Bates Performance Horses

09/01/2026

𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.

If everything feels easy, if you’re only doing things you already know you can do, and you never struggle…

You’re probably not growing.

Sometimes you have to do the thing that scares you. The thing you don’t feel ready for. The thing that makes you think, “I can’t do this.”

And sometimes you’re more ready than you think you are.

You’ll say, “I can’t.”

And you have to learn to say, “Yes, I can. Try again.”

The mistakes teach you. The hard things build confidence. And the moments you thought you couldn’t do it are often the moments that change you.

𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛.

08/30/2026

I think horses deserve the benefit of the doubt a little more often.

A horse doesn’t wake up in the morning and decide, “You know what? I think I’ll be difficult today.”

When a horse that normally works suddenly starts refusing, bucking, kicking out, getting tight, not wanting to turn, acting cinchy, becoming difficult to catch, or just feels different — my first thought isn’t automatically, “This horse needs more discipline.”

It’s: why?

And I think alley issues are one of the biggest places we need to ask that question.

A horse suddenly doesn’t want to walk into the alley. Starts backing up. Gets anxious at the gate. Rears. Spins. Freezes. Rushes in. Everyone immediately starts talking about how to make them go in.

But why did they stop wanting to?

Is something hurting? Are they anticipating pain when they run? Did something scare them? Have they been repeatedly pressured in that spot until the alley itself became stressful? Is the rider getting nervous and changing before every run? Or is there actually a training hole that needs addressed?

The same goes for a horse that suddenly doesn’t want to turn, starts running past a barrel, gets tight in the warm-up pen, pins their ears saddling, or develops any other behavior that seems to come out of nowhere.

Yes, horses can learn bad habits. They can figure out how to avoid work, test boundaries and take advantage of inconsistencies.

But behavior is still information.

Good horsemanship isn’t assuming every unwanted behavior is pain — but it also isn’t assuming every unwanted behavior is disrespect.

Sometimes the horse needs corrected.

Sometimes the horse needs trained differently.

Sometimes something physical needs addressed.

And sometimes the horse has been trying to tell you something for weeks while everyone keeps calling them “bad.”

Before you decide a horse has an attitude or needs a bigger consequence, give them the benefit of the doubt long enough to ask why the behavior exists in the first place.

What’s something you’ve seen labeled a “training problem” that ended up having a completely different cause?

08/30/2026

08/29/2026

𝙇𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙀𝙭𝙖𝙢𝙨

Junior high, high school, and college rodeo seasons are right around the corner.

Before you start making runs, I strongly recommend getting your horse a PRESEASON LAMENESS EXAM.

Not “let’s inject everything because we’re getting ready to compete.”

A THOROUGH lameness exam by a qualified equine performance veterinarian.

I personally try to have my performance horses evaluated every 2–3 months, not just when something is obviously wrong.

The goal isn’t to find something to inject.

The goal is to find out if your horse is SOUND.

Maybe your horse is completely sound and your vet says, “Go run.”

Perfect. That’s exactly what you wanted.

But maybe they find something small, a shoeing issue, an imbalance, an area of soreness, or something that needs treatment.

Finding it before you start running gives you the opportunity to address it before a small problem becomes a major injury.

Because horses don’t always show up as obviously lame.

Sometimes they’re just a little sore.

They keep running. You keep running them.

And that “little” problem can become the reason you’re sitting out for weeks, or even the rest of the season.

And PLEASE be picky about who you use.

If you’re running barrels, find a veterinarian who regularly works with performance horses and understands the demands of your sport.

There are plenty of vets who can inject a joint.

That doesn’t mean the joint needs to be injected.

I would much rather pay an exceptional lameness vet to tell me, “Your horse is sound. Go run,” than have someone treat something simply because they can.

If you’re in the Northern California area, Dr. Jim Myers at Gold Coast Equine is someone I highly recommend. There are great performance veterinarians all across the country, but finding someone who truly understands your sport and your horse’s job is so important.

And remember, a preseason exam isn’t a free pass for the rest of the year.

If your horse has a hard fall, slip, trip, bad landing, or suddenly feels different, get them checked again.

Don’t wait until they’re obviously lame.

𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚.
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚.

08/29/2026