Big Top Equestrian Centre

05/29/2026

The 3 F’s of equine welfare are Friends, Forage, and Freedom. These core principles represent the fundamental physical and mental needs of a horse. Providing them is critical for keeping horses healthy, reducing stress, and preventing behavioral issues.

At Big Top Equestrian, we are very, very lucky to have the land to be able to offer this to our horses. The horses you see in these photos are some boarders and some are mine - hard to tell as I keep them all in small herds. Sometimes I have to make an exception to that for a new horse arriving (quarantine) or for a horse who is sick or needs a bit less grass - but it is ALWAYS my goal to get them out with the rest of the gang.

Do these horses look happy? :)

05/27/2026

This is such a great explanation!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18cR3mja1u/

There is a big difference between giving a horse a release and teaching a horse to find the release.

In the very beginning, when a horse is first started and we are teaching that horse to soften its face, the lesson is usually very simple. I pick up one rein. The horse feels that pressure. The instant the horse softens in that direction, I release the rein. That release is what tells the horse, “Yes, that was the answer.” At that stage, the release has to be quick because the horse does not yet understand what I am asking. I am not trying to hold the horse there. I am not trying to shape the whole body yet. I am simply teaching the horse that when it feels that rein, it should soften and give.

That is an important lesson, but it is only the beginning.

Too many riders stop right there. They teach the horse to give its face, then they spend the next several years picking up, getting a little softness, and immediately throwing the rein away. Then they wonder why the horse never learns to carry itself. They wonder why the horse never develops true collection. They wonder why the horse feels soft for one second and then falls apart the moment the rider quits holding the rein.

The problem is not that the release was wrong. The problem is that the horse was never advanced past the first stage of the lesson.

A young horse or green horse needs to learn that the pull of the rein is coming. At first, the horse may wait until the rein actually makes contact before it gives. Then, as the horse begins to understand, it starts to bring its head with the rein. The contact gets softer. The horse starts to follow the rider’s hand instead of waiting to be pulled. That is a major change in understanding. That is the point where the horse is no longer just reacting to pressure. The horse is beginning to look for the answer.

That is what I mean by teaching the horse to find the release.

When a horse has learned to find the release, the rider’s job starts to change. Instead of simply picking up the rein, getting softness, and immediately letting go, the rider can start putting their hand where they want the horse to be. Then they hold that position and allow the horse to find it. The horse learns that the answer is not just to move its face away from pressure. The answer is to place its body where the rider is asking and stay there until the rider releases.

That is a very different level of training.

This is also where a lot of people misunderstand what they are seeing. They think every time a rider holds contact, the rider is taking from the horse. They think the horse is being denied the release. But there is a difference between pulling on a horse that does not understand and holding a position for a horse that has been taught to search for the answer. One creates resistance. The other creates understanding.

When the horse is ready for that next stage, the rider should not always release the instant the horse gives. The rider may hold that contact for a couple of seconds before releasing. Then the release itself should become slower. The hand should not sn**ch, jerk, grab, or throw the rein away. The contact becomes smoother, and the release becomes smoother. The horse learns that the rider’s hand is not something to escape. The rider’s hand becomes something to follow.

That is where the horse starts learning self-carriage.

Self-carriage does not come from constantly giving the horse away. It also does not come from holding the horse together with force. It comes from teaching the horse to allow the rider to shape the body, hold that shape for a moment, and then gradually build the strength and understanding to stay there longer.

At first, that might only be two seconds. Then it becomes five seconds. Then ten seconds. Then the horse can hold that shape through a maneuver. Then through a circle. Then through a pattern. Eventually, the goal is for the horse to carry itself in that balance without the rider having to constantly hold every piece together.

That does not happen in one ride.

A horse has to build the muscle to carry itself that way. It has to develop strength through its back, loin, hip, stifle, and hock. It has to learn how to drive from behind while staying soft in the front. It has to learn that softness is not just bending the neck. Softness is letting the rider influence the whole body.

That is why true collection takes time.

A lot of horses are taught to give their face, but they are never taught to carry their body. That creates the illusion of softness. The horse may flex its neck. It may tuck its nose. It may feel light in the hand for a second. But if the hind end is not engaged and the horse is not learning to hold its body in balance, that is not collection. That is just a horse moving its face.

The face is the doorway, not the whole house.

In the beginning, I may reward the smallest try because the horse needs confidence. I may pick up one rein and release the instant the horse gives because that horse is learning the language. But as soon as the horse understands the basic answer, I have to start developing the lesson. I have to teach the horse that the rein does not just mean “move your head.” It means “follow my hand, soften your body, shape yourself, and stay with me.”

That is the progression many riders miss.

They are so focused on giving the release that they never teach the horse to search for the release. They release so quickly and so completely that the horse never learns to stay in the correct position. Then the horse becomes dependent on constant reminders. Every few strides, the rider has to pick the horse back up because the horse was never taught to hold itself there.

There is a time to release quickly.

There is also a time to hold long enough for the horse to understand that the correct answer is not just finding the position, but staying in the position.

That is the difference between basic softness and advanced training.

The better trained a horse becomes, the more the release becomes part of a conversation instead of just an escape from pressure. The horse learns that the rider’s hand is not punishment. The horse learns that contact is not something to fear. The horse learns to stay mentally connected to the rider and physically organized underneath itself.

That is when you start to feel a horse become truly broke.

Not because the horse hides behind the bit. Not because the rider can pull its head around. Not because the horse has been flexed a thousand times. The horse becomes broke because it understands how to find the answer, hold the answer, and carry the answer forward.

That is where self-collection begins.

05/13/2026

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05/01/2026

We are all looking forward to our upcoming Carlo Toews clinic, May 6 - 9 here at Big Top Equestrian! Day one will be semi-private lessons and then the full clinic will be May 7, 8 and 9th.
The riding portion of this clinic has been full for months - but there is still an opportunity to audit, everyone welcome.
$40.00 per day or $100.00 for all four days.

04/16/2026

When breeding horses, sometimes things come full circle. Over the years I have had many horses born here who were sold to new homes. Occasionally, I have the opportunity to purchase them back! Well, we have done it again :) Please help us welcome home *Sunlight Serenade, aka *Sunny. She is a full sister to my much loved *Sandman's Serenade (deceased), their sire is of course *Sandman's Magic and their dam was one of my all time favorite horses, RJ Light Serenade (aka Mirage). Mirage was a purebred, registered Egyptian Arabian.

04/11/2026

Pat Parelli - he is a great horseman!

What’s the difference between a reaction and a response in your horse? Understanding this simple concept can dramatically improve your horsemanship and commu...

04/06/2026

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Why Jumpy and Reactive Horses Often Stay That Way

One of the biggest mistakes people make with a jumpy and reactive horse is trying to fix the reaction without understanding how the reaction is being reinforced.

A horse does not stay reactive just because it has energy or personality. Many reactive horses stay that way because somewhere along the line they learned that reacting creates relief. They jump, brace, scoot, flinch, or overreact, and then the rider stops riding, quits asking, or lets the horse shut down and stand still. From the horse’s point of view, that is training. The horse did something, and life got easier. That lesson gets stronger every time it happens.

That is why timing matters so much.

With a horse like that, the goal is not to comfort the reaction and it is not to punish the horse emotionally either. The goal is to make sure the horse learns that reacting is not what creates peace. Softness is what creates peace. Forward is what creates peace. Letting the rider lead is what creates peace.

That is a very different way of thinking than what many people do.

A lot of riders get nervous when a horse gets reactive, so their whole focus becomes getting the horse stopped, contained, or shut down as quickly as possible. That may help the rider feel better in the moment, but very often it teaches the horse the wrong lesson. If the horse learns that jumping, tightening up, or scaring the rider gets everything to stop, that horse has just learned a very effective strategy.

That is how many reactive horses get more reactive instead of less.

The better approach is to control the feet without rewarding the mental mistake. When the horse gets flinchy, tight, or overreactive, I want the horse’s feet working in a controlled way. I want direction. I want forward. I want the horse on my page mentally instead of letting the reaction become the place where the work ends.

That is why circles are so useful.

Circles are not just about steering. They are one of the clearest ways to put the horse’s mind back with the rider. In a circle, I control the direction, I control the speed, and I control whether the horse is allowed to rest. The circle gives the horse somewhere to go without letting the horse turn that energy into a bigger problem. Instead of fighting the horse or trapping the horse, I am giving that horse structure.

That structure matters because a lot of reactive horses do worse when riders try to lock everything down too much.

When a horse is anxious, overly reactive, or mentally unsettled, forcing too much stillness too early often just builds pressure with nowhere for it to go. The horse gets more bottled up, more worried, and more likely to blow up. That is why forward is so important. Forward gives the horse an outlet, but it is an outlet inside the rider’s rules. It is not freedom to do whatever the horse wants. It is controlled movement with leadership.

Another mistake people make is they start handling the horse like there is always something to be afraid of.

They creep around the horse. They get overly cautious with every movement. They treat the horse like it is fragile, unpredictable, and always one second from disaster. The problem is the horse feels that. Horses are extremely sensitive to how people carry themselves. If the rider acts like something is wrong, the horse becomes more convinced that something must be wrong.

That is why I do not like to baby that kind of reaction.

I want to handle the horse like it can become broke. I want to ride like I expect the horse to learn. That does not mean I am careless. It means I am clear. I am not feeding the uncertainty. I am not tiptoeing around the problem and making it bigger. I am showing the horse that I am steady, I am definite, and I am not changing my whole presence just because the horse feels reactive.

That steadiness is part of leadership.

The real key in this kind of training is making the right answer obvious. When the horse gets reactive, I become more active and more definite with my body. I keep the feet working. When the horse softens, I soften too. When the horse relaxes, I let the pressure come down. When the horse gets mentally back with me, that is when life gets easier.

That is where the release belongs.

The release should not come when the horse flinches, tightens up, or scares itself. The release should come when the horse gets softer, more settled, and more mentally connected. That is how you start changing the pattern in the horse’s mind. The horse begins to understand that reacting does not solve the problem. Softening solves the problem.

That is when real progress starts to happen.

This kind of work is not mainly about making the horse physically tired. It is about improving the horse’s decision-making. A reactive horse has to learn a new way to respond. Instead of jumping away from pressure, bracing against pressure, or using reaction as an escape, the horse has to learn to stay with the rider, go forward, and come back mentally instead of coming apart.

That is a training issue, not just a behavior issue.

And it is important to understand that this does not happen by accident. It happens because the rider becomes more aware of what is being rewarded. Every ride teaches something. Every release teaches something. Every time a horse gets relief, the horse is learning what answer worked.

So if a horse is learning that reaction works, that horse will keep reacting.

If a horse learns that softness works, that horse will start searching for softness instead.

That is the real technique.

It is not about gimmicks. It is not about trying to make the horse numb. It is not about getting through the moment any way possible. It is about clear leadership, correct timing, controlled movement, and making sure the horse finds out that the right mental answer is the easiest place to be.

That is how you start changing a jumpy, reactive horse from the inside out.

And once that starts to happen, you are not just managing a symptom anymore. You are building a horse that thinks better, handles pressure better, and stays with the rider instead of looking for escape. That is the point where training becomes more than stopping a problem. That is the point where you start creating a better horse.

If you want to see me apply this technique with a horse, click the video link in the comments.

04/02/2026

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“Pay attention to me!”

Heard in arenas everywhere, riders grow frustrated with their horse’s lack of attention.

But pay attention to what?

Too often, the person asking for attention hasn’t offered anything worth attending to. They catch the horse absentmindedly, lead them to the arena while mentally somewhere else, mount up still distracted—and only then notice the horse isn’t with them. Suddenly, attention is demanded.

But what exactly is the horse supposed to lock onto?

A horse is constantly searching for clarity,
direction, for something that makes sense to them.

If that clarity isn’t present in the person in front of them, they will look elsewhere. They’ll fixate on other horses, become hyper-vigilant to the environment, or simply disconnect and go dull. None of these responses are disobedience—they are the natural result of a missing leader.

Attention is not something you extract. It’s something you earn by being worth paying attention to.

When a rider is present, they begin to organize the world for the horse. They notice the thought before it becomes tension, redirect before distraction becomes disconnection, and support before imbalance turns into resistance. The horse doesn’t have to search anymore, because the answers are already there.

And in that, attention becomes easy.

A horse will feel safest with a person who is capable of presence.

Of course, horses can become conditioned to inattention. Repetition of unclear, distracted handling teaches them that nothing meaningful is coming, and so they stop looking. This is where skill matters—because now the rider must rebuild the value of attention.

The horse has to discover that paying attention leads somewhere worthwhile.

It brings them into better balance. It offers them relief. It creates a sense of direction and calm. Attention is no longer a demand placed on them—it becomes a place they want to be.

But this is the part people often want to skip: it requires the rider’s attention first, consistently and quietly.

There is no button to install. No shortcut to create a horse that will “pay attention” regardless of who is sitting on them.

A horse is a living being. Their attention is a reflection, not a submission.

Think about speaking to someone who drifts off mid-conversation. You see their eyes wander, feel their focus leave you. You don’t lean in harder—you disengage. You stop offering.

Horses are no different.

If you want their attention, become someone who has it. You pay attention first- then see what you get in return.

03/16/2026

Tim Anderson Horse Training posted this today and it is SO spot on. If I were to add to it at all, it would be that the easiest place to get a partnership with your horse is in his paddock, that moves on to out of the paddock, into the arena, more ground work and then under saddle work when ready. An ever expanding list of circumstances and experiences which lead a horse to be "made" .
A great partnership and a horse who is truly "made" will take hundreds or thousands of hours of work, seemingly repetitive, but that isn't slow, that is reality.
At the end of the day though that "made" horse is truly a joy in ALL situations and I bet if you could ask them, they would say the same thing.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DabytsoKv/

Respect for space.
When I talk about respect for space, I’m not trying to win an argument about dominance or prove I’m the “boss.” I’m talking about something far more practical: a horse cannot be the one making the decisions. Not because the horse is “bad,” and not because the horse is plotting against you—but because a thousand-pound animal making independent decisions in a human world is how people get hurt.

I’ve spent my life around horses, and I’ll tell you the truth as plainly as I can: a horse making the decisions is dangerous for the rider. It’s dangerous in the obvious ways—spooking, bolting, running over you—but it’s also dangerous in the subtle ways people excuse for years until something finally happens. The little decisions become bigger decisions. The small boundary becomes no boundary. Then one day the horse makes a decision at the wrong time, and it turns into a wreck.

So when I ask for a horse to respect my space, what I’m really doing is asking for one essential thing: let me be the leader. Not the bully. Not the dictator. The leader.

Because leadership is how the relationship works. Leadership is what makes the partnership safe. And safety is what allows both the rider and the horse to get what they want out of the relationship.

The Horse Doesn’t Get to Decide Where My Body Goes

Here’s the simplest way I can put it: if a horse can move my feet, that horse is already in charge.

A lot of people don’t realize that’s what’s happening. They call it “he’s just being friendly” or “she’s just a little pushy.” But in the horse’s world, movement equals control. If the horse crowds you and you step away, the horse just learned something. If the horse drags you to the gate and you go with him, he learned something. If the horse leans into you at the mounting block and you adjust to make it work, he learned something.

None of this is evil. It’s just horses being horses.

But if the horse is allowed to make those decisions on the ground, it becomes very likely that the horse will try to make decisions under saddle too—especially when the horse gets worried, excited, tired, frustrated, or distracted. And that’s when it gets dangerous.

So I don’t treat “respect for space” as a manners issue. I treat it as a leadership issue.

A Horse Making Decisions Looks Like This

Most folks think a horse “making decisions” is a big dramatic thing like bolting or bucking.

But the truth is, it starts long before that. It looks like:

stepping into you when you stop

pushing the shoulder into you when you lead

swinging the hip into you when you’re trying to move around them

walking past you instead of with you

drifting into your bubble while you saddle

crowding you at the mounting block

turning their head and leaving you mentally, even if their feet are still standing there

Those are all decisions. They’re small, but they’re real.

And here’s why they matter: a horse that believes it can decide where to put its body will eventually decide where to put its body when it counts. That might be into you, over you, away from you, or through you.

I’m not willing to gamble on that.

Leadership Isn’t About Being Mean—It’s About Taking Responsibility

This is where people get confused, because they hear “leader” and they picture somebody roughing a horse up to prove a point.

That’s not leadership. That’s insecurity.

Leadership is simple: I take responsibility for the decisions so the horse doesn’t have to.

A horse is always looking for someone to answer a question: “Where should I be? What should I do? Is this safe? Are we okay?” If I don’t answer those questions, the horse will. Not because the horse is disrespectful, but because the horse is wired to survive.

And the horse’s survival decisions don’t always match what keeps the rider safe.

A horse’s decision might be: “I’m leaving.”
A horse’s decision might be: “I’m running through this pressure.”
A horse’s decision might be: “I’m going back to the barn.”
A horse’s decision might be: “I’m crowding into you because I feel better close.”

All of those decisions make sense to a horse. None of them are what I want happening with my feet on the ground or my seat in the saddle.

So my job isn’t to punish the horse for being a horse. My job is to show the horse a better system:

You don’t have to make the decisions. I will. And if you follow my leadership, you’ll end up safer and more comfortable than you would on your own.

That’s what a partnership actually is.

Partnership Means Both Sides Get What They Want

A lot of people say they want a partnership, but what they really mean is they want the horse to cooperate while the horse is still in charge.

That’s not partnership. That’s negotiation.

Real partnership looks like this:

The rider gets safety, control, and reliability.

The horse gets clarity, fairness, and relief from having to guess.

That’s the deal.

When I’m consistent about space, what I’m really building is a horse that trusts leadership. Because a horse that trusts leadership will stop feeling like it has to manage everything.

And that changes everything under saddle.

A horse that is allowed to manage you on the ground often becomes a horse that tries to manage the ride: it chooses the speed, the direction, the distance from the gate, the amount of effort, the level of focus. It decides how much it wants to give. It decides when it wants to quit. It decides when it wants to argue.

That’s not a partnership. That’s a horse running the relationship.

A horse can’t run the relationship safely. The horse doesn’t have the same goals as you do. The horse doesn’t have the same understanding of risk. The horse doesn’t think like a human. And the horse should not have to.

“Respect for Space” Is Just the First Leadership Test

I like to keep it simple. Respect for space is the first place I check whether the horse accepts leadership.

If the horse won’t respect space, it’s usually not a training problem yet. It’s a leadership problem.

Because space is the easiest thing in the world to understand: “Don’t walk into me. Don’t push through me. Yield when I ask.”

If a horse can’t do that calmly and consistently, then I already know what I’m going to get later when the questions get harder.

And I’m not saying that to be dramatic. I’m saying it because I’ve watched the pattern a thousand times.

The horse that crowds on the ground becomes the horse that leans on the bridle.

The horse that drags you to the gate becomes the horse that sucks back to the barn.

The horse that won’t yield the shoulder becomes the horse that falls in on circles and ignores leg.

The horse that walks through you becomes the horse that walks through pressure.

It’s the same mindset—just different settings.

What It Looks Like When the Rider Is the Leader

When the rider is truly the leader, you can see it without anybody having to announce it.

It looks like:

The horse stays out of your space unless invited closer.

The horse matches your pace when you lead.

The horse yields the shoulder and hip when asked.

The horse stops when you stop and doesn’t step into you.

The horse waits at the mounting block instead of crawling into your lap.

The horse stays mentally with you, not scanning for its own plan.

And the horse doesn’t do those things because it’s afraid. It does them because it understands the system.

The horse understands: “If I follow this person, my life makes sense.”

That’s what leadership creates—a world that makes sense.

The Rider Being the Leader Doesn’t Mean the Horse Has No Opinion

This matters, because someone always hears “leader” and thinks it means the horse gets treated like a robot.

No.

A horse can have feelings. A horse can be unsure. A horse can be fresh. A horse can be opinionated.

But the horse doesn’t get to turn those feelings into decisions that put the rider at risk.

That’s the line.

I want the horse to be able to express itself within the relationship—without taking control of the relationship.

That’s why I correct space issues. Not because I hate the horse being close. But because I refuse to let closeness become control.

The Big Takeaway

If your horse is crowding you, pushing into you, leaning on you, or moving your feet around, I don’t want you to label your horse as “disrespectful” and get angry.

I want you to label it accurately:

Your horse is making decisions that you should be making.

And any time the horse is making those decisions, your risk goes up—on the ground and in the saddle.

So the goal isn’t dominance. The goal is leadership.

Leadership gives the rider what they want: safety, control, and progress.

Leadership gives the horse what it wants: clarity, fairness, and the comfort of not having to guess.

That’s how you build a partnership that works for both sides—because the rider leads, and the horse follows with confidence.

03/02/2026

A big part of horse husbandry is manure management. Every year we have to move our substantial amount of manure away from the barn area. I have always done it myself, with help of course, but this year we hired Merv Minty, our favorite back hoe operator to move it all in one day for us.
We keep every scrap of manure right here on the farm! It is the BEST fertilizer and medium for new seed, we have very gravelly soil and so we use it all lol!