Malachi Acres Riding Academy & Full Board

09/04/2025

We are back & ready to get started! New classes & New choices! Dressage has been updated and the HJ & Pleasure Rings are being updated any minute!!

08/30/2025

🤩 love comments on hands 💙

07/28/2025

Research conducted by Kienapfel and colleagues (2025) set out to investigate the relationship between head–neck position (HNP) and behavioural indicators of welfare in elite dressage horses.

Their goal was to provide an objective, evidence-based threshold at which flexion during riding becomes problematic for equine welfare, and to clarify the respective roles of vertical and poll angles in this context.

Concurrently, the occurrence of conflict behaviours—such as tail swishing, abnormal oral behaviours, headshaking, and gait irregularities—were quantified by trained observers.

The study used linear mixed-effects models to show that greater head–neck flexion—especially more negative vertical and poll angles—is clearly linked to increased conflict behaviour in dressage horses, with other factors like age, breed, or bit type not significant, though stallions did show more conflict than mares or geldings.

The authors identified that a -7.5° vertical angle (nasal plane behind the vertical) was an evidence-based limit: positions less flexed than -4° can be considered safe, -4° to -7.5° require caution, and beyond -7.5° pose a welfare risk.

Notably, more than 90% of horses examined were ridden behind the vertical, with half of these exceeding the -7.5° threshold, despite regulations.

📖: Kienapfel K, Hartmann E, Preiss B, Bachmann I. Head–Neck Positions in Ridden Horses: Defining Degrees of Flexion and Their Impact on Equine Behavior and Welfare. Int J Equine Sci 2025;4(2):107–124

07/14/2025

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲?

It’s not a new saddle.
It’s not a bigger bit.
It’s not even perfect timing over the fence.

It’s 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

The hardest truth in horse training - the one no one really wants to say out loud - is this:

The biggest change you can make in your horse’s performance comes from how 𝘺𝘰𝘶 show up.

Your regulation.
Your reactions.
Your tone.
Your expectations.
Your willingness to pause, breathe, and 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 before you act.

This is why it’s so difficult. Because adjusting ourselves - our urgency, our patterns, our frustration, our need to ‘fix it now’ - takes honesty and ongoing practice.

But if we want our horses to develop balance, to wait, to stay soft in the face of pressure…

Then we have to model it first.

𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

So, where do you start?

Start small. Really small.

Notice when you feel that tightness creeping in - impatience, pressure, the urge to override or chase the outcome.

Pause. Breathe. Before you use your leg again. Before you raise the rein. Before you label what just happened.

Choose response over reaction. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just conscious.

Step away for 30 seconds if you feel your jaw clench or your aids getting sharp. Reset. Come back in soft.

Say out loud, “𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴.” Because you are.

This isn’t about being emotionless or never getting frustrated. It’s about leading with steadiness - even when the session feels messy.

And here’s the bit that’s easy to forget:

Real change doesn’t come from disowning the part of you that’s struggling. It comes from including that part - with kindness.

You hold both.

The version of you that’s clear, quiet, fair, and thinking ahead.
And the version who’s tired, tense, second-guessing, and wondering if it’s all just too hard.

Both versions exist. They always have.
You don’t need to shame one to be worthy of the other.

You need to 𝘴𝘦𝘦 that part of you.
Acknowledge her.
Let her be heard - then choose something different.

That’s what makes space for change.

That’s what makes it possible to show up again tomorrow - without guilt, without pressure, just with a little more softness.

You’re allowed to get it wrong and still be the rider your horse needs.
You’re allowed to be a work in progress and still be doing good work.
You’re allowed to start again.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁.

So take the next ride a little slower.
A little quieter.
A little more aware.

That’s where the real magic happens.

One breath.
One moment.
One ride at a time.



Inspired by a recent post from Barbara Lloyd on dog training — thank you for putting into words what so many of us feel. It’s heartening to know that across species, there are thoughtful, compassionate trainers working to shift the culture. We may be in different worlds, but we’re all moving in the same direction. You just have to know where to look. 🐾🐴

07/03/2025

This season, remember that sounds from fireworks explosions can reactivate post-traumatic stress for veterans and victims of gun violence. This fireworks season, be mindful of the needs of others, and be a good neighbor. For mental wellness resources- https://bit.ly/3RaYGLh

06/28/2025

06/21/2025

✨You can fake calm with people.
✨You can smile through nerves. Say “I’m fine” when you’re not.
✨But your horse?
They know better.

✨Before your hands ever lift the reins,
before your legs give a cue,
they’ve already felt you.

The tension in your breath.
The doubt behind your focus.
The pressure you’re putting on yourself.
They feel it all — not as judgment, but as information.

✨That’s why the real work isn’t just in your hands or your seat.
✨It’s in your energy.
✨Your presence.
✨Your ability to breathe through the nerves and ride with clarity — not chaos.

🐎So if your horse is acting out,
pause before you correct.
💕Check in with your own state first.
Because what you bring to the saddle is what they ride with.

And the more honest you are with yourself,
the more your horse will trust you.

🐴💭

06/04/2025

Peanut! Love the unicorn look💕 thank u Abbie

06/03/2025

Beautiful day for a ride with Marcella and Emily.
Newest horse, Lync, did great on his first trail ride with us. 🤗♥️

05/25/2025

Best advice to learn how to ride dressage faster?

Slow Down!

Your journey can't be rushed
Take your time
It's not a race