One of the things Jec and I are working on, here on the podcast, in writing, on social media, at at the Cayuse Collaborative Clinics, is humanship. We think that in order to be best for your horses, you have to be best for yourself.

In an oversimplified, generalized way, this means when you interact with your horse, it’s best if you come into his or her presence without ego, without agenda, with a keen interest in listening, paying attention, and interacting in that moment. Also, sometimes you’ve got to recognize that “feeling safe and having fun” (which we advocate right here) sometimes needs to take a backseat to the discomfort you might feel with the very necessary need for growth and stretching our skills. Those skills might be physical, but they can also be mental and emotional.

Jec, along with Amy Skinner, and Katrin Silva weave these ideas into their teaching, which is one reason it’s so much fun to work with them.

Running parallel to this development, Karen Rohlf has been her own journey of self-discovery. The former Grand Prix rider has done a fair amount of deconstruction and reconstruction to her thinking around what makes for great riding. She has a vast reach for helping riders online and in person. More recently, she’s addressed the struggle of many horse professionals to find balance and boundaries, to make money while being happy as a trainer.

Even if you’re not a trainer, I imagine there are many, many take-aways for you. It’s a great interview with Karen. Hope you enjoy it!

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can’t have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses’ diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah. It’s more sustainable and affordable than salt from a Himalayan company 8,000 miles away.

You can find links to Karen’s programs here and the 15 Things to Stop Doing Right Now here. 

We thank Kate’s Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All you got to do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question and you’ll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.