RNR Horsemanship

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There is ALWAYS something to learn! Horsemanship is a partnership. Connection before expectation.

I work in natural horsemanship with the belief to do my best for my horse and set him up for success.

10/13/2026

Balking?!
Whats Balking?
It's to refuse to proceed with an action, to hesitate or to draw back.
When it comes to horses balking its typically seen when refusing to lead or walk forward undersaddle.
Encouraging a horse forward on the ground will usually translate to undersaddle as well.

This horse has some bucking and spooky issues. Bucking comes from a lack of respect moving forward if other aspects were already checked. A horse could buck from not accepting something/being rushed as well.

However, the first thing I noticed with this horse is that he's hard to catch and doesn't lead with purpose. He's slow, he ignores the halter, he plants his feet. So my priority is getting him to unlock his movement.

I CANNOT move forward with other parts of training if forward of the horse is not there.

My first check is how well do they yield the HQ and step off halter pressure. Here, was kinda bad. He doesnt mind yielding but won't take more than a step or two, even after 10 min of doing it.
So I changed.
As soon as I felt him lean or not get off the halter, I clicked and swung my rope.
The reason why I immediately swing the rope is because I want to associate the cue, clicking, with an action. This horse knows how to lead, so I don't need to do a teaching stage. Otherwise if this is his first time then the time between click and swing would be lengthened and repeated.

After a few minutes he understands what click means. And I only click ONCE or twice. I do not keep clicking and clicking. That would get him back to being dull.
Keep your cues consistent and clear.

10/12/2026

Laying Down!
Do not attempt without professional guidance or preparation!
Many ways to do it, this way works best for me and to me the horse learns a lot from it.

You never want to force a horse down unless its an emergency.
In which case, I do believe every horse should be comfortable laying down if you ever needed to do so.

Once my horse understands that I'm asking him to lay down, I may start giving him carrots or treats here and there to make the process smoother once I establish a cue. For now, I just want him to think about the process, not a treat.

Laying down a horse has major benefits.
It builds and shows trust.
It prepares a horse for any urgent emergencies.
It shows them they can vulnerable and won't be hurt.
It teaches them to sit and wait if they ever get a foot tied.
It teaches them to give to pressure and feel.

I will only start teaching this once they've had rides and have intermittent groundwork.
I hobble train all personal horses as well. That way they understand to not panic since their foot has been taken before.

If you do not do the necessary preparation or understand pressure, you could easily injure you and your horse.
In which case, try doing the ropeless method. It takes longer but you can achieve the same result.

I am a rope girlie, so my horses have had ropes all over them. I am confident in my skills and understanding. You are free to do other ways, but this is our relationship I've established so I will continue building on the foundation I've trained him on.

10/10/2026

Bending! Bending! Bending!
I cannot get enough of bending.
Now that he knows how to lunge and change directions, WTC, I then focus on his self-carriage.
I don't want him running around hollow or looking like a giraffe.

I want to place into him muscle memory of bending his ribs and softening his neck. That way, undersaddle he will already have a concept and balance of bending.

I don't expect him to do very small circles, but big enough where I can move my stick up and down and it doesn't touch him.

If he crowds into that circle, I use my stick to tap him where my heels will be, asking him to bend around it. My hand will give and take with the rope when he gets soft as I would do with a rein.
I want to assimilate riding as best as I can. To make cues clear.

If your horse is too fast, bend them down.
If your horse feels stiff, bend them around.

10/08/2026

Just an early night little session.
Having fun!
He is so nimble! But he is a cowhorse so 😂

10/05/2026

Walk em!
Why not get them used to new environments on their own already?
So when we come back undersaddle he will have the confidence!
It's also great walking for you too!
This was about 2 miles.

10/04/2026

RNR 💤
Literally my name.
Rest and Relaxation
Rest and Release
I've gotton a few of these comments now.

If I never let my horses rest or if I never rewarded them, they wouldn't be as trained as they are.

Horses learn from the RELEASE of any pressure.
Not the pressure itself.

They also need to SOAK and PROCESS what they are being taught.

My horse knows that I am Release, I am a safe spot for him to rest and get affection. Some scratches and pets too. He can get his air and relax.

I edit my videos to keep my viewers engaged and I keep the important parts. I edit them for all platforms, and some platforms algorithms need certain time lengths.

I would be more then happy to put full trained videos up on Patreon if people wanted that.
It would be how to start a horse, how to get them tuned into you, how to do liberty and trails and more.
So i guess just let me know!

10/03/2026

Prepare them! 🙌
If you never go around your horses butt, then when you do they'll be surprised!
I've seen farriers and owners get kicked because they'll accidentally sidesweep the horses inside thigh or behind them.

Your horse should be so used to the feeling you can trim their feet or put on ointment in the pasture without a lead. If kids go up to my horses I want to make sure they'll be okay.
My priority is safety.

10/02/2026

Colts first Ride! 💫
Ideally I like to at least trot, if not canter, on the first ride. But due to my fear that I'm trying to overcome, I don't want to get tense and freak out when we go faster.
So as long as I establish a Go button and steering, I'll take it a bit easy.
If he starts getting lazy or sticky I need to move him out more.
If I don't think I can overcome my fear shortly, I'll have to send him away for a month.

I've started Colts usually without a ground person, though it is ideal to have someone direct from the ground. It draws their attention and you can focus on being a passenger and getting them comfortable with your weight as you move around.

Once I feel theyre relaxed, I ask them to steer on my own. Clicking to get them forward.

The first ride can be a few minutes. You want it positive. Get up there, accomplish something. End on a good note.

Ive never had a c**t buck on the first few rides. If your horse bucks then you didn't prepare them enough for the rider or acceptance of the saddle.

Its so satisfying to see 😩❤️
10/01/2026

Its so satisfying to see 😩❤️

10/01/2026

Subtle Cues
These are more pivots than rollbacks, but I wanted to show Gerry Cox why I made bigger movement.
This was his 2nd time doing this exercise and he's already changing directions from the sight of me switching hands.

With a young horse, especially a c**t, you need to give them time to process before applying the main cue.

If you only use subtle Cues the horse may miss them. When you start a c**t undersaddle you don't begin to poke your horse and start sidepassing, you teach them to move off with the pressure of the calf. The horse will pick up on your Cues before you even complete them, that's what makes them subtle. Let the babies process!

To teach changing directions..
I would change my hands, rope and whip, slide my hand down the rope, step in front of his driveline, then step at his shoulder to encourage energy. Releasing him into the turn.

As he starts to understand the concept, he will pick up on just me switching hands to do the turn.

The video Gerry sent me to show me what I should do is a horse tied to a pole and a guy clicking and putting pressure side to side. With that, there is no forward movement and no cue to change directions. Anyone can stand in front of a tied horse and get them to move over. It doesn't teach feel at all!

He claims I need to learn from my elders, but my respected elders are already Clinton Anderson, Ryan Rose, Warwick Schiller and Tristin Tucker.
Thank you though! 😁

The results of my relationship with my horse will tell me where I'm going wrong!

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