Balanced Connection Horsemanship with Devon Roffler

05/12/2026

DREAMS DO COME TRUE:
WITH HARD WORK, CONSISTENCY, PERSEVERANCE AND PATIENCE

Every horse person's dream; true connection with their horse.

It truly doesn't get any better than this!

Almost a year ago you couldn't catch this horse and now, peace and clarity has created its bond where why wouldn't the horse want to be with the human? Versus before she had every reason not to want to be near the human and you couldn't get near her.

Confusion is anxiety.
Clarity is peace.
Truth is freeing.
✨

05/06/2026

MY WHY

This is why I do what I do and love what I do.

"You can be a leader without being intimidating. The horse can be your partner without being your slave. I’m trying to keep the best part of the horse in there. I’m not trying to take anything away from him."
-Buck Brannaman

05/05/2026

05/04/2026

When I have the honor of working with someone and their horse, everyone always ends up feeling good about it.

Too many times horses interactions with humans are confusing, discouraging and just plain yucky.

This can leave a bad 'taste' of us for the horse that can look like not wanting to be caught, shut down, aggressiveness to name just a few.

We want a 'flow state' where the conversation between horse and human can flow with understanding and compassion.

A place where the horse can truly be asked questions and the horse can truly express how they feel.

We don't want to come in and try to just fix and reprimand and think we know more than the horse. The horse has reasons, VERY VALID reasons to feel the way they do and act the way they do.

We want to come in and offer something most horses have never had before...

A human that listens.
A human that is aware.
A human that doesn't operate out of emotions.

Confusion is anxiety.
Clarity is peace.
Truth is freeing.

Every horse is a good horse if you would let them be- peace by peace.✨

Pictured here are Karina and Midnight soaking on some very good feelings and deeply processing and enjoying all those good interactions their humans are bringing to them thanks to a balanced connection.

05/03/2026

PEACE IS THE CURRENCY

In case you aren't sure how your horse should look before, during and after your work together, here is a short video.

To me this is always the greatest compliment.

The goal is always to get together and feel good about all of it.

Peace by peace.✨

03/20/2026

WHERE'S YOUR MIND?
PART 5 OF 5

I want the corners of a horse's mouth to be soft, accepting and available.

I want my reach for the reins to cause them to want to get soft and tune in to what we are going to be doing together.

Midnight had the thought to always anticipate that when I reached for the reins that meant we should just go.

He also thought that when you did have a feel or some contact on the reins he would 'root' on them. Which is where a horse takes the bit and starts shoving on and against your feel.

I want to offer a feel to the horse and have them offer a feel back to me.

I ride and work with a horse where they need the help by:
-replacing braces with softness
-transforming confusion into understanding
-exchanging undesirable actions for calm
-hearing the horse and giving them truth and a foundation of freedom

You can see here in the video that we now have a feeling and thinking horse. And to feel and think feels soooo good!
Peace by peace.✨

03/19/2026

WHERE'S YOUR MIND?
PART 4 OF 5

It is a good thing to look at a horse's body and ask yourself what do I have access to?
What don't I have access to?

Most any horse I lay hands on have no bend and the shoulders are stuck and hard.

This all gets checked out on the ground and then once under saddle we check it all there.

A lot of horses will end of 'twisting' and or rotating their poll and neck which then lead to a falling/ collapsing shoulder.

The horse can't do anything proper if they get in their own way.

Generally speaking my hands and reins are connected to the horses front feet, which includes the shoulders.

If something 'falls', we pick it up!
This is where lifting the hands can greatly help a horse by lifting the shoulder.

Once the shoulder has been brought back up with the help of my lifting hands, my hands go back to neutral.

It is important to note 'leg and no hands' and 'hands and no leg'.

Meaning this only gets brought in when the horse understands forward.

To bring in 'hands' too soon would cause us to lose life or 'leg'.

But once 'leg' is established you can bring in 'hands, no leg' because the horse is carrying himself forward.
Peace by peace.✨

03/18/2026

WHERE’S YOUR MIND?
PART 3 OF 5

A horse needs to understand there is an end to the rein/rope.

And that when they meet the end of it, they prepare for a hind end.

Before the hind end even starts, there is feel and intention in my thoughts and body.

During a hind end, the feel down the rope connects the inside nose to the inside hind foot and allows the horse to bend softly while keeping the inside shoulder free and ending with the horse's body completely under themselves and the rider- where two become one.

The hind end is a deeply healing thing for all creatures.

The hind end allows many things to happen, for now we will focus on how having a hind end allows me to have a loose rein and see how a horse really feels about things.

Because in the end I am riding the horse's brain and I want the shortest path to that goal and a loose rein reveals all.

It is more work this way but it is also the truth.

A split second after the horse disconnects his thoughts from mine, I can use a hind end to reconnect.

It is all a conversation and as soon as I feel the horse drifted away from the conversation I say, we were still talking and they come back and we start conversating again.

In these particular videos we were doing hind ends together but I can assure you before these nice ones there was lots of walking and trotting around where he got 'lost' and we used a hind end to be 'found' again.

Peace by peace.✨

03/17/2026

WHERE'S YOUR MIND?
PART 2 OF 5

When we want to get along with a horse, it requires taking two minds and making them one.

Midnight has lots of questions and thinks he should move really at any moment.
I, on the other hand, have no questions and I am not moving in this moment.

How many times do you allow your horse to make a move you didn't ask for?

Anything the horse 'takes', I 'take' back.
I exchange their answer for something so much better.

In the end, he understands he truly can just stand calmly and wait for direction- how wonderful is that?

I take the movement and bring quiet.
I take the question and give an answer.
I take the confusion and bring clarity.
Peace by peace. ✨

03/16/2026

WHERE'S YOUR MIND?
PART 1 OF 5

Midnight here is very sweet but has some misinformation.

His three main things are:

He thinks he's got to go every time you touch the reins.

He must do more than what you're asking.

And lastly, he can't (won't) stand still.

All these things point to no brain and no peace and many misunderstandings.

So we get to getting his mind on us and bringing peace.

We will dive into how we get there in the following parts. Though the photos below will give you insight.

Peace by peace.✨

03/15/2026

SQUARE PEG ROUND HOLE

The round pen is the most ideal place for everything I'd want to do in the beginning but sometimes that just isn't the case.

One of those things I need to do is see how a horse feels and communicates while loose- so a large paddock it is.

He went from trying to find a way out of things and getting stuck in corners to saying hold on, this is fun! I want to be with you human!

Nothing here is taught. I am only acting and being as another horse would.

You will notice as they become connected, they naturally create a circle around you and you can then tell them how far or how close to be in that circle by being clear, open and honest.

Confusion is anxiety.
Clarity is peace.
Truth is freeing.
Peace by peace ✨