Black Clover Ranch

10/28/2026

The JR studs enjoying a fall treat 🖤

10/28/2026

We’ve all been there right in the middle of a spin trying to count like... wait, was that three or four? 🥴🤣

10/28/2026

Apparently Jason thinks he needs another job.
Not only does he train horses… he trims feet, too.

Now he’s throwing around the idea of offering haul-in trims.

10/28/2026

Your yearling can learn some manners AND still be a horse. 👀

We’ve all heard it.

“Just turn them out and let them be horses until they’re two.”

And while we’re all for letting young horses grow, play, and develop without unnecessary pressure, when did basic education become a bad thing?

We’re not talking about working your yearling into the ground, drilling maneuvers, or expecting a baby to act like a finished horse.

We’re talking about kindergarten.

By the time your horse is ready to start under saddle, wouldn’t it be nice if he already understood a few things?

🐴 How to be caught, haltered, and led politely.
🐴 How to stand quietly and have all four feet handled.
🐴 How to stand tied safely and patiently.
🐴 How to accept being groomed, bathed, and handled.
🐴 How to be comfortable spending a little time away from his buddies.
🐴 How to understand basic pressure and release.

None of these things require hours of daily training.
They require consistency, patience, and a little education.

And here’s the best part.

Once your yearling understands the basics and graduates kindergarten?

Send him right back out for summer vacation!
Let him run, play, grow, and learn how to be a horse.
Because here’s what we’re willing to bet.

When that same horse comes back in as a two-year-old to begin his under-saddle education, you’re going to have a much easier time.

Instead of trying to teach him how to lead, stand tied, pick up his feet, and manage being separated from his friends, you can focus on introducing the next chapter of his education.

He’s already familiar with being handled, learning new things, and working through unfamiliar situations.

And that can mean less stress for both the horse AND the person starting him.

There’s a big difference between rushing a young horse’s training and preparing him for his future.

We don’t think a horse needs to spend his entire yearling year in a training program.

But we also don’t think leaving him completely uneducated until he’s two is necessarily doing him any favors.

Let them be horses. But don’t forget to teach them how to be good citizens along the way.

10/28/2026

You know what doesn't get enough credit in the horse industry? A horse that can just stand there.

No fancy maneuver. No big stop. No perfect pattern.

Just a horse that's comfortable, paying attention, and waiting for whatever comes next.

We spend so much time talking about what a horse can DO that sometimes we forget to appreciate how a horse BEHAVES when we're not asking him to do anything.

The flashy stuff might win you a buckle, but the little things tell you an awful lot about the foundation underneath it.

Not everything that makes a good horse earns you points in the show pen. 👀

10/28/2026

BUT HE DOES IT PERFECTLY AT HOME!"

We've all heard it. Heck, most of us have probably said it.

"He knows how to do this."
"He never does that at home."
"I don't understand what happened. We practiced this a hundred times."

But here's something worth thinking about.

Just because you're a world champion in your home arena doesn't mean you're prepared to be one in the show pen.

At home, your horse knows the environment. He knows the routine, the footing, the sounds, and probably even what you're about to ask before you ask it.

Now load him in a trailer, haul him somewhere unfamiliar, surround him with horses, noise, spectators, and distractions, and expect him to perform exactly the same.

And let's not forget about the rider.

Suddenly, you're nervous. Your hands are a little quicker, your legs a little tighter, your timing isn't quite what it was at home.

You might not even realize you're riding differently.

But your horse does.

So is your horse forgetting his training, or are we asking him to perform under circumstances neither of you has fully prepared for?

This is where training and preparation become two different conversations.

Teaching a horse to execute a maneuver is one thing. Developing the confidence, understanding, and consistency to perform that maneuver in unfamiliar environments under increased pressure is another.

And the same goes for the rider.

You can practice a pattern until you know every step, but can you recognize when your horse needs help instead of just trying to get through the next maneuver?

Can you adjust when things don't go according to plan?

Can you maintain your own composure when the pressure is on?

A great performance at home shows what you and your horse are capable of. A great performance away from home shows how well that training holds up under pressure.

Maybe the next time our horse doesn't perform the way we expected, instead of asking, "Why didn't he do what he knows?"

We should be asking:

"Have we actually prepared him, and ourselves, for what we're asking?"

10/27/2026

I can remember the pattern OR control my facial expressions.

Please stop expecting both. 💀🤣

10/27/2026

It’s 1-800-BITS-OFF! 🤣🤣

10/27/2026

But the second I enter the arena, it’s between me, God, and whatever my horse thinks we’re doing. 💀🤣

10/27/2026