EB Training

08/07/2025

Sam made her way through Montana this year and spent some time with us in the Madison Valley!

Can’t wait to see what she paints from her trip 😍 she does such a great job with capturing the whole vibe of her subjects—I mean just LOOK at Mae Mae!

Social media can be a wild place, but I’ve met some of the best Insta and FB friends over the years!

It’s good to be back in my studio putting brush to palette to paper again! More art coming soon…

Featuring EB Training

08/06/2025

How you handle yourself comes before how you handle your horse 🧠 🧘🏼‍♀️

08/05/2025

🗺️ Where are we?
📍The figuring out and pre-handling stage

Velvet was plain scared when she got here.
Scared of what the humans might do and would do.

She was also plain skinny.

Eating and drinking was easy peasy, so I gave her about 2.5 weeks to gain weight and wind down.

The weight came up and the worry went down!

Now, I’m working on showing her that I’m not here to be unpredictable or a threat or a worthy challenger.

I started with a lot of minding my own business and not expecting her to engage to build her curiosity while in her pen and the round pen.

Currently, I’m mixing in basic asks now that she’s settling down.

Move when asked.
Halt when asked.
Finding a balance of shrinking her flight bubble without either of us being offended.
Build tolerance for new things by tossing ropes into her bubble, occasionally having them touch her without having an explosion.

It’s slow going, but we’re progressing.

Velvet is a 2016 mare from Palomino Buttes HMA that was gathered in 2023.

📸: .red.pony.studio

08/01/2025

Results are here! 🧬

After polling the masses, seeing the same horse in several coat colors, and staring at her ‘til my eyes nearly fell out—we know what color she is!

Not a Grulla. Not a Buckskin. Not a Bay. Not any version of Champagne.

Opal is a Smoky Black with Varnish!

Meaning—she has a Black base, one copy of Cream AND one copy of LP, which causes the Varnish.

LP is a bit of a wildcard when it comes to expression, and there’s anecdotal evidence that has shown it to affect coat color in both overall shade and amount of varnish/spots as the horse ages.

If you’re wondering about coat color (they have a new Roan test!), health risks or anything else that may be hiding in their genes Etalon Equine Genetics has a variety of tests and packages available at the link below!

etalondx.com/affiliate/bebout-8586559

07/21/2025

Mustang Monday! 🐴

It’s been a little while since doing one of these 😅

We spent time with Mike Hoffman in Belgrade this weekend and DANG was it refreshing!

Roja had a long day, but was game for absolutely everything.
The flag. The loping. The bison. Sipping people’s canned beverages.

In continuing to work on refinement, Mike reminded me of some very basic exercises to manage (but not OVER manage) my horse to keep chipping away at self carriage.

I always love riding with Mike because he reminds me (many, many times) that
I HAVE TIME.

😅 it sure is easy to preach the mañana mentality, but turning the volume down on my own energy/anxiety in new situations can be a struggle.

So, again—I HAVE TIME.
YOU HAVE TIME.
WE HAVE TIME!

PS. I swapped back to a snaffle because I knew we were going to do some faster work, and I didn’t want to overwhelm her in a two rein. The journey is never linear!

07/18/2025

Friday Fancy 🤩

This bridle buckle is EXTRA special because it was a wedding gift from .elizabethh ♥️♥️♥️
Made by

And here’s everything else…

Headstall:
Bit: designed and sold by Chief Rojas a long time ago, then gifted to me from my mentor
Bosal: made by me, , with the help of Bill and Teresa Black
Mecate: idk, maybe mohair? I want a different one.
Reins: no name reins with amazing feel
Chains: used from a saddle shop in WYO
Palm concho and connector: a piece of Padauk wood helped me make with matching scrap leather ties because wood won’t make your hands colder in winter
Horse: the government, Stinkingwater HMA to be exact
Hat:
Shirt:
Sense of humor: trauma

07/16/2025

Roja’s forelock chronicles: middle part or emo bangs?

07/15/2025

What do mounting blocks, fences, rocks, ditches, truck bumpers and trailer floors all have in common?

They’re all great places for a leg up!

ALSO—great places to teach a horse to stand patiently, because you may not always need them to be still for only mounting up.

Maybe you found some treasures you want to take back—it sure is easier to tie those on your saddle with a horse that waits.

Maybe you have to help someone back on their horse after an incident—speaking from experience, a horse that waits while you drag yourself up while your friend pushes you back in the saddle is truly a gift.

Maybe you’re hunting and need your horse to bear some of your burden—building even loads on a squirrely animal is not what dreams are made of.

So even if you’re leggy and able bodied, horses that wait for their rider to gain some height is a skill worthy of adding to any horse’s toolbox.

07/13/2025

Such a good time today!! Thanks so much for having us!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our Ag Fair today!! We had an absolute blast with you all.

More photos to come—and they are stellar. 🤩 Thank you Nikki Edmundson for bringing your camera and phenomenal skills along.

EB Training — Erica & Roja