Detersmination Equestrian Center

05/31/2026

Our show team doing their thing.

05/23/2026

I felt compelled to share this. My business philosophy has always been, and will continue to be: The welfare of the horse comes first. I am aware that I can be direct and occasionally have a short temper, but this article captures my sentiments. I do not anticipate changing my approach.

Here is an example of why it’s nearly impossible to find qualified riding instructors and even more impossible to find them with lesson horses. They don’t want to deal with things like this. And, they don’t have to. If you see a slanderous, negative review of us, here’s the real story.

This is an unusual post for us, we won’t go into details of what the child did that caused a scolding, and we are going to word things very carefully to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, but we feel this is a discussion that cannot be ignored and one of this weeks lessons just reinforced our thoughts that this discussion needs to be had.

It’s important for people to acknowledge the magnitude of effort, expense and liability that there is in a training program. And because of those things, the importance of following directions and focusing. Paying attention to instruction is particularly important for children and novices and being “only x years old” is not an accepted excuse for allowing for unsafe situations. There is NO situation where we will choose a child’s feelings over their safety or the horses safety.

Horses are dangerous. We aren’t trying to scare anyone away from horses, but we must be realistic. One kick, one bite, one fall, letting a horse get away from you in open space… the list of hazards goes on and on. This isn’t a soft sport for soft people. We must always be aware of where we are and what our horses are doing, and if we are new to this sport, we must follow instructions closely. 

As trainers and instructors safety is a top priority. We know all of the basic safety protocols and we must reinforce them. It’s a liability not to.

When we take new clients, we do a meet and greet and explain this very clearly before we decide whether to accept someone into our program. And even after the meet and greet, depending on how the first lesson goes, we may decide not to proceed with a student.

As a participant or guardian of a participant, regardless of the age, their responsibility in the safety protocol is to listen to their instructor and follow directions. The guardian, when noticing the child not paying attention, should also remind the child of the importance of paying attention, not allow them to continue with the unsafe behavior and be offended by the instructor insisting the child listen. Failure to do so can result in injuries. Serious injuries. If a student repeatedly doesn’t follow directions or even talks back (I KNOW how to ride already, for instance) and an instructor firmly corrects them out of safety and urgency to get the student out of the dangerous situation, there is more than a slight chance that horses aren’t for them. Further, the instructors insurance provider would most certainly have something to say about unsafe practices.

We know a lot of people think lessons are “pony rides” for kids, and don’t think about liability at all until their kid is crying and bleeding, and they’re looking for someone to blame besides themselves, but that’s just not reality. Lessons are an instruction in safety and horse welfare first and foremost, regardless of the age of the participant.

It is inappropriate to message an instructor scolding them for keeping the child safe because the parent heard, second hand, that the child got yelled at. Imagine how much more offended a parent would have been if we just let the child get hurt.

Yes, this happened.

After the lesson that resulted in this outcome, we intended to message the adult who was in charge of bringing the child to lessons to tell them we didn’t feel the child was ready for lessons and that we didn’t feel it was safe for them to continue until they were older and able to pay attention and follow instructions. Instead, before we got done for the day and had time to reach out, the parent who was not at the lesson messaged us and scolded us for “yelling at their kid” and proceeded to tell us how lucky we were that they weren’t there, instead of thanking us for keeping their child safe and saying they realize the child isn’t ready for lessons. It’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it?

This is the most polite response we could come up with:
“I guess we just aren’t a good fit then. I explained when she started lesson that she would be expected to pay attention and learn how to do things. That’s why we did the meet and greet. Asking her to pay attention is a very important part of safety around horses and firmly reminding them after repeatedly telling a child something to keep them from having an accident isn’t being unfair. It’s being responsible. Safety and paying attention are paramount in dealing with horses. If I have to keep asking a child to pay attention, they aren’t ready for this. I’m sorry you feel that asking her to do so is yelling at her. For liability reasons we do have expectations of attentiveness, regardless of age. Perhaps when she is older she will have more of an aptitude for this and you’ll find a suitable program for her.”

Some children are ready at 4-5 years old, we have many young riders at that age that are VERY capable, because they listen and pay attention, others aren’t as capable and won’t be until later, or maybe not all. But blaming the coach is not ok and shows a great deal about the character of the adult. A parents behavior can make or break a child’s future in any sport and coaches share experiences with one another.

This adorable, sweet child just wasn’t ready. And that’s ok. As parents, they need to respect people that know the hazards of a sport you aren’t familiar with when they “yell” (repeating it in a firm voice isn’t really yelling) at their child so they don’t get hurt. Imagine how much worse they’d feel if their child ended up at the ER. We are certain they’d really have an issue then.

Baseball coaches, basketball coaches, football coaches, dance instructors, gymnastic coaches, they all yell at their students, and their sport isn’t nearly as dangerous as equestrian sports. If a riding coach has to raise their voice at a student, it’s because they’re not listening and they’re being unsafe. If they can’t allow a coach to be firm with their child, then, and we don’t say this lightly because we want to encourage everyone to ride, this hobby might not be for them.

We encourage everyone to think of the privilege they are being given when they are accepted into an equestrian program where someone else is providing everything from the horse to its tack and daily care for them, and the students only responsibility is to listen and follow instruction. A child’s safety is very important, but, the horse and the equipment are also thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of investment that are also at stake if an accident occurs because a student isn’t paying attention. An instructor not only has a responsibility to keep the student safe, but also to protect their investment from a student who isn’t following instructions.

When we say we welcome riders of all skill levels and ages, do we really need to include a disclaimer that a person must not be a rogue liability?

Pictured is how not to let a child handle a horse.

05/07/2026

This one is for my Baker graduates. Do you remember when I had to teach electrical concept. Textbook crap about joules, wavelengths, current, voltage? Just memorised for a test. I remember saying to several classes, “You should all gone and work on an electric fence at my farm. You would learn important stuff.” I actually paid someone to fix fence this past year. What’s wrong with this picture? It the fourth one I found that , if left alone the system is grounded.

05/05/2026

I really look forward to my Tuesday mornings. I set aside some time to bring joy to John’s life. John has learned to groom, lead and now ride our steady eddy old ShyAnne. Today he decided it was so fun that his “support “ friend needed to give riding a try, John became the instructor for a walk about. Today John was the one putting Joy in my heart.

02/05/2026

It’s so nice to get a note letting you know that you’re doing some things right. It’s been a long hard few weeks, keeping everything going at the farm.

01/30/2026

Even in winter let a horse be a horse!

Unpopular opinion (but I’ll say it anyway):
A lot of modern horse care has crossed the line from good horsemanship into straight-up overmanagement.
Somewhere along the way, horses stopped being animals and started being treated like fragile glass antiques.
We track every step with an app.
We panic over a single off stride.
We throw supplements at problems that haven’t even shown up yet.
We restrict turnout, limit movement, and then act shocked when horses are stiff, anxious, ulcered, or unsound.
Horses are designed to MOVE.
They’re built to live outside.
They’re meant to experience weather, uneven ground, herd dynamics, and daily miles—not 2 hours in a stall, 30 minutes of arena work, and then back into a padded box.
Yes, good nutrition matters.
Yes, veterinary care matters.
Yes, farriers, dentists, and body workers all have their place.
But “doing everything” isn’t the same as doing what’s RIGHT.
Constant blanketing weakens their natural ability to regulate temperature.
Overbooting and overwrapping hides issues instead of fixing them.
Excessive supplements often mask management problems like lack of turnout or poor forage.
And hovering over every little thing teaches the horse to be tense because the handler is tense.
The hardest, soundest, longest-lasting horses aren’t the ones raised in sterile, controlled environments.
They’re the ones that: • Live outside most of the time
• Walk miles every day without being forced
• Develop bone, tendon, and hoof strength naturally
• Learn how to exist in the world instead of being shielded from it
A horse that never gets uncomfortable never gets resilient.
Let them sweat.
Let them roll.
Let them get wet, cold, hot, muddy, and dusty.
Let them navigate pecking orders and terrain.
Stop trying to outsmart nature.
Good horsemanship isn’t about how much money you spend or how many products you use — it’s about understanding what a horse actually needs to thrive.
If that ruffles feathers… good.
The horses will thank you.

01/06/2026

Wow good info!!

For a long time in my law enforcement career, there was something that didn’t make sense on the surface.
When officers were involved in a shooting, they often couldn’t accurately tell you how many shots were fired.
Not because they were lying.
Not because they were careless.
But because under extreme stress, the human brain does something very predictable.
One of the first things we lose when adrenaline spikes is auditory processing.
It’s called auditory exclusion. When your nervous system shifts into survival mode, the brain reallocates resources away from “non-essential” sensory input and toward gross motor function and threat response. Hearing narrows. Time distorts. Memory fragments. Vision tunnels. The world becomes simpler and louder things get quieter — or disappear entirely.
For years this caused real problems for good officers. Their testimony didn’t line up with the physical evidence. Not because their character was flawed — but because their physiology had changed.
Once that was understood, training changed.
Instead of just training tactics, we trained the nervous system.
We learned how to recognize adrenaline before it ran us over.
We learned how to slow it down before it stole our thinking.
And one of the simplest and most powerful tools I learned was this:
👉 Focus on hearing.
When I consciously focus on sound, I keep my brain out of full survival mode. My heart rate stays lower. My breathing stays steadier. My thinking stays clearer. I stay present instead of reactive.
That lesson followed me out of a patrol car and into a show pen.
Today, I use that same tool with my riders.
Before they enter the pen, I ask them a simple question:
“What song is playing on the PA system right now?”
Then I tell them:
“When you come out, I’m going to ask you what song was playing while you were showing.”
At first it feels ridiculous.
They think I’m giving them something irrelevant to worry about. They think I’m distracting them. They think I’m taking away from their focus.
But what I’m actually doing is giving their nervous system an anchor.
That tiny, harmless, audible task does three important things:
1️⃣ It keeps their brain from going fully into fight-or-flight.
2️⃣ It prevents tunnel vision and panic focus.
3️⃣ It keeps them present instead of trapped in outcome-thinking.
When adrenaline spikes, riders don’t ride the pattern — they survive the pattern.
They rush. They miss transitions. They over-cue. They stop riding and start reacting.
That’s not a skill problem.
That’s not a training problem.
That’s not a horse problem.
That’s a nervous system problem.
Most people think pressure comes from the outside.
It doesn’t.
Pressure comes from inside the body.
The show pen doesn’t create pressure — it reveals whether you know how to regulate yourself under pressure.
This is the same thing that happens with horses.
A horse with too much adrenaline can’t learn. A horse with too much adrenaline can’t think. A horse with too much adrenaline can’t soften, relax, or process.
Neither can a rider.
So when I ask about the song, I’m not trying to make them less serious.
I’m helping them stay regulated enough to be serious effectively.
I want their brain online. I want their timing clean. I want their feel available. I want their awareness wide instead of narrow.
The best performances don’t come from intensity.
They come from clarity.
Calm focus beats emotional intensity every time — in police work, in horse training, and in the show pen.
And the irony is this:
The riders who feel like they “care the most” are often the ones who sabotage themselves with adrenaline.
Not because they’re weak. Not because they’re unprepared. But because nobody ever taught them how to manage what happens inside their own body under pressure.
So yes — before you go show, I’m going to ask you about the music.
Not because the song matters.
But because your nervous system does.
And the rider who can control their adrenaline will always outperform the rider who is controlled by it.
Every time.

11/30/2025

Winter wonderland!!

08/27/2025

Absolutely Johnnys Joker enjoying his morning grooming. Almost 5 months old, and 14 hands tall. Halters, leads, picks up all feet. Handled daily. Ready to wean and find a new family. Through breeding he is homozygous for tobiano, and 6 panel negative. Has an amazing western pleasure lope. 6,###. DM me for further info.

05/10/2025

This is a long read but so true. I hope others see me as the one who “shows up”. I love the challenge of rehabbing and caring for your horse. But the truth is they, like other animals can’t tell you what is bothering them.

Animals Get Sick. Period.

It doesn’t matter where they are located — a vet, a breeder, a rescue, or at your friends house — animals get sick. Horses, dogs, goats, cats, birds, exotics — it’s all the same. Illness happens. Injury happens. Sometimes without warning, and often without someone to “blame.”

If you own animals, it is your responsibility to step up and care for them, especially in the hard moments.
Not to point fingers. 🫵🏻
Not to ask “who can I hold accountable?”
But to do what needs to be done.

Animals are not products. They are living beings. And just like children — they do, and will, get sick. That’s life. That’s nature. That’s reality.

Especially horses. Horses are a gamble. You can do everything right and still lose. You can pour your soul into a foal, a mare, or a show horse — and one day, things still go sideways.

I’ve been doing this well over 10 years. I’ve watched countless friends fight with everything they have to save sick foals, downed mares, colics, mystery cases, and gut-wrenching diagnoses.
And this year alone? It’s been a DOOZY.
I’ve seen hearts break left and right. 🥺
But I’ve also seen those same people keep showing up — for the love of it. For the animals.

Because for those of us truly in it — the good far outweighs the bad.
But let’s not pretend: when the bad hits, it hits HARD.

And I’ll be honest — the ones I’ve seen fall the fastest when things go wrong? They’re usually the ones who didn’t grow up in this life.
Didn’t grow up watching calves die in the night.
Didn’t grow up burying ponies in the cold.
Didn’t learn that loss is part of the lifestyle.
That grit is required.
That heartbreak is guaranteed.

Now don’t get me wrong — I know folks who’ve stepped away too. But they’re the wise ones who’ve earned that peace. Their families are grown and their time is well spent elsewhere. That’s different. That’s grace.

But for anyone who’s entering this world — or trying to toe the edge of it — let me say it clearly:

Animals are not accessories. They are not guarantees.
If you’re not ready for the responsibility, the risk, the heartbreak, and the heavy lifting — then maybe animals, especially farm life or breeding, just aren’t for you.

Because they WILL get sick.
And you have to be the one who shows up — monetarily and with time and heart — every single time.

To my fellow warriors out there still showing up through the hard — I see you. I’m with you. Keep going. They’re worth it. 💚