe until the skills are higher.

The point is... I kept checking my emotions. I try to notice my reaction to the experience I'm having. I own my emotional decisions. I do this with people too. If someone hurts me, I understand that's a trigger, but if I remain hurt, I understand that's a decision. My decision! Only when I own it do I have the ability to lead again. To be free again. 

Some things sting more than others. For instance, if your horse bites you and draws blood.  This will cause trepidation in your day to day exchanges. That's normal. Being hyper aware and on guard is normal and even important at times. But check your decisions. Do you blame the horse for how you feel, or do you own it, and find ways to change it. Either by guiding the horse to new behaviors or guiding yourself to healthier perspectives?

Thanks for reading dear friends. You inspire me to write! Comment below and share your experiences.

And... case you didn't know, our step by step courses are available to you now and in a fun, new format to help you learn and grow to the pinnacle of your potential. Click here to find a course that works for you, right where you are!

What do vets hate most about working with client horses? And how about farriers? You guessed it, horses that don't stand still.

It's a sliding scale too. A horse that wiggles around a bit is tolerable. A horse that moves abruptly and dramatically is dangerous. And vets and farriers don't like working with these animals. It's also why they revert to drugs so quickly to make the animal docile. They don't have time to risk their lives doing the hard work, so they shoot up the tranquilizers and go about their normal duties. Or if it's a farrier, they might just cancel their service with you. But what if it could be different?

What would it take to really make sure your vet and farriers have a good time with your horse and as a result, treat you like a queen or king rather than a dirty sock? 

Short answer. Get your horse good at standing still. 

Long answer. Practice the box game. What's the box game? It goes like this...

On the ground, set up a standing spot indicated by lines, cones, markers of any kind. That box is roughly the size of your horse and clearly marked so when your horse leaves the spot, you know it's time for a correction.

In my book Leadership and Horses I talk a great deal about the 6 different types of desensitization strategies. The last one, repositioning, is one of the greatest tools you'll ever encounter with horses. 

Imagine a horse isn't good with his feet being held. What does he do? He might kick, but usually it's always some sort of drifting out of the box that gets people in trouble. The trainer often makes the mistake of trying to hold the foot while the horse is out of bounds, making it about the foot rather than about the box. This then translates to new things, the horse won't stand still, so the owners or trainers chase him around, trying to hold it all together until the horse gives up. It's not necessary to work that way. Watch this box training video with the mustang Freedom and learn what I'm talking about. 

Here is another great video with Justice the Mustang, stand still for picking up your feet.

If you practice box training you will get great results, and... your vet and farrier will love you because your horse stands still for everything. 

Thank you for ready, as always I love your comments.

Have a great day, Don

In the last article, I talked all about five signs you might be doing something wrong with your horse. Today I want to give you the signs you're doing it right.

Reader beware, you might just feel like a million dollars after reading this, in case you don't, I know how to make sure you do. Read to the end.

Number one sign you're doing it right!

Your horse is easy to catch, easy to tack up, and is becoming more confident all the time.

There's nothing like the feeling of having your horse meet you at the gate. And subsequently not shift around nervously when the tack comes out. It says something about you, about how you work around your horse. If that's your experience, we'll done. You're doing fantastic!

2. Your horse is respectful of everyone, not just you. 

The other day, some kids came to spend the weekend with us.  Imagine a 1200 pound animal standing next to a 50 pound child. Was I nervous about it? Not in the least. Naturally I was attentive to the needs of the child and the horse and I always encourage safe movements about the animals, but was I worried my horses would check out and cause harm? Nope! I put in the training so my horse isn't just good for me, but good for you too. If your horse is progressing to this point, you're on track for sure. If your horse can handle kids and grandparents, congratulations, you're doing something right!

3. Your tools in the tack shed are diminishing, not increasing.

In the article titled "5 signs you might doing it wrong," we talked briefly about the accumulation of tools. It seems the horse industry has taught us that the better you get, the more tools you need. In upper level dressage for instance you don't just use one bit, you use two! AT THE SAME TIME! This is ridiculous! I've done it, I studied the benefits, I've ridden at that level and I can tell you, unequivocally, it isn't necessary. One sign you're doing things right is that your horse needs less to hear you, to understand you, to respond. Because more tools means less understanding and less tools means more understanding. I'm not saying throw away your tools. It's okay to use tools, but the goal should be to diminish the use of tools to prove your horse understands. If you can say, "my horse doesn't just do the maneuver, he truly 'gets' the maneuver and I can prove it by using less hand, less leg, less support," then at that point you are proving to yourself that you truly understand horsemanship, not just horse riding. If this is you, Congratulations you've just joined an elite club of lateral thinkers and industry changers.

4. You're enjoying the idea of being with your horse even when you can't be there.

Do you day dream of being with your horse and practicing that next cool trick, conquering that challenge, or spending the afternoon in nature's beauty? If so, you're definitely doing it right. If you're avoiding that special time it means you've got what performance coach Tony Robbins calls "negative anchors" associated with the activity. It means that you have ended on a bad note too many times and the only way to change it is to end on a good note more often than not. This is tricky because not everything goes as planned with horses and when it doesn't you have to learn to change your perspective so you always feel like it's okay and you're doing great. 

Just the other day I took a young horse out for his first trail ride. The ride was a disaster, but the experience was magic. How is that possible? I'll tell you. I had hoped for the best and at the same time expected the worst could happen. And when the worst showed up, I got off and worked on the ground. It took a while for him to chill out but by the end of the day, both of us walked quietly back to the barn and we chilled together for a long time to let the sweat dry. It was a magical bonding and learning experience I can't wait to grow from. It can't always be perfect and I can't let perfect be the determining factor for positive anchoring. I look forward to the next ride because we ended on such a good note. That's how I know I'm doing it right and you can experience the same thing.

5. You're seeing your dreams become reality through measurable means. 

Day by day I see I'm closer to a goal or a dream. How do I know? Because I see the path. I made the path, I mapped the path, and I mapped progress points along the way. One of the main roles I take as a coach in my industry is helping others do the same. I want you to sit down and outline your dreams. What would you like to do, see, experience? Would you like to ride on the beach, bareback, cantering along through the ongoing tidal edge like the boy from "The Black Stallion?" Would you like to ride to the lake at the end of the canyon deep in the wilderness? Do you dream of riding piaffe and passage, not like everyone else with a frown on their face and tail swishy horse, but with smiles and energy fit for two happy athletes in harmony? How about lying your horse down or playing at liberty? Your dreams can become reality and the most effective way to make that possible is to map a progressive path starting right where you are. 

Most of us look back a year or two and compare where we are now to where we thought we'd be and find ourselves disappointed. Sometimes that is inevitable, things can take longer than we expected, but most of the time, that happens because we never actually took the time to define measurable progress points. You see, it's not enough just to dream of the end result. You also have to dream of the middle result. If you can do that, you're doing something right for sure! 

In case you struggle with any of the above, call me, here's my number our business number (406-360-1390). I'll give you a free strategy session worth $150. You deserve to see your dreams come true. I believe in you. Take advantage of this limited time opportunity and don't let anything hold you back. Life is too short for limiting beliefs.

Click this link to get started 

And please comment below. I love hearing from you!

This might be one of my favorite movie scenes. 

It's Chevy Chase getting off the horse in the middle and inadvertently landing on the horse to the right. The movie, "The Three Amigos" starring Martin Short, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin, is a classic if you like silly, funny movies. 

And... naturally, when you see someone sitting backward on a horse it looks odd, which leads me to an adjacent question. What signs are horses giving us that tell us we might be doing something wrong?

Here we go...

5 Signs You Might Be Doing Something Wrong With Your Horse

Your horse is hard to catch the next day:

I dare say, more people are starting to catch onto the truth that a hard-to-catch horse means something. In the past it didn't mean anything. You just chased them around until they got tired, then got on and rode. We know better now. We know that horses have emotions and if we stress them out, they don't want to be with us. So... let's not stress them out so much, or at least, let's balance the challenges with the rewards, like more undemanding time together, more bonding etc. And let's not skip over the game of catching just to teach different skills. I think it's important to spend several sessions just on making catching easier. You can find how in this course: Ground Work Training

Your horse's emotional fitness is not improving:

If you struggle to put on the bridle on day one, that's normal, but day three or day ten, that's definitely a sign you're missing something important. The same goes for mounting, saddling, catching, spooking, and everything. Think of a task, or challenge. If your horse isn't improving within a day or two in the right direction, or at least, a week or two, you might be missing something. If they're still reacting to the same things every time, you might be missing something. It may be time to dig deeper, get some resources and helpful hints. (by the way, that's what we are here for... First call is free. Reach out!) 

Your horse's signals are not improving and you're buying new tools:

If I ask my horse to back up, it's natural that it wouldn't be so good on day one. But by day two, three, four, it should be improving. I just spent the weekend at a clinic in the South East, US. One student has ridden her horse for years and years and is still struggling to stop her horse. She can do it, but it hasn't improved. First of all, you need to know it's okay to settle into a way of interacting as long as you feel safe about it and your horse feels safe about it. But struggling isn't safe. Struggling is akin to "sunny day riders." (people who can only work with there horse when it's hot because any other day, the horse has too much energy.) There is something wrong with that picture and usually it simply comes down to practice. If you're buying new tools to solve the same problem, you're not helping. The tool doesn't change the experience, it's the hands that hold the tool. Dedicate one thing at a time to improve upon. Do it for a week, then enjoy the benefits for a lifetime. Don't send your horse to a trainer, don't buy a new bit. You have to be the one to learn how to get the results. Otherwise you'll get your horse back and teach him the same sloppy signals. Take the time to learn for yourself how to improve his or her skills. It's easier than you think and a whole lot of fun.

You find yourself avoiding doing the thing you thought you'd be doing:

In the beginning we have an endless drive to be with our horses. For some of us that fades. It could be completely natural. I've written about emotional fatigue and the nature of needing a break. It could be fear. It could be a number of things. But generically speaking, if you're avoiding spending time with your horse you might want to dig into the answers for that. Your horse needs you. Unless you've got lots of acreage and food, and friends for your horse set on auto-pilot, your horse needs you. Find out how you can change the way you interact with your horse so it's more enriching for you too. Sometimes we just have the wrong perspective, or the wrong reasons for interacting with our horses and that's what takes away the zeal. We dive deep into this discussion in our weekly live zoom calls. Join here!

You think it's all about your experience or all about your horses experience and fail to see it's about both:

For this one, you need to look inside yourself. Do you notice you always think about riding your horse as an activity that's all about you and your friends? Or do you think it's all about your horse and you're just the caretaker. There is a balance. The horse needs to perform in a safe manner while we are around. And we need to provide for them. We need to enrich each others lives. I've seen people collect horses to avoid the kill pens, only to destroy their own lives in trying to care for so many. I've also seen people get so caught up in the "need to win" feeling of competition that they completely disregard the horse's needs and become abusive. I've slowly come to the realization that nearly all positive, life affirming activities, live in the middle somewhere. If you sense you're not balanced or your horse's experience is not balanced, don't get discouraged. Be encouraged, awareness is the first step.

We have online courses to help keep you on track and moving forward naturally. Check them out now!

And... stay tuned. Next week we're going to talk about the 5 signs you're doing it right?

Thanks for reading and comment below!

Also, don't forget to check out the courses! Click here: 

Imagine you're going to ride or play with your horse today. Think of the things you want to do... Practice responses to your legs or hands or visual aids, try that new obstacle a few times, practice trailer loading, liberty training, getting that trot circle better, teach your horse to lie down, get him used to the tarp or saddle, teach him to stand better for mounting, transition work, and for most of us, that's just the beginning. 

Horse lovers dream up a million things to do with their horse. I think that makes our unique industry so beautiful and artistic. Of course the challenge is prioritizing your tasks and, more importantly, sticking to one at a time. 

Horses don't multi task well. I'm not so sure humans do either, yet for some reason we keep trying to get it all done at once. DON'T BE THAT WAY!  Your horse survives on minimal information repeated often. Not maximum information stacked on all at once. Let's take loading in the trailer as an example.

For many people the prospect of getting their horse in a trailer is all too easy. For some it's daunting. The horse can be extremely emotional. But the reason it's daunting is because trailer loading is all too many tasks chucked into one. As with anything, the big task can be broken down to smaller tasks, and achievable results can be within your reach every day. 

Loading a horse in the trailer requires three things. 1. Calm, responsive energy, lined up at the gate. 2. Calm, responsive energy with each step forward into the trailer. 3. Calm responsive energy inside the trailer. Each goal should be tackled without pressing for the other. One thing at a time. 

Number one is simply asking your horse to face the trailer, lined up, ready to go in but not going in. In this position the horse can learn to be curious about the trailer, stretching his nose out and investigating the edges. It won't work unless he is lined up, but it's so simple, so effective, and I'm always shocked how few people know it and avoid trailer loading. It's completely safe and normal to play with step one for days and even weeks before attempting step two. The problem is when you watch a support video you think you have to do the whole thing on day one.  You don't.  

I wish I could give you this advice. Watch every support video in sections, not as a whole. It's okay to get the overview by watching the whole thing but go back and watch for the step by step functions of the video. Pause the video, identify the step, then give yourself permission to take hours, days, and weeks to accomplish the first step. I mean... what's the hurry? Education with horses should be enriching in every step, not utilitarian. The last thing you want to do with your horse is tell him to "get over something," so you can go have some fun without the burden of his inadequacies. 

Instead, look at the inadequacies, label a few smaller steps to achieve the big goal and practice those steps with massive rewards and little distraction. Don't do what most people do. Don't fall into the trap of getting it mediocre then immediately jumping to step two. Don't get distracted by some other thing that also needs your attention. Don't buy into the, "my horse is bored," trap. Stick with one task, broken to a simple form, and repeat, reward, repeat, reward, repeat until your horse says, "I get it. It's easy, I trust you, I'm happy. I'm calm and responsive."

When you finally get to that stage, then at another step. Everything can be broken down, including flying lead changes, vertical flexion, lying down, rearing up, dragging logs, saddling for the first time, half passes, spins, water crossing, you name it.  Each goal can easily be made into fun, achievable goals.  That's what I call, "Putting the FUN back into fundamentals."

Here's my challenge to you... in the comments describe a goal you have and the first broken down step that you will commit to playing with until it's going well.  

I'll start. I want my new rehab horse to carry a kid safely. He can be a bit explosive under saddle in new areas, so it's gonna take some work. My first step I'm going to work on, for as long as it takes, is to get him to perform a basic walk, trot, canter on the ground in a brand new space. Once we get that I'll choose another new space and get the same results. Before long I should see the progress I need to see to build on from that. 

What's your one thing you're going to play with? Please comment below.

I've been deep thinking about the idea of emotional fatigue for some time now and gratefully, a student of mine brought it all to the surface again. When I hear from the people I care about, I can't help but take a moment and reflect. This time, on paper.

We all have something we are passionate about. Even my oldest brother, who often seems less energized by life than my other siblings, demonstrates great enthusiasm for certain types of learning. For those of you reading this post, you're probably like me, passionate about something you've been hooked on for years. For me, it's horses. But sometimes, something unique happens and the passion turns into a grind. The signs are obvious to anyone looking. You've lost some desire. You're crabby and short with your tongue, or something similar. You're avoiding doing the thing you said you always want to do. When you see the signs, what happens then, what should you do?

Answer. I don't know, I'm not you. But I'll tell you what I've done and what works for most people.

When you're tired, know it's normal, even for the professionals. The picture below is me, completely burned out of training, riding, and teaching after a few weeks of traveling. Here I am, embracing absolutely nothing related to progress, resting on my horses shoulder. It's the only thing I did for a long time. Ironically, both my horse and I are better off for it. 

Here are the keys to dealing with fatigue.

• First accept it!
• Second, address it!
• Third, build slowly!
• Fourth, celebrate successes differently this time!

Let's talk about acceptance first:

Lots of people think they should be invincible, and when they realize they aren't... they become hyper determined to never show it. Sounds like a recipe for fatigue. So first things first, accept that it's okay to rest and even show people that you value rest. For years I couldn't show my wife when I needed a break. I would never nap in the middle of the day. Then I got a little older and I realized I'm human and it's okay to be human and even a little bit important to be human. We, as a society value productivity so highly that we forget about sharpening the saw. Read sharpen the saw. Basically, we forget to value rest and see how it actually improves our productivity.

And I'm not just talking about a daily nap, I'm talking about weeks off, or even months off an activity. When I was young, I played basket ball. Five solid months of practice, live games, open gyms and coasting into summer. Then a long, seven month rest. Guess what, the next year, after playing very little basketball for seven months. I was much, much better. The time off made me better. Perhaps the extra seven months of practice would have made me substantially better again, but some people aren't meant to push that hard and if they try, they burn out. If you're reading this, you may know a thing or two about burn out. It's okay, breath it in. You can rest. Accept it!

Next, let's talk about how to address fatigue:

Well, obviously, as stated above, when you're tired, rest! But beyond that, when you're tired, fuel up. You need to address the elephant in the room and that elephant usually comes in the form of food that your body doesn't assimilate well. Good fuel equals better energy. Simple right? So look in your fridge, your cupboards, your pantry and ask yourself, should I? Look at your TV or smartphone as ask, should I? Is there something better I could choose, a better program, better food, something more nutritious? Trust me, I love junk food, I do. I eat it too. But I do follow patterns and when I eat too much I feel it. I used to tell myself it was just how I felt, like I always felt that way. Then I took a ten day junk food cleanse and started to feel amazing. Then, I ate some more junk food and felt like, well... junk. I never knew how much the food affected my body. Now I'm more conscious and do more to check my energy when it starts to slow down. I notice the signs of toxicity in my body and take some small steps to mitigate it. I notice signs of mental fatigue from participating in things I can't control like most things on TV. I don't have recommendations media sources, or food types or body types to invest your visual, auditory, and gustatory energy in, I only know myself, and I think knowing yourself is useful.

When you're tired, get inspired!

Sometimes you need a muse. You need a little inspiration. You need to be reminded of why you do what you do. When you started out in your magnificent passion there was an endless amount of inspiration. Everywhere you looked you saw people doing amazing things. Now you see people doing those things and they don't hold the same emotional intensity for you. That's normal life. Things that happen often, fade in significance. But smart people, and I believe you're smart, learn to see intricacies in details that others don't. You see the finer points and get inspired by that instead. And then, if you do that often enough, you even get sick of seeing the finer points and it's time to step back and see the forest for the trees again. I find that watching a horse play with other horses inspires me like never before. Even if everything doesn't look clean and perfect, it's still beautiful. It's authentic, and once again, I find myself inspired. What inspires you? It's different for everyone. 

Let's talk about building slowly:

As you get back on your feet, it's important to go at it slowly. You're a little groggy, so to speak, don't go sprinting, the blood flow to your brain isn't right yet, you'll faint. You just got up from recovery, don't do twice as much as you should. Muscles build slowly and so does inspired action. Rest and rebuild but when you rebuild, build it slowly. When I fell from a horse and injured myself I thought I wouldn't ride again, then I took one small step toward my dreams and another and another, a year later I was riding again. It's amazing what can happen in a year. The problem is, the whole time I thought I should be back to normal on day two. I thought it was taking too long. With coaching and support I kept my cool and took it slow. I hope it's good food for thought for you too.

Lastly, let's talk about celebrating your wins differently:

A win, for me, used to be grand things. Now I can notice and celebrate smaller things. That's important, but more important than the win itself is the way in which you celebrate a win. If you remember when you were a kid, you celebrated wins with incredible enthusiasm. The first basket I made as a budding basketball player warranted galloping around the court like I'd just won a gold medal at the Olympics. Later in life, I found myself, not only not celebrating wins, but beating myself up for losing. Imagine a toddler beating herself up for falling down while learning to walk. The poor thing would never walk. Wins need to be celebrated with youthful enthusiasm. If you want to get back on your feet, do it with the style of your younger self. Don't say "finally. I did it, why did it take so long?" Instead say, "OH YEAH BABY!" and jump up and reach for the stars and gallop around like you're five years old. Or at least some version of that which your body can handle.

Don't downplay your early successes. Make life grander than life. I'd say it's not only a better way to live, it's perhaps a necessary way if you want to really feel like you're doing things right. When I teach my clinics and courses I'm always sure to celebrate each small thing with my students with supreme enthusiasm. We deserve that kind of energy. We live for it. We can give it to ourselves as well. Even when it feels silly, it's worth it! 

In summary, it's okay to be tired, it's okay to rest, it's within reason to believe your resting doesn't mean quitting, and it's feasible to believe you will gain more by resting than by pushing through and damaging the natural glee you get from your passion. So if you feel fatigued, do what feels best for you and know you'll always have a friend like me around to encourage the best parts of you to shine.  

As always, thanks for reading.

Want more?

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If your horse does one of these six things while attempting to canter... don't worry you're not alone and their all easy to fix. Last week we talked about the first three. Here's the link to that article. This week we'll tackle the last three.

1. Tossing head

2. Bucking

3. Wrong lead

4. Canters too fast

5. Leaning or cutting corners

6. Never stops trotting

Let's tackle one at a time.

Canters too fast: Lots of horses canter too fast. In the beginning they only know one speed. And lots of people just resign to always cantering the speed the horse wants. But you don't have to. If you practice, you can teach a horse to canter slower than a walk and even canter in place, and believe it or not, canter backwards. Sure, it takes time and patience and lots of practice but it's sooooooo much fun to canter a horse that feels like a rocking horse, going the speed you want rather that the speed he wants.

There are dozens of strategies so don't get caught up on just one but here is one of my favorites. After weeks of ground preparation, teaching my horse to canter for longer and keep a nice even steady pace, I'll begin cantering under saddle. While riding I'll set up my arena or round pen with two cones along the fence lines about one hundred feet apart. Once I get into the canter I wait for my first cone and when I get there I start counting the canter strides. When I get to my second cone I stop counting and tally the total. If it took fifteen canter strides to canter that hundred feet then I know my horses speed. (15 strides/100 feet).

Once I know my horse's speed I get to play a fun game to slow the canter down. My goal is to get 16/100. Then 17/100, and so on, until I have a slow, fun canter. I like to speed it up in the same way. The point is... I make a game of going a different speed, which makes it fun for me and fun for my horse and doesn't leave us frustrated with a one dimensional relationship.

Leaning and cutting corners: Sometimes horses lean in because they are going to fast. You know there are solutions for that now. But sometimes they lean in because they don't want to go at all. Horses that lean in or cut the corners while cantering will almost always stop in the middle of the arena given the opportunity. Meaning, if you stop asking for things and just ride it out, you'll see the horse traveling smaller and smaller circles to the middle and simply stopping. So... ironically, a horse that leans or cuts corners not only has a steering problem but they also have an impulsion problem. They don't like cantering. The question then becomes, "What do you do to help the horse enjoy cantering straight?"

There are many tools you can employ, too many to write in one article but I can give you one of my favorites. In the arena or riding area, set up two markers again. While riding, or even on the ground, when you reach the first marker begin to speed up, when you reach the second marker, stop completely. Once stopped, give massive rewards to your horse. The game is "point to point." It's designed to encourage your horse to see value in going straight ahead to a destination. Lots of horses hate cantering because there is no destination.

Make it fun for the horse by repeating the game until you feel he or she offers her own energy and enthusiasm to reach the second marker. Then stretch the markers out. It won't take long before you're safely cantering toward the marker on a nice, straight line. Once you've nailed that game down, you can place markers anywhere and start traveling on arcs and circle but always toward a destination of your choice. Your horse will love this game and love you for introducing it!

Speedy trot that never leads to canter: In the beginning with horses, they can sometimes struggle to enter the canter. You can find yourself asking for the canter and all you get is a faster trot. With some horses it doesn't seem to matter how fast you go, they simply won't break into a canter. Many people find this frustrating and that's why it's on the list to talk about today.

The first thing you need to know about the canter is that it's not a speed, it's a gait. There is a massive and important difference there. Most people think it's a speed thing because it's faster than a walk or trot. But, as we know from last week, we can easily train a horse to canter slower than a walk. Therefore, canter shouldn't be considered a change in speed. It should be considered a change in footwork and balance. Knowing this will help the horse that speeds along in the trot.

Remember, there are many techniques, so don't get confused when I share my favorites. "There are many roads that lead to Rome." One of my favorite strategies for horses that just speed up is to ask them to rebalance by slowing down. I like to think of a horse like a slinky spring. Remember those cool toys that you can send slinking down the steps? Speeding up in the trot stretches that spring out. If it gets too stretched out it won't be able to gather its feet to canter. Cantering requires compressing that spring. It's kind of tricky. You do need the energy output the fast trot gives you but not the balance. So the best thing to do is to trot fast for a couple steps then slow down, then fast again, then slow down, then again until the horse begins to realize you don't want the fast trot, you want the energy output. Sooner than you think the horse will give you a canter stride, nice, and slow, and balanced. Before long, you'll get it every time you ask.

Of course it will take some practice and feel and patience. It may even take some creativity like placing a small jump on the ground to encourage compression and elevation instead stretching out. But I believe you can do it. I've worked with thousands of horses now and I've always found a way to help the horse enjoy the cantering games, barring no physical limitations. 

I hope all this helps you understand the canter better. Cantering is the link between the novice rider and the elite rider. Elite riders tackle canter on a daily basis, whether it's in the saddle or on the ground. The only reason novice riders don't is because there is some limitation. Usually that limitation is one of the six described above. My hopes is that if you take this all on, you'll become a better trainer, owner, rider and enjoy the canter as much as I do.

Thanks for reading, comment below. I always love to hear from you.

And.. In case you didn't know you can buy this course or this course to help.

If your horse does one of these six things while attempting to canter... don't worry you're not alone and they're all easy to fix. 

1. Tossing head

2. Bucking

3. Wrong lead

4. Canters too fast

5. Leaning or cutting corners

6. Never stops trotting

Let's tackle one at a time.

Tossing head: Nearly all horses toss their head related to surges of energy in their body. It's most common just before or after the first few steps of canter but lots of horses do this in the walk and trot too and even while standing still.  The solution is simple and here it is: In my Free Mastery Principles course (link) you will learn a principle named "You get what you allow."  This means if you end each session on a less than perfect note you'll never get perfection. But if you end the session on a good note (in this case, where your horse doesn't toss his head) you'll start developing a positive pattern in the horses mind. 

Just the other day a young girl got on her horse bareback, the horse would move around okay but when asked to slow down or back up he'd toss his head. With coaching, she just kept asking for backup, kindly and patiently, until the horse quit tossing. In that moment she let go of the reins and reached to pet the horse. With this perfect timing the horse gave it up in no time. It works with every speed and every transition. Ask again and again and again until the head tossing stops, then quit. Don't get angry or upset, just ask again. And in case it get's dangerous, shut it all down. Don't allow it. Reset your boundaries and begin again in a safer environment.

Bucking: There are only four solutions for bucking related to cantering. Solution 1: Allow it and ride it out to the point the horse gives it up. 2: Stop the bucking immediately and go back to the trot then ask again, always stopping the behavior before it escalates. 3: Give up because your horse hates canter and you're not balanced enough to handle it. 4: Go slower, and teach everything from the ground. As you might guess, I use all but the third solution. But I prefer not to ride it out. So I rarely use solution number one. That leaves solution number two and four and I almost always prefer to combine them. 

On the ground, I'll ask the horse to canter. If he/she bucks, I'll ask him to return immediately to the trot, then ask again. I'll repeat the cycle until the buck isn't presented then reward heavily. After a few days, the horse can canter without bucking and truly enjoys it because he/she is highly rewarded for the right behavior. After a few weeks I can canter that horse while riding without any trouble at all.

Wrong lead: Horses, like people have a dominant side. Some horses are right handed or left handed in their habitual movements leaving lead control a little harder to get. Sometimes horses experience pain related to cantering on a certain lead. You need to find out from a vet to rule out lameness issues. And sometimes it's just a mental block that prevents the horse from performing both leads. Either way, patience, persistence, and positioning is the key to success with leads.

When a horse canters to the left, the right hind foot strikes the ground first, then the diagonal pair (left hind/right front), then the left front foot, then a moment of suspension (all four feet off the ground), and it all starts over again. More than that... the hips, shoulders and head all line up in a way that supports that footwork. The hips move slightly left, and the shoulders lift slightly right. The head, in an ideal world, remains fairly neutral, if not slightly tilted left. Without all those mechanics, getting the correct lead is always a gamble. Even if you're traveling around the arena to the left, you're not guaranteed a left lead because the body parts might be out of alignment. 

So... if you want to get your leads, practice the body mechanics in slower speeds. Practice positioning your horses shoulders and hips without transitioning. After a few days, that gets so easy that leads seem simple for you and the horse. There are other factors like sensitivity to your "go" signals and such, but learning about the body mechanics will give you a leg up, so to speak, when you start to one day learn about flying leads and tempi flying leads. 

Stay tuned for next week and I'll dive into the other issues:

Cantering too fast

Cutting corners

Speedy trot that never transitions into cantering 

Once you tackle all these issues you'll have a perfect cantering horse. How cool would that be? 

Thanks for reading, look forward to your comments.

That's a big, bold thing to say. Of course there are stubborn horses in the world by the typical meaning of the word "stubborn." It's just that I don't adhere to that meaning because I don't think it's helpful.

          adjective

Acceptance doesn't mean resignation. There's a lot of shaming in the world. Have you noticed that? Body shaming, personality shaming, and even, believe it or not, shame for people who own horses but don't ride them. 

"I know, right?"

Let me be another voice for those out there who feel shamed about not riding. It's okay. In fact, most horses prefer it! Here's what a horse needs: Food, water, shelter, hoof and health care, social interactions, and positive experiences. Can you offer those things without riding? Absolutely! 

Who cares if someone thinks you should ride and you don't feel up to it! Don't let your horse down by not interacting just because you can't or don't want to ride. Get out there and just "be" with your horse. Enjoy nature for heaven's sake. 

So accept your feelings a bit, accept your position, accept your experience, and don't hate on yourself for not living up to someone else's idea of what you're supposed to be or do. 

Just one little caveat on the word "accept." I feel like people often think that if you accept the way things are now, you are resigning to that new norm and you'll never again be able to do things you used to be able to do. But the truth is, accepting something means giving yourself some grace, not giving up on your dreams! If you want to ride, believe it will happen again for you, but don't pressure yourself. Just breathe, think positively about yourself and your current experiences and slowly move in the direction you want to go. It's the same for your horse. If she's struggling to get something, relax a little. It will come.

I've helped many people recover (including myself) from setbacks. In the beginning it feels like you'll never have what you had. But you have to shake loose of those feelings and just accept what is. "It is what it is, right?" Gotta thank my friend Patty for that phrase! Then... look at where you want to go and take one small step toward it. Don't focus on what you've lost or you'll go crazy. Focus on your footwork. Take a step, breathe, reward yourself, then take another step. It won't be long before your acceptance turns to progress and pride of accomplishment. 

In short, don't give up on what you want, but also give yourself enormous doses of grace, every single day! Grace is that acceptance of things you didn't plan for. Give yourself that gift. Trust me, it will pay off in big ways.

Thanks for reading and please comment below and share with your friends.

Don Jessop

The Five Types of Happy

 Written by Don Jessop

Not a horse blog, well... maybe it is.

Happiness can be elusive and fleeting. It doesn't seem to last for anyone, but it does seem to return eventually, for everyone, given enough patience and time. 

What I've found over my years of study and reflection, even though I'm no therapist (although I did study to become to a hypnotherapist), is that happiness takes different forms and that is perhaps the biggest reason it's so elusive. 

Here are a few of those forms:

1. A peaceful sense of relief - A feeling of a release from pressures. The kind you get as you take that deep breath before you drift to sleep or as you realize you don't have any payments left on your car. It could be a sense of acceptance, that all is going to be good in the world, and you're okay, and a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, at least for now. Simply put... a deep sigh of relief.

2. Excited for the future - A feeling of positive anticipation. The kind you get when you daydream of the planned trip to the island getaway or when you see the new horse you've been dreaming of just become available to buy and you can afford it. Basically... any relative feeling of anticipation for something good to come.

3. Proud of accomplishment - A feeling you get when you finish a big task or nostalgically remember achieving things you, and perhaps others, didn't think you could do. Like building a house, or starting a business, or getting married and having kids. Simply put... you feel you did good job.

4. Grateful for gifts you're not sure you deserve - A feeling of believing you're blessed. The kind you get when you realize you didn't create you, your mother did, but she didn't create herself and you can see where that goes. The kind of feeling you get when you narrowly dodge an illness or accident or when you see you've got enough, and maybe even more than your neighbor. (HINT. You do have more than most of your neighbors.) It's more than relief, it's feeling special, that everything is a gift and for some reason you get to receive the gift. It's perspective on how things could have turned out, and instead, you're the lucky one.

5. Organic chemical joy kind of happiness - a feeling you get for no reason at all. You might just have gas bubbles making you smile. Or for some reason, all the pain in your body is gone, or the air smells better, or the problems don't matter anymore. Adrenalin junkies look for that kind of happiness and find it in those short, edge of your life experiences. In this case, circumstances are causing your chemistry to lift, like contagious laughter at a comic club. Five minutes later you might feel differently, but in the moment it's a taste of heaven. Simply put... It's an organic sensation triggered by some type of nearly uncontrollable stimuli.

The question is... when someone asks, "How can I be more happy?" Which type of happiness is it that you feel like you need right now? What are you seeking? If you knew, you might find it easier. Like looking for a shoe in the closet, knowing which shoe helps.

These five types of happiness often mix too. It's no wonder something like having a baby is so amazing. You feel relief, gratitude, chemistry, pride, and nine months of building excitement. It's a euphoric experience.

But before you start stacking the happiness types to feel happier, it's best to prioritize them for conscious change.

Imagine not feeling happy. Can you imagine that? I can! Then imagine thinking you need some happiness, so you go out looking for excitement. The external stimulus kind. Let's say you find it, then you return home and you're still not happy. Why not? Because that was the wrong shoe, the wrong kind of happiness. That means it's time to dive deeper into yourself. Find out what's missing? Is your chemistry off? Could you change it with breathing, meditation, or professional (not amateur) support? Are you stuck in a fearful place? Did you know that fear and gratitude can't exist in the same mental space? Are you feeling bored or unimportant and perhaps taking on a big challenge would fill that gap, at least once you're done and proud of it? Or are you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, burdened by internal and external pressure? In that case you need relief? You need a win, a breakthrough, perhaps some education and a supporting hand. What you don't need is to go skydiving or giving into vices. Not to say those things aren't valuable for there own reasons, just that there could be better, more sustainable things for you based on your immediate needs.

I'm no therapist so I can't actually say what you need. I only like to play with words and lean into my own experiences, analyzing my needs and sharing my thoughts. Perhaps you enjoy that kind of processing too. 

Now let's re-evaluate stacking the five forms of happiness. What activities make the biggest dent? We mentioned having babies but that's not for everyone and it can't happen very often. How about doing something challenging for the first time? Like jumping horseback or learning a new language, these types of things stack pride and relief and some forms of anticipation and gratitude all in one place. There are so many possibilities to be happy, it's a wonder we aren't happier more often. 

Also, on the subject of happiness, there are other concepts like affirmations, posture, breathing, supporting friends, habit training, practiced focus shifting, multiple types of therapy and more. I don't want to limit your thinking about how to experience true happiness and keep it around longer. I'm just excited to share my own musings.

I'd love to hear how you explore the psychology of happiness. Tell me how you've noticed and shifted things to make room for happiness. Tell me some activities or supporting behaviors I haven't mentioned that combine the above five elements into a more lasting type of happiness. Have some fun. Have some hope. Have some good vibes for the future. I know life can be hard. I know it first hand. But for a moment or two, help me shift the focus. Comment below. I love reading your thoughts. 

And.. if you're a horse person wondering why I didn't talk more about horses, I'll leave you with this... What do you bring to your horse when you meet him or her? Do you bring your pain and sadness in hopes of healing, that's okay! Horses can be good for that kind of thing. And... Could you also bring your joy? Imagine a horse filled up from time to time with your joy! How cool would that be?

Thanks for reading, comment below!

A little more than a year ago I wrote about the three most important things that make a great horse trainer. Here's the article...

In the article I described the 3 "P's". Patience, Persistence, and Positioning.

In short, great horse trainers have extraordinary patience, and extraordinary persistence. They also possess deep knowledge about positioning. On a simple level if the horse isn't positioned to enter the horse trailer, there is no sense asking him to go in. First prepare to a position, then ask. On an advanced scale, things like halfpasses and flying lead changes are only done with expert positioning skills. Great trainers possess these qualities, and you can too. You just have to focus on the details. 

Recently I realized I made a huge mistake; I wrote about 3 "p's" and a very influential colleague of mine pointed out something important. There is a 4th "P." And... ironically, it's perhaps the most important of all. The 4th "P" stands for "Permission."

Great horse trainers, I mean really great horse trainers, I'm not talking about most people you see in the public eye, I'm talking about the elite that teach the elite, and sometimes, it's no-one famous at all, it's some backyard enthusiast that gets the whole picture. They all know there is no sense making a horse perform against her will. They know how to ask and read the response and recognize when the horse is acting in good will or against good will. Any horse can learn to say yes to a question. All trainers know that much. But do they actually want to do what you ask? Have you asked for permission to ask? It can get a little spiritual or weird here so hang on to your bootstraps. 

If your horse likes you but doesn't trust you, you've got a problem. If you're horse respects you but doesn't like you, you have another problem. If your horse likes you, trusts you, looks for you, respects you, you've got permission to ask him for new things. 

A short story to illustrate:

Many years ago, I began training a mule that didn't like people, didn't like his job, and didn't behave in a safe manner. I sought permission to train him, and day after day he denied me. Well... I'm a skilled trainer so I demanded it anyway and after playing hard to catch, we proceeded to skill development. Over the course of a few weeks his skills improved but his obvious disdain for people remained. He was still very unsafe to ride. I finally realized I'd been going about it all wrong. I'd began developing skills before I had permission, and, in his eyes, I failed. So, reluctantly, I went back to the beginning and learned a valuable lesson. Today, he's safer, happier, and willing, most of the time. But if you ask him to do what you want without setting it all up perfectly, he'll let you know you don't have permission. 

Permission is granted, not taken. If you love horses, you'll embrace that idea. You have to patient sometimes just to get permission. But we can afford the patience. It's not like we live in a world where we have to go chase a cow and drag him to the branding pit. And in case you do live in that world, try to remember, you also have time, you have time to bond with your horse. They are more than just a tool. You have time to enrich his life and teach him trust. 

And I have a challenge for you! Would you be willing to test your horse's permission giving? Test by asking him to do something like loading in a trailer and/or pick up a canter. Notice if he is hard to catch, hard to yield. Is he resistant? Can you change it? 

A lot of people think you get permission by acting and smelling like a carrot. Sometimes you do. And sometimes you have to ask, you have to communicate, you have to check in. I'll never forget the first time I learned this lesson. More than twenty years ago now, I went to a clinic in Colorado. At the clinic I tied my horse to a hitching post and joined the others around the lunch table. After lunch I went to get my horse. When I returned to the arena with my horse, the instructor called me out, made a point to make a point about what I did. He said, "I noticed the way you went up and just grabbed the lead rope without checking in with your horse. You didn't even say Hello or ask him if he's ready to step off. You just untied him and walked away. He's a nice horse so he complied but you never got permission."

OMG

Lightbulb moment!

Take the challenge yourself now, think of all the things you ask your horse to do. Think of one specifically that you're pretty sure you forget to check in with him or her. Then change it. 

I hope you find this and the other articles helpful. I love to write, and I love when you write your comments below.

See you soon,

Don

Is your half-pass half-ass? In other words, does it feel sloppy or sluggish or tense when you ask your horse to shape his body and yield laterally to your leg, body, and hand cues?

I want to tell you how to fix it up nice. But first we have to dive into what "it" is. And what it's not. 

The half-pass is a simple enough concept for humans to understand but it's not as easy for the horse at first. Three things have to happen all at once for it to look professional. It's okay to break them down individually and work on each piece independently for a long time, but eventually, they have to come together. 

1st thing: Your horse has to yield laterally without reaction or resistance to your leg pressure when you apply it. 

2nd thing: Your horse has to maintain forward momentum and not stall out.

3rd thing: Your horse has to yield to your hand and body cues, softening and slightly shaping his/her body in the direction of travel. The direction being, half-forward, and half-side-passing. 

Think of side-passing as moving directly sideways toward an object without any forward momentum. We use side-passing for opening and closing gates while mounted and sidling up to our friend to steal a snack from his saddle bag, etc. Half-passing, on the other hand, can be thought of as half sideways and half forward. At least conceptually! It can be thought of as facing north and drifting toward northeast without ever turning toward northeast. For this to happen, the horse has to listen to your holding and asking cues. Some of your cues signal the horse to move in that shape and direction, while others hold or prevent the horse from slipping out of shape and pointing the wrong direction.

How professionals make those half-passes look so good is by independently practicing those three parts. Not always in order, but always in an attempt to be able to, one day, put them together. 1. Sensitize your horse to your leg pressure without causing them to fear you or your pressure. 2. Sensitize your horse to your hand pressure, guiding them kindly toward a slight bend in their head, neck, and body. 3.Teach them to carry forward without stalling or quitting until they've reached a desired destination or desired quality response. 

The reason that half pass can look and feel "half ass" is because the rider always tries to put those elements together too soon, before they are actually working well independently. There are things that need practicing before they are ready to put together in harmony. I'm not saying don't try it early, just learn where the responses break down and then go back and fix them independently instead of forcing ugly half-passes for the next six months. 

The real question about training the half-pass comes down to helping the horse understand the goal. This one is about horse psychology. My favorite game for this is to place a target of some kind along an arena fence. An orange traffic cone is a good target. I travel toward the target, stop at the target and reward the horse for making it to the target. Then I approach the target from the center of the arena rather than head on, along the rail. Each time I reward the horse for reaching the target. Eventually, keeping in mind I have a sensitive horse, willing to respond to hand and leg cues, I ask the horse to approach the target with a different body part, instead of head on. In other words, I may ask him to lead with his shoulder or hips, landing at the target shoulder first or hips first, instead of his head. This causes the horse to slip sideways toward the target, but as always, he is rewarded for reaching the target and, here's the key... mentally, he starts enjoying the game.

There is so much more to talk about related to half-passes so I'm just going to keep it simple today. Take a look at the picture below, it speaks volumes to the shape, direction, and style of half-passing. In the picture, the horse is facing North and traveling to the North-East corner, crossing all four legs beautifully, and keeping a slight bend through the body in the direction of travel. You can do it too, you just have to make sure your horse is independently responsive to your legs, hands, and mentally engaged in a game he can win. Eventually, you can do these half-passes anywhere. First, start with the cone, and second... understanding that horses naturally lead with their head and shoulders, try to slow his shoulders down and try leading with the hips for a while and notice how it sensitizes the horse more than anything else for what the end result is. 

If you'd like to see an early training video for developing half-passes naturally, using the game I described above, comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's go have some fun!

PS. Half-passes have real value in performing arts and practical application. You don't ever have to do them, but if you choose to learn and master through movement you're entire horsemanship experience will change for the better. Partly because they are not easy and hard things often bring great rewards, and partly because a strong, willing, flexible horse demonstrates a partnership like nothing else on the planet. 

Actually, the title to this article is misleading. It's not just one thing horses hate, it's about a dozen things. 

Horses hate it when you...

1. Don't let them rest

Usually, I don't have to coach my students to slow down or give their horse a rest. Occasionally, however, I see folks working their horse either physically, or mentally, for long periods of time, without resting or taking some time to simply bond with the horse. In my book, "Leadership and Horses" I talk about the 50/50 training/bonding ratio. If you do a lot of bonding without training, you make little progress, but if you do a lot of training, without bonding, you become a slave driver. Find the balance and give back to your horse for all he/she offers. If you rest often, you won't risk joint injury. If you rest often, you'll see the horse's physiology change and promote better overall health. If you rest often, especially after something challenging, you'll see them connect to you, more like a friend they can trust and enjoy being around.

2. Act frustrated toward them

A frustrated person looks identical to a predator in the horse's eyes. Curb your frustrations by expecting less. It's okay to hope for good results but to expect them is folly. Good leaders expect the worst could happen and plan for it. At the same time, they  plan for the best. It's the riders that don't expect anything bad would happen that show the most frustration and ultimately take out the frustration on a confused horse. If you've ever said, "My horse knows this," you're at great risk of having your expectation being too high. Horses don't know things like humans do. They can remember things but often find themselves flooded with distractions of all sorts, both externally and internally. Don't assume so much. Play with what you've got rather that act frustrated.

3. Give up too quickly

Horses often question your leadership and start out most conversations confused about what you want. Many novice riders or trainers quit before the horse has a chance to figure it out, leaving the horse in a constant state of confusion and frustration around people. Stay a little longer. Learn about the 20 minute rule.

4. Put them in a small space for long periods of a time

Horses need space. In fact, there are four things' horses need to, not just survive, but thrive. Space, Social interactions, Stimulating experiences, and a Sense of purpose. Space is critical. A general rule of thumb is one full acre per horse. Not everyone can do that but consider this at least... To feel free, a human must be able to explore a full range of motion. It's the same for the horse. If he/she doesn't have the room to gallop full speed, even if only for a few seconds, he/she is limited in their range of motion and therefore, less free. Living 24/7 in small spaces is like living in a prison cell for a beautiful beast that's meant to roam free. That's the harsh truth. I know boarding barns that rely on small spaces to make money. In those cases, I encourage plenty of play time in large spaces, either in turn out, or in human interactions where the horse is allowed to truly explore their full range of motion.

5. Leave their halters on 24/7

Sometimes, in the beginning its easier to leave the halter on so you can train the horse to be easier to catch. But this beginning stage doesn't have be that way and in case it does, it only needs to last until your horse is open and trusting. If that hasn't happened in a few weeks time there may be something wrong with the relationship and it's time to dive deeper. 

6. Take away all social interactions

Horses are family oriented animals. It's no surprise they hate being left alone. There are circumstances that require alone time, but they should be limited. If you really want to give your horse a natural experience. Give him some friends, even if all you can do is have horses on the other side of the fence. Make sure he has companionship.

7. Forget to feed and water them

Horses in today's world usually get a good deal of food and water but some are left without for long periods of time. Talk to a vet about how much food and water your horses need and make sure they get it every day.

8. Use heavy handed aids or signals

Many riders rely on big, obvious, heavy signals. I catch many riders holding onto the reins like their life depends on it while they attempt simple maneuvers in the ring. Horses are sensitive enough to feel a fly land on their skin. There is no need to use heavy signals except in safety situations.

9. Take them away from their mates

That doesn't mean you shouldn't take them away from their mates. Just recognize it's hard and don't be so hard on them when it doesn't go perfect for a while. Have some perspective for them.

10. Use tools that hurt

Sharp bits and spurs can be harmful to the horse. Be careful with the tools you choose. The truth is, any tool can be harmful, it's more about the hands that use the tool that matters most.

11. Ask them to do scary things

Again, there are things that must be done. Like loading into a trailer or crossing a stream. But have some perspective. Be slow, kind, thoughtful. Be a leader, not a dictator. 

12. Don't give basic health care

Feet trimming, regular grooming, vet and teeth work, shelter, safe fences, etc. Can horses survive without constant care? Usually! Is it nice? No! Do they act as if they want all those things? Not always, but a child needs care even when they don't think they need it and that's what good care takers do. You're not just a friend. You're a steward, a leader, and parent, a coach, and you're a friend. 

Now, for the other side of the coin... Things that horses love!

They love a partner who cares about their experience even if they have to do hard things from time to time. It's that perspective that's important.

They love space, social interaction, stimulating experiences, and a sense of purpose. They love playing games and learning. Scientists have studied the effect of stress hormones in horses that play with people and horses that sit in the field doing nothing. The horses that sit around, have higher levels of stress. Hmmm.. interesting, right?

They love food rewards. If you can figure out how to train your horse to be polite around feeding time and food rewards, you'll earn a whole other level of trust and try from your horse. 

They love comfort. There is a false narrative out there that horses should be left alone to mother nature. The hard truth is nature isn't always better. Take a hard look at wild horses, their feet, their teeth, their injuries, their stress levels, their lack of resources, their predators, etc. Horses, primarily, need and want safety and comfort. We can provide it for them. 

They love you! If you are really a horse lover, invested in your learning and a leader in the making, then they will love you too. 

Take a deep dive into leadership training with horses in our "Horse Mastery University." Click the link, and for new students, get a free consultation worth $150.00 I look forward to meeting you!  

Comment below

Stop believing you're doing it wrong, or you'll never get it, or you don't have what it takes, or your horse won't ever get it because it's taking too long.

The twenty minute rule was taught to me many years ago by a human psychologist. He said that in most situations there are factors that make us believe we should give up, that things will always be this way, primarily emotional factors. We might, for instance feel depressed and believe that we are always going to feel depressed and therefore we should give up or feel anxious about it. But then he said. The irony is that, unless adrenalin is involved, most emotions rarely last more than twenty minutes before recycling. Which means, even anxious people take a deep breath and feel something else beside anxiety every twenty minutes or so. 

You could cycle back into the emotion but... our reality gives us a window to make new choices more often than not. If a person could remember the twenty minute rule they would be able to persist through all kinds of challenges knowing, as the Bible says, "This too shall pass!"

When it comes to horse training, the twenty minute rule is critical. Just yesterday I was teaching a class with a few challenging horses and new students. When one particularly difficult thing came up for one of the students, I noticed her attempting the task only once or twice then giving up. I stepped in and asked how she was doing. She said she tried but it wasn't working and she didn't want to do it wrong so she stopped asking. 

I told her something I tell all my students. "Don't give up so quickly. And... there is no such thing as wrong unless the technique you're using is abusive and extremely dangerous to you or your horse."

Stop believing you're doing it wrong, or you'll never get it, or you don't have what it takes, or your horse won't ever get it because it's taking too long.

Naturally, this kind of comment is confusing at first. We all have a deep seated fear of being wrong or doing things wrong so when I say there is no wrong I feel the questions pop up. What I mean is the horse can learn to respond to just about any technique. Some techniques are more logical than others but any technique works if you persist. This means you can make a horse go forward by pulling on the reins or backward by squeezing with your heels. Those aren't logical directional cues but if you persist, your horse will figure out your unique way of asking and respond. Therefore, you can stop buying the line that there are right and wrong techniques. Most of us who have been training for a long time know this, and further more, when we've been stuck in the past we've even invented some of our own techniques when no-one was around to show us a better one. 

The point is... stop thinking you're doing it wrong and persist a little longer even if you suppose there might be a better technique. When you second guess yourself you often quit at the wrong time and inadvertently reward the wrong behavior. My old teachers would say, do your feeling during the day and thinking at night. Which means allow yourself to go with it and learn from it, then later review and rehearse some new thoughts about it. 

On the subject of the twenty minute rule this simply means most horses start to figure out what you want after about twenty minutes of attempting to understand you. If you give up in the first five minutes you're not really ever gonna get anywhere. Sure, some things are easy and they make you feel like everything should be easy, but the truth is, some things are hard for horses to understand and it's worth persisting to the point where they do understand. That's real communication after all. 

Also regarding the twenty minute rule, if your horse is being emotional, please remember it doesn't last.  Just be patient,  work thought it, don't give up, he'll settle down soon. Unless adrenalin is involved, most of the time you just have to wait for a calm window to open up and it usually takes... you guessed it. Twenty minutes. So next time you feel like the hard thing you're trying to tackle will never end, remember, you can do this. Anybody can last twenty minutes at a task as long as it's not physically taxing to the point of oxygen depletion. Take a breath. Know you can get through the tough times. I believe in you!

In case you do want more logical techniques for getting to the next level, I'm here for that too. Together we can map out exactly what's best for you and your horse today. Connect for free for first timers and save $150 dollars on a private lesson. Click this link

Comment below as well and tell me how this will change how you interact in tough times. 

How do you build a horse's trust? How do you begin to trust him or her to be safe? Trust is a big topic and one worth investing in, because without it, it's simply two individuals doing things together, when one or neither one wants to and that's a whole lot of "not fun!"

Let's start with your horse. How do you help your horse to trust you? Well... it turns out there are a few things that help, and a few that really don't. Let's start with the things that help. One, spend time with your horse. Let him/her get to know you. I don't mean a few minutes a week. I mean a few minutes every chance you get. Also, ask him to do something. Did you know that one of the greatest trust building exercises in the world is to get your partner to do something for you? When they say yes, they show trust. Imagine meeting a stranger and the stranger asks you for some trivial things like sharing a stick of gum or picking up an article of clothing she dropped. If you respond to the stranger by doing what she asks, you immediately feel more trusting toward her. It's ironic, isn't it? By doing something for the other party, you're saying "yes" to a simple request, and that makes you feel like they are worthy of your trust, because after all, you wouldn't do something for someone you don't trust, right?

Master horse trainers know the value of asking the horse for small things. One thing we encourage every new student to do when they halter their horse is to ask the horse to step back a few feet. This simple ask initiates an upward trend toward a more trusting partnership. Couple that with the bonding time you spend as often as you can, you end up with a fantastic horse/human relationship.

Now for the less obvious stuff. Lots of people tend to think that the way you build trust is by never asking the horse to do something uncomfortable. Or by never being firm with a horse in a dangerous situation. It seems logical. Don't upset the apple cart and she will trust you more. Ironically, it's the opposite again. You can't win a horse's trust by being a carrot all the time. Sometimes you have to be a leader. And what is a leader?

A leader is many things, he/she is someone who is caring, yes, but also someone who is willing to do hard things. Someone who doesn't avoid something because it's uncomfortable. I've been criticized for this before. I've been told I'm too tough on a horse because a particular video snippet is taken out of context. One time a horse tried to bowl over me in a panic and I slammed on the breaks, demanding he stop and back away with firm pressure from my lead rope. Soft natured people, kind hearted people, often confuse a moment like this as abusive. And once again, it's quite the opposite. If they only knew the hours I poured into the bonding, non demanding time together, in the pasture, with no lead rope or stick. If they only knew the hours of learning and growing through psychology and leadership training. Alas, it's all quite okay, because nature calls us to react to circumstance. I don't blame them; I hope to educate them. Help them see the moment to moment changes a leader must be aware of and willing to adapt to. 

In summary, you build a horse's trust by being nice, kind, time intensive, and... asking for things, even hard things.

Now let's talk about you, how do you trust your horse?

This one's easy. Just ask him or her to perform a task. If he responds positively, then you've got nothing to worry about. If he responds negatively, well then... you may have something to worry about, and you won't trust him until he responds well again. The type of task you ask for matters too. If you ask for him to back up two steps, it doesn't show you much about his trustworthiness. But if you ask him to circle around while trotting or cantering and he happily carries the saddle without hesitation or reaction, then you're probably going to trust him more.

Years ago, I learned a simple concept that brought task/trust orientation home for me. One of my early instructors and I stood next to a ditch filled with less than twelve inches of water. My horse stood just a few feet away, facing the ditch. My instructor took the horse from me and asked the horse to cross the ditch without a rider. My horse exploded over the ditch and I dropped my jaw, thinking I could never ride that. Then he brought the horse back over the other way, getting a similar reaction from both of us. He continued asking the horse back and forth over the ditch with rewards on each side and finally, he said to me, "Have you ever heard of the rock test?"

I replied honestly that I never had heard of the rock test, and asked him to explain... 

"The rock test is an idea about trustworthiness, and it goes like this. If I put a flat rock on the saddle, and ask this horse to cross that ditch, and the rock doesn't fall from the saddle, then I bet a person could stay on too."

Moments later that horse stepped lightly into the ditch and through it. I saw how quietly he navigated the obstacle, and I felt a sudden surge of confidence in him. My instructor asked him over the ditch a few more times without any reaction and then asked me to ride him over. I'll never forget how he carefully carried me over the obstacle. The rock test made the light bulbs turn on in my brain. The concept of the rock test is so valuable. Perhaps not always realistic, but without a doubt, one of the best ways to conceptualize trustworthiness. In other words, if my horse responds well with something challenging, then I can trust him or her. The word challenging is the key. If you only ask for simple things on sunny days, you'll build a false sense of trust. This is where people get hurt. It's okay to start there, but don't stop there.

I trust one of my horses more than the others, can you guess why? Because I've spent more time with him, asking him to perform tasks in challenging environments and staying until it all worked out. I have one horse in particular I don't trust much at all. Can you guess why again? It's because I haven't spent the time with him, and his initial reactions tell me I need to spend more time. When I have the time, you can bet that's exactly what I'll do and he too, will become extremely trustworthy. 

I'd love to sum it all up for you now. You gain your horse's trust by spending time and asking her to do something for you. When she says yes, she sees you as a leader, someone she can trust. The cool thing is, you also gain more trust in her. It's the nature of all relationships, both horse/human and human/human. Do more together and learn more about each other. Don't avoid challenges, embrace the complexity with grace for each other and before you know it, you've got a rock solid relationship that only breaks down if one of you stop asking questions. 

I hope this helps you understand the nature of trust. Comment below and share your thoughts. Also, if you haven't already, check out Mastery Coaching it's available to a limited amount of dedicated folks. Start here.

Don Jessop

Usually, I'm all about horses! Today, however, I'm going to talk about us. You and me!

Psychologists study people's patterns, their emotions, their behaviors, etc. So that makes me a psychologist too, just not a professional or licensed one. I'm more of a practical psychologist. I'm constantly observing patterns. First of all, my own patterns, and second, all the people around me. I notice when people react and I try to understand why they react. Then I look back at myself and notice when I react, and try to understand why I react. You will often hear me draw parallels between horses and people in that regard. It seems obvious to me that horses respond and react too, and we, as horse owners, have to find ways to help them change or adapt their instinctive behaviors if they prove unhelpful in anyway. 

Because I'm so passionate about the subject of growth, I've made decade long deep dives into all the literature available regarding, leadership, behavioral change, psychological adaptation, emotional and chemical reactions and expression, and more. I could write books about the things I've learned and maybe someday I will. For today, I'm just going to focus on one thing I've noticed about you and me. 

Wordplay...

How important are the words we use?

Did you know that there are over 170,000 words in the English language? Did you know that among those words are about 3,000 words that describe emotion? More importantly, did you know that among those 3,000 words, most people use only a handful of words to describe their experience in any given situation? In other words, I might use the phrase, "I'm angry," to describe my experience because it's easy to remember, even though my experience might be more like, "I'm a little put out." The first phrase is easier to access, I don't have to think, and my brain will jump to it like a shortcut. Meaning... I might express full blown anger because that's what I decided I was feeling, when clearly, a mild irritation wouldn't warrant that. Anthony Robbins (world renown performance coach) says that one of our top human needs, is to act congruent with what we think our current identity is. The phrase, "I'm angry," is an identity statement. It's, "who I am right now." Meaning, if I say that's who I am right now, then that's how I'll act right now. So, back to the first question... how important are the words we use?

Answer: Extremely important. We often use words to explain our situation, believing the situation came first, but the words we choose make a framework for future situations, and it's not even on purpose. Words can also define our identity, locking us into cages we call life patterns. I'm hoping to bring home a few important, useful strategies for making wordplay work for you and me so we don't have to live in negative cycles and we can be free to see more of our potential.

Try to remember the acronym: "AIR." I love acronyms because they help me remember simple steps to success. We all need AIR to breathe and ironically, we can use the acronym for understanding and conveniently making wordplay a winning strategy in our day to day lives. 

A - Awareness of patterns.

I - Interrupt patterns.

R - Replace patterns.

That's the cycle. The first step in wordplay is to identify the words you use that support you and the one's that don't. For instance, I learned years ago, I was constantly, "out of time." I didn't have time for anything I wanted. My natural curiosity for psychology led me to observe my word patterns. Sure enough, I was saying things that seemed real to me at the time, like "I don't have any time." And I was saying it often! One person, close to me, even commented on how often I say "I don't have time." So there you have it. Step one. Awareness. Now I'm aware of the pattern.

Step two, interrupt the pattern. How do you interrupt a word pattern? Luckily, it's not that hard. Sometimes just being aware interrupts it. If not, you can for starters, just say to yourself. "Whoa, there it is again. I said it again. Okay, no more, new pattern coming up right now!" You might have to be firm with yourself, screaming, "STOP! WAIT! I don't want to be limited this way anymore." There are many other ways to stop patterns, including, reserving value of the pattern, making it seem smaller, moving your body, letting it play out, etc. etc. The important thing is to see the pattern, not beat yourself up about it, and stop it in it's tracks. Isn't that how you break most cycles?

Step three. Replace the pattern. Can you just say the opposite, "I do have time."? As it turns, out, yes you can. You can go deeper if you want as well, but in the beginning it's fun and simple to just play the opposite. Later, if you're bold, you can dive into words, meanings, affirmations, how they do and don't work at different times and for different reasons, etc. But for starters, I find it's always best to be simple. Step one, become aware, then interrupt the pattern. Say to yourself. "Okay, I'm going to say this differently." Then step three. Replace the word pattern with the opposite. "I do have time."

Repeat the AIR cycle over and over until it starts to work. You breath air in and out all day long. Keep using air. Don't do it once, do it often.

Important side note: I use the word "wordplay" to give us permission to play with words, not make rules.

Other important side note: It's easy to believe it won't work. I've written whole essay's on why positive affirmations don't always work. But the truth is, saying I believe it won't work is an affirmation of sorts too, just another negative one.

So what are some negative words patterns you might have? Write them down.

Do you know, some people have a hard time putting it into words? It's often just a feeling, like not feeling safe, for example. So... put your feeling into words. Write the words down. Begin to be aware of your translated feelings. Begin to be aware of your word patterns.

Do you say you don't have time? How about, being fearful. Do you say you are afraid? I'm not saying you should be fearless. I'm just saying, you might want to be aware of it. That's the "A" in AIR. You can decide how much you want to change. Do you say you don't have friends that like hanging out with you? Do you say you don't have friends you can trust? Do you say "life is hard," "a pain in my neck, a pain in my butt."? Do you say, "I'll never be good enough, people don't love me, people don't care."? Do you say, "I don't have what it takes."? Do you say, "people are wrong, and I'm right," or "I have to do everything myself."? Do you say, you've got it all together but find yourself beating up on yourself or the world later? Do you notice the patterns? Will you notice them?

Words have the ability to lift you up or hold you down. First become aware. Journal about your patterns. Discover some truths. But don't quit there. Some people discover how negative they've become and that makes them spiral down, beating themselves up even more, failing to register they're still doing it. But you know about step two. Interrupt the cycle! Stop those words in their tracks. Quite literally, stop them.  The other day, I was on the phone with a close, very clever friend. She said to me, "I was riding my horse and found out I was doing it wrong." Then, all by herself, she said, "Wait!, Let me rephrase that. I found an opportunity for growth." I was elated when I heard her catch herself. She saw the pattern and stopped, and even went to step three, and replaced the pattern with a new one.

So now it comes down to you. Here's your homework. Research your patterns to become fully aware, make plans to interrupt your patterns, even rehearse interrupting them in a play like fashion. We call this role playing. I'll say to myself, even when I don't really mean it, "I don't have time." Then I'll slam the book down and say, "STOP!". Then I'll rehearse that last piece, one I've also planned for, "I do have time. I can do anything!" As a life pattern, which one is more likely to help me succeed, the former, or the latter? It's obvious right? So now it's your turn. 

Comment below and tell me if you're up for the challenge. I don't need to hear your negative old stuff, you can share if you want to, but what I really want to hear, is that you're willing to do the homework. To uncover a few patterns, not beat yourself up about it, and train new ones. After all, our brains are a lot like horses in training. And if you believe you can make changes, you can! If you believe you can't, I'm hear to interrupt you and tell you that you absolutely can! I believe in you!

One last note: When a horse fails at a task, all good horse trainers know to give him or her some grace. Do the same for yourself. Grace, plus practice equals a new life. Grace without practice won't get you any further, and practice without grace will only make you a difficult person to be around. Allow failure and mistakes and out of the box problems to exist, and keep practicing to make the future the way you want it.

I look forward to hearing from you!

6 things horses value and how to give them

1. Safety and Trust

When a horse is afraid, they value safety. They seek an environment where all the pressures come off, allowing space to do what naturally comes next - eating and play. It’s difficult to offer safety as a reward for behavior but it does work as a prerequisite to learning rather than a reward. In other words, if you make your horse feel safe upfront, he/she will find it easier to follow your lead and learn. Providing safety often requires the leadership to plan ahead or often it requires the leadership to shut down unwanted behavior, so the horse begins to see you taking control in unsafe situations. Regardless of when and how you provide safety and trust, rest assured it's one of the foundation pieces to good horsemanship.

2. Release from Pressure

When a horse is learning, we know that pressure motivates a horse and it’s the release from pressure teaches. In other words, horses value relief. This just happens to be another fundamental part of leadership related to teaching horses. If the horse does what you want, you stop asking. Many trainers rely solely on this method for teaching. If you mess it up and inadvertently hold the pressure on the horse, he/she will assume he didn't get it right and keep looking for answers. Example: You might tap with your heels to go. If your horse responds, you release the tapping and the horse learns. If you continue tapping, he/she may become dull and uninterested because the release never came and no reward seemed present.

3. Food

When a horse is no longer afraid, eating is the most natural thing to do next. Some horses value food more than anything, while others may put it further down the list. Generally, it’s ranked high in the hierarchy of useable rewards in a learning situation. However, food probably shouldn’t be used heavily in a safety or trust situation because it can trigger heightened, excited emotions. Some trainers like to avoid using food to reward horses. I can understand their reasons. Some horses become overbearing with food. But don't forget. Food is something horses value and if you're clever you can use it and achieve extraordinary results. Plus... you'll find out, it's not always about results and sometimes it's about giving back to the horse and making sure their experience is as good as ours.

4. Touching and Grooming

When a horse is not afraid, they tend to value touch and grooming. In a learning state of mind, touching and scratching can be as rewarding as any food treat, depending on the horse. Horses are tactile creatures. They get itchy and dirty, and dry. Simply brushing your horse can be rewarding. Digging a little under the surface, especially in his/her sensitive areas like ears, underbelly, tail, etc. can really light up your horse in a fun, positive way.

5. Praise

When a horse is does something you like, the most natural thing to do is give praise. Although horses don’t value praise the same way a dog does, or at least, to a lesser degree, they do respond to the positive expressions we deliver. Praise should generally be the first level of reward from a trainer, backed up by release from pressure, grooming and food treats. To be clear, your horse may never understand your words, but he/she will certainly respond to your intention. When you speak praise to your horse, your intention toward him shifts and you find yourself embracing a true partner. Horses read intention to survive. It's how a zebra can tell if the lion is traveling through, or on the hunt. 

6. Fun and Play

When a horse is no longer afraid, playing and having fun are great activities. However, these are the hardest to implement as rewards for learning and act more as a connection tool for bonding. Horses are herd animals, and they love companionship, so offering lighthearted companionship is often a big plus. Occasionally however, you can use fun as a reward too. Let's say you do something challenging, like flying lead changes and it all goes to plan, then for a reward, you do something simple, something you know your horse loves, like pushing the ball, or standing on the pedestal. You are allowed to be creative with your horse and you should also have fun. After all, why did we get into horses in the first place, right?

Comment below, thanks for reading. See you soon.

Don Jessop

In a recent conversation with a fellow horse enthusiast, I noticed the exchange becoming very one sided. I found myself backing away from my own points of view, not because I didn't believe what I said was valuable, but because I felt the other party was defensive and insecure. To ensure the other person felt heard, felt understood, I backed off and opened my heart and ears.  I noticed she wasn't really interested in what I had to say and only interested in making sure I understood what she had to say. At first, each comment I made was met with a defensive comment in return, such as, "Yeah, but I don't do it like that."

So, I took a deep breath in until finally she felt that I wasn't being defensive myself.

Did she overcome her insecurity about being an important, knowledgeable horse person? I hope so. It would be nice to chat with her again when she's less defensive and more open. More willing to discuss rather than contradict every technicality. Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to get my point across, just to have a conversation. Her points were valid too. I simply wondered why she felt so defensive.

I remember feeling on edge like that early in my career. Determined to make others see my point of view. Determined to be right and important and noticed. It felt, at that stage in my career, like I was secure and confident because I knew just enough to talk loudly and determined, to fight for my view. Ironically the opposite is true. I didn't understand the scope of knowledge needed for mastery and assumed each new thing I learned was making me smarter and more elite.  The depth of knowledge is so vast that it takes years to accumulate experience and knowledge about techniques and variables within techniques. However, in the beginning, it's all too easy to try and lock things down. You learn something, then you lock it down as pure knowledge.

Insecurity sometimes makes us think of being a shy person, unwilling to step into social circles, but usually, insecurity leads to loud talking, closed minded, single track behavior. A secure person could have an idea and be willing to improve upon the idea rather than set it in stone and defend it. A secure person can hear others and relate to them in some way rather than tell them who is wrong and who is right. An insecure person defends every point like it's some kind of perfect knowledge that can't be insulted.

So, as I listened, there came a moment when I realized I don't need her to believe in me, or to see what I think is important. The real truth is, I just need my horse to believe in me. Isn't that what it's really about anyway? It's about the people and animals we love and want to be with. We are all here, seeking ways of making the experience for the ones we love better. I think there are times to defend your positions and ideas, and I think there are times to be open and allow new ideas or improve the ideas we currently hold. But down at the deepest level, I think the important thing is to let go of insecurities about how others view us and remember, if our horse thinks we've got what it takes to be a friend, leader, and noble caretaker, then we're in good shape and we don't have to speak loudly to defend our positions. 

So, if all else fails, remember this. Horse people are people too. They can be passionate, determined, defensive, loud, insensitive, just like all other people. If we can be secure in ourselves, we can hear that noise and not get defensive. We can believe it's okay for them to be learning and stuck in a stage of development without judging negatively. We can love in spite of irritations. We can breathe and believe our positions aren't threatened. They are merely moving and growing like a living thing. Remember to be compassionate toward others, and yourself. Remember to be empathetic toward your horse and other animals. Remember you're not alone and you've got great people around to support you and teach you. Even if they teach you what you don't want to do. Remember others don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And if you think you don't have time for people with different opinions, think again. You have time and energy to support others on their journey, even if it means just making them feel loved for a minute and never getting to the technical stuff.

Ultimately, I'm super grateful for the experience of chatting with other horse loving people, even if they don't see things my way. We are all in this together, aren't we?

Please click the share button and comment below. Life is too short to be all bottled up all the time. 

Don't wear your spurs to bed because it wouldn't be comfortable. Good advice right?

Anyway... the real reason for the title is to talk about spurs and bits and whips and what value they have and don't have in today's modern world of horse training.

First, everyone has opinions, that's okay. It's important to have and hear opinions and see them as opinions instead of facts. My opinion is that bits, spurs, and whips are tools. Sharp tools that can hurt if used wrong. It's easier to cut with a knife than a spoon. Does that make the knife a bad tool? How about the spoon? Is it a bad tool? Of course the answer is no. I learned how to cut with a spoon or a knife. Traditionally, one is better for cutting and one is better for holding. But both can do both. They are just tools. 

So when I hear someone say you shouldn't use bits, spurs or whips, or you should, I always ask why? I don't use them myself but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. We live in a free country, use them if you like. But try to remember this... sharp tools cut easier so you'd better learn to be slower and more precise so as not to injure or abuse the animal you're using those tools on. Also, it's easier to cheat with sharper tools. 

Here's what I mean by cheat.  If I ask my horse to backup while riding, using a bit, I may get a better response earlier. But if I don't ask him to do it again without resistance, his response taught him nothing. In other words, it's too easy to be mechanical and not be mental about your day to day training. It's too easy because your horse responds to the sharpness of the tool rather than the mental connection of your signal/response training. What this means is, you get a horse that relies on the spurs or bit or whip and can't do it without because they never learned what you really want, they just learned to be puppets on strings. People who rely solely on sharp tools, do so because they either don't understand the deeper mental side of training or they don't care to understand or don't want to try the hard way and reap the benefits. I understand. The only cavate is the rules related to safety in competition. Some competitions require the use of those tools. Again remember, they are tools. You get to decide. Masters use those tools too. The difference is, masters can do it all without those tools or with those tools. They may choose to use bits, spurs and whips to get results sooner or easier but they don't need them.  

The old joke I love is that you can give a mad genius a paper clip and stick of bubble gum and they can build a super computer. It applies to master horse trainers too. Give me a popsicle stick and peppermint and I can teach a horse to jump, lie down, canter on command, perform tempi lead changes and stop on cue while riding. It all takes time, but it's all possible. The point is, I used to wear spurs but I started taking them off to see if I could get the same results without. When I realized I couldn't, I decided to dive deeper into the mental side of training. The mastery side of training.  If you like, you can try that too. If you're happy where you're at, I'm not a judgmental type. You do you. Just promise me you're kind with sharper tools. Promise your horse you'll earn and keep the bond and not just be a puppeteer.

Sleep on it. But do take those spurs off before you go to bed, because... Ouch!

Thanks for reading. As you all know by now, I love to hear from you. Comment below. I'm not here to judge. In my classes all tools are welcome. It's the hands that use the tools that need support from time to time to get to that next level.  

It's a new year and culturally we find ourselves thinking about what we can achieve. What goals do we have? What habits will be break? What new person will we become? All of those things are fine to consider. But what if I told you its all premature. What if making a goal isn't the first step, that there is something bigger, more important to do first? And... by not doing that big important thing first you're almost guaranteed not to achieve your new year's goals. 

That big important thing is...

to imagine. 

Disney didn't create the parks and the movies without first imagining those things with unlimited freedom and extraordinary detail. The details would change but the process wouldn't. Close your eyes. Use your mental picture maker and allow details to emerge related to your hopes, your heart, your influence and impact on others, your feelings.  This is often where people gloss over the experience and fail to become the next level human they intend. 

Three things have to happen to break free and experience your goals. 1. You dream big and in detail. 2. You set small achievable and measurable goals. 3. You review and rehearse the big dream process again and again to ensure the heart and mind stay inspired. 

Imagine if Disney dreamed of Micky Mouse, started drawing him, then watched some Netflix and forgot to think about him the rest of the week. If that happened nobody would know where central Florida is today. The point is... dreaming is the fun part and it requires some discipline to dream again. Not just once, but over and over until it becomes an action, and another action, ultimately becoming a reality. 

So here we are, back at the beginning of a new year and the world tells you to start writing your goals, but wait, not yet! First close your eyes and use your vision maker inside your head. See the details of something grander, different or otherwise. See in detail, all the things that surround you in your new future, the people, the noises, the smells, the clouds in the sky, the colors on your clothes, the expression on your face. Then, only then, write the big dream down. After that, write your first, measurable, achievable goal. Don't leave the mental dance without writing your goal. Then... tomorrow, come back and close your eyes again. This part is easy and super important. 

This new year can be yours. Everything you dream of can start taking shape. But you have to see it. In case you struggle to see it, try out a coach. One thing we've been doing for years is helping people see the details and be inspired to move. It's valuable to have someone in your corner affirming you and keeping you focused. 

Here's a link to our Mastery Group. Start your new year off right. 

We welcome comments below. 

To read part 2, click here: " A Christmas Story for You and Your Horse"

"Hope," the rider standing next to the tall grey mare announced. "We named her Hope because she inspires a brave new world. Would you like to ride her?"

The young girl, whose dreams were coming true right before her eyes, bobbed her head up and down with enthusiasm. She accepted the helmet the rider handed to her and reached for the reins. With the riders encouragement the young girl climbed the mounting block and leapt onto the horses back with the ease of an athlete. 

"Before you start..." the handler on the ground continued, "Remember, this horse doesn't know you. These first few minutes are important. This is where she gets her first impression of you. Are you going to be kind, rude, strong, weak, graceful, tactless, patient, hurried, happy, or grumpy? It's important to decide right now. What impression do you want this horse to feel? How do you want her to remember you? And... What is your intention while on her back?"

All the questions gave the young girl a sense of trepidation. She'd never thought of horses in that way. She always knew she loved horses but she never considered whether the horse loved her back. The new thought of having a horse that was more than just a tool or toy gave her pause at first, but as the thoughts soaked in, they gave her a new sense of inspiration for an even deeper partnership and brighter future. She beamed with hope and smiled when she realized why they had given her that name. She took a deep breath and allowed her mind to clear. She focused on her intention of giving a great first impression. She thought about her goals and what she'd like to experience during this first ride. She thought about big dreams of galloping through fields, jumping, and riding with friends. Then she narrowed those big dreams down to smaller and smaller things until she felt certain that this new potential partner of hers could confidently perform without hesitation or fear. The handler on the ground noticed her new sense of inner peace and power and let go of the reins, giving complete control to the new horsewoman atop the majestic thoroughbred. 

Twenty minutes later the young girl beamed with pride as she slid off the horse's side, landing next to her father. "What do you think?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Should we take her home with us?" The girl didn't hesitate to answer, and in that moment, as if the horse could hear the question, the young silvery mare reached around to connect with the girl in what seemed to everyone a sign that the partnership was off to the right start. "Let me handle the paperwork here while you cool down with your new horse," her father suggested. And with that, she wrapped her arms around her horse's neck for a heartfelt moment, then took off the saddle and walked about the arena with her horse close behind the whole time. Over and over in her mind she kept thinking how magical and impossible this all felt, yet here she was, walking in the sand with six feet instead of two, as her dreams turned to reality. 

A few hours later, she and her father cracked the truck doors open once again, stepping up into the cold cab for a long ride home. As the truck started and the heat began building up in the cab, the trailer attached to the truck, rocked back and forth and a whinny came from inside. The pretty young mare standing alone in the trailer began to sense a big change in her life. Her father noticed the commotion too and looked to his daughter saying, "Not to worry doll. Horses always get a bit excited with transitions from one place to another, it's part of the process we just have to be okay with." Sensing his daughters concern for the horse, he added, "She's a good horse, but she's going to need a good leader more than ever these next few weeks. She's going to wonder why she has to leave her family, where she's going, all those things. Do you think you can give her the reassurance and clarity she needs?" His daughter sat up tall, cleared her mind and nodded with confidence. In her heart she made a promise to her new equine friend that no matter what happened, she'd always be there for her, making sure she felt valued, loved, and never without a strong, thoughtful leader.

At that moment her father knew she'd be okay. Not just the horse, but the young horsewoman in the making as well. No doubt they'd need help along the way but the long drive home gave plenty of time to talk strategy. This day had shaped up to be everything they'd hoped for and more. 

The old ford pickup with trailer in tow, shined brighter than it deserved, reflecting the bright, Montana winter sun and blue, cloudless sky. With smiles and waves from the homeowners, the truck and trailer bounced happily down the dirt road where the highways widened and a brave new journey was about to begin.

Author's note: Horses spark something magical inside us. People come to horses for many reasons. Among those reasons, is the heart to heart connection horses offer. Stories of that first horse always inspire the memory of that connection and can bring us back to why we started in the first place. Comment below and share your story. When did you get your first horse? What was it like? Do you remember the feeling? Do you still feel that today?

Thanks for reading, be sure to comment below. Sincerely, Don Jessop, Mastery Horsemanship

 Don't delay, click above soon: expires: 2 Jan 2022

To read part 1, click here: " A Christmas Story for You and Your Horse"

The road narrowed from two lanes to one and turned from pavement to gravel. The irony didn't escape the father's thoughts. For his experience, it seemed all journeys began with wide open highways, almost inviting you forward, but as the end drew near, the pathways became harder, slower, bumpier, dustier. Life was tricky that way. He wanted his daughter to experience the open road of that magical beginning but he knew, eventually, there would be bumps in the path. He knew at some point, she'd question herself, maybe even want to give up. But he shook off the burdens of the future with another deep breath and pinned his attention to the priceless smile of his beautiful princess in the seat next to him. She was scanning the fence lines looking for that grey thoroughbred she'd seen on video. The very same horse they'd travelled so far to see.

The noise of the truck and trailer bouncing down the road borrowed the attention of all the horses on the farm and they began to call out and gallop about the open fields. "It's just like the video described, isn't it? Wide open fields, horses naturally playing together. Isn't this beautiful?" Asked the father. His daughter turned and nodded an enthusiastic yes. But he could see a hint of despair, or perhaps confusion, in her eyes. After scanning the herd, the very horse they were looking for was missing from the postcard like setting. "She's here somewhere, I'm sure." He said with certainty. "They've probably got her in the barn."

The ranch road ended on top a small bench just above the valley floor, commanding exceptional views from the small house and barn situated to soak it all in. The big barn doors were closed until the truck came to a complete stop. The sound of the engine halting, like the ring of a doorbell, called the homeowners through the small walkthrough door at the side. They were appropriately dressed for cold Montana weather and he could tell they had been busy this morning. He hoped it was for the right reasons. His imagination raced with things that could be off. The welcoming smiles and waving gestures they delivered gave calm to his anxieties. He tapped his daughter on the shoulders, then he and his excited new horsewoman in the making, cracked the doors, stepped down from the truck and embraced the sights and smells of what only a small horse ranch can muster.

If you're not an animal lover, the smells generated by crisp, dry air, dusty roads, trodden pastures, wood shavings, horse hair, sweat, and even manure, can be overwhelming. For the father and daughter, this smell was the first sign that, in spite of the distance between their home in Arizona and this one, they were in familiar country, and likely, with familiar folks. After their initial greetings, the two of them followed the homeowners through the side door and down the breezeway, all the way to the end with no horses to be seen in the stalls at the sides. The anticipation in the young girl was building and only one door remained. With a light tug, the last door slid open into a section of the barn reserved for what looked like a small indoor riding or training space. Clearly, the space was not meant for large crowds of people and horses, but in the eyes of the daughter now standing at the edge, the four-legged creature standing in the center made the space feel more grand than a jumping arena filled with spectators and lights. 

Dapple grey, large eyes, bright white tail, dark tipped, perky ears, sparkling coat, smooth top lines, and a generally calm demeanor all indicated a well looked after, prized partner in the making. The homeowners had clearly spent their morning making her shine because the horses outside looked like they been playing in the mud all week. The father's measure of certainty was rising. Partially because the horse looked every bit the part they'd seen on video and also because she carried a saddle. And standing next to the mare was a young rider who was beaming with pride. The rider invited the daughter over to meet her new horse and with a glance to her father, and his nod of assurance, she stepped out into the small arena. Those first steps took her back to a memory of a dream, and forward at the same time, because today... that dream was not just in her heart, but truly standing in front of her. 

The silver mare's ears perked as she stepped near. She even reached out to meet the young girl approaching, and with that first touch, the father knew it was needless to wonder if the horse would be coming home with them.  

Author's note: For most of us, we remember the anticipation of that first horse and the magic of seeing a dream come true. What comes next? Part three to this story will arrive in your inbox next week. Thanks for reading, as always feel free to comment below and don't hesitate to reach out if you and your horse need a helping hand. We are here for you.

Don't delay, click above soon: expires: 2 Jan 2022

As night turned to dawn, the snow capped mountains to the west began to glow, and in the passenger seat of a 1999 model Ford pickup truck a young girl began to wake. Her and her father had travelled for nearly two days from the heat of the Arizona desert to the cold of the Montana big sky country with one hope. As only horse loving people would understand, there are horses all over the world, but comparatively, there are few horses that spark something special inside you. The horse they were coming to see was one of those horses for her, hopefully.

Everything they'd seen so far on video and pictures spoke to the young girl in an almost spiritual way. Perhaps there were other horses, some even closer than a two day's drive, but this horse lingered on her mind and nothing could separate that emotional bond once it began. You could say, the hope was more in the father. Hope that the horse wouldn't disappoint his young horsewoman in the making. 

The whistle of the diesel engine was quieter now they'd descended the last elevated pass where acceleration wasn't needed as often, and that quietness, plus the warm cab air, was inviting sleepiness more than waking. But the sunrise was unlike anything her father had ever seen and his daughter wouldn't want to miss it. With a nudge and whisper, he called and coaxed his daughter awake. "We're getting closer now, doll. You should see these mountains shining in the early sun."

The aches and tightness in the body as it wakes from sleeping in a truck cab can only be overcome with the anticipation of a destination on the horizon. In her case, that destination was the beating heart of a young, grey thoroughbred named Hope, somewhere near the end of the valley they now travelled through. Her fathers voice opened her eyes, but it was the anticipation of seeing her horse that truly woke her enough to lean forward and see the jagged mountains bathed in new sunlight. Her father was right, she didn't want to miss this. Every inch of this journey was a dream come true. The four-legged creature at the end was no doubt going to be the icing on the cake. 

"First, let's stop for breakfast. Does that sound good to you?" The father asked, and with a nod of approval, they spent the next hour nearly speechless, consuming the best of Montana's farm raised eggs, grits, pancakes, hot chocolate, and coffee in a quaint little café, in a small town near their final stop. Being so close made her giddy and nervous. And again, perhaps the nervousness was more in the father than the daughter. The horse seemed perfect for her on video but nothing would spoil an adventure more than a poor prize wrapped in golden paper at the end. Anything could be off. The horse could be lame, or dangerously untrained, or emotionally damaged. Those thoughts kept cycling through his mind, and crossing his fingers only helped shift gears to more positive thoughts some of the time. He breathed deep and kept the spirits up. "Let's pack this up and go see our new horse, shall we?" And with an excited nod from his daughter, their journey of just a few more miles, resumed...

Author's note: For most of us, we remember the anticipation of that first horse. That special magic that's only happens once. Part two to this story will arrive in your inbox next week. Thanks for reading, as always feel free to comment below and don't hesitate to reach out if you and your horse need a helping hand. We are here for you. 

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Playful horses are simply the most enjoyable to watch. But how do you encourage play and perhaps more importantly, how do you keep the play from getting too playful and losing control in a moment when you need to be safe, such as riding?

Check out this video on encouraging play!

Always remember...

Be sure to check in with your goals and make your horse's happiness one of those goals. Comment below if this article and video have touched you in some way. 

Also...Get inspired for the holiday's and buy our newest books here:

It's been our pleasure throughout our careers to help, not only horse lovers but people who know nothing about horses to learn from our four legged friends in equine therapy classes of sorts. As a result of these classes we've come to one simple conclusion we find quite useful. The horse... is a grand metaphor. This applies, not only to therapy clients but to all horse owners as well. 

Have you ever heard the expression, "Your horse is your mirror?" It's a fun way of saying, whatever is going on for your horse, is probably indicative of something failing or succeeding in your own leadership and self development skillsets. For instance, if your horse fails to cross water on command, there is a chance you have failed to be a leader in some way during his development. His failure mirrors some form of your own failure. In contrast, if your horse succeeds at a task, that success mirrors your own hard earned leadership, kindness, and persistence. 

I don't like how the expression, "your horse is your mirror," can sometimes turn too anthropomorphic. Some people say, your horse is scared, that means you're scared too. Or your horse is lashing out at people, that means you lash out at people too. It can mean that, but it's more by chance than anything else that your horse has the same external expressions as you. The truth is, the metaphor of the mirror is deeper than that surface expression. Here is what we've learned about the metaphor of horses in human lives.

The horse represents self. Your inner self. 

It represents communication with yourself. It often represents fears, frustrations, and failures like the ones described above. At times, the horse can represent others, like a husband and wife communication team. But mostly it shouldn't. Because if I think my wife is my horse, metaphorically speaking, what does that make me? Her leader? No... The lines get blurry here. Sure families need leadership but they don't need benevolent dictators. 

Horses, on the other hand, do need leadership. Horses need us to guide and lead and befriend them. And when we do lead correctly, bond correctly, and earn their respect and trust, they perform in magical ways. In contrast, if you don't lead correctly, they can run right over you, leave you fearful or damaged. You might miss important boundary setting moments and leave yourself exposed. It's in these moments that the horse begins to show us our strengths and weaknesses. 

The men, women, and children who experience therapy with horses most often describe, how in dealing with the animal, they tapped into something that's been plaguing their own emotional well-being. I often hear how the horse helps them see that they are not taking care of their body, or respecting their own boundaries, allowing people in their lives to run over them and even allowing themselves to be ran over by runaway thoughts or behaviors. The cool thing is that when we hear this kind of thing we can help the person begin to become that leader for the horse and the information learned transfers to the same kind of leadership in real life with the inner self. I've met people who's relationships were falling apart, only to have them dive deep into the horse leadership side of training and begin to mend their human relationships as a result. 

I once heard this saying and it stuck with me: "How you do anything, is how you do everything!"  Read that again. "How you do anything is how you do everything." It's useful to adopt that kind of saying as an affirmation in your life. It helps you to focus on the moment and understand the results of your actions in that moment. This means if you're playing with a horse, you need to be aware, slow down, be kind, be firm at the right moments, and so on. It takes time to learn it all, but the time you take learning is also moment by moment. Are you living with grace, giving yourself some grace, your horse some grace? Or are you living with frustration? It's useful to check in and see how you're responding to pressure and tasks you ask your horse to do. The most balanced horses owners demand very little of their horse and achieve enormous amounts. It's all possible because they understand how one moment shapes into another. They understand that how they do what they do now, matters for later. I could go deeper but I'm going to step back now and keep it simple. 

Horses are a great metaphor for reading our own emotional responses to pressure. There are many different kinds of therapy imbedded into the equine industry so I hope you don't believe the one's we're describing here are the only way to Rome. But I want to leave you with this...  

Some concepts related to equine therapy seem to crossover and stick, but we have to be careful around those blurry lines of drawing the wrong kind of metaphor from our horse experience. Example: If you learn a technique that works with a horse, don't assume it will work on people. It might even have a negative effect if you do.

Imagine being in the round pen, not able to get your horse's attention. Then, your instructor prompts you to put a little pressure on the horse to get him moving about. You comply, then... when the horse finally looks your way, you turn away, taking the pressure off the horse, essentially rewarding him for looking. Voila, you're beginning to establish a connection with your horse. Sometimes, people take that advice back to the human world and try it with other people. But be careful, you can't put your spouse or child in a round pen and chase them around trying to get them to behave. Trust me, it doesn't work that way. So don't get caught thinking other people are like horses and you should treat them so or use all the same techniques. People are much more complex. Think of horses more like a metaphor for you, for your own self love, discipline, control, focus, trust, communication, intention, personal training etc.

I am beyond blessed to have horses in my life and I'm constantly inspired to write and share my experiences. I have learned to be present, less demanding, more controlled in pressure situations, more graceful toward instinctive behaviors that I, and even others express, and more graceful in my word choices toward myself and others. It's all because of horses. I'd love to hear from you as well...

Comment below and tell me how horses have helped you become aware of a strength or weakness and how you've made moves to improve your life, all because of the horse.

Don Jessop

In case you didn't know, you are the heart and lifeblood of our existence. Because of your love for horses, we have the good fortune to meet you. Because of your desire to, not just be with horses, but grow as well, we have the honor of serving you. 

You must know we love and admire you, respect and believe in you. Without you, we don't exist. Thank you for everything you inspire in us. 

We aren't asking for anything from you. Just here to say thank you and Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

PS. We thought it fitting to thank our wonderful equine partners too. Read this "Tribute to an Icon," posted a year ago.

PPS. From all of us at Mastery Horsemanship, enjoy this Thanksgiving Discount 

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL - FREE SHIPPING

Hello again and thank you for reading. 

Within the horse training world, there are two basic trains of thought. One... teach the horse everything is "good." Or two... teach the horse everything is "not so bad." Although those two strategies may sound similar, they are dramatically different. Understanding how they differ and when to apply each thought pattern, could mean the difference between success and failure related to progress with your horse.

To illustrate, allow me to tell a story of a horse named Diesel. Diesel is, or rather, was, afraid of the farrier. He didn't want to stand still. He didn't like the abrupt movements the farrier made when he reached for his tools or pounded a nail. He would rear up, kick out, bite, strike, and leap out of position so quick, and always at just the wrong time. As a result, he often had to be sedated for farrier and vet work. Now you know the back story, I want you to apply one of those two thought patterns to helping Diesel overcome his fear of the fast moving professionals.

Science experiment one: Teach the horse everything is good. In other words, be kind when he gets scared. Go slower. Give treats and food to distract and calm him when he's got his foot in the air. Speak to him in dulcet tones and help him believe that having his feet worked on is pleasant, even rewarding.

Science experiment two: Teach him he has a job to stand still. If he does his job, he gets rewarded. If he doesn't... there are consequences that outweigh any negative feelings he already has related to the farrier. In other words, teach him standing still is not as bad as the alternative.

Now you have a multiple choice problem, which strategy is better to help Diesel overcome his fear? I suppose the answer you state depends greatly on your own experience and your own nature. Heartfelt people almost always revert to science experiment number one, whereas rough and tumble cowboys almost always revert to the second strategy.

But which one is right?

If you're clever, which I believe you are, you already know the answer is both. You also know that the timing and feel you offer for rewards and consequences depends greatly on the relative fear factor.

What I mean by relative fear factor is this: In general, a fearful horse reacts because he or she is genuinely afraid. But there are exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, a slightly fearful, or less fearful horse, and perhaps more disrespectful horse, reacts in the same fashion as a fearful horse but the factor of fear is much lower. In other words... he's learned to react big to get you to stop, even if his fear is lower than it looks. He's learned to react in a fearful way to things that are merely uncomfortable, rather than life threatening. How has he learned this? You may have guessed it... He's been inadvertently rewarded for acting fearful. So now, even slightly uncomfortable situations garner the same reaction as genuinely fearful situations.

It's how horse training works. If the horse does something you want, you reward them with either food, relax time, calm words, or grooming. For Diesel, unknown to his owner, he was working under the science experiment number one, getting food, relax time, calm words, and grooming while he was acting up. So what does he learn? He learns that if he feels uncomfortable and decides to react, he gets a break. Food for thought...

On the other hand, operating under science experiment number two, Diesel would get no down time, no food, no calm words or grooming, unless... he's standing calm. Not before, but during and after his calm state. If he isn't calm, the consequences become very clear, especially with mastery horsemanship techniques. When I worked with Diesel personally, I worked on what we call the "box game." See this video and learn more. If he stood in the box he got rewarded. If he left the box he was pressured, without reward, to return quickly. The pressure outside the box became much more uncomfortable than the pressure in the box and he slowly began to believe that the farrier wasn't as bad as he thought. He liked when I was calm, relaxed and rewarding with the belly of the rope hanging low. He didn't like when I was assertive and quick, demanding he return to the box. In no time at all, he stood like a pro, not taking even one extra step in spite of the noises, smells and abrupt movements of the farrier. 

Naturally, I had to convince the farrier to let me do my job. I had to ask him to step back and allow me to quickly guide the horse back. The farrier kept wanting to follow the horse and pick up the foot again. I demanded he stay back and only picked up the feet when the horse was back in the box and the belly of the lead rope on the ground. I also had to convince him to offer more feel inside the box, to be a little less abrupt with his tools, less grabby with his hands and to slowly let the foot down instead of dropping it. All things that make being in the box better than being outside the box. Slowly, the farrier got the message and afterwards complimented me on helping the horse without sedation, saying that horse had never acted so good in the past, even with sedation. He even went so far as to say he might try using that with some of his other clients. To which, I said. YES PLEASE!

Feel and timing are hard things to write about. When do you put pressure on a horse? When do you reward? How long should the reward be, etc.? The answers most often come from experience and trial and error. The moral of the story here today is to give you permission to play with those two science experiments. Try rewards and consequences with new eyes and new timing. Help your horse learn to advance by helping him see it's "not as bad as he thought" and perhaps, it's even "good!"

I love hearing from you. Please comment below. 

PS. For more great stories, buy my new book today!

Easter egg hunt for horses, even though it's not Easter

How to teach your horse it's worth leaving the comfort of the herd.

Horses are prey animals that live with a "herd mentality." That means there is safety in numbers. Therefore, leaving the herd to venture out on your own is a dangerous idea that most horses are very opposed to. 

Most proclaimed horse trainers figure out how to intimidate a horse into leaving the herd. A little tap on the but, a spur to the side, or any other kind of reprimand for trying to turn back to the herd works, for most horses. But there is something altogether better for the horse that you'll learn about today. It's called the "Easter Egg Hunt For Horses." 

Every year, in nearly every park in America, kids (small humans), tear away from their mothers and fathers embrace to race across the open spaces in search of candy. It's not all sunshine and rainbows for every kid, but generally, kids love the experience. One great premise of the Easter egg hunt is to train enthusiasm in "game form," because enthusiasm is way more useful than intimidation. Any parent knows the value of rewards rather than consequences and always hope to use the former unless all else fails. Using rewards is way more fun. That same, fun, Easter egg hunt strategy can be used with horses that don't want to leave the safety of home or the herd. It works like this:

Before you ride out, or lead out. Go out on your own and place treats, buckets of grain, or anything else you know your horse loves in random, far off places. Then go get your horse and lead them to those places, stopping at each to enjoy the reward discovered. At first, your horse will balk, determined not to leave the safe zone, but once they discover the treat, they'll feel rewarded for joining you. When you're ready, head to the next, or head home, knowing you're starting something really cool because what comes next is a magical word called anticipation.

The next day, your horse will anticipate finding a reward in that same place. He or she will put effort into getting to "point b," where the treat is. Only there won't be a treat there because you cleverly moved the treat just a few feet away in a new place. Together you'll hunt for that treat and reward yourselves with it when you find it, then move onto the next or head home knowing you're onto something special. 

The next day, your horse will not just look for the reward at the first spot, but also at the second spot, but it won't be there. Its moved again, perhaps a little further away. Together you'll find it again and reward yourselves heavily. Each day you'll play this way until your horse becomes curious about heading out instead of tentative. Each day the treat moves slightly, then further and further away, until ultimately the treat is miles from the herd, tucked away in some enchanted forest where you and your horse get to enjoy the true connection of the horse human partnership. The expression is "riding off into the sunset," not "fighting off into the sunset." It's what most of us want at some level. 

The Easter egg hunt will be fun to setup and fun for your horse to learn to grow beyond the herd mentality into becoming a partner with you, his or her trusted leader. In the end, you'll have the horse you dreamed of. And naturally, there are some pitfalls. It's best with some horses to start small. Start close to home and grow from there. If you're unconfident with your handling skills you don't want to be out of sight until your horse starts to show some enthusiasm about the game. Also, some horses are "treat hounds." Once they get a taste of sugar, they go a little crazy. You don't have to use treats. You can use rest and relaxation or grazing time. The whole idea is to make leaving the herd, a fabulous experience for the horse. Make it fun and have a great time with no hurried timelines to pressure you. Before you know it. You will be riding off into the sunset.

Thanks for reading... want more? Buy my new book series full of stories just like this one to inspire you to get out and enjoy your horse.

Comment below, I love hearing from you!

Written by Don Jessop

Post a video on YouTube and sit back and watch the critics. Does that sound like a safe thing to do? Arm chair critics are a dime a dozen. They are willing to tell you everything you do wrong without actually engaging in conversation. It's the very reason I talk about being careful when you post videos. see link. Regardless, if you have something positive to share, you should still share it. I believe our world needs as much optimistic positive energy as it can get right now. Occasionally I do read the comments from my video posts and if I see a pattern in the comments it gives me a whole new topic. Hence this topic: "How to not be perfect and still get the job done." 

So many people believe you have to be perfect. They say things like: "Don't teach the wrong thing by letting go at the wrong time. Don't do it like that, do it like this instead. There is only one right way to do anything." Comments like that led me to this article. You can be imperfect, even backward in your logic, and still get the job done.

Did you know you can teach a horse to go forward by pulling on the reins? Did you know you can teach a horse to go backward by kicking his belly? The logic is backward but if you want to teach it that way, guess what...? The horse can learn it that way. Did you know you can let go at the wrong time and still get the job done just by persisting through time to a different result? Horses are trial and error participants. They are looking for the releases and the rewards. If you release and reward at the wrong time once, then the right time once, then the wrong time again, then the right time again and again, believe it or not, he'll start looking for averages. No doubt he'll be confused with less logical techniques but in time, you'll see, he'll still get what you want because it feels best to do what you want in spite of the confusion. And if you persist to the end result you want, even if you did it all backward, your horse will shrug his shoulders and think "okay, I guess this is what she wanted."

The point is, people want rules, they want to be told how to do something and they don't tend to like variations or exceptions to rules. But I'm here to say you can throw away that basic instinct and make your own rules. Did you know that my wife and I as elite horse trainers don't always do the same things? Did you know that when I ride her horse I don't like how it feels and when she rides my horse she doesn't like how it feels? What does that mean? Is one of us doing it wrong? NO! We both offer different feel, different signals, different support mechanisms. The relationship you develop with your horse might always be your own. I believe you should be okay with that. If someone tells you you're doing it wrong, don't believe them. You're just doing it your way, or the way you learned. Are there other ways. YES! There are always other ways.

Some ways make more sense to the horse, sometimes, but not always. Horsemanship, at it's core, is an art! It's two species dancing together. Militant ideology works great for military activities. But we don't use horses for battle anymore. We have horses for partnerships, harmony, peace, and play. I believe we shouldn't be so hard on each other when we see someone do something differently. Look at it like art.

If something is being done in a cruel or unsafe manner, maybe that's when you should pipe up and say something. Otherwise, I believe we should celebrate the different art we see around us. Enjoy the unique conversations between two individuals. 

When a student asks me if there is a better way to achieve a certain task, I can certainly show a dozen different techniques. One will work best for the horse and one for the human, based on coordination, skill, and so on. But make no mistake, any technique, even if it doesn't make sense, will work, if you persist. The moral of the story here is to take some pressure off you. There are three "p" words that we use in training. Patience, Persistence, and Position. Those are the basics of teaching a horse. Be patience, be persistence, and reward the position you're looking for. No where in that equation is the word "perfect." Stop trying to be perfect by knowing the perfect path forward. Relax, enjoy, be artistic, try things, then try different ways to do the same things, have fun! Horsemanship is a wonderful adventure, don't allow people, including yourself, to rob you of the adventure by trying to tell you that you have to be perfect. 

As always, I encourage you to comment below. Share your thoughts, it helps me see I'm reaching the finer points of progress in our horse industry. Thanks for reading.

Have you ever seen what a horse does when a new horse shows up for the first time in visual range? How about when a miniature horse shows up for the first time around your big horses?

I'll just put it like this... When you're riding your horse and a miniature horse comes running up to say hello, it's no picnic. It's more like a garage sale with everything on the table. Everything can go flying at any minute. If you're lucky, you stay on top, if you're smart, you get off before the sail catches wind, just as you see the mini approaching. 

Small animals set horses off the first time they encounter each other. It's partly because most horses don't have any exposure to smaller animals and once they get over it, all is well. None the less, those first few moments can be hectic. You know what I'm talking about if you have mini horses in your neighborhood. 

Recently, a friend gave me the idea to write about this particular phenomenon and graciously gave me the title "meltdown by the minnies" because her horse did exactly that. Most of us horse lovers have been around long enough to see our horses meltdown before us. Horses are emotional animals. They feel everything and probably are more sensitive to it all than we are, because their very life depends on it. There is however, a state of mind that can occur that puzzles many horse owners. It's that state of mind I'd like to discuss.

When a horse looses all awareness of his or her leader and can only focus on the present danger, I call this "right brain blindness." The right hemisphere of the horse dictates most instinctive choices the horse makes, from fight, to flight, to freeze. The left brain dictates most conscious awareness choices, such as noticing the gate is two posts to the left and making the choice to move over and walk through it calmly instead of frantically pacing, unaware the gate is mere feet away. When a horse goes "right brain blind," it means they can only see the hazard or the problem, and cannot see the leader or the solution. The story of melting down by the minnies is exactly that. The little horses arrived, the big horse went into survival mode and failed to see the leader's instructions to calm down. After twenty minutes and a full, sweat soaked coat, the big horse finally started breathing again and life each day after that became more manageable around the miniature horses.

The pointed question remaining is this: Should you stay and help the horse through the meltdown, safely on the ground, or should you leave and avoid the meltdown, looking for some other way to introduce the two equine cousins?

The answer is simple. If you're comfortable managing a meltdown, you should definitely stay. Keep your big horse from escalating by setting clear do's and don'ts and being firm about your personal space. Don't allow him to cross that imaginary line where he can't see you and he can only see the mini. This may cause him to jump on top of you. Be in sight. Keep your horse behind or beside you, not in front for moments like this. Get off if you're riding, unless you know the escalation to bucking or rearing or scooting sideways won't occur. And stay until you get some breath back in those lungs, both for you and your horse. You don't have to find a Zen state, you just have to improve from "right brain blind less" to a manageable controlled state. Then you can come back day after day to improve on the confidence.

On the flip side. If you're not comfortable handling the meltdown. Retreat to a safe place and introduce everything much more slowly for your own safety. If you're a good leader, both techniques work. If you're a mean leader, your horse won't love you no matter how you treat the situation. If you're a wimpy leader, your horse won't respect you no matter how you treat the situation. So my advice is to be the best leader you can be by setting boundaries and standards for communication under stress. That can all start in a smaller, simpler, safer fashion back in the comfort of your safe home environment. You can ask a friend to add some uncomfortable stimulus and work toward teaching your horse to forget about it and communicate with you "the leader" instead. Over time, you'll see you can guide your horse in stressful situations and when you get to those big scary situations, you can be the leader your horse deserves. Kind, firm, rewarding, clear, present, and thoughtful. 

Just in case you think you're alone with your horses problems, please remember you are not alone. We all, even the elite trainers, have communication breakdowns and moments where the horse looses track of the leader. But in those moments we can learn to be confident that all will end well. You can learn that confidence too. 

Comment below. The more comments I get the more I know I'm reaching the finer points needed in our horse world. Thanks for reading.

Don Jessop

PS. Do you ever go to the bathroom? Buy my new book set, It's a great bathroom reader.

"Inspiration and Leadership for Horse Lovers."

Canter plus left circle = left lead  /  Canter plus right circle = right lead
Unless... canter plus right circle = left lead and vice versa. Is that confusing enough? 

It just so happens that canter leads aren't determined by the direction you're travelling on your horse. They are determined by the balance and footwork the horse is displaying. A horse can canter either lead in either direction and even change leads midstride.

Leads and specifically lead changes or "flying lead changes" as they are often called, are most likely the most difficult horse training exercise you'll ever encounter. The dynamic movement of the canter makes balancing and cueing the horse very difficult and even dangerous on a green horse. 

"But I see horses do flying canter lead changes all the time in the field?" You might ask suggestively.

The truth is, horses don't do flying changes all the time in the field. They do them sometimes in the field. Nine out of ten times your horse will execute a failed flying lead change in the field. And one of ten he'll come true and change his feet from one lead to the other. If you don't believe me, take a closer look at your horses when they canter. Notice how when they run around, most of the time, they canter on the wrong lead (counter canter), or crossfire (meaning the front feet are doing the opposite motion of the hind feet), or trot then switch leads after trotting. The truth is, the horse industry can feed us misinformation about how flying changes are naturally effortless. They aren't effortless but they can be easy if we use the word "EASY" as an acronym.

But wait... What's the point? Who really cares about flying changes anyway? Does it really matter? Do I really need to worry about and focus on learning how to achieve lead changes?      more on that later...

When horses do manage do perform a perfect flying lead change, four things happen all at once. Elevation, Alignment, Shape, and Yes answers to your signals. If any one of these four things fail, the lead change will not take place, regardless of what technique or pattern you use. In fact, the lesson in the article is not to teach you a new technique, because, frankly, there are too many to reference here. There are dozens of patterns, and dozens of techniques, just ask any instructor, you'll get answers that differ dramatically. This article isn't about techniques, it's meant to teach you about the puzzle pieces that have to fit together for it all to work. When your lead changes fail, you can fall back on this "easy" acronym and begin to address the parts that fail, instead of the whole. Let's tackle each one individually.

Elevation - A canter consists of four distinct parts. Take a left lead canter for instance. First, the right hind foot strikes the ground. Second, the left hind and right front strike the ground in unison, third, the left front foot strikes the ground. Fourth, all four feet hover above the ground just before starting the whole process over again. It's that last part that counts the most when training flying changes. You have to teach a horse to elevate the stride for long enough to give time to make the change. It takes some feel and timing. We teach all about this and how to do it, in our Mastery University.

Alignment - Imagine a train on a narrow track then imagine that train falling from the track crumbling to pieces in the dust covered sage brush of the wild Arizona desert. That train represents what happens when your horse comes off the tracks you design.

A flying lead change must happen on a narrow track, if you turn too sharply or dive left or right, your horse will fall off the track and crumble to pieces,  metaphorically speaking, and relating specifically, to flying changes.

Shape - Left and right leads kind of look like the backward C shape for left :) and a forward C shape for right (:

A flying change can only take place when the horse is willing to change shape while cantering. It's fairly easy to change shape while walking or trotting through cones or bending poles, but cantering is quite another thing. None the less, when your horse is willing to change shape with diligent, independent, flexibility practice of the horses head, shoulders, and hips, you'll notice how easy flying changes can become. What I'm describing is a rough outline of what must take place. There are too many specifics to cover in one simple article like this. But much more in the Mastery University Courses. Check them out.

Yes without question - means your horse doesn't hesitate to speed up, slow down, or keep the rhythm you want. He or she doesn't hesitate to follow your hand, leg, energy, and seat cues. If there is any hesitation, your horse will break gait or break rhythm. If that happens, you'll find yourself looking at the same crumpled train. Impulsion has to be perfect. The horse must be focused. Sure you could accidentally get a change from time to time, but consistency only comes from understanding the dynamics and then setting yourself in practice mode for a long time to ensure your horse doesn't say "no" when you ask any question.

What you can expect:

Expert trainers take a year or more to develop flying changes on an easy horse. Three years or more on a difficult horse. Experts also expect a sliding scale of success. Which means... at first you might get one out of ten and built to two out of ten, then three and so on, until finally, at the pinnacle of success, a year or two later, you might achieve 90% plus success on your flying lead change cues.

Novice riders often assume that since horses can do them naturally, if they just start practicing they will start to experience some success in a few sessions. It's simply not that simple, even for most experts. 

Also, remember this. People are always looking for techniques, patterns, signals, body cues, etc. The truth is, any and all of those things work at different times. I know a dozen ways to teach flying changes on a horse, from jump changes to gallop changes to counter canter/canter changes etc. And I know a dozen more ways to teach people to ride and cue flying changes on a horse, from high inside hands, to low inside hand, to different leg cues and focus cues. Trust me, it's not the technique alone you need to learn, it's the process. It's the puzzle pieces that must come together all at once to form a perfect flying lead change. If one puzzle piece fails, the rest fall apart too. The "EASY" acronym can be a great guide to understanding why a lead change doesn't work and what to do to help the start working in the future.

Go back and read the definitions of "EASY." Imprint them into your mind and one day, when you come to one of my clinics you'll have the foundation for success ingrained, deep behind those eyelids and slowly sinking into your shoulders, arms, hips and feet. One day, you'll be asked to perform a flying change. When it fails, you'll be asked why it didn't work. Your answer will come from this article. One of those four things wasn't sharp enough. And that's the very thing you'll set your focus on and soon... you'll be mastering flying changes.

PS. A single flying change is awesome and incredible to achieve, but set your sites to pinnacle of horsemanship where one day, you'll achieve tempi flying changes. Youtube the term: tempi flying changes, if you haven't seen what I'm talking about. 

I love your comments, please post them here. I'd like to see how these articles are helping.

Thanks for reading. Get a FREE private coaching session. 

PPS. The reason leads and changes are important is certainly a performance aspect of horsemanship, but even in the beginning, the value of leads becomes apparent. When a horse canters incorrectly, it impacts the balance of the horse and longevity of joint health in a bad way. Correct canter is a good thing. Beyond the horse's balance however, learning about leads and lead changes is the next big thing in your own education. Avoiding that education is like ignoring the elephant in the room. If you dive into the deep learning of leads and lead changes, you'll find there is a whole other world of performance and leadership available to you. Don't be an avoidaholic. Deep dive with us in the Horse Mastery University. 

One big white dog. That's all it took. As many of my readers know, dogs and horses don't always get along. In fact insurance companies prohibit dogs on the premise during clinics. But we also know that dogs can be harmless and don't intend to create the chaos that can happen organically. So this isn't a dog blaming article at all. This is a story about recovery and how to tackle it.

Her story:

Patty and her friends walked causally back to the horse trailers parked neatly in the South Florida, red ant hill ridden, parking lot. Their horses, after a long and beautiful ride, were carrying their passengers with ease and relaxation until suddenly, a flash of white bounding energy came billowing toward them like a Montana snow storm racing down the mountains. The white bundle of fur was a bowling ball of a dog, destined to knock over the train of four legged bowling pins walking along the fence. He succeeded!

The horses leapt, bolted, scattered, and evacuated the area leaving broken people and broken bones in their wake. This story is not much different than many other stories containing excited horses and outside stimulants beyond our control. Sometimes it's a bear on the trail, a car passing you on the road too fast, a tree falling in the forest, a horse getting too excited near your horse, the flash of a plastic bag, or even an unexpected bee sting that causes the negative reactions. Whatever it is, at the end, if we fall, it becomes like a crime scene. Like all crime scenes, people are hurt, physically and emotionally and healing is required. At some point in the future, after trying to recover from concussions, and broken limbs, and PTSD, there lingers a deep desire to return to the scene and regain some dignity and confidence. Nobody wants to go back for fun, but many of us want to go back to unlock our barriers to progress. 

If you do go back to the scene of the crime to regain your trust and rebuild on the relationship you used to have with your horse, it's important to know a few things. Read closely, it may mean the difference between success and progress toward your dreams or total failure and falling further back into the pitfalls and pain. 

Come back to the scene of the crime as the leader, not the follower.

Let me explain what that means and why it's so important to come as the leader and not the follower. Years ago I returned to my own crime scene, a place I'd fallen from my horse and injured my confidence. When I arrived I gave my leadership to the horse. I didn't mean to, it just happened. I literally gave my horse a long lead rope and let him explore. Let him tell me if everything was okay here or not. I thought that if I coddled my horse and leaned on his confidence, maybe he'd tell me it's okay and everything will be fine.

But the opposite happened. My lack of leadership gave the horse no direction. My elevated heart rate gave the horse anxiety, and my general, follower mentality led us both into disarray, distraction, and nervousness. My horse began calling out for other horses. I began to pet him, coddle him. Then he nearly stepped on my toes. I jumped back and that made him jump. Soon, with a feeling of utter failure, I left the scene and retreated to a safer place. You might have already guessed the reality of my situation. I made things worse, not better. It's all because I didn't keep my leadership. I relied on a prey animal to tell me if the world was safe. It took many more years before I returned again, only this time... I was the leader and my horse felt that leadership instantly. Even in moments of uncertainty, I clearly stood out as in control and willing to do simple things well. Like standing in one place until our heart rates calmed down. 

Come back with the time to win

Winning or losing most games has very little to do with the score. It has to do with time limits. If we're playing football and the clock runs out, whoever had more points wins. If you're returning to a crime scene to get closure and the time runs out before you have a chance to get your closure, you don't win. But if there was no time limit, no clock, nowhere else to be, you can outlast the heightened emotions and end on a great note. So before you go, just plan on being there as long as it takes. Reserve half a day or more to be there, undisturbed by your calendar or the needs of others. Grieving and recovering takes time. Give yourself that gift. No pressure, no timelines, just passive persistence in the proper position, with an unwillingness to give up until you start to feel calm again.

Calmness is key

Check your breathing, is it normal? Check your heartrate, is it normal? If it's not, even if you survived, you should stay a little longer. There is value in coming back in short bursts time after time and allowing the repetition of coming back to calm your nerves, but if you want to really tackle it, you wont leave until you're starting to breath normal again. The body sends signals to the brain about the outside world and how safe it truly is. Many times, people quit too soon. They feel an inkling of success and jump in the truck and drive away, hoping to end on a good note, praying they can get out of there before something bad happens again. That emotion isn't resolution or closure. It's just more anxiety. Breathe into it, stay a little longer. Weather the ups and downs and leave when you're feeling truly safe.

Start small, end big

If it's a horse related accident. Come back without your horse a few times. Then when you bring your horse, don't ride. Then when you ride, don't do everything you always do. Then one day, everything will feel normal again and you'll have the closure you deserve. Even before you come back you can start smaller still. You can close your eyes and imagine calmly sitting near the scene of the crime eating your favorite food. You can visualize your success before you start and even during the whole process, all the way up to the end, where you regain your full confidence and ride off into the sunset like the crazy awesome horse person you are. 

I believe you can do anything. I want you to hold some of that optimism too. Get out there, make peace with your world. I'd love to hear your comments below.

Sincerely, Don Jessop, your crazy horse loving friend.