06/05/2026
Working towards goals is more fun when you’re doing it with friends. Join Whitney and I as we tackle our new Mounted & Mindful challenge!!!
Jump in when you’d like to this week, or start fresh next week!
Mindful Mondays- Slow everything waaaay down and become more aware of your horse’s mental focus, balance, the speed and consistency of your aids, your habits, etc. this is a great time to notice your own thought patterns when you ride. There is no pressure here to improve your skills or your horse’s training. The goal of Mindful Mondays is to start the week with more awareness of your horse and your riding. Only once we become aware of these patterns, we can focus on changing them.
Transition Tuesdays- Having trouble with a certain gait, maneuver, or trail obstacle? So many times the issue we have with these things relate more to the preparation, not the movement itself. Transition Tuesdays challenges us to notice the preparation to transition to each new movement or gait. How is our horse’s balance moving into a lope just before we ask him to lope? How does our horse prepare for for the turnaround? Does he prepare at all? How do we prepare? Work on the preparation for what you want and pay no mind to the actual maneuver or gait.
Walk-It Wednesdays- When things speed up, it’s easy to overlook where the true problem lies. So we tend to go faster, ride harder, expect more. It’s exhausting for us and the horse. But Walk-It Wednesdays let us troubleshoot our problem areas at a walk. It takes the pressure off and challenges us to feel whats happening in slow motion. If it’s falling apart at a trot or lope, chances are we never had it at a walk! So we’d better go back and check that out!
Therapy Thursdays- We’re only human. We make mistakes and that can give us (and our horses) some grief. On Therapy Thursdays we can take time to reflect on our mistakes and celebrate what we did well earlier in the week! We can humbly apologize to our horses for our shortcomings and we can take note of the horse’s progress!
Forget the Reins Fridays- Take that safety net away and see what you’ve got working for you when you ditch the reins! Ride on a totally loose rein and keep your hand down! Focus on using your eyes, seat, and legs only. Only use the reins as a last resort to keep you and your horse out of trouble if needed. Ultimately, the goal of Forget the Reins Friday is to see how handy you and your horse can get without the reins. This day is meant to stretch us and use tools we so often neglect by taking our reins for granted. If it all falls apart on you here, no problem! It gives you a project for the next week’s challenge!
Seat Saturday- This day is devoted to working on your own balance, posture, and alignment of your aids! Up your game by taking photos or videos of your riding on this day and document each Saturday how your seat is improving! Does your horse respond to your seat? Or are you relying on your hands and feet to always guide the horse? Are you hunched over in your saddle and staring at your horse’s head or are you sitting tall in the saddle and looking way out to where you are riding? Bonus points for studying your favorite riders and trying to mimic how they sit in the saddle and where they focus their eyes!
Sunday Fun Day- Go out and do something you enjoy and don’t worry about how you look or what others think. Just get out there and have a good time with horses!
We’ve already got you covered for next Sunday, June 14. Join us for the Joe Wolter Clinic at Glen Oaks Equestrian Center from 9:00am to 4:30pm. Bring a lawn chair and something to drink!
Love this idea and can’t wait until next Sunday? I have great news for you! This clinic is running from Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14! If you’d like to sign up to ride, message me and we’ll get you set up!
Visit https://www.messerperformancehorses.com/events
Share this with your friends and challenge them too!
