Horsewrite

05/26/2025

Today I have been thinking about the word “Build”

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” is a great quote, but what do we do before we can create and build? We plan, and vision, and we get excited!

The word build to me is about planning and then action with a goal in mind. Goal setting, and being excited for the future in general is such a fun exercise. Do you like to write down your goals? Do you think about them daily? What is your process to start creating or building something?

05/04/2025

Today’s word: Dream

Because one word can change everything I started the

The daily leg up is one word dailty meant to inspire, prompt and motivate you. What does the word dream illicit for you? Share your thoghts and inspire others in comments, story, or your own post and tag and use

04/26/2024

What inspires you? Is it a horse, an event, a place, a person?

Maybe all the above! This young rider is so inspiring. She journals for EVERY RIDE and even shared her personal notes with me.

✨ A highlight (and great idea!) was her idea to take a single hair of her horse and tape it into the journal. What a nice touch.

Great meeting these people and seeing the future of our equestrian community. 🙌

04/14/2024

Quick tip interview with EQUUS Television at Equine Affaire, Inc. (Official)!

Watch on EQUUS

10/21/2023

We know the power that horses have as joy givers and healers.

Hope Meadows Foundation is providing equine assisted therapy and tapping in to the extreme power our horses provide. It was great to support this foundation last night with Ohio Equestrian Directory at a Boots and BBQ dinner. Yeehaw! 🐴

08/12/2023

Once you experience the passion of horses and the life it fills inside you, it’s consuming.

Every moment not with a horse feels lost. It’s these moments I find peace in the extracurriculars. Writing, reading, reflecting, and exercising all in the name to benefit the next time on horseback. The Horsewrite journal is one tool to help tap into this passion and help accelerate your next ride. What do you use when not riding?

07/09/2023

This past week, I was fortunate to experience Saca de las Yeguas. I rode among and witnessed an event that has been taking place for over 500 years, and was reawakened to the abilities the horse has to shape individuals and cultures.

Wild mares and foals in the Doñana National Park, the Marismeña breed, are rounded up and shepherded through the national park and towns such as Almonte and El Rocio where they are blessed in front of the church. Days later they are herded back to the national park.

This was a truly inspiring and touching experience - I fell in love with the horse all over again - more to come on this experience!

Thank you for exceptional horses and moments!

01/19/2023

In general, we think of "weakness" as a traditionally negative trait. However, when it comes to riding horses, we should all be ASPIRING to have weak hands! Yes, that’s right, we WANT weak hands because we want the majority of the work to be done by our legs and seat. My inspiration for this came from something Isabel Werth said to her students and I thought it was a great way of reframing the idea so wanted to share it with you guys! (Thanks Isabel!)

The time when we are psychologically the most reliant on our hands is of course in downward transitions. Unfortunately, we often learn in our early riding days to slow down with the rein first, but as you get more advanced, you learn to use your seat. So let me show you how to execute a downward transition using "weak hands".

Watch the Video:
https://youtu.be/9QqJ02Ka0ck

Firstly, you should use the gentle feel of your hands to experiment with just how little feel you need on the bit to administer an aid. You’ll be surprised how often your horse will actually listen to the lightest of touch!

When coming from the trot into a walk, instead of going straight for the rein, try this:

Pull your tummy in, put your horse in slight shoulder fore, sit up and back and give a half halt, and another one until the horse makes the downward transition.

Some things for you to think about:

Think about your body position, sitting up and back and closing your thighs
Use your voice. Instead of going straight for the rein to half-halt if the weight aids aren’t working, ask with your voice first.
Think about doing smaller and weaker half-halts than you might usually do instead of a bigger one. Very small and gentle and repeat if necessary until they get the message.

This applies not just to downward transitions but also to turning. Instead of pulling on the inside rein to turn try this.

1. Look in the direction you want to turn
2. Turn your body in the direction you want to turn
3. Step a little more weigh on the inside stirrup
4. Put your outside leg behind the girth

Here's the Video link:
https://youtu.be/9QqJ02Ka0ck

01/19/2023

What is the one thing you remind yourself while riding to become a habit?

“Breathe”

Is mine. What is yours?

For those that do not know, I created the Horsewrite journal to help transform those reminders into habits. These reminders are typically first told to us by our trainers, then we know we can focus on it. To focus on it, the journal creates space for you to note progress, and progress desired.

Writing down what you learned in a lesson or riding by yourself is powerful for mind and body (horse and human) to create habits.

✨ What is the thing you want to become a habit?

01/18/2023

Attention: Young riders!

A chance for your writing to be published. Check it out ✨

01/18/2023

Love this mindset shift ✨

A week ago today I swung my saddle onto the back of a five-year-old quarter horse under the watchful eye of Tom Curtin.

The horse took a few concerned steps as my stirrup swung over his back. I looked up to see Tom’s grin under the brim of his hat and he said,

“You were thinking about saddling that horse, weren’t you?
You need to think about that horse while you saddle him.“

Last week I spent the week with Tom and his wife, Trina. I noticed a reoccurring lesson throughout the week.

The everyday activities I have done my whole life with horses took on a new meaning. “You were thinking about brushing that c**t, you need to think about that c**t while you brush him.” And, “you were thinking about bridling that mare, you need to think about that mare while you bridle her.”

Tom said, “No matter what you do, never forget that horse”.

So there I was, playing cowboy for a week, learning about c**t starting, riding young horses, checking cattle, but deep inside it all, learning how to be with a horse in a very intentional way.

It’s a sort of contract, you see. You’re not demanding that your horse give you their attention without an even exchange. Asking a horse to bring their attention to me now feels more like saying, “Remember I’m right here, thinking about you… In exchange can you think about me?”

The gift of Tom’s c**ts was that they already knew the feeling of being kept in mind, and they were good at telling me when I’d lost track of them. The calm that came over these horses when I thought of them as I went about my daily routines was just wonderful.

All it took was being mindful of their existence and attentive to their needs. We typically have some sort of goal with our horses that can provide a wonderful sense of purpose, but the goal is meaningless if we lose track of our partner in the process.

I hope in reading this you can be as inspired as I am. When you go out this week and do whatever you do with your horses, whether it be jumping fences, working cows, dancing in a dressage arena, chasing hounds, etc, see if you can go about your business with purpose, but never forget your horse.

~ Justin

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography