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Monday 8am - 6pm Tuesday 8am - 6pm Friday 8am - 8pm Saturday 8am - 6pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

HP Dressage

I bring Dressage and Horsemanship skills to improve the every day horse and rider teams of East Texas

09/15/2026

The man, the myth, the Legend:

Legend and his owner Lily came to use last summer for boarding and lessons while Lily is studying at SFA. This absolute goof-ball of a gelding was in some serious need of boundary setting. Dominat, pushy and aggressive were Legend's calling cards. When he first came he was very reactive and borderline dangerous. Lily and I had a very serious talk about their future together. Not only did Legend have a lot to learn, but so did Lily. If this was going to work, they had a hard road ahead of themselves!

Through regular lessons (and A LOT of homework) Lily and I were able to get Legend to be more respectful and less reactive on the ground. He is, and will always be, a mouthy, in-your-face horse, but now those moments are more playful instead of defensive.

Recently, Legend got the go ahead to get restarted under saddle. Allison has taken on the title of Pilot while I am Ground Control. He is a bold and unflappable gelding and is learning to take subtle suggestions and loosen his super tight body.

I wish we had some video of his first days here, because the difference in this horse is striking! His aggression has turned to playfulness and his dominance to sweetness. I am exceedingly proud of the work all three of us have done to teach Legend how to be a productive member of society!

06/03/2026

It is already hot, hot, hot outside and hopefully everyone is making extra sure that their horses are not getting over heated. Here's some quick tips for showering your horse to make sure they're staying cool and comfortable after every ride!

1) Cool water should be continuously ran over the horse UNTIL THEY ARE COOL. This can take between 5-20 minutes depending on how hot they got. This is not a 30 second wetting.

2) The most important locations are the neck, back, haunches and between the hind legs. This doesn't mean we neglect their the other parts, but these 4 areas need the most concentration. (I do not spray faces. Most horses don't like it, and I don't blame them. Faces I will wipe with a clean, wet rag.)

3) Periodically check the temperature of the water on the horse. If touch your horse and the water feels warm, keep going. If the water is cool to the touch, the horse is cool.

4) I like to scrape my horses after they are cool to encourage quicker evaporation. It's humid here in East Texas, and the air doesn't evaporate sweat/water as well as drier climates, so the less water left on the horse, the quicker it will evaporate.

5) Heavy, labored breathing is a sign your horse got very hot. In these case the horse may need to be hosed longer. You should hose them until they are breathing normally and cool to the touch. A fan circulating air will help them cool faster. Keep a better eye on their workload next time.

04/02/2026

Happy 1st Birthday Mo! He was wide-eyed about the myler balloon only for a moment, then he wanted to eat it, which is pretty on brand for him.

03/08/2026

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a solar-powered being. But I'm grateful for an occasional rainy day that forces me to slow down and spend some undemanding time with my horses.

Undemanding time is where the relationship is built.

01/30/2026

Every January, I ask my students to make a list of goals for the new year. Not only does this help show us what we've been able to accomplish throughout the year, but it shows me (as the instructor) what really interests my students.

One of my own goals is to be better at posting on my business socials. 😅 I take a lot of progress pictures and usually forget to post them. I have a wonderful group of students that need to be bragged on!

Eliana has made a lot of progress with Cozzi in 2025! She is learning to turn her kindness for the horse into assertiveness. Here she is successfully cantering with Cozzi (who can be quite lazy).

09/12/2025

So.... I've kind of been sitting on a secret. I bought a c**t! Surprise!

This handsome guy is Moroccan Heart (barn name Mo) by Monterey.

As most of you know I have been searching for a young horse after we lost Pantomime last year. I have looked a probably hundreds of foals since then feeling only Meh about what I was finding. When I saw this guy's ad back in April, I knew I really liked him. After reaching out to his breeder for info, I was neck-deep into looking for horses for clients so I briefly put my own search on hold.

That was long enough to see that Mo had sold to someone else.

AH MAN... I really messed around and found out.

So I messaged his breeder back and inquired about her other foals since I liked him so much. As luck would have it, a couple of days later, his new home couldn't take him any more, so I put a deposit on him that night! I am not generally speaking a lucky person, so I'm taking this as a sign we should be together.😁

Mr. Mo had his Westfalian inspection today and is an officially a signed and sealed Handsome Boy! His overall score was a 7.6 which makes me a very happy momma.

Now, he has to finish his weaning period and we can have a finalized transport date. I'll keep everyone updated when he makes it to the farm!

07/30/2025

Contact and Connection: Two concepts that go hand and hand, but are vastly different.

The third step on the Training Pyramid is Contact. A horse that willing accepts and "takes" the contact can start using their body biomechanically correct. This is why our stretchy trot and free walk movements are double scored at the lower levels. The horse's desire to stretch long and low into the contact is paramount. At this stage in training, the rider should feel a steady pull equally on both reins. I find this confuses students, as they think if the horse is "light" they should feel nothing in their hands. If you feel nothing, your horse is evading the contact.

Connection, however, is the idea that the entire horse's body is connected BACK TO FRONT. The hind legs push energy over the horse's topline which travels through the poll and into the mouth before being recycled by the rider through the contact with the reins.

These 2 pictures are moments apart, but show very different moments. This is Muffin! The 1st picture shows me opening up my inside rein to allow her shoulders to come around the circle. At this point in her training, she tends to have a tense neck & back. A lot of riders will think that because "her nose is in" that this is correct. No. No. No. No. No. She is NOT accepting of the additional contact I put on the rein. Her back is dropped and her body is not connected.

The 2nd picture is more correct. She is trying to stretch outward and you can see this by following the line of energy along the top of her neck. This would be an appropriate stretch for the medium walk at her level of training.

02/14/2025

Pole work Feburary! With the Ingrid Klimke clinic coming up soon we have been using her as inspiration and working with poles and cavaletti. This has been a fun new challenge for everyone.

09/29/2024

The weather is gorgeous! These are the days we step outside, take a deep breath of fresh air, and really feel the joy of being an equestrian. When things get tough, remember why you started riding.

06/18/2023

Happy Father's Day to all the horse dads. We couldn't do this without you!

Address

4568 CR 302
Nacogdoches, TX
75965

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 8pm
Saturday	8am - 6pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Website

http://www.HPDressage.com/

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