Alchemic Horsemanship

06/02/2026

Seat aids and things in your back pocket.

Students that have ridden with me, or have come to clinics I’ve spoken at, know how much I believe in the seat being the foremost aid. Without a clear and balanced seat, we have nothing. My weight needs to be balanced across both seat bones evenly, unless intentionally asking something of my horse.

And with that awareness, it means as a rider I can’t have anything in my back pockets.

While working with a horse and her owner this morning I could feel something was off about the horse’s bend to the left. She struggled more to answer the question than ever before, and was heavier on my left leg and in the kindest way said “I’m trying but no”.

I kept working through, my focus split between her and teaching her owner, and eventually she gave in to my request and found the bend in her ribcage. Finished the lesson and found the culprit:

A water bottle cap in my right back pocket.

The horse couldn’t listen to my left leg bend because for her experience I was already pressing extra into my right seat aid, pushing her back and rib into my left leg and then saying she needed to bend around the same left leg. How confusing for a green horse??

These adaptable creatures can adjust (over time) to the unintentional pressure we place and learn to do the movements requested. But if your first goal is neutral, make sure your back pockets are empty. No phones, no tissues and certainly no water caps.

05/30/2026

Wish Pedro and Sarah good luck on Pedro’s first b***o race tomorrow!

05/15/2026

A two week update on Katana.

When a horse comes in, I take intake photos for many reasons but one being objective progress. Ideally they’ve settled a bit to best represent what they look like normally. In the first photo was Katana’s resting posture and in the second is what two weeks of work here has helped facilitate.

Bodies, horses and human, can hold on to postural patterns from concern or worry that lead to dysfunctional posture. A good trainer will ideally help the horse release the incorrect worry based body posture before building muscle on top. And that has been Katana’s first two weeks here.

What changes do you see in her? (Outside of revealing that glorious summer coat)

05/09/2026

Grateful for all my students who put the work in around refining the basics and developing feel.

Staying power, or tolerance for tedious -

I’ve taught the initial introduction lessons to about a million people: teaching people to straighten out their horse, to understand rythm, to feel the difference from their tight, wiggly nervous horse to a calmer, happier horse that breathes deeply.

This part is exciting: the changes happen quickly usually, and people want more.

But then it becomes tedious. It turns away from magic and changes into work. This is where the focus is on how the rider uses their leg, handles their rein. This is where you repeat over and over a new habit until it gets ingrained- the focus is not on progressing the horse but creating better habits- this is where it gets down to the nitty gritty of their expectation of the horse, their patience for re developing a poorly laid foundation in the horse and their own riding. This is where people drop off.

I’ve had very few get past this point - when things get tedious, people turn to self doubt, get emotional, think they can’t ride or don’t know what they’re doing and so on. This is when people are likely to look elsewhere for quicker or easier solutions, though I’m sure they’re not consciously doing this.

Many will be called, few will answer, as the saying goes. I don’t believe it’s because these people are incapable or not gifted. I think mainly it’s because we no longer have tolerance for tedium.

I think about the way I grew up riding and understand - in no time I was cantering, and jumping, long before I had the seat or hands for it. Many are taught this way too- a result oriented way of learning, instead of a layering in of a foundation: you can’t jump until you can control your leg and hand, and if it gets messier, you go back to the basics. But people see this as a punishment, not a support, and take it personally.

We don’t have the tolerance for tedium anymore , and so I wonder if not now, when will we ? And if we don’t, what will we be capable of developing with our horses?

Photo by Laurie Lampe

05/07/2026

Another new (ish) face around here is an addition to the lesson string. She arrived early last month.

Welcome Primrose (Prim)!

She is a young AQHA mare who will be helping to ease the growing waitlist for students. She is a sweet, people loving quiet personality and I’m excited to see what her future holds here.

05/05/2026

Welcome this gorgeous mustang Katana! Here for the summer for training.

05/02/2026

Last lesson of the day yesterday had quite the beautiful view! Grateful for the students, horses, and spaces that make this work possible.

04/29/2026

Tired of wasting hay?

A huge factor in hay management here is preventing hay waste. And that includes what blows away in this windy valley. With hay prices likely to go up this year here are a few tips:

✨ Keep hay in a feeder or a spot where it won’t turn into a urinal or bedding
✨ Give your hay a wind buffer
✨ Only feed what they will eat completely and then feed often (3-5x per day depending on the horse)
✨ Net your big bales to prevent hay lost to wind or overeating
✨ On average horses eat around 20lbs of hay per day. Weigh your hay and keep track of how much they are actually eating

I use HayChix nets with the smallest holes, and for my easy keepers those are doubled up if needed. One senior warmblood and one mini donkey on a 3x3 lasted just a day short of 5 weeks. And this was the leftover amount for today’s bale change before the snow moves in tomorrow.

Horse ownership comes with a never ending learning curve for management of health and resources, which change depending on where you live.

04/25/2026

A silly little Ember update

02/16/2026

With spring right around the corner it already feels time to start talking fly control!

Our facility is blessed with no mosquitos in the summer but over the years I’ve taken steps to remedy biting flys. They drive the horses, students and me crazy. That being said a common feedback received is how few flys we have even when we only used the simple steps below.

We’ve used Fly Predators for two years now with increasing success, and this year all horses on site will also be fed a feed through fly-control as well starting March 1st.

But here are some simple Fly Management things we do, that you can do without a ton of extra products:

✨ Remove manure from paddocks daily (or as the weather allows) and start a compost pile.

✨ Drain or divert standing water when it gathers.

✨ Dump and rinse water buckets at minimum every other day.

✨ Store hay off the ground with ventilation and clean up uneaten or soiled hay and put it in your compost pile.

✨ Fly spray when needed. I’ve found Ultrasheild EX to work best for our horses.

✨ Fly boots, fly masks and fly sheets when needed (only Pedro needs extra support this way with his fashionable boots modeled below)

What other tips and tricks have you found to work for your herd?