Ground Manners Matter - Holistic Horsemanship

06/03/2025

06/01/2025

"The most important part of a comeback...

is believing in yourself."
~ Bill Owen

05/29/2025

Never stop being a student of the horse - Buster McLaury

05/28/2025

***. PRESSURE - RELEASE TRAINING METHODS ***

Many riders and horse owners today feel that pressure release training is "negative reinforcement". This kind of increased opposition comes from people who feel pressure release training is abusive.

Those who feel this way generally have spent very little or no time observing herd dynamics.

Many are riding students who commute to a barn to ride once or twice a week for a lesson. Others are boarders who have never lived 24/7 with a herd. They are visitors to their horses. Because they have not spent the necessary time, they don't understand how horses act in a herd.

These opponents tend to be highly empathetic people and who project their human feelings onto horses. They sincerely believe that putting pressure on a horse is hurtful negative reinforcement, a very human viewpoint.

We now see many social media pages that promote this human misconception of how horses act. It's a growing trend of ignorance among people who are disconnected from authentic horsemanship.

05/26/2025

*** INSPECT YOUR TACK ***… regularly.
It may save you a trip to the ER.

I had a rear cinch keeper break once, with a 400 lb steer dallied up.
When that rear cinch slid back to the flank area, the event quickly morphed from Team Roping to Saddle Bronc.
It may have been entertaining for the spectators, but not so much for me.

05/17/2025

The best time to Expose your horse or build depth of understanding, is when things are going well. - Ryan Rose

05/14/2025

Average People - Now, isn’t that pretty.

Horse People - Stay back, she’s a kicker 🤣

05/12/2025

It doesn’t make any difference to me where I start my day … it makes a difference to me where I finish my day.
Did I leave things a little better off than how I started?
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but if it’s just a little better off than how I started, I got along just fine.
- Buck Brannaman.