Be Your Best Horsemanship

One of the biggest challenges in starting young horses is when their physical development gets ahead of their mental development. That's why I believe some of the most valuable training we can do happens long before a horse's first ride.

In this episode, I'm sharing some takeaways from our recent Colt Starting Mentorship and why I put so much emphasis on working with weanlings and yearlings. We'll talk about developing a horse's ability to think through pressure, the importance of clear signals and timely releases, and how taking small, consistent steps early on can make a tremendous difference in their confidence and progression later in life.

Whether you're breeding, raising, or training young horses, I hope this episode encourages you to take a closer look at the foundation you're building today.

You may not consider yourself a colt starter, but if you're breeding, raising, owning, or handling young horses, you're already influencing their training.

Every interaction a horse has during their weanling and yearling years shapes the foundation they'll carry into training later in life. The habits we create and the responses we reinforce all have the potential to make the training process easier—or harder—down the road.

In this episode, I'm sharing the three "C's" I consider non-negotiables when working with young horses and what to focus on from the earliest stages to help set them up for success throughout their training.

You may have heard the phrase, "soft hands create soft horses." In this episode, I'm sharing my perspective on this training philosophy and why focusing too much on being "soft" can sometimes create more confusion than confidence in your horse.

Tune in as I break down what clear communication really looks like, how to make your signals easier for your horse to understand, and why clarity plays such an important role in building confidence.

In this episode, I'm joined by Shane and Allyson Eliason of Eliason Performance Horses in Snowville, Utah. As fifth-generation ranchers, Shane and Allyson run an impressive cattle and performance horse breeding operation in the high desert country of Utah, spanning tens of thousands of acres with 30+ broodmares and three stallions.

Join us as we discuss how their program came together, the unique aspects of breeding and raising horses on the ranch, and how this foundation influences their horses' training and development. We also talk about the genetics and crosses behind their program, what they're looking for in the horses they're producing, and some of the things I've noticed in the horses I'm riding from their program today.

This episode is inspired by a question from one of our loyal listeners and Be Your Best Membership members. Her question is: What’s something you see good riders doing that they don’t realize is actually creating anxiety or resistance in their horses?

Tune in to hear my take on this question as I share some hidden habits that even the most skilled riders fall back on from time to time that can create undesirable responses from their horses.

There are always going to be things we can’t control—the weather, our circumstances, or how quickly progress comes—but we can control how we approach them. In this episode, I talk about adjusting our training through the summer heat, the difference between happiness and joy, and why learning to enjoy the process matters both in horsemanship and in life. I also share some thoughts on gratitude, resilience, and making the most of the season you’re in.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it takes to build both the mental and physical toughness needed to perform when the pressure is on. Tune in as I share how to prepare horses for the situations they’ll face in competition, how a horse's physical and mental performance are connected, and how repetition helps turn the right responses into habits. Whether we’re preparing ourselves or our horses, the more comfortable we can become in those game-time situations, the better prepared we’ll be to handle them when they count.

The better we become at reading the horse in front of us, the better we can apply what we know to help that horse succeed.

In this episode, I’m sharing examples from some of the rope horses in our program and how the same training principles can require a different application from one horse to the next.

Tune in as I talk through scoring, rate, positioning, stopping, release points, and using different disciplines to fill in the gaps—all while learning to adjust your approach to fit the individual horse.

If you want a result you aren't getting, you've got to be willing to do something you aren't doing. In this episode, I'm talking about what it means to stay in growth mode—from developing young horses and recognizing that each one is going to progress differently, to evaluating our own horsemanship and making changes when something isn't working. I also share a few takeaways from Atomic Habits about how our identity shapes our habits and why continued growth requires us to get outside our comfort zone and be willing to do things differently.

As an owner, your role in your horse’s training process starts long before you ever drop them off at the trainer’s barn. In this episode, I talk about how the handling and preparation we put into our young horses as weanlings and yearlings can make a huge difference when it comes time to start them as two- and three-year-olds. I also share why good communication between the owner and trainer matters, from being clear about your goals for that horse to setting realistic expectations for what can be accomplished within a training program.