GKM Equestrian

10/03/2026

I can’t wait to ride in our short court with the new footing. We now offer:
A short court
A full court
A working equitation arena (obstacles coming soon)

Come ride with us soon.

10/03/2026

One of my mentors would take me to the pasture and we would sit in the gator and watch the horses for hours. I would ask a gazillion questions about what we were doing. He would just over and over again tell me to watch the horses. I slowly started seeing patterns, herd dynamics, horse communication and learned much of their language. He then asked me to apply what I had learned in my training methods and under saddle. Thank you to the late Bob Haralson for your infinite horse wisdom and compassion. Without your teaching I would not be the horse woman I am today.

Today trainers perceive the process of teaching riding as being between them and the student. They see student - teacher relationship as being based in communication aimed at telling the student what to do. I completely disagree with this process.

I disagree because the real teacher in a lesson is the horse. How can a student learn to ride if the primary communication in a lesson is between two humans? This needs to change. To improve how riding is taught we must change the roles of the trainer and the horse. The horse must become the primary teacher, and the trainer must become a cultural interpreter.

Human culture and equine culture are vastly different. Human culture is horizontal, meaning that it is ideally described as "all men are created equal", a phrase from the U.S. Declaration of Independence. In sharp contrast, equine culture is vertical. Horse culture is based on a strict herd hierarchy. Equine culture demands that each horse understands and lives their life knowing their place along the vertical line of hierarchy where the horse above leads and the horse below follows.

Problems arise when humans impose their cultural principle of equality on a horse that has no experience with or understanding of this concept. The horse just wants to know "Are you above or below me in the hierarchy?" Answering this question from the horse is where every riding lesson must begin. The student and the horse must work out the cultural difference between them and the trainer must facilitate this process as a cultural interpreter.

The challenge for most trainers today is they do not understand the horse's culture. They learned to ride in the context of the primarily trainer-student communication model that largely excludes the horse. Today's trainers were told what to do on a horse and they, as the student, listened and did what the trainer told them to do. The horse for them was little more than a moving piece of equipment in the process, and this is how they teach.

And it is getting worse as many riders and trainers now follow the socially correct idea of equality in the rider-horse relationship. Today the firm and fair leadership that horses need is often considered abusive because horses have the right to their own boundaries, impulses and more.

From the horses' cultural perspective this is chaos. If there is any abuse in this process, it is the horse's confusion and stress imposed on them in the form of human cultural values. We have to stop teaching from the place of human culture and start teaching from the horses' cultural perspective.

Trainers who have never been with horses year around 24/7 need to learn herd dynamics and how horses think and prioritize. Only then can they teach riding effectively. Until then they are little more than a Driver's Ed teacher explaining the use of the pedals, turn signals and steering wheel.

09/28/2026

A couple more loads of sand and our short court will be ready to ride. Thank you premier Equestrian for such a fantastic product.

09/24/2026

I keep seeing the post about the veterinarian who took her own life being shared.

And underneath it are so many people saying how heartbreaking it is, how we need to check on people, how they would be there for someone who was struggling.

But here’s the part that keeps getting to me:

There are people ALL around you, every single day, fighting thoughts you know absolutely nothing about.

You don’t know.
You don’t notice.

And sometimes, the same people saying, “I would be there if someone needed me” are participating in the kind of cruelty, exclusion, gossip, judgment, or lack of empathy that makes an already hurting person feel even more alone.

Our world is SO dark and so difficult right now.

People are constantly at each other’s throats. We judge people we barely know. We gossip. We spread rumors. We exclude people. We ignore them. We decide who deserves kindness based on whether we like them.

And then someone dies, and suddenly compassion overflows.

Flowers. Posts. Prayers. Kind words. “I wish they would have reached out.”

We need to start practicing that compassion while people are HERE.

Because I guarantee there is someone around you right now who is struggling more than you realize.

And it probably isn’t the person you immediately think to invite for coffee or game night.

It might be the person you avoid.

The person you’ve judged.

The person who appears happy.

The person who annoys you.

The person everyone talks about.

The person who seems angry, distant, difficult, awkward, or completely fine.

Be kind to them anyway.

Reach out. Invite them. Listen. Give people some grace. Try to understand before you judge. Stop participating in conversations designed to tear somebody apart.

You may never know the battle happening inside another person’s head.

The world is crushing enough people already.

And yes, I believe Satan is doing his absolute best to steal, kill, destroy, divide and isolate.

Don’t volunteer to be one of his tiny soldiers.

Practice compassion while people are still here to receive it. 🤍

~Tessa Shields

09/21/2026

Let’s talk accountability when you own a guardian breed, like our Anatolian Shepherd dogs. If you’re concerned that your Anatolian Shepherd… guards, that’s what they were breed for. This is a dog that was bred for centuries to protect their property, their people, and their livestock. This is a dog whose entire ancestry and genetics is basically security detail.

So when your Anatolian posts up at the window like a federal employee waiting for a vibe shift, that is not reactivity. That is employment. That is her checking her perimeter, logging sightings, and mentally filing the landscapers under “suspicious leaf-disturbers.” Those who have met my dogs up close and personal can attest to the “vibe check”.

If you do not train or supervise that kind of genetic power……The liability is yours.

Your dog doesn’t care that you live in a quiet cul-de-sac or that your HOA wants everyone to behave like they’re in a retirement brochure. Guardian breeds don’t read written rules. They read body language. They read threat levels. They read energy in the room before you even enter it.

Training is not optional. Management is not optional. Understanding genetics is not optional unless you enjoy late-night incident reports.

When your Anatolian Shepherd growls, alerts, blocks, body checks, patrols, barks, shadows you, or gives someone the “I see you, buddy” look… that is not misbehavior. That is instinct. That is wiring. That is him/her showing up for work.

Your dog is not broken. He/she is doing exactly what they were bred and built to do.

So be proactive. Teach them what actual threats look like. Reinforce neutrality. Give them jobs that don’t involve scaring your Amazon driver. Advocate for them. Train them daily. And stop acting surprised when a working-bred dog shows up ready to work.

Bottom line….. if you don’t give structure to a guardian breed, they’ll freelance. And trust me… you do not want a freelance Anatolian Shepherd making management decisions.