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Dyck Equines

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Dyck Equines

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Riding coach & educator. Clear theory. Correct basics. Better rides. Follow for weekly riding tips!

10/28/2026

An Update on Baby Balou! Our sweet little Balou has made it through surgery, and we are so relieved to share that the surgery was a success.

Unfortunately, once the surgeon was able to assess his injuries more thoroughly, they discovered significantly more damage than we had initially anticipated.

While we are incredibly grateful that surgery went well, Balou is by no means out of the woods yet. There is an infection that we will be working to treat over the coming week. Once the inflammation begins to subside, we will hopefully have a clearer understanding of the full extent of the damage and what his long-term recovery may look like.

For now, we are taking things one day at a time, focusing on keeping him comfortable, managing the infection, and giving his body every opportunity to heal. Balou has already shown us just how tough he is, and we are cautiously optimistic while remaining realistic about the challenges ahead.

To our incredible clients, students, friends, and veterinary team: thank you for the overwhelming kindness, patience, and support over the past few days. Your understanding as we’ve navigated this unexpected emergency has meant more than you know.

We have a long road ahead of us, but we are simply grateful that our boy is home.

10/26/2026

A heartfelt thank you to all of my clients for your patience, kindness, and understanding with today’s unexpected cancellations.

Unfortunately, our newest little addition, baby Balou, was involved in a freak accident out in the field today. It has been an incredibly stressful & emotional day, but I am relieved to share that he is stable and receiving the care he needs. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday, and we are hopeful for a positive outcome.

Days like today are a reminder of just how quickly things can change when working with horses, and how fortunate I am to have such an understanding community surrounding me.

To those who stepped up without hesitation, offered support, and helped me navigate today… thank you. For now, our focus is on getting our sweet little Balou through surgery and on the road to recovery.

Thank you all for your continued kindness and understanding. It means more than you know.

10/19/2026

We are delighted to officially welcome the newest member of our herd, Limited Editions Maestro, affectionately known as Balou!

Balou is a young German Riding Pony who has joined us rather unexpectedly. While welcoming another pony was certainly not part of our plans for this year, sometimes the most exciting opportunities are the ones we least anticipate.

We are looking forward to getting to know this lovely young gentleman, continuing his education, and watching him develop over the coming years.

Although his arrival was entirely unplanned, we are excited for this next chapter and the potential he brings to our program.

10/09/2026

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the expectations we place on ourselves, both in and out of the saddle. This industry has a way of making us feel like there’s always something more we could be doing. While I love the ambition that comes with this sport, I’m learning that ambition and balance don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

I’m learning to appreciate ambition without burnout, consistency without perfection, progress without comparison, and discipline without unnecessary pressure.

To put the horse first without always putting myself last. To recognize that rest is part of training, not a reward for surviving it! To remember that not every ride needs to be a breakthrough to be worthwhile.

I still believe in hard work, high standards, and showing up consistently. But I’m also learning that sustainable progress requires patience, perspective, and occasionally knowing when to call it a day. A little less pressure and a little more perspective.

Revolutionary, I know…

09/29/2026

Riding Under Pressure: Changing the Way We Think

Pressure in riding doesn’t only exist in the competition ring. It can show up when we’re learning a new skill, riding a horse that feels different than usual, working through something difficult, riding in front of other people, or simply putting pressure on ourselves to ‘get it right’.

When we feel that pressure, our nervous system responds. Our heart rate might increase, our muscles tighten, and our thoughts become busier. We often interpret those sensations negatively: I’m nervous. I’m going to mess this up. I can’t do this.

But that response isn’t necessarily a sign that something is wrong. Increased alertness and energy are also ways our body prepares us to respond to a challenge. What matters is how we interpret that feeling and, importantly, where we direct our attention.

One concept I really like is the difference between avoidance-focused and approach-focused thinking.

Avoidance-focused thoughts tell us what not to do: Don’t tense up. Don’t let them stop. Don’t lose the rhythm. Don’t make a mistake.

The problem is that none of those thoughts actually give us something productive to ride toward.

Instead, we can reframe them:
‘Don’t get fast’ becomes ‘Establish the rhythm’…. ‘Don’t tense up’ becomes ‘Breathe out and keep moving’…. ‘Don’t let them stop’ becomes ‘Connect my leg and stay committed’… ‘Don’t make a mistake’ becomes ‘Ride one question at a time’

This is something we can practise during completely ordinary rides. Rather than trying to eliminate pressure or nerves altogether, we can get better at recognizing them, redirecting our attention, and giving ourselves a clear, achievable task.

As a coach, I think there’s a lot of value in teaching riders what to do, rather than continually reminding them what not to do. Over time, that creates riders who are better able to problem-solve, stay present, and rely on the skills they already have, even when things don’t feel perfectly comfortable.

09/29/2026

Self-carriage can be a difficult concept to define because it encompasses far more than a horse simply maintaining a particular outline or the frame they are travelling in. I find it more useful to think about it in terms of responsibility… how much of the horse’s rhythm, direction and balance can they maintain without continuous input from the rider? The ‘box principle’ provides a simple framework for looking at that.

The box represents the parameters of a gait: line, speed and shape. The front of the box regulates the tendency to increase speed, the back represents the horse’s responsibility to maintain forward energy, and the sides establish direction and alignment. The rider defines those parameters through their aids, here’s the key without continuously maintaining them for the horse.

If a horse requires constant leg to maintain the gait, continuous rein pressure to regulate the tempo, or continual correction to remain on a line, they are still relying heavily on the rider for organization. Developing self-carriage involves gradually reducing that dependence. When the horse moves outside the established parameters, the rider corrects the deviation and then reduces the aid again, allowing the horse the opportunity to maintain the response independently.

I like this way of looking at self-carriage as it makes a fairly abstract concept much more tangible: can the horse maintain their tempo, line and balance with progressively less input from the rider?

09/27/2026

A quick Amateur Hour update!

If you are planning to attend Amateur Hour today, please email to register/confirm your spot by 11:00 AM.

Going forward, I’m going to be keeping a formal registration list for each Amateur Hour so we can plan the session appropriately based on numbers. If we don’t have enough individuals registered for a session, it will be rescheduled to the next available date.

If you’re hoping to join us today, please make sure you email in before 11:00!

09/13/2026

Quick Amateur Hour roll call for this afternoon! I have a few of you confirmed for today’s 3:00–5:00 PM session, but I know not everyone always RSVPs ahead of time.

If you’re planning on joining us today, please comment below or send me a quick message so I have an accurate head count before we get started.

Looking forward to diving into how horses learn this afternoon!

09/11/2026

This weekend’s Amateur Hour will focus on equine learning theory and how the principles of learning influence the way we ride, handle and train our horses.

Horses are learning continuously… not simply during a designated training session. They learn from the consequences of their behaviour, from associations between events, and through repeated exposure to people, environments and stimuli. This means that every interaction has the potential to influence future behaviour, whether or not we intended it to be a training interaction.

We’ll begin by looking at the two broad categories of learning: non-associative and associative learning.

We’ll examine how these different forms of learning appear in everyday horsemanship from pressure and release and the use of our aids, to introducing unfamiliar objects, shaping new behaviours and responding to unwanted ones.

We’ll also look more critically at reinforcement, punishment, habituation, sensitisation, desensitisation, flooding and learned helplessness, and consider how similar-looking outcomes can represent very different learning experiences for the horse.

Ultimately, understanding learning theory allows us to look beyond whether a training method simply “worked.” Instead, we can ask what behaviour was reinforced, what association was created, how the horse experienced the interaction, and whether our approach is producing clear and sustainable learning.

Address

5500 Murray Avenue
Union Bay, BC
V0R3B0

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 7pm
Tuesday	9am - 7pm
Thursday	9am - 7pm
Friday	9am - 7pm
Sunday	10am - 3pm

Telephone

+16133867601

Website

facebook.com

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