Amanda Morrick Horsemanship

08/23/2026

08/22/2026

Had a blast test riding for a client a few weeks ago 🤩

07/07/2026

Educating Apollo to the bridle. It’s so beneficial to teach lateral flexion from the ground when preparing to ride a horse for the first time. I want a horse to be soft and unbraced in the neck when I ride and that begins with lateral flexions at the poll.

Now that Apollo is 3 1/2, I am taking my time to teach lateral flexion with the snaffle bit. Instilling lightness at this stage will help him be soft in the bridle when we begin our riding journey together. He’s really starting to understand some basics lateral movement in hand in the bridle as well. A smart, willing, and gentle boy!

He also had a dental float and wolf teeth removed last week. He handled sedation beautifully and was a very good boy for the noisy electric teeth floating and dental x ray. Thanks to Country View Equine for being amazing and taking such excellent care of my horses.

06/09/2026

Think of your horse like a train, and your aids are the tracks. 🚂

Do you sometimes (or often) feel like your horse is "drifting" off the line or falling through their shoulder in a turn? When that happens, we tend to react by pulling or pushing, trying to "steer" the horse back into position. But the more we pull, the more the horse braces, and the more they drift.

Instead, try to visualize your horse like a train circling the base of a Christmas tree.

A train doesn't "steer" itself... it stays on the track because the rails provide consistent, clear guidance.

You are those the rails. Well, your aids are, anyway.

Here's a way to use your aids to keep the train on the track:

The Inside Aids (Suppleness and Energy): Think of this as your signal to the engine. It maintains the bend and keeps the horse’s focus soft and supple toward the inside. It’s the "invitation" to the turn, keeping the horse’s mind and body pliable.

The Outside Aids (Balance and Support): This is your exterior rail. It isn't there to "hold" the horse, but it’s there to catch them if they start to drift. It ensures the horse stays balanced, preventing the shoulder from popping out and keeping the train centered on its path.

When the inside aids keeps them supple and the outside aids maintain the balance, you don’t have to "steer" at all. You simply flow along the line you’ve chosen.

When you ride a circle or a corner with this mindset, you aren't fighting to keep the horse on the line. You are simply managing the rails. If the horse drifts, don't kick or pull. Just check your rails. Are your outside rein and leg acting as a supportive guide? Are your seat and inside leg inviting the bend and energy?

Next time you are in the arena, imagine your horse is that train. Give yourself a "track" to follow. Be precise about exactly where your line goes. Focus on your aids as the boundaries of that track, not as tools to force the turn.

Does visualizing your aids as "rails" change how your horse feels through the corners this week? Let me know in the comments!

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🐴 Our focus this month in the 𝘼𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 is "Arena Navigation and Geometry." Be sure to look back over our recent posts and stay tuned for more on this subject all month long.

06/08/2026

Got plans this weekend? There are still a few spots available for the clinic at Wegmueller Farm in Monroe this Saturday, June 13!

Clinic starts at 9 with a brief lecture followed by groundwork, lunch, and then private lessons in the afternoon where you can choose more groundwork, riding, or massage for your horse. Riders will focus on dressage principles and groundwork can focus on anything you need help with!

This is sure to be a great time 😊 Wegmueller farm has horses, cows, pigs, and chickens so whether you choose to work on something technical, therapeutic, or just expose your horse to a new environment, we will meet you where you are at!

Reach out via messenger or email [email protected] with questions and the deets for registration

06/02/2026

Especially in horsemanship! ❤️

“Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.”
― Plato

05/27/2026

3 year old Westfalian, Apollo’s first field trip to the playground at The Horse First Farm

05/25/2026

Maybe horses were never meant to teach us how to exert dominance.

Maybe they came to teach us relationship.

The longer I spend around horses, the more I wonder if we misunderstood the lesson.

For generations, people have looked to horses as teachers of leadership, authority, and control.

We admired the person who could make a thousand-pound animal obey.

We built entire philosophies around gaining respect, establishing hierarchy, and becoming the one in charge.

And perhaps some of that was understandable. Horses are large, powerful animals. Learning to live safely alongside them matters.

But what if safety was never the deepest lesson they had to offer?

What if the real gift of horses has always been something far more challenging?

Relationship.

Not the kind of relationship where one being gets to decide and the other is expected to comply.

The kind where two individuals learn to listen.

The kind where trust cannot be demanded.

The kind where connection is built, not taken.

Because horses have a way of exposing things in us that humans often miss.

They notice our tension before we speak.
They notice our impatience before we act.
They notice when our words and our energy tell different stories.

And unlike people, they are rarely impressed by our titles, achievements, credentials, or explanations.

They respond to what we are.

That is a difficult teacher.

A horse does not care how much power you have.
A horse cares whether you feel safe.
Whether you are predictable.
Whether being near you brings comfort or stress.

In that way, horses may be among the greatest relationship teachers on earth.

Because relationship asks more of us than dominance ever will.

Dominance asks:
“How do I get my way?”

Relationship asks:
“How do we find a way together?”

Dominance seeks compliance.

Relationship seeks understanding.

Dominance is concerned with control.

Relationship is concerned with connection.

And perhaps that is why so many people find themselves changing after years with horses.

Not because they learned how to command better.

But because they learned how to listen better.

How to soften.
How to become curious.
How to slow down enough to hear what another being is trying to communicate.

I sometimes think the most profound horses are not the ones that carry us where we want to go.

They are the ones that stop us long enough to question where we are going in the first place.

Maybe that is why horses continue to captivate us after thousands of years.

Not because they make us feel powerful.

But because they invite us into a different way of being.

A way rooted not in force, but in partnership.

Not in winning, but in understanding.

Not in dominance, but in relationship.

And perhaps that was the lesson all along.

05/20/2026

Where’s your path leading you today?

As life presents its twists and turns we navigate and adjust the best we can. Nothing is guaranteed and everyday is a gift. The path I return to time and time again is the one to the barn. Where the horses inspire me to be fully present, slow down, and be even more intentional. ❤️

A true sanctuary 🙏