Aria Desert Rain

12/13/2025

Do you love your horse? Or do you love how your horse makes you feel?

It’s a tough question, and one that’s worth sitting with.

Think about that perfect moment at the barn. The soft nicker, the perfect ride, the feeling of pride as they stand quietly. It washes away the stress of the day and makes you feel whole. In that moment, you whisper, "I love you so much."

But what if your horse ignored you at the gate? What if they were too anxious to stand still? What if they could never be ridden again?

Would the love still be there, just as strong?

So often, we're conditioned to see relationships as transactional, what we get out of them. Our horses give us an escape, a sense of purpose, a feeling of validation. That's a beautiful part of the bond, but it can't be the only part.

True partnership is built when the love of the experience is built on the foundation of love for the being. It’s loving them not just for the glorious rides, but for their simple, silent presence. It's a love that shows up on the good days and the bad, the rideable days and the "pasture ornament" days.

This isn't about guilt. It's about awareness. And it's the greatest gift you can give your horse, and yourself.

For the full conversation on building a deeper, more resilient bond with your horse, read the complete article on my website.

https://ariadesertrain.com/do-you-love-your-horse-or-do-you-love-how-your-horse-makes-you-feel/

11/17/2025

When my world is falling apart and I feel like I can't hold on anymore, I look at my horses. With their happiness, their love and their peace they remind me why I need to get up to fight another day.

07/11/2025

Comet, one of the horses I’m working with at the rescue, is learning to self-halter. He loves R+! He left his bale of alfalfa to come train with me. I’m using Bermuda grass for the reward, much lower in value than alfalfa!

07/01/2025

I’m so excited to announce that I am now part of Love this Horse, Equine Rescue Inc.’s team! I’m being able to fulfill my dream of working with rescue horses that need my help. Stay tuned for updates on this journey! ❤️

Please welcome Aria Luna to LTH’s training crew. Aria is a Connection Training Certified Coach. Connection Training emphasizes positive reinforcement equine training and emotional balance, creating a compassionate approach that strengthens bonds and achieves lasting results. Many of you have heard of “clicker training”, but it goes deeper than that.

Clicker training for horses is a method that uses a clicker sound, paired with a reward, to communicate with a horse and teach desired behaviors. The clicker acts as a bridge, marking the exact moment a horse performs a desired action, and is followed by a positive reinforcement, usually a food treat, to strengthen the association. This method relies on positive reinforcement and aims to create a positive learning experience for the horse.

We have so many horses that were unhandled stallions (now geldings), some of the ones who have suffered trauma when first rounded up or sent through auction or the way they were mistreated at some point. These horses very positively respond to the positive reinforcement training that Aria specializes in, including some of our more challenging BLM Mustangs, not just our sensitive Arabians.

Please welcome Aria onboard.

05/08/2025

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐲.

The past season has held a lot—𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞, and more quiet stressors behind the scenes. Life has felt heavy, and while I’ve continued showing up for my family, my animals, the ranch, and my students, I haven’t had the energy to train or create the kind of content I love sharing with you here.

That’s been frustrating. 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

But in all of this, the horses have reminded me of something important.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭.
They don’t measure the quality of our relationship in training sessions or productivity.

What they seem to value most—especially right now—𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. On the days when all I can do is sit with them for a few quiet minutes, or take a slow walk in hand, they’re still there. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭. And in that space, even with everything else going on, 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞.

So if you’ve felt this way too—tired, stretched thin, not quite yourself—you’re not alone.
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩.
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

If you’re in a season like this, I’d love to hear how you’re finding connection in small ways. Let’s hold space for each other in the comments.

02/21/2025

✨ 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑖 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡! ✨
Any guesses on what’s coming? 😉🐴💫 Stay tuned!

⬇️ 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬!

02/20/2025

✨ 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 ✨

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑛—𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒?"

During a windstorm, Reya found herself tangled in a thorny branch, triggering a powerful nervous system response. Instead of rushing to "fix" it, I made a choice—to be her anchor, not her rescuer.

💡 This experience was an eye-opening lesson in 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. I watched as Reya’s nervous system moved through cycles of 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞—until she finally found peace 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬.

🐎 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬? Let’s discuss in the comments!

📖 Read the full story here: https://ariadesertrain.com/?p=1479

How does a horse nervous system recover from stress? Read how my mare Reya moved through panic to peace—without force or intervention.

02/09/2025

🌟 Big Milestones for Reya Tonight! 🌟

Tonight, Reya took a huge step forward—she came to the gate to be haltered for the first time! This is a massive accomplishment for her, as she’s still working through her fear of the halter.

She also explored the tying area and even checked out the pedestal. I gave her time and space to explore, and while she didn’t linger long, her curiosity shows just how far she’s come in less than two weeks. 💕

Every small step counts on this journey, and Reya is showing us her courage day by day.

🐴 Follow for more updates on her progress and milestones!

02/09/2025

🌟 Big Milestones for Reya Tonight! 🌟

Tonight, Reya took a huge step forward—she came to the gate to be haltered for the first time! This is a massive accomplishment for her, as she’s still working through her fear of the halter.

She also explored the tying area and even checked out the pedestal. I gave her time and space to explore, and while she didn’t linger long, her curiosity shows just how far she’s come in less than two weeks. 💕

Every small step counts on this journey, and Reya is showing us her courage day by day.

🐴 Follow for more updates on her progress and milestones!

02/05/2025

Good morning from Desert Rain Ranch! 🌈
A rare rainstorm blessed us with this beautiful rainbow over the mountains. Nature has a way of reminding us that even after the storm, there’s beauty waiting to shine through. Wishing you a day full of peace and little moments of wonder!

02/04/2025

"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝐼’𝑚 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝑦𝑎—𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦!"

🐴 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐚 (𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞)!
She is a 7-year-old National Show Horse (Half Arabian, Half Saddlebred) who was rescued by 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 - 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 after being passed from auction to auction, landing in the hands of an abusive horse trader. By the time she reached the rescue, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚. But Love This Horse recognized what she really needed: 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥.

💛 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐚?
I first saw Reya when I was working on two case studies at the rescue for my 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. While I was focused on the other horses, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞. Something about her stayed with me, and now, she’s here, starting a new chapter.

🏡 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 & 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Reya is 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 and won’t enter the barn yet, but she’s warming up to the turnout shelter after watching my herd use it. I introduced her to my horses 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭, and they’ve all been incredibly calm and welcoming. Right now, she has her own 𝟑/𝟒 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐭 where she can approach and interact with the herd on her own terms.

🔄 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐰
My priority is 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐚 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. While she was given the space to recover at the rescue, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 for horses with her history. Right now, the focus isn’t training—it’s 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞.

💛 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫! 👇

🎥 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑦𝑎 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛! 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑑.