Twin Pines Performance Horses

12/07/2025

Deck the stalls… or whatever that Christmas song says 🎄🎁

12/05/2025

Every trainer has gone through phases where the work feels heavier than usual. Not because of the horses, but because of the pressure wrapped around the process. Not right now, not every day… just seasons we’ve all hit at some point in this career.

Burnout as a horse trainer doesn’t come from long days in the saddle. It doesn’t come from the miles, the repetition, or the tough ones in the barn.

Burnout comes from the pressure.
The expectation that every ride should be a breakthrough, that every horse should be progressing on a perfect timeline, that you should always be proving something.

And a lot of burnout doesn’t come from the horses at all.
It comes from the owners.
The urgency, the comparison, the belief that training should be linear, fast, and flawless.
It comes from carrying other people’s expectations on top of your own.
It comes from feeling responsible for results you can’t force.
But horses don’t work like that.
Training doesn’t respond to panic or pressure.
It doesn’t care how badly you want it to be “further along.”

It responds to purposeful action, not rushing.
To consistency, not intensity.
To a trainer who shows up steady even when the results aren’t loud yet.
To patience that doesn’t crumble when someone else asks, “Why isn’t he doing it yet?”

Progress returns the moment you stop strangling it with expectations.
Breakthroughs show up on the quiet days. The days where nothing big happened, but something finally made sense to the horse.

Work with intention.
Guard your energy, it’s part of your skillset.
Let go of the pressure (yours and theirs).
Focus on the horse in front of you, not the timeline behind you.

12/04/2025

Everyone wants the trainer who listens to the horse…
but the horse needs an owner who listens, too.

Even the best timing, feel, or skill can only go so far when a horse is carrying discomfort they can’t explain. Training sits on top of whatever the horse is experiencing in their body so when something is off, the work will always reflect it.

Because so much of what we call “behavior” is really just the horse trying to cope with something we can’t see yet.
A horse with teeth that need floating isn’t being “fussy. A horse with unbalanced feet isn’t tryin to be “stubbon”, they are just trying to stay comfortable.
When gut health isn’t supported, focus gets replaced by tension and worry, and it shows up in ways people often misread as behavior. Tight, uncomfortable muscles don’t soften or stretch into new shapes they brace, because that’s what pain teaches them to do.

You can’t out train discomfort.
You can’t out train a body that’s struggling.

You can only support the horse so training finally has a fair chance.

Ethical training isn’t magic, it’s teamwork.
The trainer shows up with knowledge and feel.
The owner shows up with care and responsibility.
And the horse finally gets what they’ve always deserved, a body that feels good enough to learn, and humans who don’t overlook the things that matter.

12/01/2025

Somewhere along the way, the horse world got really good at teaching maneuvers and really bad at teaching self regulation.

We drill circles, patterns, softness, headset, impulsion, all the technical stuff but skip the one thing that actually makes a horse reliable… their ability to manage their own emotions when life gets loud or confusing.

And the truth is, most horses today aren’t misbehaving. They’re overwhelmed, underprepared, or never taught how to cope in the first place.

You see it everywhere…
Horses who panic the second the rider gets tense.
The one that blows past pressure because thinking isn’t an option.
Horses who explode under pressure instead of thinking through it.
Horses whose bodies look trained but whose minds are barely holding on.
Horses so micromanaged they don’t know how to make a decision.
A horse that looks “playful” while frantically bolting around pasture
isn’t having fun… it’s trying to outrun a feeling it doesn’t know how to handle.

We traded real foundation for fancy movement.
Patience with pressure.
Emotional fitness with mechanical obedience.

But self regulation IS the foundation.

It’s the skill that keeps a horse safe, sane, adaptable, and able to return to center when their brain starts to spin.
A regulated horse is confident.
A dysregulated horse isn’t trying to “lose it”,
they simply don’t have the internal brakes to slow the momentum once their feelings start sn*******ng.

And the wild part? Horses are born knowing how to regulate.
We just train it out of them when we rush, overcorrect, or never give them space to process.

The modern horse world loves the polished end product but the real magic is in that messy, unfiltered space where a horse learns to cope, think, and handle life without unraveling.

We don’t need more horses with buttons.
We need more horses with bandwidth.

11/27/2025

11/26/2025

If you think you showed up calm…
your horse already clocked the 17 emotions you pretended you didn’t bring.

They read the parts of you you’d rather negotiate with.
They notice the things you’ve been “fine”-ing away all week.
Before you even take a step, they already know if you’re showing up present, scattered, guarded, or pretending.

And in that brutally honest mirror they hold up,
you’re forced to meet the version of yourself you keep putting off.

The one who’s tired.
The one who’s trying.
The one who’s growing even when it feels slow.

It’s humbling to be seen that clearlybut it’s also where the real work begins.
Not in perfection, but in learning to show up truth-first.

11/25/2025

I used to tell myself, “maybe they just don’t know any better.”
But then I remembered… no one taught me in the beginning either and I still never treated a horse like that.

Horses don’t need perfection.
They need presence, patience, and a person willing to slow down long enough to listen instead of just react.

Everything I know now, I learned the long way,
by watching, feeling, messing up, and choosing softness even when it would’ve been easier not to.
And I’d still pick that road every single time.

Because at the end of the day, this is the part that matters.
The try.
The connection.
The quiet “I got you” after a good effort.
The stuff you can’t fake.

If you know better, do better.
And if you don’t yet… your horse will teach you
as long as you’re willing to hear them.

11/17/2025

Trying to lock in a day for flag night/day this week!
Vote: Wednesday night 6pm or Saturday morning 10am?
Open to anyone who wants to learn to work the flag or just practice! $35 per person!

11/07/2025

A Letter to Trainers and Owners…

Find yourself a trainer who does what they say they’ll do.
Find one who’s honest enough and humble enough to tell you things like:

“This horse and my program aren’t a good fit.”
“We need to check for pain before we go any further.”
“This horse isn’t mentally ready yet.”
“Maybe this horse isn’t the right match for you.”

The good ones don’t dodge those conversations, they start them.

There are a lot of trainers out there who won’t take the time if your horse:
• Doesn’t think or respond like every other one in the barn.
• Isn’t bred for the discipline you’re chasing.
• Has been bounced around or “flunked out” of another program.
• Doesn’t make them look good.

Sure, not every horse is going to make it as a reiner, cow horse, rope horse, barrel horse, or dressage horse.
But most of them will shine somewhere if someone just takes the time to figure out why they struggle, what they’re trying to say, or where they truly fit.

At the end of the day, you need someone who’s on your team not just on your checkbook.

To the owners:

Be open to vet work. I won’t out-train pain and no good trainer will.
If you’re willing to do your part, it’s fair to expect the trainer to do theirs.

Understand that progress isn’t always a straight line.
Sometimes a horse needs to take a few steps back before they can move forward, especially if they’ve had rough experiences before.
A good trainer will explain the why and the plan, not just blame the horse.

Ask questions. Ask about their style. Ask for references.
If their “program” sounds one-size-fits-all, just know not every horse thrives that way.
Ask how many horses they have in training.
Ask who actually rides your horse and how often.

Assistants are a vital part of this industry, and there’s nothing wrong with them riding but you’re paying for the trainer’s feel and experience.
Make sure your horse isn’t falling through the cracks just because they’re not the fanciest one in the barn.

And to the trainers:

Don’t forget that how you carry yourself matters.

Bashing clients or other trainers doesn’t make you look tough. It makes people wonder what you’ll say about them next.
If you wouldn’t want it repeated, don’t say it.

If you’re new to the game, ride the horse, communicate, take care of them, and do the work.
These clients are giving you a chance. Treat it like one.

Take care of your clients, that’s how you get more of them.
But also take care of yourself.
Set boundaries.
If you don’t want to take calls after 7pm, don’t.
Set aside time for updates, time for yourself, and time to just breathe.
You’re human before you’re a business.

The good clients, the loyal ones, they’ll stick around.
I’ve got some that have been with me 7 or 8 years.
But don’t overlook the quiet ones with average horses, the ones not chasing ribbons or futurities.
They deserve your best too.
You never know where a simple opportunity might lead.

And at the end of the day, even when you give it everything you’ve got,
things will still go wrong sometimes.
That’s life.

Be honest. Be humble. Be better tomorrow than you were today.
That’s the part that really matters.

11/06/2025

The horse industry talks a lot about feel.

Soft hands. Quiet legs. Timing.

But maybe real feel isn’t about what we do to the horse
it’s about what we’re willing to feel in ourselves.

Because it’s easier to tighten the reins than to sit with what their resistance might be showing us.
Easier to push through than to pause and wonder why.

We call them reactive, disrespectful, difficult…
when half the time, they’re just mirrors reflecting the parts of us that rush, control, and avoid discomfort.

Maybe the real art of horsemanship isn’t about molding them into something quieter, it’s about becoming someone they can finally breathe around.

11/05/2025

It’s flag night tonight at Twin Pines Performance Horses, Sisters OR 6pm! If you’re not here, you’re missing the fun!! $35!! Please RSVP for the address!

11/04/2025

Haul in, tune up and ride with purpose!

Winter doesn’t have to mean waiting.

If your horse could use a little tune-up, some flag work, or you just need some pointers, haul in for a lesson at Twin Pines Performance Horses.

Whether it’s softness, confidence, problem-solving, or show prep, we’ll meet you and your horse right where you are.

✨ Private or small-group lessons available
🐮 Flag work available by request
📸 Optional video add-on for progress tracking
📍 Sisters, Oregon
💬 Message to schedule or ask questions

Because a little progress in the off-season goes a long way!