http://www.kealeyhorsemanship.com/

Ellen Kealey Horsemanship, 30894 Iran Path, Northfield, MN (2026)

05/30/2026

A smattering of photos from the annual get together with the joy of horsemanship- Good Horsemanship - Ross Jacobs.

We enjoy the insight year after year with our horses (and sometimes the jokes). We look forward to having him back next year!

And as always thank you to Dakota Stables and staff for all of your hard work, and for providing the facilities for us year after year.

05/13/2026

The “wet saddle pads theory” doesn’t often align with the good behavior it boasts. People who execute this method to build a horses resume often leave them riddled with worry and a lack of confidence.

For example, many of the Amish trained horses I’ve worked with have been ridden and driven into the ground yet still can’t be caught reliably, saddled quietly, or shod without stocks and ropes. So what’s missing? Horses can be cornered, pressured and coerced to do the things that we want them to do. Whenever a horse has to do something that isn’t their idea and we don’t get them feeling better, it does damage and often makes life harder for both parties.

There is a big difference between getting something accomplished versus having a horse that is willing to work with us. If a horse is experiencing distress or discomfort, doing more won’t make things better.

Photo: This mare was just getting by with the amount of worry she was carrying. She had a lot of miles pulling a cart and under saddle, but it didn’t do anyone many favors. Her anxiety would show up in all areas of the work. On a bad day, you could see her worry building and she would get desperate enough to bolt. Her only safety net was with the herd.

I worked with her for a couple of months last year to address these big picture issues. It was clear that other trainers had used the “wet saddle pad” approach in an attempt to fix Klios response. However all this did was prove to her that people were a bad deal, and sticking with other horses was her only source of true comfort.

At the beginning of training, even walking her steps away from the paddock would begin the anxiety response. I was really proud when she made a strong enough change to feel settled with people on the ground and under saddle outside of the roundpen.

05/07/2026

A short video example of the things you can accomplish when you have a horse engaged in quiet conversation and you’re clear enough in the presentation.

When a horse is mentally somewhere else they frequently exhibit all kinds of unwanted behaviors. With trailer loading it usually shows up in the form of backing out or trying to escape in some way.

One of the hallmarks of having a horse with you is being able to interrupt what they are doing without an emotional outburst. Horses often struggle with getting settled in the trailer.

Latte has struggled in the past to feel good about trailer loading. His owner has done a wonderful job getting him better by putting the time in to help him. During this session I was able to readjust him several times on the end of the line while standing back by his hip. He did a wonderful job of staying engaged with me and his footfalls were soft and quiet, which was a wonderful change from wanting to leave.

In everything we do with a horse, it’s important that we not only get them to do the things we need them to, but that we leave them in a better emotional place because of it. How they feel about being with us makes all of the difference in how they show up for the work.

05/06/2026

Some good insights from Aimee.

05/05/2026

Hi All!

The Good Horsemanship - Ross Jacobs clinic is approaching quickly. We still have participant spots available! Sign up for any or all of the days with your horse, or come to audit.

If you are looking to deepen your understanding of how a horses mind works and how to get a change of thought, Ross is what you’re looking for. With decades of experience training horses, searching for the best approach, and teaching clinics all over the world, he is one of the top horseman offering clinics in Australia and the US.

Everything in the work becomes exponentially easier when you begin to address the inside of the horse. Ross has been my mentor now for years and has helped me to better understand countless horses along the way for a better approach.

If you are ready to dive into learning this Memorial Day weekend, reach out to me if you have questions or are wanting to sign up!

Photo: Working in hand under Ross’ instruction to help Pete to relax and follow the feel.

03/23/2026

Sound up ⬆️ to hear winter leaving his body 👀🤣

03/17/2026

“Leave your horse in a better spot than where you found him” is a common saying amongst horse people. While the sentiment is generally positive, I’ve seen this idea provoke unattainable expectations.

Bad days are always going to happen and everyone makes mistakes. To assume that every training session is supposed to be better than the last will only add layers of pressure on a persons psyche which often becomes a detriment to addressing a horses needs.

Having strong agendas is unrealistic with animals who have their own timelines and requirements to progress. People need to be more comfortable in the “figuring things out” phases, and not turn to drilling harder or avoiding the work.

Knowing when to quit becomes a challenge when we think that everything has to be better or we’ve screwed up. I’ve seen horses who come out struggling for the first 20 sessions and then make a huge change. Likewise I have worked with others who are able to let down after ten minutes of good work.

Sometimes you need to quit because the emotions are too high and nothing more will be achieved. Other times you should end the session while you’re ahead- even if you could get by with doing more. This judgement call often comes from getting to know a horse on their bad days.

The most important steps in pursuing a better relationship that is conducive for progress is that you continue to notice, think, and come back the next day with a plan.

Photo: Christy and Tanzy have a wonderful multi-year partnership. We hauled to a local trail park during a lesson to see how Tanzy would go in a new environment. Everything went great- but even if it didn’t we would simply recalibrate and try again.

03/13/2026

If you could get into your horses' psyche, how would it change your approach? What would it take to bring out the best in your horse- even if it wasn't what you had in mind? What needs to change?

In the training world we are taught that a horse should do something because we said so. We're expected to treat horses like disobedient children who have a vengeance against us. If we just enforced our expectations a hundred more times things would be right. The coaching of people often revolves around being better at skills, rather than evolving into thinking horse people with better judgement calls.

We are now starting to recognize that a one size fits all system doesn't optimize the talents and strengths of the individual. Different personalities are suited for different life paths. Temperament, sensitivity, and stress levels are all major factors in one's ability to thrive.

Horses deserve to be analyzed and met where they are at in their understanding with challenges that they can handle. Here are some broad examples of how a horses thinking calls for adjustability.

A horse who is uncertain requires a much different approach than a horse who is worried yet lacks try. Uncertainty most likely requires more hand holding, while a horse who lacks try needs to be rewarded for an honest effort.

A horse who doesn't want to you near them because they are scared of people is much different than a horse who doesn't want to be caught because they dread what is coming next. The horse who is scared of people needs to get more confident around humans, while the horse who has had dreadful experiences needs to feel better in every part of life with humans to be caught with softness.

How you approach training should not only change from horse to horse, but also from moment to moment.

If a horse leaves me because they see their buddy, I might need to get bigger to draw their focus. But if a horse leaves me because the tasks feel too hard and they are spiraling or because they see something that is a genuine concern, then getting big would be detrimental and make things worse.

Encouraging your horse to be a part of the work should take precedence over accomplishing things. Consider if you need to do more, do less, or wait. What will help him the most?

Photo: This mare has been put under a lot of pressure to do stuff. She harbors ill feelings, and doesn't just let them go when presented with a better deal. She has had every problem you can think of- catching, saddling, bridling etc. Helping her change has been a slow and consistent process that is really paying off.

The more she thinks "this works for me" the more she lets down. When you have big picture amounts of worry, every interaction counts.

12/03/2025

Have you ever felt a saddle that is so uneven it seems as if you can’t get it tight enough to keep it in place? A certain direction is often worse than another and at times a tight turn feels like you might go over their shoulder.

While this issue can result from a physical imbalance, it often starts and continues as an emotional resistance pattern. Usually during the first few saddling experiences, the horse learns to brace through their body as a result of being unsure or uncomfortable. If the worry never gets addressed the pattern will persist, which can cause a strong brace and improper development over time. The physical and muscular imbalance will be noticeable in their body from a standstill, but then becomes worse when they are saddled and ridden making it really challenging for a rider to stay centered.

As humans we think the saddle isn’t scary-what’s the problem? I’m just going to put this on your tense back and distracted mind, cinch it down as good as I can and push you forward.

Every time I go to saddle a horse, I am subconsciously aware of a few things:

Firstly- how is the groundwork going? If I haven’t checked in with my horse yet, I’m not putting a saddle on their back. Over time, I could receive enough feedback just by walking out to catch the horse, but many of my projects require anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour (or not at all) to be ready for the next step.

Secondly- I always have a physical awareness for their posture and how their back is feeling. If they are tight, frozen, or wanting to leave then I help them work through this rather than just getting it done. I’m always doing little things- even with a seasoned horse to make sure they are still with me.

Thirdly- when it comes time to do up the cinch I am as gentle and slow as possible. I want it to feel tight enough that it won’t go sideways, but loose enough that I could still tighten it more in that moment. Most importantly, I don’t want to create a brace pattern or a dread in my horse every time I pick up the cinch- even if he will quietly tolerate it.

Fourthly- when I go to move off with the saddle on and I can feel that my horse is tight I do slow in hand maneuvers to help them relax and take a breath. This step is often about going forward and pushing through the stickiness that shows up. There are so many more thoughtful ways to get a horse mentally here and freed up with something tied to their back. The forward often becomes another tension pattern that will undoubtedly follow the rider into the saddle.

When a horse is mentally relaxed, he will be able to stand quietly with a soft posture. This mental and physical state should be prioritized in the work, but it’s often missed and the tension builds into a physical distortion pattern. It is only after I address the worry that I can begin to adjust the physical balance. Forcing straightness from a worried horse will only create more tension patterns. When a horse learns to be OK, they don’t feel the need to brace.

Photo: I started my beloved mare Piper ten years ago when I was still following the c**t starting methods. At the time I thought she was “handy” enough after a couple of groundwork sessions that the obvious next step was saddling her up and seeing how it went. She tolerated it but was packing a lot of tension that would continue to show up in later sessions. She taught me a lot about the inner workings of a horse that I was missing by following a method.

I have done a lot to help her since then (although I wish I had time for more). A spectator walking by may not see the trouble but I will always know it was a part of her experience.

11/10/2025

Whenever you use pressure as something for a horse to escape from you add tightness and trouble instead of a quiet understanding. Humans often see the role of movement from a purely mechanical viewpoint; They are a body to drive into efficiency rather than a mind to engage.

Driving the hind end is something that is taught in most disciplines. You will hear people talk about the hind end as the “motor” of the horse. When he doesn’t step under well enough, the common approach is to add more driving pressure (ie: body language, leg, whip, flag, etc).

The best results I’ve had with getting a horse to use himself more efficiently is when I converse with the brain rather than driving the feet. A calm and quiet understanding creates the natural building blocks necessary for putting it all together.

VIDEO: This horse has been driven a lot. When we first started working with him he didn’t know how to focus or feel OK about pressure. He had only been taught how to escape to stay safe from it. Below is a before and after of how I changed up his response to following a feel into a hind quarter yield.

In the first clip, I’m demonstrating what he has been taught to do when a human walks towards his hind end. You can see he is trying to block me from going to his right side, and he’s pretty tight and edgy in every interaction. He then spins with his hind end to avoid more pressure. His movements are tight and every structure in his hind end is bound up and rushed as a result of his mental state. He is using his body to escape, rather than stay connected to me.

In the second clip, I’m breaking things down and changing up the routine. I’m asking him to think around the corner strong enough that his hind end steps over to align with his thought. There are moments where I have a few pounds of pressure, and others where I’m doing just enough to keep the bend. I can adjust my feel based on his level of try, focus, and softness. When he has moments of thinking with me it weighs nothing, and when he feels the need to be elsewhere he runs into some pressure.

The result is a much quieter horse inside and out. He is able to relax and fulfill his end of the conversation. I’m no longer something to get away from, but rather an engaging conversationalist that adjusts for his ongoing needs to understand the question.

The most important concept to take away from this demonstration, is that I’m working to build a connection by using pressure that guides a thought. When you constantly tell a horse what to do with an agenda, it builds a wedge in the relationship and diminishes the quality of physical softness and engagement.

Ellen Kealey Horsemanship

05/30/2026

05/13/2026

05/07/2026

05/06/2026

05/05/2026

03/23/2026

03/17/2026

03/13/2026

12/03/2025

11/10/2025

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