Horse Wise

“So you make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy. You just fix it up, and let him find it.” -Ray Hunt

Like many riders, I’m prone to trying extra hard to get something right. If at first I don’t succeed, I try, try again. But sometimes it’s much better to not TRY so hard. Instead, slow down and take a step back — so you can see the situation from a different perspective. Trying hard usually means you’re already expecting to fail. You can put effort into things, you can put in steady, good work — but trying too hard often closes your mind and gets you fixated on a particular approach. Instead of trying to make something happen, instead experiment with setting up a situation so that you and the horse can learn together.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

Even if you are in quarantine and can't ride your horse, you can STILL make real progress with your riding goals. What are the things that you always wished you had time to study or learn or get better at? Because what's good about now is that we ALL have lots more time on our hands. And we have the luxury of slowing down. So many big gains in performance come from slowing down to get things right first. I want to share my knowledge and help during this temporary chaos of coronavirus. So I’ll be offering customized education tips, classes, podcast episodes and coaching to support riders who feel sidelined and frustrated now. For more details, please stay tuned for future podcast episodes!

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

I know this is a challenging time for horse people. Shows and favorite clinics are postponed. Riding stables and lesson programs are on hiatus. Some equestrians are confined in self-quarantine. Over the years, I’ve been through periods of epic disruption (such as multiple natural disasters). Each time, I gained insight about my horses and myself. After the chaos subsided, I found that my riding had improved significantly – in spite of being completely removed from my normal barn routine. I want to share my knowledge and help during this temporary chaos of coronavirus. So I’ll be offering customized education tips, classes, podcast episodes and coaching to support riders who feel sidelined and frustrated now. For more details, please stay tuned for daily posts here.

Equestrians are people of action – and we don’t idle well (especially if we can’t ride much). Let’s put our energy toward making progress on our horse goals – and wrestle amazing positive results from this annoying pandemic phase. We ride at dawn!

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

If you have horses, you know that it’s inevitable that you will deal with unexpected issues or problems. It’s the nature of horses to constantly introduce mayhem into their own lives. Or at the very least, shake up the normal routine by losing shoes, getting pasture injuries, developing sudden performance angst and so on. The good news is that these situations almost always give you a way to grow as a rider and a horseman/woman. In the episode, I also share a story of a particularly frustrating rehab case that I encountered with a personal horse.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

In this episode, I tell a recent story about taking my own advice from the podcast. In Episode 28, I shared some ways you can improve your horsemanship and riding during forced periods away from the barn (due to weather, work commitments, injury, etc). Due to family illness, I haven’t been able to ride or work with the horses consistently. I followed many of the strategies that I described in Episode 28, to make good use of the my limited time with the horses. As luck would have it, I was then contacted by a television series that wanted to do an episode about my work with the horses and horsemanship in general. It sounded like a fun opportunity! 

They wanted to film a session of me working with a horse as the sun rose behind us. Which meant being “on set” well before dawn — on a extra cold, dark morning preceded by days of wet weather. The horse I planned to use (who had been in more consistent work) had become feral due to the cold and was running around his pasture happily. His pasture buddy (Cozy) was less feral and more open to be haltered. But I hadn’t worked with Cozy in weeks. And here I was, taking him up to the arena in the pitch dark morning. Where a camera crew and lots of chaotic activity awaited him. Fortunately, my own podcast advice from Episode 28 kicked in and helped the session go smoothly.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

In this episode, I discuss how to take advantage of extended breaks from riding (due to weather, injury or other annoying factors). It can be frustrating to have a forced break from riding. But there are fun ways you can use this time to actually improve your riding -- even with very little time in the saddle. If you can take a playful and fresh perspective, the exercises I share will be of great benefit (plus will make you laugh). I speak from much experience — over the last seven years, I’ve had multiple  involuntary breaks from riding (from reasons such as natural disasters, athletic injury and family member illness). Each time, I emerged with greater insight and improved horsemanship skills — precisely because I couldn’t ride in my usual routine (and in my old patterns). 

Below are some of the resources I mention in the podcast:

55 Corrective Exercises for Horses book by JEC Ballou

https://www.amazon.com/Corrective-Exercises-Horses-Resolving-Preventing/dp/1570768676

Kathleen Beckham’s Grey Horse LLC blog

https://www.facebook.com/greyhorsellc/

Wendy Murdoch

https://murdochmethod.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRSqtjThWjI&t=1s

Think Harmony book by Ray Hunt

https://www.amazon.com/Think-Harmony-Horses-Depth-Relationship/dp/0914330152

Seamless Seat book by Kathleen Schmitt

https://www.amazon.com/Seamless-Seat-Creating-Ideal-Connection/dp/1592286852

Buck Brannaman newest DVD

https://brannaman.com/bb-storepages-In-Snaffle-Bit.html

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

The term “bombproof horse” is always a red flag to me. Many times, that can mean that the horse is shut down and essentially unresponsive to its environment. In this episode, I discuss the reasons why you don’t want a bombproof horse — and how to help a horse that has become desensitized to the point of equine zombie status. A good riding partnership requires that both members truly participate in their endeavors together.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )1

Winter can be challenging for equestrians. The weather is often cold, snowy or icy (depending on where you live). Your normal riding routine gets disrupted on a regular basis. How do you make progress  with your horse during the winter months? In this episode, I share a fun exercise that is easy to do in the winter — and reveals much about your riding patterns. Best of all, it doesn’t even involve your horse or the outdoors. All you need is your car and some groceries. I came upon this exercise purely by accident a few years ago — and it changed my entire perspective on my equitation and riding goals.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

It seems like a paradox that nice people can ruin horses. When we think of a ruined horse, we envision cruel owners who abuse and mistreat their horses. But unfortunately sometimes truly nice people can create big trouble for their horses. Mostly through small things that don’t seem important at all. As well as things that don’t seem at all related to horses — like what type of perspective you bring to learning or listening to advice. In this episode, I share some examples of what I’ve observed over the years with nice people and troubled horses. Including the story of a hard luck little mare who had only nice people for owners — yet still ended up deeply in crisis.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )

I didn’t learn to ride until I was an adult. Predictably, I wasn’t exactly the smoothest rider at first. In fact, I was a downright nerd at the barn. If there was a wrong fashion choice to make, I made it. Rubber riding boots. Giant bright sweaters. Oversized helmets that made me look like an uncoordinated motorcycle cop. You name the worst equestrian fashion faux pas — and I embodied it. I longed to be rugged, tough and world wise, like the pro horse trainers I knew. But over time, I came to realize that my nerdy perspective was actually a positive thing. It gave me a fresh and completely non-cynical approach to the horses. My “beginner’s mind” was open to many possibilities that experts would never consider. Because of that, I became aware of small things in the horses’ behavior and expressions that seemed significant to me (and to the horses). I was more receptive to learning — and the horses were happy to teach me because of that. 

I owe this insight to an early experience at a Ray Hunt clinic. It was the first clinic I had ever ridden in. Blissfully clueless, I went into the colt starting class with a polo saddle, Gap jeans and a barely broke 3 yo TB straight from the track. A wiser, less nerdy person would have never ridden in that clinic. But I learned so much from Ray. And it’s because of that clinic that I became a dedicated (and perpetually nerdy) student of horsemanship.

At Horse Wise, I teach people tools so that they can learn how to coach themselves and their horses to progress together as a team. It’s a fun process that shows you how build a good partnership with your horse (in a practical, straightforward way). If you’d like more information on mindset practices, audio coaching or general Horse Services, please visit our website for more information:  http://horsewisecoach.com/ And if you’d like to keep up with our news and updates, please join our email list or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/HorseWiseCoach/ https://www.instagram.com/horse_wise/ )