Flying Bee Farms

06/17/2026

Horses do not have the ability to fill out a feedback form or pull you aside after a lesson and tell you what you wrong. What they do have is a body that responds honestly and immediately to everything a rider brings into the saddle. Every tension pattern. Every inconsistency in the contact. Every unbalanced weight shift. Every moment of clarity and every moment of confusion. The horse feels all of it and responds to all of it (to varying degrees of course as a beginner lesson horse doesn't respond the same way an upper level dressage horse would) and if we would stop labeling those responses as bad behavior and start reading them as communication we would become significantly better instructors overnight. I am tired of seeing crap riding as a result of crap instruction then dismissed as a horse problem.

The horse is almost never the problem. The horse is the information and yet in this industry horses that are communicating discomfort, confusion, or resistance are routinely dismissed as brats, labeled as difficult, or written off as having a bad day when what they are actually doing is giving us the most honest feedback available about what is happening in the saddle.

In my own program I teach this from day one. Any time the horse does something we do not like, the first question is not what is wrong with the horse. The first question is what am I doing to cause this response. In my experience and I have taught a lot of riders over a lot of years, that 99% of the time the horse is reacting to something the rider is doing. The tension in the seat. The death grip on the reins. The leg that never stops squeezing. The hand that fixes instead of follows. The horse is not inventing problems, it is responding to them. The moment a student learns to ask what am I contributing to this instead of why is this horse being difficult, everything about how they ride and how they learn changes.

The horse that gets labeled a brat for reacting to a rider who is hauling on its mouth is not a brat. It is a horse that has run out of more subtle ways to say this is not working and has escalated to something the rider might actually notice. That escalation is not misbehavior, but it is communication. Our job as instructors is to hear it and to help our riders hear it too.

One important clarification before we go further - this post is not about horses that are reacting to a pain issue. A horse that is consistently head tossing, resistant, or behaving differently regardless of who is riding needs a veterinary evaluation for teeth, back, ulcers, ill fitting tack, and soundness issues all need to be ruled out before rider error is assumed. That conversation is separate and equally important.

What we are talking about here is the horse that behaves one way with certain riders and completely differently with others. That distinction matters enormously. A horse that tosses its head with three specific students and goes quietly for everyone else is not in pain. It is responding to something those three riders are doing. A horse that rushes and braces with nervous beginners but works calmly and forward for more experienced riders is not anxious by nature. It is reading the anxiety signal coming from above and responding to it. The horse is the same horse but the rider is the variable and that variable is where the teaching needs to happen.

When a horse tosses its head, specifically with certain riders and not others, that is not a training problem or an equipment problem. That is a rider problem. The horse is identifying exactly who is causing the discomfort and communicating it as clearly as it knows how. The correct response is to look at what those specific riders are doing with their hands and fix it.

The incorrect response, which I have seen so many times is for instructors and riders to use a stronger bit or slap on a gadget like side reins. To add a stronger bit or side reins or similar gadget is to suppress the response rather than address the cause. That is not training. That is silencing the horse's only means of communication and it is one of the most damaging things you can do to a school horse that is trying to do its job honestly.

A horse heavy on the forehand with one rider and light with others is carrying an unbalanced seat. A horse that rushes for a particular student and not other students is responding to tension somewhere - gripping legs, a braced seat, held breath. A horse that falls in consistently on one rein is following the rider's collapsed hip or dropped shoulder. A horse whose back tightens under a specific rider is blocking against a seat that is bracing rather than following. A horse that spooks more with nervous riders is reading the anxiety signal coming from above and responding to it as threat information.

None of these are horse problems. Every single one of them is the horse telling you precisely what is happening in the rider's body... more accurately and more honestly than most riders can report themselves.

The horse is the best teacher in the barn. Better than any book, any clinic, and any correction called from the rail. The horse responds in real time to the quality of the communication it receives. An instructor who learns to read those responses has access to a diagnostic tool that is available in every single lesson - for free, without any additional equipment, without any interpretation delay.
Stop blaming the horse. Start listening to it. It is telling you everything you need to know about what is happening in the saddle and everything your student needs to work on next.

Here is something that needs to be said because it is genuinely epidemic in this industry as well. Too many instructors and trainers tell riders only what they want to hear. They avoid the hard conversation. They sidestep the correction that might be uncomfortable. They prioritize keeping the client happy over. In doing this, they are doing a profound disservice to the horse that is in that arena every single day trying to do its job while nobody advocates for what it is experiencing.

I am exhausted by the number of times I have heard a trainer dismiss a horse that is clearly communicating discomfort with "Oh he is just being a brat today, maybe it's the *insert BS excuse here* ". No. That horse is not being a brat.. that horse is sick and tired of the rider hanging on the bit. That horse is not having an attitude problem. It is having a rider problem that the instructor is choosing not to address because addressing it means having a difficult conversation that might upset someone.

We are in the business of teaching people to ride. That means telling the truth about what is happening to the rider and to ourselves. The horse cannot advocate for itself beyond the responses it gives us. When we ignore those responses or explain them away to avoid an uncomfortable conversation we are failing the horse completely. The horse deserves better than that from every single person who walks into its barn.

Have you ever had a lesson horse identify a rider problem before you did?

06/17/2026

06/15/2026

If you have never taught a lesson with music playing in the background you are missing something genuinely useful. Music does things for rhythm, relaxation, and rider focus that verbal instruction alone cannot replicate.

Why does music work in the saddle?
Rhythm is one of the foundational elements of good riding and most riders struggle to feel it consistently because they have no external reference point to match it to. Music gives them that reference point. A rider who is posting to a beat that matches the trot tempo starts feeling the rhythm in their body and that shift from thinking to feeling is exactly where riding improves. Music also relaxes the nervous system in a way that is difficult to achieve through instruction alone. A tense rider listening to music breathes differently, sits differently, and follows the horse's movement differently than one riding in silence.

Choosing the right music matters.
This matters more than most instructors realize. The tempo of the music needs to match the gait you are working in - not loosely, but accurately. Build a playlist for each gait and test it before you use it. Music that is even slightly off tempo creates more confusion than silence. Genre matters too. Upbeat pop and country work well for trot work. Something slightly more flowing works for canter. Walk work can handle almost anything with a clear consistent beat. Avoid songs with dramatic tempo changes mid song as they will derail the exercise every time.

How to use music in lessons...

1. Rhythm matching at the posting trot. Put on a song with a clear beat that matches your horse's working trot tempo and ask your student to post to the music. No counting, no thinking, just match the beat. Most riders find their rhythm improves within a few minutes simply because the music makes the correct tempo impossible to ignore. Once they have found it, ask them to close their eyes briefly and feel whether they can maintain it without the music as a crutch.

2. Sitting trot to slow music. Choose something with a slower, more flowing tempo for sitting trot work. The music gives the rider a rhythm to move with rather than brace against and the relaxation response that comes from the right piece of music at the right moment can unlock a sitting trot that verbal instruction has been trying to reach for months.

3. Walk work to rhythm. At the walk, ask your student to let their hips follow the beat of the music. It makes the walk feel intentional and rhythmic rather than passive and shuffling and most riders immediately sit more actively and more correctly as a result.

4. Canter to music. Use music for canter work with more advanced riders who are working on maintaining a consistent tempo through corners and transitions. The music reveals immediately when the horse rushes or falls behind the rhythm and gives the rider something to ride back to when it does.

5. Freestyle patterns. For group lessons or more advanced students build a short freestyle pattern to a piece of music and let them choreograph their own movements to fit the rhythm. It develops musicality, spatial awareness, and the ability to plan and execute a sequence; all wrapped in something that feels creative and fun rather than a drilling exercise.

6. Mounted games to music. Run your standard mounted games with music playing. It lifts the energy in the arena, sets a pace for the game, and makes the whole session feel more alive. Musical poles is the obvious one but almost any game benefits from a well chosen soundtrack.

Start with one lesson, pick one playlist for trot work, put it on and watch what happens to your student's rhythm and relaxation within the first five minutes. The results will sell you on it faster than anything else I could say here.

Do you use music in your lessons? Drop your go to songs or playlists in the comments... I want to build the ultimate musical riding lesson playlist.

06/15/2026

There is something about a horse beneath the moon that feels older than history itself.

Before cities existed, before roads crossed continents, before people learned to write their stories, horses were already running beneath the same moonlight that shines above us today.

Perhaps that is why images like this touch something deep inside the human soul.

The horse stands powerful and untamed, wrapped in shadows and silver light. It does not ask for permission. It does not seek approval. It simply exists as it was meant to—strong, free, and completely alive.

And maybe that is exactly what so many of us admire.

Because deep down, every person carries a part of themselves that longs to be free.

Free from fear.

Free from doubt.

Free from the expectations that others place upon us.

A horse reminds us of that forgotten part.

The part that still believes in impossible dreams.

The part that still wants to run toward the horizon instead of away from challenges.

The part that refuses to surrender.

For centuries, horses have carried warriors into battle, explorers into the unknown, and ordinary people through the hardest moments of their lives. Yet their greatest gift was never their strength.

It was inspiration.

A horse teaches us that true power is not aggression.

It is confidence.

It teaches us that freedom is not about escaping responsibility.

It is about living honestly.

And it teaches us that courage is not the absence of fear.

It is moving forward despite it.

Looking at this image, it almost feels as if the horse belongs to another world—a place where limits do not exist and where dreams are measured not by possibility, but by determination.

Yet the truth is much simpler.

That spirit already exists inside each of us.

The same spirit that gets up after failure.

The same spirit that keeps believing after disappointment.

The same spirit that continues chasing the life it was meant to live.

Perhaps that is why horses have fascinated humanity for thousands of years.

They remind us of who we are when we stop listening to fear.

They remind us that greatness begins with a single step forward.

And they remind us that no matter how dark the night becomes, there will always be a moon above us and a path waiting to be followed.

Run toward your dreams.

Run through the doubts.

Run through the storms.

And never forget that the strongest souls were never meant to stay still.

06/15/2026

Some people believe horses come into our lives to carry us. Those who have truly loved one know a different truth.

A horse does not simply carry your body. It carries pieces of your heart.

The bond begins quietly. A soft breath against your shoulder. The sound of hooves approaching when no one called. A pair of eyes searching for you in a crowded pasture. Little moments that seem ordinary to everyone else, yet become unforgettable chapters in your life.

Then one day, without realizing it, that horse becomes part of how you see the world.

You start measuring mornings by the sound of nickers in the barn. Bad days become easier because a warm muzzle rests against your chest. Silence feels less lonely because someone is standing beside you, asking for nothing but your presence.

And when life becomes heavy, horses have a way of reminding us who we are.

They do not care about our mistakes, our failures, our titles, or our possessions. They see straight through all of it. They respond only to honesty. To kindness. To trust.

That is why losing a horse, leaving a horse, or even imagining a world without them feels impossible. They leave hoofprints where no one else can reach.

Looking at this image feels like looking at two worlds at once.

One horse runs beneath the storm, strong and determined, still moving forward despite the darkness ahead.

The other watches from the clouds, calm and eternal, as if reminding us that love never truly disappears.

Maybe that is what every horse teaches us.

The journey never ends where we think it does.

The ones we love continue running through our memories, our dreams, and the quiet places of our hearts. We hear them in the wind. We see them in sunsets. We feel them in those moments when the world suddenly becomes still.

And for a brief second, it feels as if they are right beside us again.

Not gone.

Not forgotten.

Just running a little farther ahead, waiting beyond the horizon where storms end and peace begins.

06/11/2026

The shock absorbing design of the pad can distribute the pressure, providing ultimate comfort for you and your horse.

06/11/2026

Some moments feel as though they exist outside of time.

A desert wind.
A distant memory.
A feeling that arrives without words and yet feels strangely familiar.

Today I shared “Desert of Inspiration,” a poetic reflection inspired by the elemental presence of horses and the unseen places where spirit and memory meet.

The full poem and reflection are in the comments.
May they meet you at just the right moment. ✨