Adkins Horsemanship

09/27/2026

Ivy has come a LONG way. ❤️

A couple of months ago, riding Ivy meant always having one eye on the horizon.

A bird flushing from the grass. A bush moving in the wind. A jackrabbit sprinting across the prairie. It didn’t take much to convince her that something was terrifying, and when she got scared, her answer was usually spin and bolt.

And when your horse is this massive and powerful, watching 1,200+ pounds suddenly launch itself in another direction is… an experience. 😂

Ivy has always reminded me of an elephant in a tutu trying to perform ballet. She’s HUGE, she’s powerful, she’s incredibly sensitive, and underneath all of that is one of the sweetest mares I’ve ever worked with.

Getting her here hasn’t been about forcing her to stop being afraid. It’s taken a lot of consistent, gentle, fair work to help her learn that she can be scared without needing to run.

And now?

Riding Ivy is a joy.

She thinks. She listens. She trusts me to help her through the things that used to overwhelm her, and I’m no longer spending every ride wondering what might set her off next.

That’s the kind of progress that makes me incredibly proud.

I genuinely look forward to seeing this mare every week, and honestly, I’m going to miss the hell out of her when she heads off to her new home. ❤️

But that’s the whole point of this work.

Not to make a horse fearless.

To help them become confident enough to think before they react.

And watching Ivy discover that ability has been one of my favorite transformations yet.

09/25/2026

This former quinceañera horse came into training with a young rider learning the basics—and one VERY pushy personality that fully expected to never be asked to work again.

In the beginning, getting him to actually listen to his rider’s cues instead of doing whatever he wanted was a project in itself. My job has been to turn that pushiness into responsiveness and help him understand that listening to his rider is a two-way conversation that he has to be part of.

But today, he completely surprised me on the trail. Apache was responsive, willing, and genuinely enjoyable to ride—and honestly, I didn’t even see it coming. I was fully prepared to deal with a flighty, stubborn, horse that was going to take off on me. I’m proud to say I was totally wrong.

He’s still got plenty to learn, but Apache is shaping up to be a really solid horse. 🐴

Sometimes the biggest changes aren’t about teaching a horse something completely new. They’re about teaching them how to listen.

09/23/2026

Sometimes the best horses aren’t the ones who arrive with the biggest résumé. Sometimes they just need someone willing to give them one.

Meet Lady & Ashley. 🐴

These two mares came to Adkins Horsemanship 30 days ago with a pretty simple résumé: broodmares, pasture life, and not much else.

They had been started under saddle, but they hadn’t really had the opportunity to become riding horses.

So that’s what we’re doing.

They’ve spent the last month learning what it means to have a job—building their foundation from the ground up, learning to communicate with their rider, navigating obstacles, getting comfortable with saddling and bridling, and most importantly, getting miles.

A lot of miles.

We’ve been taking advantage of the mountains and trails around my property to give them experiences that an arena simply can’t replicate. Hills, uneven footing, obstacles, wildlife, open spaces, and plenty of opportunities to learn how to think through something instead of just reacting to it.

And they’re becoming really nice horses.

Ashley has been blowing me away lately. Today we went on a long mountain ride and she spent several miles cantering uphill like she’d been doing it her entire life. Smooth, powerful, and fast as all get out. 😂 And not a single buck.

She’s becoming incredibly responsive to her rider and I’m starting to see just how much athleticism is hiding underneath that pasture-mare exterior.

Lady has been developing into the steadier, softer half of the pair. She’s becoming increasingly confident on the trails and has such a genuinely sweet, affectionate personality. She’s the kind of mare who will work her heart out and then come back afterward looking for a hug. ❤️

08/24/2026

This is why I do what I do. 🐴💕

One of my favorite parts of this job isn’t necessarily watching a horse learn something new. It’s watching the person on the other end of the lead rope realize they can do things they didn’t think they could.

Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible horses and their people.

Sarah came to me after being bucked off her previous horse multiple times. After helping her find Jake, we worked on rebuilding her confidence and giving her the tools to feel safe riding him. Now she and her husband Dave are spending their retirement hitting the trails together.

Lisa and Tiger have been on their own confidence journey, too. Watching Lisa go from hesitant to get on in the arena, to getting out on the trails and genuinely having fun on her horse has been incredible. Especially when she’s singing to him.

Michelle got back on a horse for the first time in four years with Harbor. Watching her confidence grow and seeing her realize she could do this again has been incredibly rewarding.

And then there’s Liz and Storm. Storm started out virtually unhandled and had developed behaviors that could make him genuinely dangerous to handle. Rather than simply training Storm for Liz, we worked on giving Liz the tools to continue his education herself.

She’s adding skills to her own tool belt while adding skills to Storm’s résumé.

And that’s what I want.

I don’t want to create horses that only know how to behave when I’m holding the lead rope. I want owners to understand their horses, feel confident handling them, and know how to keep moving forward when I’m not there.

Because the goal isn’t just a broke horse. It’s a confident horse and a confident human who know how to work together.

Sometimes the biggest win is simply hearing:

“I went out and rode my horse by myself—and I actually had fun.”

Those are the moments that make the miles, muddy boots, difficult horses, and long training days worth it.

I’m incredibly proud of every client who has faced something that scared them and kept going. And I’m so grateful to everyone who has trusted me with their horses—and trusted me enough to let me teach them, too. 💕

08/22/2026

Meet Aries Ranger! ❤️

After a few days of decompression, we’re finally beginning the very first steps of his rehabilitation: teaching him that being touched by a human doesn’t have to hurt.

This isn’t a typical case of a horse being a little shy about touch.

When I reach toward him, I can watch his entire body tense. He shivers, braces, changes the way he stands, and tries desperately to get away. His fear can become explosive enough that he is genuinely dangerous to be around. Today alone, he panicked hard enough twice that I had to climb backwards over the panels to keep myself out of harm’s way.

But I don’t want you to mistake his fear for a lack of willingness.

This horse is trying SO hard to be brave.

Yesterday, our goal was simply removing his halter. He let me do it.

Today, the goal was to gently brush his entire body, comb the tangles from his mane, touch the sides of his face, put his halter back on, and take it off again.

And he did it.

These may seem like incredibly small accomplishments, but for Aries, they’re enormous.

I’m not spending hours trying to convince him that I’m not going to hurt him. We’re keeping our sessions short, controlled, and positive. I can control the environment, give him room to think, and most importantly, make sure that nothing bad happens.

Yes, he still gets scared. And when he does, he can become a terrifying force of nature because his instinct is telling him that he needs to escape.

But he’s already beginning to learn something incredibly important:

He can get scared, come back down, and try again.

That’s what we’re building right now—not a broke horse, not a riding horse, and not even a particularly touchable horse.

We’re building trust.

Once he understands that human hands can be gentle, that pressure doesn’t always mean pain, and that he has a safe place to come back to when he’s afraid, then we can start building everything else.

Aries Ranger has a long road ahead of him.

But I have a feeling he’s going to make one hell of a horse. 🖤🐴

08/22/2026

Storm’s progress after just two sessions has me SO proud of this little guy—and even more proud of his owner for continuing the work. 🐴❤️

When Storm first came into her care, he was a virtually unhandled 2-year-old stud c**t. Trying to halter him could result in him bolting backwards and ripping the lead rope from your hands, and he had started using his hindquarters to threaten people when he felt pressured. With a young stallion that is becoming increasingly difficult to handle, those behaviors can become dangerous very quickly.

His owner took him on as a project, but after his progress stalled, we focused on giving her the tools to safely continue his education herself.

Using panels and long lines, we worked through the basics: catching, haltering, leading, responding to pressure, and learning that unfamiliar things don’t automatically mean “RUN BACKWARDS.” 😂

Then came his first vet appointment.

The vet was able to draw blood and give him two vaccinations with no major issues, and even said that Storm was “better than most horses he sees.” For a c**t who had recently been nearly impossible to handle, that was a MAJOR milestone.

We’ve also started working on his feet, and while his front feet still need some continued maintenance, they’re already becoming more manageable.

Since our sessions, his owner has been practicing flag work, pad work, catching, haltering, grooming, and handling his feet—and these photos are proof that the work is continuing long after I left.

That’s one of my favorite parts of training horses: I don’t want to create a horse who only behaves when I’m holding the lead rope. I want to teach the owner how to communicate with their horse so they can keep building that foundation themselves.

Storm has a long way to go, but he’s learning how to meet the world instead of running from it. Our goal is to give him the skills and confidence to safely navigate whatever comes next, including eventually shipping across the country to begin the next chapter of his life.

Two sessions down. A whole lot of potential ahead.🐴

08/08/2026

Regulus (Formerly Charlie Brown) and I have been having the best time on the trail together. We are adding miles and building confidence at the same time and he is doing AMAZING! I’m so proud of the progress he has made, especially after the stress of being evacuated for a month because of the Aspen Acres Fire.

07/01/2026

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06/23/2026

And all of a sudden, the little mustang mare, Nimbus, was started under saddle and heading down the trail.

At four years old, Nimbus is still developing both physically and mentally. Like many young horses, she’s going through some awkward stages as she continues to grow, and with a brain as sharp as hers, she gets bored easily. She’s incredibly intelligent, but she’s still very much a baby.

Because of that, her training is built around small, bite-sized pieces of larger concepts that we can revisit, reinforce, and build upon over time.

Her first ride out of the fence—only her second ride ever—was no exception.

This was her first introduction to steering, leg pressure, carrying a rider independently, and navigating obstacles without someone leading her from the ground. Despite having so many new things thrown at her at once, she approached each challenge with curiosity and thoughtfulness, and I couldn’t have been happier with her.

The more I work with this mare, the more convinced I become that she’s going to thrive in the backcountry. She’s the kind of horse that wants a job, wants an adventure, and wants something to think about. For a mind like hers, the arena will never be enough on its own.

Stay tuned for the incredible adventures Nimbus will take us on!