W Spur Horsemanship

W Spur Horsemanship More than than horsemanship.

04/11/2026

Let’s talk about lunging and round pen work.

If you have to be overly dramatic to get your horse to change direction, slow down, or stop… something’s missing. You shouldn’t have to run, chase, flap, and carry on like you’re trying to haze cattle just to get a response. If that’s what it takes, your horse isn’t actually with you—they’re just avoiding pressure.

What you do on the ground directly transfers to what happens in the saddle. If your horse isn’t in tune with you while you’re standing on the ground, they’re not magically going to be more connected when you’re on their back. In fact, it usually shows up worse.

When I’m working a horse in the round pen or on a line, I want them paying attention to the smallest change in my body. A shift in my position, a change in my energy, a suggestion—not a full-blown production. The goal isn’t to see how much pressure it takes to make them move… it’s to see how little it takes to get a willing response.

If you’re having to run them down, cut them off, or chase them into a stop or a turn, all you’re really teaching is: “Don’t get caught.” And that mindset is the last thing you want to take with you into the saddle.

Instead, focus on building a horse that’s thinking, watching, and searching for you. One that wants to stay connected rather than escape pressure. Because later on, when you pick up a rein or shift your weight, that same conversation should carry over—quiet, intentional, and understood.

For a little perspective—Remuda is just over a month out of holding and has only been round penned a handful of times. What you’re seeing in this video isn’t from running her in circles until she’s tired… it’s from being consistent, intentional, and making sure she understands the conversation.

The round pen isn’t for wearing a horse out… it’s for dialing them in.

And if you look like you’re getting your cardio in more than your horse is learning something… it might be time to rethink the approach.

Happy Easter From W Spur Horsemanship. He is risen!
04/05/2026

Happy Easter From W Spur Horsemanship. He is risen!

04/05/2026

Most common thing I see posted in regards to mustangs is “How do I get my mustang better for the farrier?” And that their first farrier visit comes about and their Mustang wasn’t ready and the farrier couldn’t trim their feet. Two things people forget about when it comes to trimming is

1) there is a lot more to a trim than just picking up their feet and picking the out. There’s a lot of different movements, positions, sounds and sensations that they need to be prepared for outside just picking a good out.

2) that someone else needs to be able to work with their feet other than you and they need to learn to trust people in general and not just you as a person.

04/03/2026

The “Noodle Neck” Problem

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to c**ts is a horse that’s been turned into a noodle neck from over-flexing.

Somewhere along the way, people started chasing “softness” by constantly bending a horse’s head back and forth. But here’s the problem—when you over-flex a c**t, you disconnect the neck from the shoulders. And that creates a dangerous situation.

Softness in the face and neck without control of the shoulders isn’t softness—it’s a lack of control.

If you go to stop that horse and you don’t have the shoulders, you end up with a horse running blind—head tipped one direction, body going another—and you’ve lost the ability to guide or influence where those feet are going. That’s where things get western in all the wrong ways.

Some of the scariest situations I’ve ever been in on green horses have come from exactly that—noodle-necked horses with zero shoulder control.

That’s why when I start c**ts, you won’t see me constantly flexing their heads back and forth. Outside of the first ride—where I’ll show them I’m there on both sides—I leave it alone.

From that point on, I don’t pick up on their face without having the body involved. If I’m asking for a bend, I want movement. I want the shoulders to come with it, or the hind end to disengage. I want the whole horse connected.

Because at the end of the day, I’m not trying to create a horse that can bend—I’m creating one I can direct.

And a connected horse is a safe horse.

03/31/2026

The way she stops in her tracks MID STRIDE has me all 😍🤩😍🤩 off a feel to???

03/30/2026

Remuda update! We’re officially one month out of holding with her and she is doing absolutely amazing! She’s come a long ways and has so much try and is so willing.

“What the horse learns first, learns best.” – Ray HuntAnd yet people rush through the most important part of a horse’s t...
03/24/2026

“What the horse learns first, learns best.” – Ray Hunt

And yet people rush through the most important part of a horse’s training like it doesn’t matter.

Let that sink in.

Because what a horse learns first doesn’t just stick… it becomes the foundation everything else is built on.

If you build that foundation on brace, confusion, and survival…
don’t be surprised when that’s what shows up later.

You don’t get to skip steps in the beginning and expect refinement down the road.

Because after the foundation is set, the next step is refinement.
And you cannot refine what was never correctly installed in the first place.

You end up going backwards.
Re-teaching.
Undoing.

And it takes twice as long to fix what should have been done right the first time.

You can’t refine a brace into softness.
You can’t create feel in a horse that was taught to ignore pressure.
You can’t expect a willing partner when the foundation was built on getting through it instead of understanding it.

But this is where people get it wrong…

They think training is about miles.
About wet saddle pads.
About “just ride them through it.”

So they send their horses off somewhere that will get on, get it done, and call it good.

But no amount of miles will make a good horse if the foundation is wrong.

All you’re doing is repeating the problem… better.

A correct foundation isn’t flashy.
It’s not rushed.
And it sure isn’t built on riding the buck out of one.

It’s built in the small things—
how a horse responds to pressure,
how they search for the release,
how they stay soft instead of braced,
how they think instead of react.

That’s what carries you later.

So if you’re starting one… slow down and get it right.
And if you’re sending one out… make sure you’re sending them to someone who understands how to build a foundation, not just finish a ride.

Because what they learn first…
they’ll carry into everything that follows.

And you’ll either be refining it… or fixing it.

03/14/2026

There’s a big difference between training a horse and simply desensitizing one.

A lot of people believe the goal is to make a horse stop reacting. They’ll wave flags, shake bags, or pressure a horse until it finally stands there and “takes it.”

But a horse that has stopped reacting isn’t always a horse that has learned.
Sometimes it’s just a horse that has shut down.

Good training doesn’t dull a horse to the world. It harnesses their sensitivity and redirects their reaction into a thoughtful response.

When a horse spooks, gets tight, or reacts, that energy isn’t something to punish or eliminate. It’s something to shape. Through clear communication, timing, and pressure and release, those braced and panicked reactions can become soft, willing responses.

I don’t want a horse that gives up.
I want a horse that tries.

The goal isn’t a dull horse that tolerates everything. The goal is a horse that thinks, responds, and trusts the guidance you give them.

That’s where true horsemanship lives.

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23468 Trail Fork Lane
Priest River, ID

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