"He doesn't act like this at home, I swear!" Fair enough, but if we haven't instilled a 'showing' mindset in ourselves and our horses through effective schooling, we can't really be surprised when everything falls apart under pressure. 

If we want a horse to step up to the plate, shoulder some responsibility and become a dependable teammate we can rely on when the chips are down, we have to transition from a "teaching" stage to a "do it now" stage at some point in our program. Whether we're conquering obstacles or dialing in our maneuvers, we have to eventually step up our demands; challenging the horse to stay mentally engaged while respecting our judgement and leadership. If we don't have this mutual trust established, then we'll always struggle away from home or when the elements change. It's not a matter of IF we get chumped... it's a matter of when and how bad!

So how do we avoid such scenarios? In this episode we detail our thoughts on that, and the practical steps we can take to evolve out of the 'teaching' mindset and start thinking like confident and effective showmen.

Episode 27 - Falling Apart at the Show

Making advanced horsemanship accessible! Professional horsemen Jake and Amy Lundahl share exercises, tips and ideas for horsemen looking to improve their skills. Get real-world, no-BS training info that shaves 10+ years of struggle off your horsemanship journey.

Sports

What makes an elite horse feel the way they do under saddle is their mastery of these 5 "skills that scale" — Drive, Direction, Coil, Collection and Compression. These 5 abilities influence every single thing we ask our horse to do, and the more our horse masters these skills, the more balanced and correct movement they demonstrate, and more effortless responses they give us. If you’ve ever watched a high level Reiner or Cowhorse perform and felt the hair stand up on the back of your neck, it’s precisely because great movement is beautiful to the eye. We can sense movement that is better by how aesthetically pleasing it is. The best performance horses in the world are fun to watch because the way they move and responds is, MECHANICALLY, better. And it’s precisely those mechanics that our training system offers. There is GREATNESS in your horse, and we want YOU to feel it.

Demystifying the Mechanics of Elite Horses

A quick audio summarizing the two most important milestones inside the High Level Pathway training system. These keys open the door to teaching advanced maneuvers, and ultimately promoting any horse to riding one-handed in the bridle with ease. 
Discover "Foundations Of Excellence" at:
www.advancedhorsemanship.com




The Keys to the Rolls Royce

Understand this, and you understand the whole game. In this voice memo Jake emphasizes the often-overlooked benefits of the yield-to-a-stop exercise, a crucial step in our colt starting process. 

The Most Underrated Exercise in Colt Starting

A quick mini-masterclass on connecting the word "whoa" with the sensation of a horse loading up, "getting into his legs", and stopping soft and balanced. How to make it muscle memory. And how it becomes the starting point for a really good sliding stop. 

Fundamentals of an Epic Stop

In this voice memo Jake offers several examples that illustrate what he calls the 'confidence equation': Confidence = (Horse Skills) x (Rider Skills)
That multiplication sign is important. Because if either the horse's foundation or the rider's abilities are at zero, then what's the product? ZERO. It doesn't matter how well trained your horse is — if your skills as a rider are lacking, and you encounter a situation where your horse needs to rely on you for leadership and guidance, you will fail the test. On the flip side, even an expert rider will struggle to maintain control of a horse with a poor foundation. 
So if you want more confidence, fun and success in the saddle? Both you and your horse need to level up. It's as simple as that. 

Episode 27 - Falling Apart at the Show

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