Howling Wind Farms

01/05/2025

Are you able to hang your day at the door. This is said often in work places- but when is teaching or talking about how to do this done?

The reason horses are personal weakness mirrors is just this… they are sensitive enough to pick up on our literal energy. The better horse person you are, which means, the better self-emotional regulation you have, the better the reflection becomes.

Being mindful of YOUR current state of being is key.

Send a message to learn more

01/04/2025

Is Counter Shoulder-In the same as Shoulder-In?

Depends.
It can feel very different to the horse.

In theory, yes.
In application, we start feeling a huge difference.

SI is entered as a shoulder mobilization, and the outside hind can be supported by the wall if we’re doing it on the wall.

CSI is most often entered as a HQ mobilization, so can feel easier to the horse than SI.

And because they can’t fall into abduction on the inside shoulder if we are using the wall, it feels much less confrontive. We can kind of sneak it in with some counter-bend.

The outside hind can disengage a bit.
This makes it much less gymnasticizing, but again, more beginner-friendly.

It can get a little sloppy, so it needs countered by swinging into renvers to capture the outside hind, or transitioning to travers to capture the outside fore.

Every lateral maneuver MUST be countered by the opposite mobilization as well as the opposite flexion, or it WILL become a new evasion and dysfunction.

Inspired by a comment. Keep them coming! 🙏😊

01/04/2025

01/04/2025

🥰

Bodywork restores the horse to factory settings;

But that in isolation doesn't stick.

You can bodywork your horse over and over and over again, but unless the stimulus changes, their posture will revert.

Because muscles adapt to stimulus, irrespective of whether that stimulus is appropriate or not.

And that means that we can use the tensional patterns detected with bodywork to help us to work out whether our training has been doing what we intended it to do.

Sometimes this that highlights that, though we might be aiming for a specific training goal, maybe we are missing the mark.

Which in turn helps us to navigate our own training biases.

So for me, understanding posture opens up the possibilities;

For the horse who "has always been like that" to become the horse who could look a little more "like this".

And whilst I know that posture isn't everything - it's just a handful of flowers in the bouquet - I also believe that if people paid more attention to it, they'd see little arrows to point them in the direction of making better choices for their horse.

-

Interested in learning more?

The Fundamentals of Horse Posture is the course for you - available now - details below ❤️✨️

12/31/2024

This is so important! And why healing is often a process of ups and downs. It’s never just one thing but rather a series of ‘something’s’ that developed symptoms that cause dysfunction.

12/30/2024

💗

When working with a horse that tends to brace, remember that brace is often a protective mechanism. Your horse may be bracing to guard against real or anticipated pressure. Here are some tips to help your bracey horse:

Build trust and safety
Make it your first goal to have a happy horse who feels open to your suggestions. Be trustworthy - a relaxed, stretched topline is a vulnerable posture for your horse. Be aware of defensive behaviors and eliminate their source. A relaxed body and mind go hand in hand, so focus on creating both mental and physical comfort.

Use light, clear communication
Practice taking up contact in a way that doesn't cause your horse to brace. When you feel resistance, breathe towards your horse instead of adding tension. This allows your horse to find their own independent balance as you maintain yours. Remember, any pressure you feel through the reins is magnified in your horse's mouth.

Start with groundwork
Begin working with your horse in lightness on the ground. Establish the basics of connection, posture, and balance before introducing a rider

Choose equipment wisely
When introducing a bit, find the one your horse is most comfortable with. Let them practice carrying it without reins attached until they move the same as without it. Only start establishing rein connection on good days when brace is less likely.

Address the root cause
Any problem in the horse or human will show up in the reins. Heaviness in the reins can have many causes beyond just mouth sensitivity - lack of balance, stiffness, crookedness, uncomfortable equipment, or miscommunication about speed or direction. Identify and address these underlying issues.

Create positive associations
Motivate and inspire your horse by being a brilliant communicator and rewarding them well. Make sure they're happy to see you when you show up. This positive relationship will help your horse feel more open and less defensive.

Allow freedom within boundaries
Show your horse they can find total freedom within their body, so they don't feel the need to escape. Create "open doors" in their body through exercises that eliminate brace, opposition, and stiffness.

Be patient and consistent
Re-establishing trust takes time, especially if your horse has learned to brace as a protective mechanism. Stay consistent in your approach and celebrate small improvements along the way.

Remember, your goal is to have your horse willingly participate with a body free of brace. Listen to your horse - they'll tell you when they feel balanced and trusting. A relaxed, happy horse who feels good in their body is the foundation for healthy movement and a strong partnership.

12/17/2024

**WORKING STUDENT position open!***

🐴 🌲 🐴 🌲 🐴

I’m starting here…
Looking for a working student to work M/W/F/Sat, 7am- 12 pm. Some flexibility on days and hours.

Working student option is great if you are looking to further your horse management skills and possibly riding, for the right candidate, and not worry about training fees or having a horse to work with. You’ll be able to learn about many facets of the horse world with an amazing little community of like minded individuals. We have a hodgepodge of dressage, trail, jumping, leisure. Interests in eventing, working equitation and furthering our education enthusiasts. Many horses are in for beginning their education, furthering their education or Sport therapy to get back to their prime in competition.

We are floating on 10-12 horses currently. Are expecting 2 foals this spring. We have a range of horses from training, sport therapy, broodmares and retireees. Most horses live out with shelters. Stalls occasionally depending on weather, or medical needs.

Duties to start are:
• Mucking and tidying mud free paddocks, shelters, stalls and barn as needed
•filling haynets and hanging
• feeding mash/grain

Eventually:
• Handling horses for Turn-out rotation, grooming (we have sensitive and challenging horses at times, so training or experience is needed)
• Making mash/grain
• Keeping grain/hay room tidy and UTD
• Small projects throughout the year

Education
• WS group lessons Tuesday 4:30, Thursday 4:30-6:30
• Shadow and work with me directly while working with horses
• Stable Management
•Horse Management
• Equine bodywork
• Groundwork
• Starting horses
• Gentling mustangs
•and More!

We are at 1500ft elevation, so weather is a bit more dramatic than in town. This seems to shock people, so I want that to be upfront 🙃

Winter is hard work. But if you can make it, spring, summer and fall are gorgeous!

•Hours are flexible

•A/M and P/M shifts available

•Part-Time/Full Time

*********************

Our Candidate would be:
•Thorough at communication
-there are often many moving parts and unexpected happenings, so this keeps the boat sailing smooth

• Reliable, punctual and has a reliable mode of transportation (all-wheel or 4 wheel is best)

• Self motivating and a self starter, problem solver, able to work as a team or individually

•Good under pressure

• Can lift 75 lb

• Has horse knowledge or is eager to learn. (Training provided)

************

Let me know if anyone has any leads or recommendations!

Cheers! 🥂

12/13/2024

This.

12/08/2024

YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!

Some pondering on teaching riders, and the difference between a lesson program and a riding school -

I think one of the biggest issues with current riding instruction is we teach people how to control the horse before we teach them to FEEL and RIDE the horse. These are very different skill sets leading to very different outcomes.

Generally, a beginner horse is one who is safe enough to be ridden by a beginner. And often, they are stiff, likely halfway lame, and dull. So if you put these two together- a newbie rider, and a stiff and tolerant horse, people learn to over aid, squeeze, pull, and “make” horses do things. It’s pretty hard to learn subtle feelings and find the horses body underneath you when you have to kick to make them go and pull to make them turn.

Add to that normalizing the feeling of stiffness and half-lameness to riders, and they will really struggle to learn what a horse SHOULD feel like.

In clinics, I am often faced with the dilemma of teaching a rider and horse pair who have 99 problems but a seat ain’t one : I have to decide the most urgent problem- out of control horse brought to safety, or teaching a seat. If we had real riding SCHOOLS, riders could be taught a seat BEFORE learning how to control the out of control horse, and later, the seat would be one of those tools to help guide the horse with much more ease and significantly much less pulling, kicking, and bending horses heads up their butts to stop out of control forward motion.

What would a riding school look like?

It would have straight, supple well-trained horses for students of all levels to ride on

It would prioritize FEEL and the seat, giving students lessons in finding their seat until they could manage solo - then teach them AIDS.

It would not cater to the students wants or desires but instead stick to an understood progression of developing skill.

This reduces wear and tear on lesson horses dramatically, with no pulling and kicking on tolerant saints of lesson horses, while an instructor guides the horse to move well on the lunge for the student to memorize this feel. Of course, instructors would be riding them to maintain their fitness and responsiveness to aids, but these horses would not be repeatedly degraded for the sake of teaching beginners.

What’s the downside ? Who has a string of supple, straight horses for students to ride?
And who can afford to open this school?
And who has a list of clients begging to learn the hard way and get no immediate gratification who will stick to learning long enough to produce skill?

This may be an imaginary pipe dream anymore

11/20/2024

This is something that comes up often! In our modern world, being connected to another is not something that is a priority, and our horses only highlight our need to improve upon it.

Folks often complain about their horse’s attention wandering, or the horse disconnecting from the rider.
More often than not, the rider’s attention left first, or wasn’t steady in the first place. People often don’t notice their own attention has wandered until it manifests in the display of unwanted behavior from their horse.

For a horse to be connected to a rider, a rider must have the capacity to connect to the horse and to provide steady, quiet guidance, step for step.