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Don and Rachel Jessop love to inspire & help you create a confident and connected horse partnership🧡Fun and success!😍
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TRADING BRAVERY FOR WISDOM, DON JESSOPI'm not as brave as I once was, I've been injured, I've grown older, but now I'm a...
10/23/2026

TRADING BRAVERY FOR WISDOM, DON JESSOP

I'm not as brave as I once was, I've been injured, I've grown older, but now I'm a whole lot wiser. Not as wise as I'd like to be, like the people I look up to, but I've certainly traded some of my bravery for a little wisdom. Perhaps you've done the same. Perhaps you know someone, who you wish would do the same. Bravery is an important aspect of any activity in life, no doubt. But wisdom can be even more powerful when it comes to communicating with our four legged, wild at heart, equine friends.

For instance... I don't get on a horse just cause someone else says the horse is "trained or ready." I test the horse's individual responses to simple suggestions and see just how "trained" trained is. If you're new to horses you might not know what to test for. I can teach you.

I don't push a horse beyond his limits just because I think he's being obstinate. I used to. I used to be quick to blame the horse for one thing or another and then get a little too quick or harsh in my corrections. But now... I usually don't chalk up anything as obstinate behavior. Think about it. Is your horse not doing it because he/she knows what you want and chooses not to? Sure, sometimes that's correct and easily misread as obstinate. But there's one other element to consider... Does he/she know why you want it?

When you ask a horse to do something and they say, "I don't want to do this!" What they're really saying is "Why do you want me to do this?" And if you don't have an answer, you're going to go straight to thinking he/she is being obstinate and choose dangerous techniques to correct. Possibly dangerous for you. Most certainly dangerous for the progress of your trusting relationship with that horse.

Me, on the other hand, at least this older/wiser version of me, doesn't go straight to obstinate. Instead I choose to say, "My horse is acting confused. He/she clearly doesn't understand why I want this, why I think this is so important. Let me slow down and clear things up."

Check out my BEST intentions model inside the free mastery home study course to learn more about how to answer when your horse says, "why are we doing this?"

I also don't let people ride my horse without testing that person's skills with basic things first. Recently a group of young men arrived at my door to learn about horses. They all said they've had some horse experience and when asked what they expected to happen in a horse lesson, they all said they would probably saddle and ride. I don't work that way anymore. Years ago I spent time with an incredible dolphin trainer in Florida. She implanted a process of learning that impacted both the dolphin and the new person that showed up to learn about dolphins in a positive and progressive way. "Most animal participation lessons are about the people," she said. "We have to make sure it's about the dolphin too. Otherwise the dolphin will literally resent the experience and sooner or later, stop participating happily."

Of course, the other reason I don't let people just get on, is the same reason I don't just get on myself. I want to help the new rider develop their communication and connection skills in each lesson, and not just their pulling and kicking skills.

I believe I could go on about all the small bravery lessons I traded for wisdom lessons, such as choosing to wear a helmet, but I also believe the wiser thing to do is keep things small, short, simple and succinct. If I'm truly being honest. I want you to know this was never about my story anyway. I want to hear from you. What's your story. What lessons have you learned that make you wiser today? Have you learned a new technique that makes you better? Have you let go of an old way that doesn't work as good as you thought? I want to hear your comments below.

As always, thanks for reading, and comment below.

Blessings to you in this new year! Don

10/23/2026

Building a connection with a horse takes patience. By working through these simple tests on the ground, you can see if the partnership is ready for the saddle. Safety and mutual trust are the foundation of every ride.

10/22/2026

Liberty Connection: First steps - Meet Grace and Cooper. They are with me for a couple of months. Two 2 year olds getting some training. Here I'm playing friendly with Grace in the middle, while Cooper is following me around.

DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT WITH YOUR HORSE4 reasons you might change the subject with your horse or move on too quickly.Fe...
10/22/2026

DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT WITH YOUR HORSE

4 reasons you might change the subject with your horse or move on too quickly.

Fear: The task makes you nervous, or it makes your horse nervous. You're not sure if you can safely navigate the hazards and you feel it's simply smarter to move onto something else. But this tactic inadvertently teaches two horrible outcomes. Your horse becomes aware that you back off and make life easy when he or she acts up. Next time it will be even harder to approach this subject. The other is you. You become uncertain about your own capabilities and you become what we call an "avoid-aholic." The only thing you must not do when you feel fear, is change the subject. Don't do something unrelated to what's causing the fear. Instead break things down to smaller chunks and be willing to take longer training sessions to get past the problems.

Frustration: The task seems too big and too hard. Nothing is going as imagined, therefore... move on. Except that's exactly why you shouldn't move on. Have you ever heard the phrase, "end on a good note?" Well... what does "a good note" mean to you? To me, a good note is an "A" or "B" score. Not a "D" or "F." If a goal is too big then cut the goal in half and find a way to get a great score on a simple aspect of that overwhelming subject, but don't change the subject until you've made noticeable progress.

Bored: You feel your horse is the kind of horse that gets bored easily so you don't like to spend any length of time improving one single subject. Instead you like to dance around from game to game and your horse never really gets better at anything. From experience, you know that if you get your horse to give you what you want once, you shouldn't ask again because that will bore him and make him resent you. The problem is, you've taught him to be a "one and done horse." You've avoided repetition because it bores him or it bores you. Either way, you've created a situation where you can't do things three times, or even twice, and now you have to make special plans for every activity to make sure your horse is always entertained and never bored. But what you're missing is a simple truth that boredom is like fear and frustration. It's a negative emotion that shouldn't be skirted. It should be addressed. When you're horse is bored, don't entertain him every time by changing subjects. Instead, teach him how to deal with his boredom and be okay with repetition and rewards within the same subject matter.

Confused: Your horse is not doing what you want and you're not sure you're asking right. So instead of persisting with your best guess, you decide to change topics and move onto something you do know. It seems logical but, ironically, it's the most counterproductive measure you can make. Let's take lunging or circle games as an example. Let's say you want your horse to canter, but you feel you're asking wrong and getting nowhere. So you quit and change subjects, but what you should really do is break the goal in half even tenths, if you must, and keep using those same lesser tools and techniques. You might not get your canter but what you do get is a "yes" answer from your horse when you ask. If you break cantering on a circle down to a tenth goal, all you really need is for your horse to speed up when you ask. If he says yes, that's fantastic. That's something you can work with tomorrow after you do some research about tools and techniques. But if he says no, and he won't even take a faster step when you ask, then you give up and change subjects... that's called "ending on a bad note." It's not about the canter, it's about the question and answer process. If you make the question smaller but keep it related before you move on, you can start to get some yes answers and end on a positive note for that day.

Don't like drilling: This is a bit more about you than your horse. You find it hard to focus. It's true that you might think it's hard on the horse to repetitively practice the same game until you ace the tests, but what' really going on under the surface is you don't like tests. You like variety. If this is true, you may never experience the variety that progressive precision offers. You may never experience tempi-flying lead changes, spins, piaffe, slide stops, and more because you struggle to value repetition. However, if you just double up on the rewards, repetition can be super fun and very enlightening for both you and your horse. Whatever you do, do it a little bit longer. Do it daily, and mark your progress. You'll be amazed at what's possible in ten sessions or more on the exact same subject.

Socrates said "There is no learning without remembering." citation. To remember you must practice, then test to see if your practice is done. The best test in the world is to see if you get an "A" score on any subject matter. We use that model in school. Let's use it in horsemanship. If you aced a test in high school, even if it happened decades ago, you will more than likely ace that same test today after a short warm-up. This is why schoolmaster horses are so valuable. They don't require a master to perfectly navigate every weight and balance with leg cues and rein cues. You simply ask and they respond happily. They know there job because a great trainer helped them remember their job, in part by never changing subjects on a bad note. It's fine to have multiple subjects on which to learn and grow, but the timing of changing subjects has as much to do with learning as the subject itself.

Here's my challenge to you: When you feel bored or feel your horse is bored, when you feel afraid for you or your horse when you feel frustrated or your horse feels frustrated, when you feel confused or your horse feels confused, hang in there a bit longer and get a passing score on a simple test related to that same subject... then move on. But be sure to come back to subject again on the same day and the day after that until you start getting "B" and "A" scores regularly. Only then will you grasp Socrates' formula for learning and become a master in the subject of your choosing.
Cheers Don

10/21/2026

Horse Bond Time: Between all the cool stuff. There is time for loving and hanging out. Bonding Time

Are you "using" or are you "improving" your signals?"To use or to improve?" That is the question.Shakespeare almost had ...
10/21/2026

Are you "using" or are you "improving" your signals?

"To use or to improve?" That is the question.

Shakespeare almost had it with his "to be or not to be" quote. 🤣

Joking aside, did you know Shakespeare added seventeen hundred words to the English language? His work provided valuable, nuanced communication, enriching our lives with beauty and clarity. My goal is the same: not more words, but more clarity and nuance for an enriched horsemanship experience.

The question is this:

When you ask your horse to do something, does the style of your cue reinforce the cue, making it sharper and easier the next time, or does it simply use up the cue, making it dull and gradually less useful?

I'll say it differently. When you ask your horse to go, does he get better each time, or do you find yourself shopping for spurs because he is getting worse?

How about this one?

When you ask your horse to stop, does it get easier every time, or do you find yourself wondering if you need a new bit and bridle?

Here's the principle:

Every time you use a signal, you either reinforce it and sharpen its value, improving its quality, or you do the opposite. How you ask matters.

For simplicity, did you know that backing a step or two after stopping enhances your stopping cues, making them better each time? Sure, sometimes you just use cues practically and purposefully, but if you're aware, you will also improve them consciously.

That means sometimes you just stop your horse, nothing extra, because sometimes backing would be impractical. But a smart trainer sees the value in not just "using" a cue but improving it. So, often, backing after stopping becomes part of the training program.

Did you know that a horse that struggles to go, getting seemingly lazier every time you ask, can learn to go off a feather-light touch? If you think about how to improve instead of just using a cue, your whole world changes. I'll leave your imagination open as to how you'd do that.

Can you think of a few games that would improve the cue and clarity for your horse? If you could make a mini personalized program, you'd see massive improvement in just a few sessions.

Now, let's land this home. Every time you ride, or even lead your horse from the ground, he or she is watching you, learning your habits, commitments, and communication.

Pay attention to how you communicate. Are you actively improving your communication or simply using the ABCs your trainer left you with?

I'd love to help you on a personal level to uncover the nuance in your language with your own, unique horse and improve upon it. I'd love to celebrate the success of your journey. I'd love to see you embrace the next level with enthusiasm.

You know where to find me. I look forward to meeting you. ​Don

10/21/2026

Many people hesitate to use certain tools, but building trust is key. Watching Blue learn that these objects can be gentle and comforting instead of scary is such a rewarding process. Patience truly changes everything in training.

10/20/2026

Liberty Canter: Dazzle, showing off her fabulous canter.

VISUALIZING SUCCESS - BY DON JESSOPVisualize your success today!This is the easy part. You don't have to use your body f...
10/20/2026

VISUALIZING SUCCESS - BY DON JESSOP

Visualize your success today!

This is the easy part. You don't have to use your body for this part, only your brain. For some people, that's ironically painful. Some folks don't like using their brains but I am here to promise you that it's totally easy and totally fun to make success happen before it happens, which virtually guarantees you will experience that same success you dream of.

Here's how it works: Close your eyes, see what you want, link it in your body, then open your eyes. Just like that.

The next 11 steps go into a bit more detail. Read to step four, before you start.

1. Write down what you want and refine it to a single sentence that tells a short story that's easily repeatable. For instance: "I want to ride my horse with confidence."

2. Close your eyes and imagine that perfect experience without the extra thoughts of negative things that could happen. Make the imaginary vision extremely short. "I get on, I experience perfection. I get off and put my horse away." There could be an hour of unaccounted time in a real situation but for visualizations, it's important to keep it super short. If you can't see the vision without extra negative thoughts taking over, you should keep your eyes closed. Wait for the correct picture.

3. Add an anchor. As soon as you see the picture, link your good thought directly into your hands. Literally touch your finger and thumb together. Use an anchor only when you see the perfect picture, not when other thoughts are running around.

4. Pop your eyes open. Opening your eyes at the right time is critical. If you leave them closed, you open the door for other thoughts to come in that aren't productive. If you open them at the right time, it's like sealing an envelope on the subject, so to speak. It's called ending on a good note that your brain can remember for later.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 until it comes quickly and clearly.

ADVANCED STEPS:

6. Write down a few things that could go wrong, again refining them to a single sentence. For instance. "My horse might buck."

7. Imagine one thing at a time that could go wrong.

8. Now quickly Imagine working through that thing. Example: "I pull on one rein to get my horse to stop, then he calms down.

9. Now, as quickly as possible. Repeat steps 2-4 until you see that healthy fun picture again, and pop your eyes open. There are many, many ways to succeed here. Many techniques, if you know of others, use them. No judgement.

10. Repeat steps 6-9 with that same scenario until you see a clear vision of working through a problem to find the perfect horse, getting off, putting your horse away, anchoring your thumb and finger, then opening your eyes. Repeat until the whole thing is easy and fast. It all happens in a matter of five seconds or less. In reality, it might take forty minutes to solve a problem, in your mind, it should only take a few seconds.

11. Repeat steps 6-10 with different scenarios. Always ending with the picture of a perfect horse in your memory and anchoring that exact thought in your body and mind.

And now you're done. If you're clever, you'll do this exercise for ten days in a row. In total, your mind spends five minutes on the visualizations each day and in return, you will experience more and more of the exact thing you always wanted.

The real tricky part of the whole process is the visualizing of working through a problem to solve it. You might not see strategies in your mind. You may not know of anything to do in reality so there is no reference for the visualization. This is normal but also important. It means that you have to learn what to do. You have to study the technique. Watch others work through the same problem, then steal their success for your own. Study with the best! Join Mastery University.

If the technique, such as visualizing like above, works in accordance to your own conscious mind and you don't feel it's abusive in any way, use it and experience success even before you experience it in reality. Don

10/20/2026

Before you mount up, perform this quick physical check to ensure your horse is truly relaxed. By massaging key trigger points and checking for natural reactions, you can release stored tension and confirm your horse is mentally ready for the ride. Is your horse calm before you hop on?

Address

1730 Sutherland Lane
Corvallis, MT
59828

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Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

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+14063601390

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