Rancho del Comienzo

05/08/2026

I see hundreds of young horses every year in this country, and the U.S. is breeding exceptional horses. Full stop, Victoria Lustig writes.

As a handler for the Young Horse Show Series, I travel around the country handling yearlings through 5-year-olds at liberty and through a jump chute, and watch many of them compete under saddle. Beyond that, I start, develop, and show dozens of young horses every year for clients out of my own base in Lexington, Kentucky. Young horses make up the majority of my business, and it gives me a unique glimpse into what breeders are producing year after year. The quality of horses that are being bred in this country is quite high.

At every show I attend, I see young horses I would stake my professional reputation on as being true prospects for the highest levels of sport, whether as hunters, jumpers, dressage horses, or eventers. The U.S. horse industry talks about wanting to improve the quality horses in this country, but it’s time to change that conversation. The problem is not the horses we are producing; the quality is here. The problem comes when it’s time to shape that potential into real talent. The U.S. lacks the infrastructure to develop young horses.

Venues

Let’s start with the venues. That includes shows, but we need so much more than that. Not all horses bred in the U.S. are going to be show horses. In fact, most horses will never step foot in a rated show ring, but those horses still need off-property experience. The U.S. needs more venues that allow people to affordably jump a course, ride in a large group, practice an obstacle course, and gain those life experiences that don’t happen at home.

If we focus on horses destined for the show ring, there are even more problems there. For those who have never forked-over an entire paycheck to go to a rated show, you should know showing is expensive. No matter what discipline, no matter how old your horse is, showing can cost an arm-and-a-leg. With the recent increases by USEF to the already significant cost, I think everyone would agree that the current system is unsustainable.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/04/30/from-the-ground-up-developing-the-next-generation-of-u-s-bred-horses/
📸 © Sarah Schaaf Photography

05/08/2026

Tag teaming the field work tonight 🚜🚜

05/05/2026

Another one to add to your required reading list if you work with horses - riders, trainers, farriers, vets, etc. The list of authors is what first caught my eye, and it didn’t disappoint. Potent example stories are matched with descriptions of what is going on in the horse’s brain — in a way that is likely to stick in your brain!

04/29/2026

It’s always a little humbling how simply Ray Hunt could say something that, even once we hear it, takes the rest of us years to *actually* hear.

“First you go with them, then they go with you, then you go together.”

Especially with young horses… it’s very tempting to skip that first step.

To jump straight into directing, correcting, and organizing everything we can.

But if you never really go with them, you don’t create a thinking horse.

You create one that waits… one that relies on you to fill in every blank.

I’m pretty committed to a process that respects that progression.

Let them think first, for themselves.

And then, over time, the partnership grows into something that just fits and one day you wake up and they feel like your favorite pair of shoes.

📸 photo of ladybug back in her go with them stage 💞

🐴

04/22/2026

04/09/2026

What’s one sentence/principle/technique that is essential to your work with horses across the board? Share your thoughts here!

04/09/2026

The Moment After the Movement…. We are just coming out of a small renver circle (ridden one handed). He is still really uphill. This is lovely.
A moment later he throws his whole neck down to escape the rigors of the exercise! 🫣
Is that a fail???
No, but it could be.
I asked him to stay up here and stretch his neck forward and maintain that for a few moments before releasing, and he stayed on my aids  during that time. I knew the work was hard and knew he was itching to collapse out of it, so when I did release the rest of the way I threw away the contact and my intention 100%.

We do the same thing when we do a hard exercise!!! if you see people lifting weights, you’ll see them have a strict intensity during the set, and once they are done with the set, they collapse into relaxation like a woman taking her bra off at the end of the day!!!
You gotta let your horse take the bra off!!!

BUT, a weight lifter can really get into trouble if they drop that intensity and lose form before they get their weights racked or fully dropped.

If every time you accomplish something in the canter, you immediately collapse out of it, you’re going to have some poopy 💩 downward transitions!!! now, if your horse gives you his first ever flying lead change, then absolutely do an instant quit and start petting and don’t worry about the dang transition! That’s a special moment! But it’s kind of like cake- we have to reserve it for special occasions because if we eat it for every meal, if it is our automatic go to, that’s clearly not a healthy choice! And those habits are hard to break later!!!

So make it your norm, that before you take a break, you do a nice transition to a great quality walk, balanced over all four legs, neck reaching forward… EVERY TIME.
(every time unless you get a first flying lead change or piaffe steps, or something else that’s absolutely celebratory!!!) 
Maintain this high-quality walk different lengths of time so that your horse doesn’t start throwing himself to the ground after his required three or five strides. 😂🫣 if something was pretty difficult and your horse is itching for a break, give it to him quickly. If all you did was a little basic trot work, then not only do you want to follow up with a quality walk for longer, but maybe do something in that walk…. Do a couple 10 m half circles, or leg yield a couple steps…. Then ask for a few more quality walk steps before taking a real break.

AND, if you’ve been working so hard, that your Horse’s postural muscles are exhausted, and his walk is kinda 🤢🥴 cringe, JUST STAND AROUND!!! Dressage people (🙋‍♀️🫣) forget that we can just stand still to take a break. Back to the weight lifters…. You don’t see them power walking on the treadmill between sets.

03/30/2026

Lenny - what a guy! First outing to the forest preserve, and he was a star. This gelding could be a winner in the show ring one weekend, and your trail master or fox hunter the next - could he be the horse for you??

03/25/2026

Two new shelters installed for our happy herd!

03/22/2026

The more you know!