Hidden Creek Stables

06/17/2026

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06/16/2026

One of the quickest ways to identify someone who can’t ride is to watch their groundwork.

If every problem is solved by disengaging the hindquarters, you’re not training a horse. You’re avoiding the problem.

Somewhere along the way a bunch of people who couldn’t get things done from the saddle decided they’d do everything from the ground instead. Now we’ve got an entire generation of horses that can yield their hindquarters, lick their lips, and walk circles around a person all day, but fall apart the second someone asks them to actually perform.

The hindquarters are the engine.Yet these people spend every day teaching horses how to disconnect the engine. Then they wonder why the horse won’t stay straight, won’t stay between the reins, won’t hold a circle, won’t stop correctly, won’t spin correctly, won’t leave on the right lead, and can’t stay connected to a steer.

Well no s**t.

Every time you tipped the horse’s nose, you taught him to throw his ass away from pressure instead of carrying himself through it.Now every turn becomes a turn on the forehand.
Every correction creates more disconnect. And years later you’re trying to fix a problem you created in the first week.

The natural horsemanship crowd loves talking about softness, but most of them have never had to run one into a stop, turn one at speed, rope off one, or show one with money on the line. Because if they did, they’d realize performance comes from engagement, not disengagement. Disengagement is a tool. It’s not a philosophy. And if your horse spends more time yielding its hindquarters than driving off them, don’t be surprised when the horse is just as ineffective at its job as the person training it!
Written by Dusty Harvey 🔥

06/10/2026

Would anyone be interested in this if I made a headstall for it?

06/10/2026

I cannot love this enough❣️
For everybody telling me that I needed to push my horses sooner there’s a reason why I didn’t. The only reason the ones stopped running was because of injury, not because of burn out. ( but the ones that were ready for more speed, I did not push them, so that part was on me )

One of the most overlooked signs that a horse is improving has nothing to do with the clock.

It’s when they start making good decisions on their own.

They start finding the barrel instead of needing to be guided to it.
They stay more relaxed in the alley.
They recover quicker from mistakes.
They begin carrying themselves with more confidence and understanding.

A lot of riders are so focused on speed that they miss these little milestones, but those are often the things that eventually create consistency.

The horses that last and continue improving year after year usually aren’t the ones that were rushed to be fast. They’re the ones that were allowed to learn their job.

The clock eventually reflects what the horse already knows.

What’s one thing your horse does now that they couldn’t do six months ago?

06/10/2026

05/30/2026

05/15/2026

Two-time NFR qualifier Britany Diaz was having a hard time keeping her mare Dasher Dude from fading into the first barrel. Barrel racers who have experienced the same challenge on their own horses describe what feels like a magnetic force pulling the horse to the barrel and out of position.

The problem was, "Rootie" wasn’t staying square or responding to the cues Diaz was giving with her inside hand and leg. Diaz turned to her hauling partner and veteran NFR qualifier, Lisa Lockhart, for advice. Compiling Lockhart’s suggestions with Rootie’s needs, Diaz created this problem-solving drill.

Check it out ⬇

🔗 https://bhnmag.co/antifade-drill

05/15/2026

World champion Mary Burger shares what a 2 year old needs to know before starting on the barrel pattern:

1. Moving their feet forward fluently
2. Responsive to my legs and move away from leg and rein pressure
3. How to stop and back up with a low headset
4. Their leads each direction
5. Counter arc

She finds that pattern training comes a lot easier to those horses with a solid foundation. Read more about her work with 2 year olds here: https://bhnmag.co/2-year-old-foundation