2022 has arrived, and I have LOTS to share with you guys! So much so that I had to split this episode into two parts. In this episode, you will hear information about.... The TWE Academy, hear about some of my plans for 2022, and hear updates on each of the horses. Finn (Where did his mane and tail go?) Raven's (under-saddle and EPM) Cashmere (Is she here to stay?) River (Under-saddle and ??? Some big news here) Candy & Cash (Aging, weight, and pain management) June (You'll be seeing her aro...
Mar 01, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 54
2022 has arrived, and I have LOTS to share with you guys! So much so that I had to split this episode into two parts. In this episode, you will hear information about.... The TWE Academy, hear about some of my plans for 2022, and hear updates on each of the horses. Finn (Where did his mane and tail go?) Raven's (under-saddle and EPM) Cashmere (Is she here to stay?) River (Under-saddle and ??? Some big news here) Candy & Cash (Aging, weight, and pain management) June (You'll be seeing her aro...
Feb 16, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Are you interested in turning your horse out more but worried for their safety? Do they run the fences, call, stress, and in general act in a panicked way when turned out? Maybe they even act like they would prefer to be in their stalls and don't like the pasture! This episode is JUST for you. I explain my process to helping introduce horses to more turnout or to full time pasture life in a safe and low stress way. Low stress for them, and for you! I also share some of my personal stories of whe...
Dec 20, 2021•36 min•Season 3Ep. 52
In this episode we talk to the amazing Denise Fenzi! All about the similarities in dog training and horse training, bridging the gap between training methodologies, bringing positive reinforcement into our interactions with human learners, keeping in mind all the parties involved (owner/caregiver, trainer, animal learner, and society), and so much more! "Denise Fenzi (she/her) has titled dogs in obedience, tracking, schutzhund, mondioring, herding, conformation, and agility. She has two AKC obed...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Have you ever wondered how to safely introduce new horses to each other? Or integrate a new horse to an established herd? In this episode I share with you my process and thoughts on the matter! I've successfully introduced many horses to herds and to companions with minimal to no bickering, injuries, or scary moments. The goal is peaceful introductions with safety in mind! Even the most intense resource guarders and poorly socialized horses CAN learn to safely interact with companions, and SHOUL...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 50
"You don’t want to ignore the horse. Everything we do with this type of bodywork, we are paying attention to what the horse is saying. And so, you have to adjust what you are doing to what the horse is saying so that they’re as relaxed as possible - because it doesn’t work if they’re not relaxed." -🗣 Jim Masterson, Ep. 49, Listening to Your Horse with Jim Masterson @mastersonmethod In our 49th episode on the podcast Jim Masterson joins me to discuss his experiences working on horses using the h...
Sep 30, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 49
This is a two part series! For our 48th episode on the podcast Brie Simpson of PATH Equestrian joins me to discuss "pure" positive reinforcement, LIMA (and the humane hierarchy) for human learners, damage control vs structured training, setting you and your horse up for success, transitioning from traditional training to positive reinforcement, and so much more! We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear if you have any questions for Brie and I on this subject. This is a topic that is...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 48
For our 47th episode on the podcast Brie Simpson of PATH Equestrian joins me to discuss "pure" positive reinforcement, LIMA (and the humane hierarchy) for human learners, damage control vs structured training, setting you and your horse up for success, transitioning from traditional training to positive reinforcement, and so much more! We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear if you have any questions for Brie and I on this subject. This is a topic that is near and dear to both of u...
Jun 21, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 47
We cover two topics, of similar nature, in this episode! To begin with... all the things you can do with young horses BEFORE you ever get on to ride! This can really help take away the pressure to get to those first rides, and put you WELL ahead of the game when it is the right time! Second, we discuss preparing for shows from home. Especially during this recent season in pretty much everyone's life with the pandemic. A lot of us haven't been traveling with our horses much and the shows have bee...
May 18, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 46
In this episode I share with you my experience in how horses that are trained with clicker training, focused on positive reinforcement, respond to negative reinforcement (or pressure & release) training. I also provide suggestions for boarding and other situations where you horse may be handled periodically by people trained traditionally, how to help horses understand traditional handling, and give examples of situations I've been in where I had to switch over to negative reinforcement. ✦ w...
Apr 27, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 45
In this episode Steph K of @stephkequestrian shares with us her recipe for success in combining a thriving rescue/rehab program with a successful lesson program! We also discuss.. ✦ “Career training” for horses ✦ Personality/temperament changes in horses ✦ Rehoming rescue/R+ horses ✦ Instructor personality types and matching with the right students ✦ Personality/temperament matching of horses and humans ✦ And sooooo much more! If you want to learn more about Steph's program, check out her websit...
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 44
This episode began with answering a listener's question about bonding with their horse, took a deep dive into "toxic relationships" in the middle somewhere, and ended with 5 (or was it 6?) steps towards improving your relationship with your horse. We also look at operationalizing "willingness", choice, trust, and more. Plus, there's a whole tangent nestled in there about how first impressions are often not accurate! (Just because the horse looks like they have a choice doesn't mean they actually...
Mar 10, 2021•53 min•Season 3Ep. 43
I'm excited to share this wonderful conversation with Ryan Cartlidge of Animal Training Academy with you guys! In this episode we discuss... ✦ What throwing spaghetti at the wall has to do with brave and resilient learning ✦ How our feedback towards other may directly impact their motivation to go out and train ✦ Flow charts and being a confident trainer ✦ Generalizing and trigger stacking ✦ And how we are not so very different from our horses! → Here is a little more information about Ryan "Rya...
Feb 19, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 42
As promised, here is the episode talking about Pumpkin! This episode is all about my beautiful mare Pumpkin, what she has taught me, how she has challenged me, how she's transformed over the years, and so much more! We talk about: "Slow", "resistant", and "lazy" horses. The different ways fear can manifest in behavior. How to recognize learned helplessness/shut down/going internal behavior. What can cause frustration and rage responses in us as trainers. How I responded then vs now to Pumpkin. P...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 41
WELCOME BACK listeners! Looking forward to season three and a fresh new year! As we go into 2021 I wanted to talk about starting off the new year in such a way that we can avoid burnout, "enjoy the ride", and not get so focused on checking off that to-do list that we forget about the joy that the process can bring! In this episode I take you through some of my thoughts on the subject, how this relates to horse training, business, personal growth, and so much more. I also share a little update ab...
Jan 15, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 40
I've gone back and forth on whether to do this episode or not... annnnnddddd here we are. Be warned, this is a very emotional episode. This episode is dedicated to my late mare Tiger (she's the podcast cover photo), and all that she taught me. I explain some more about how I lost her, her history, why TWE is even here, and expand on a recent instagram post I did about love that comes with conditions. ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Face...
Sep 23, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 39
It's not that common, horses not wanting to take food from a human, but it happens to varying degrees from time to time... So I think this is an important topic to address! What do you do when your horse doesn't want to take food from you, but you want to train with positive reinforcement? In this episode, we take a deeper look at the statement "my horse doesn't like food, or working for food" and problem solve why that might be! ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTu...
Aug 26, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Brought to you by popular request... An entire episode about riding with positive reinforcement and clicker training. In this episode I talk about what it looks like, why the stopping for food isn't a big deal, how you build up to more complex behaviors, I compare the process between R- and R+ training under saddle of teaching a young horse to carry a rider, there's a brief discussion about completing with positive reinforcement trained horses, and so much more! ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Insta...
Aug 13, 2020•54 min•Season 2Ep. 37
In this episode I take a broad topic or "idea" and apply it to many areas of horse training. We dive into what balance looks like, how we can achieve it, what areas it's important to prioritize it in, and so much more! ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Jul 31, 2020•44 min•Season 2Ep. 36
I can't tell you how many times I've heard, and continue to hear, about horses that can't be turned out with other horses because they are too aggressive or.. because the other horses are too aggressive towards them. It's unfortunate that the individual horses are often blamed for this, or that it's considered a problem that has no solution many times, when really there is a LOT we can do to provide our horses with the peaceful social lives they need ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/The...
Jul 09, 2020•51 min•Season 2Ep. 35
This longer episode all about having conversations with family, friends, and professionals within the equestrian community who have a different approach to keeping or training horses than you do. It's also about dealing with negativity, skepticism, and criticism from those who don't understand why you keep and train horses the way you do. At the end of the episode I invite my listeners to share with me their own stories! I only mentioned sharing stories where you've made a positive influence on ...
Jun 13, 2020•55 min•Season 2Ep. 34
In this episode I talk about what trust in a relationship looks like, what creates trust, and how punishment impacts that trust... And I also briefly touch on how we can use other approaches to train/resolve problem behaviors without the use of punishment to maintain the relationship. ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Jun 08, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 32
In this episode, three of my students join me to talk about what confidence looks like for horses and for ourselves.. and how do we "train" confidence? What does confidence even mean? Is a horse born confident or un-confident? What are the factors that go into helping us feel confident; confident riders, confident handlers, and confident trainers. And what are the factors that go into helping our horses feel confident. -- This episode was recorded from a video conversation, so you'll have to for...
May 28, 2020•38 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Are you a perfectionist at heart? Or feel like maybe you should be? Then this episode is for you! I dive deep into my struggle with perfectionism and how it has impacted my horsemanship journey, my everyday life, my business, and more. ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Apr 29, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 31
If we are being honest with ourselves, there is really only so many hours in the day. How do we choose which behaviors and things to manage and which to train? In this episode I share a little about my own process and why for many situations management is all you need! While in others .. I think you're doing a disfavor to your horse to only manage the situation. ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Apr 16, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 30
I've been asked quite a few times how I achieve working, having horses, and being a mother .. how I manage all that. In this episode I get a little raw and personal with you guys and share my strengths and weaknesses, the challenges I've faced, and some tips and tricks I've learned along the way. ✦ www.TheWillingequine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Apr 07, 2020•31 min•Season 2Ep. 29
"Effectiveness is not enough" is something I say a lot (quoting Dr. Susan Friedman), and I mean it. R+ (positive reinforcement) is a VERY powerful and effective way to teach our horses behaviors we would like them to do and know, but it's not inherently more ethical or "morally sound" way of training. I explain why in this episode and also share some of the ways I modify my training to focus on ethical training practices. ✦ www.TheWillingequine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/T...
Mar 24, 2020•38 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Bex, of Positively Together, joins me all the way from New Zealand in this podcast episode where we answer a question we received from a student. "How to find the middle ground between seeing our horses as objects for our use (machines/sports equipment) and seeing them as over romanticized magical spiritual leaders?" ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com ✦ www.ClickerTraining.co.nz ✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦
Mar 11, 2020•30 min•Season 2Ep. 27
In this episode I'm adding on to my previous episode about changes we can make to improve our horsemanship, improve our horse's lives, and ways we can make a world of difference in our relationships with our horses. These are practical every day application ideas that can sometimes magically cure a lot of behavioral issues. I also discuss the idea of making changes as you can, it's not an all or nothing kind of situation, and how to be okay with knowing that we are doing the best we can with wha...
Feb 25, 2020•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 26
In this episode I've collected together some ideas of ways we can work to have a kinder and more ethically minded approach to interacting and keeping horses. A lot of this episode is focused on training practices (R+ or not), but there are some practical husbandry ideas too. At the end I ask you guys for some help in prepping for the second part of this topic! I'd love to do a follow up with ideas from you guys. ✦ www.TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingE...
Feb 12, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 25
