Jumping Bean Mustangs LLC

08/14/2025

A hill I will absolutely die on: All animal species learn through the same processes - Classical and Operant Conditioning.

In addition to horses, I have trained the following species:
Macaques
Dogs
Cats
Pigs
Chickens
Rats

All of these species thrived with positive reinforcement and force free training. This is a huge reason I changed my methods with horses, and I don’t regret a thing!

We have openings for board and train starting in September!

Curious about trying food in your horse training?
If elephants, tigers, and even hippos can learn complex husbandry behaviours with food… why not horses?

🐘 African Elephants: The largest land mammal, have been trained to take injections and many other husbandry behaviours through clicker training.

🐻 Bears: With a bite force of over 1,200 PSI, have been trained to have their teeth cleaned and to give hair and blood samples.

🐯 Tigers: With claws 4 inches long, have been trained to back up their tails into their handler for injections and to accept fly spray on their ears.

🦓 Zebras: Who can kill lions with a single kick, have been trained to voluntarily walk onto a scale, stand still, and get weighed.

🦛 Hippos: The world’s deadliest mammal, have been trained to have their teeth brushed and undergo dental checks.

🦧 Chimpanzees: With 5 times the arm strength of a human male, have been taught to get their temperature checked and teeth inspected.

🦒 Giraffes: The tallest mammal in the world, have been trained to have their hooves handled and trimmed.

These behaviours are taught by pairing a specific action with something the animal values, often food. This helps them understand exactly what’s being asked and makes participating in their own care a positive experience. Training begins with small, achievable steps and builds gradually to more complex skills.

In many cases, the first sessions are done in protected contact, where a safe barrier allows the animal to feel comfortable and the trainer to work without risk. This isn’t unique to zoos, most R+ horse trainers also start this way.

We have horses trained for liberty injections (intramuscular or subcutaneous without restraint), taking oral syringes, placing their hooves on stands, showing their teeth and allowing tongue/mouth handling for daily checks, accepting eye care, volunteering for bandage changes and wound treatment, and even asking for fly spray.

If these larger, stronger, and more dangerous animals can be trained safely with food, imagine what’s possible for your horse. 🐴✨

Want to see these behaviours in action? I’ve linked real-life examples in the first comment.

Inspired by Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin.

08/02/2025

There is no correct use for draw reins.

Yes, you heard me.

Draw reins will always and forever be a shortcut for the benefit of the rider, not for the benefit of the horse.

There is no way to “correctly” create a leverage system that serves the purpose of pulling the horse’s head down and in.

The entire purpose is to make it easier for the rider to force the horse into a certain head and neck position.

Draw reins create a pulley system that amplifies the amount of pressure from the rider’s hands on the draw rein.

No matter how you configure them (where you clip them to) the leverage is always pulling the horse’s head IN.

The direction of leverage effectively serves to teach the horse to go behind the vertical.

Additionally, physical fitness is not built overnight.

The rider cannot feel the horse’s muscles fatiguing or when the horse is overstretched.

Humans are also notoriously bad at noticing discomfort signals from the horse so it becomes easy to ignore any attempts from the horse to communicate discomfort.

Draw reins skip steps that would otherwise allow the rider to gauge the horse’s physical capacity and where they’re at in terms of learning to carry themselves.

Skipping those steps does not develop the muscular ability any faster.

So, sure, the head and neck may go down and in and it may become easier to stop the horse from popping their head up, but it does not build the physical capacity to maintain that position for an extended period of time.

We should want the horse to seek contact and move into it softly, not hide from it.

The damage draw reins do to horses is apparent in their muscling but also their way of going.

Horses frequently ridden in draw reins are highly likely to dip behind the vertical with very little contact from the riding, “hiding” from contact.

This can be difficult to fix and it is much easier to avoid the problem in the first place by not using draw reins.

Draw reins, like many training gadgets, are for the rider.

They serve the purpose of offering instant gratification for the human.

But, this comes at the expense of the horse.

Building physical fitness and teaching correct carriage takes time.

Take the time it takes.

Draw reins are not for the horse.

They’re for the human.

There is no correct use for them.

This is a hill I will die on.

Stop rushing at the horses’ expense just to get to a destination faster.

It ALWAYS will come at a cost.

And usually it is the horse who pays.

07/06/2025

Age-appropriate ridden exercise for the 4 year old, Kota 💜

06/24/2025

Care They Deserve. Change You Create ❤️
Now through July 7th, every time you purchase a Horse Guard product at Quarry Ave Hay & Feed, you're not just investing in your horse’s health—you’re helping local horses in need.

🐴 For every bag sold, Horse Guard will donate $2 to Mustangs to the Rescue, a dedicated equine rescue based right here in Bend, OR.

This volunteer-run nonprofit works tirelessly to rehabilitate, re-home, and advocate for horses across Central Oregon. Let's help them continue their life-changing work!

📞 541-923-2400

📍 4626 SW Quarry Ave, Redmond, OR 97756
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06/09/2025

There aren’t many horses I’ve trusted to be loose in an unfenced area, but Kota blows my expectations out of the water every single day. 💜

05/13/2025

05/12/2025

Good training is BORING!!!!

We have training spots open starting this month!
Soundstablespnw.com

04/18/2025

Taking advantage of this beautiful weather to get some trail time in with my boys 💜

04/15/2025

04/08/2025

Bringing in the mustangs for their training time!