Author Archives: Jillian

Leonard is my 3 year old APHA gelding. I’ve owned him since he was a yearling and done all his training. He’s always picked up on things quickly and finds out what I want right away. We’ve always communicated well. He was the best at free lunging in the arena. Always stayed the same direction,Continue reading “It’s all in stride!”

Sorry I have been away from posting I’ve been busy working then on my days off I’m catching up with work around the ranch. Dad ordered gravel last week and I moved 5 yards by hand to to horse’s winter shelter for mud control. I set up there shelter and it was an all dayContinue reading “Hi there!”

Everything finally unfolds as it should if you do your groundwork. The same thing goes for teaching the horse to travel with a natural, low head set. This head carriage helps them develop the muscles needed in order to perform this frame under saddle as well. Promotes strong back, strong legs and comfort to theContinue reading “All good things come to those who wait”

It’s getting colder at night, but still warm during the day. This is perfect for one last bath before winter when baths become scarce for most due to lack of access to warm water. Medicated shampoo baths I highly recommend. Horses right now are dealing with bot flies which lay their eggs then bite theContinue reading “Fall is here! Get your horse ready for the winter!”

They learned to carry themselves naturally before ever being ridden. I teach all my horse’s this way and it helps them collect under saddle also because it’s comfortable for them to move correctly instead of fighting them because their muscles aren’t developed yet. This helps them develop strong backs and topline as well as coordination.

With winter around the corner we tend to slow down how much we ride in general so our horses can get fuzzy coats and enjoy the soggy days off. When to blanket depends on what you refer really. Do you want a sleek horse year round? Blanket and double blanket and put them in aContinue reading “Winter is around the corner. When to start blanketing?”

With all the wild fires in Oregon right now many are reaching out to me for advice on how to better care for their horse during these times. Some of the questions are “do I use a nebulizer or not?”, “how long can I work my horse in the smoke?”, “do they need to beContinue reading “Keeping your horse comfortable in smokey conditions.”

Recently I’ve had a change of heart in a certain discipline. I loved reining but after researching the horses body and how it is perfect for being exactly how it was intended as a grazing animal. They are meant to graze all day and constantly moving never staying in one spot. They function like aContinue reading “English, western, reining, jumping, trail riding etc.”

Yesterday I was at the feed store picking up my grain and I over heard a lady asking for advice about grain and the sales associate recommended senior. I stopped to hear her reasoning why an 8 year old should be on senior she had good points it’s a good grain I’ve fed it forContinue reading “Why feed a different grain in the summer v.s the winter?”

As humans we think completely opposite of how the horse thinks. This is based on the difference between predator and prey problem solving. They are a “run now look later” mentality that’s been proven to keep them safe for thousands of years. without that “spooky” mentality their species wouldn’t exist today. As humans, we haveContinue reading “The horse’s point of view on desensitization”