Miranda Allyn Horsemanship

06/05/2026

Y'all inspire me, so I'm going to run a Lesson Special.

Now until fair, lessons for 4-H kids are only $40. (Travel fees may apply.)

I've seen so many kids working so hard on their horse for fair, and I remember what this program meant to me, so I want to help give back in any way I can. Plus you guys are just fun to be around and work with!

06/04/2026

Last night I had such a fun time at the 4-H ride meet / clinic.

Every year the kids impressive me with how well they present themselves, especially at such a young age.

I had the opportunity to talk horsemanship, teach mindset, and teach horsemanship with a horse & rider.

There are no words for how cool it is to see the transformation with a horse & rider when they go from struggling with nerves, to cool, calm, & collected at the end.

I'm very proud of everyone from last night. Thanks again for having me out

06/02/2026

Resilience is a skill set.

Those people you see who are able to handle the pressure in the show ring, board room, operating room, or whatever environment it is where your goals are.

They are not born tougher. They have just been under more pressure for longer periods of time training than most everyone else.

You too can get there if you understand and embrace that hard things can be good. You're strengthing up your Resilience muscle.💪

05/27/2026

I frequently see posts where people ask what bit can help me (fill in the blank).

In this case it was a barrel racer asking what bit can help me pick up my horses shoulders.

While some horse do prefer different mouthpieces than others, some bits do give different signals than others, some bits do soften a horse while others stiffen a horse.

As a trainer though, my first thought isn't what bit to throw at the problem, but where is there a communication issue?

The reason a bit works differently is because it COMMUNICATES differently.

For this problem in particular lets look at the horses body.

Horses naturally carry 60%-70% of their weight on their front end. So that horse is liekly dropping his shoulder going into the barrel so they want a bit that can pick up the shoulder & move it over.

The problem upstream is likely the horse is still carrying 60-70% of his weight on the shoulders going into the turn and in order for the horse to turn the barrel as desired on his hind end, he needs to be in a collected state where 60-70% is instead on his butt.

Another common way barrel racers don't set their horse up for success is they don't give enough signal before the signal that charge, in this case the turn, is coming. So the horse doesn't have time to transfer that excess weight off of his shoulders.

If I had a client ask me this scenario, I'd first watch them ride and ask where can we clean up our communication? Is there anything we can slow down to give the horse time to process and get a clearer signal?

Second, is the horse properly collected? Meaning is he carrying weight on his hindquarters and driving forward with it. (Collection is not a low head set!) If not we'd focus heavily on exercises to soften the ribcage first.

Why? Because the ribcage is the bridge! That horse cannot get that weight off the shoulders and onto the hindquarters with a stiff bridge.

Then and only then would I look at bits (as long as there wasn't something blatantly obviously wrong with it from the get go.) But even so, the horse is always going to need constant repetition of foundational work and will likely greatly benefit from a revist of this type of slow work as he's introduced to the new feel of the new bit.

There is a reason there are a lot of good trainers who rarely stray from the same couple of bits in a barn full of horses. They know it all comes from clear signals and correct foundational exercises.

05/26/2026

I hope everyone had a safe & blessed memorial day. Thinking of all those who have served. There is never enough thank yous, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
❤️🤍💙

05/23/2026

I'm so excited for the opportunity to contribute as a guest clinician for such a great organization that helped me get my start.

As I prepare for this mini clinic, I’ve been reflecting on common struggles I saw both as a competitor and later as a high school equestrian coach. A lot of riders work hard but just need a little more clarity and understanding on how to put the pieces together.

I’ve also been thinking back through different techniques and lessons I’ve picked up over the years from various reined cow horse and reining trainers, clinics, and experiences along the way. I think I'll be bringing in an exercise inspired by the Advanced Horsemanship clinic with Phil Haugen this past year, along with some fresh inspiration from watching current riders who are crushing it lately in the western riding show pen.

Horsemanship is a constant learning process as there’s always something to refine, simplify, or understand better.

Preparing for this clinic is pushing me to reflect, study, and be more intentional about how I help riders and horses, and I’ve really been enjoying the process. I can't wait for June!

We have exciting news! We have clinicians for both of the June dates! These additional clinics are free for our Monroe County 4-H youth. The public fee is $30. This is extremely reasonable for 2 hours of clinic time, with time for Q and A after.
We are thankful to Miranda Allyn and Amy Wertenberger for their generosity!

*Please share*

05/22/2026

It's so easy to get frustrated when you feel so behind all the time.

Right now I know I'm behind my goal of releasing my next podcast episode every other week. But I've had sick kids, and been fighting a never ending bad sinus infection myself.

I even tried at one point to record, but with sore throats, plugged ears, & congested voice, I knew it would have turned out bad. I want my podcast to be fun & positive, so I decided to pause and acknowledge that its ok if life's a little messy sometimes.

Thankful today is the first day I've remotely had energy back. So I'll continue to focus on what I can control, and hopefully I'll have a new episode for you soon!

But tell me what you like so far?
Which is your favorite episode?

05/21/2026

Life on the farm comes with many ups and downs, and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world to get to raise my kids in a farm lifestyle.

Even on the hard days, we need to lean into them as learning and growing opportunities, especially when teaching the next generation.

Last night my daughter and I found a baby bird that must of fallen out of the nest. I knew it probably wouldn't have made it, but we still moved it somewhere safer where mom could still see it.

This morning not only did I find that the baby bird had passed, but also that one of the chickens we're farm sitting for also had passed unexpectedly.

It's hard enough when it's your own animals, but even harder when you have to break the news to someone else.

So I took the sadness and turned it into a positive by teaching my kids about respect for animals at all stages of life.

My son helped me bury the chicken and the baby bird together, so they could go to heaven together, in the garden where their bodies would one day provide life to the garden.

Then he picked 2 flowers and laid them on the grave.

Then on a positive note, I loved seeing the new companion horse thriving and their other horse who was once depressed and alone, now happily running with his new bestie through the lush, green pasture.

Where else can you live a life like this other than on a farm 💚

05/17/2026

In my happy place ❤️
It's amazing how much a sunshine, warm weather, and riding horses with a friend can heal your soul.

05/16/2026

Update: As of right now my phone started working again as I was on my way to phone store... 😒 fingers crossed it stays working.🤞

My phone is currently not working correctly (hoping at&t can resolve it sooner or later 🙄) so if you need to get ahold of me & I'm not responding, try messaging me on messenger as well as texting, and I'll likely get one of them the next time I'm connected to wifi.

Sorry for the inconvenience.