Keystone Horsemanship

02/11/2026

29/10/2026

What's something you do with your horse now that you'd have argued about when you started?
I've changed my mind about plenty over the years. Not because somebody talked me into it, but because a horse showed me something I hadn't accounted for.
That's a lot of what this job is. You get an idea of how something works, you ride enough horses, and eventually one of them tells you the idea was too small. So you go find a better one.
The people who get really good at this aren't the ones who were right from the start. They're the ones who kept changing the answer as the horses taught them.

Tell me in the comments. What did you believe back then, and what changed your mind?

27/10/2026

This is why I don't do 30 days. No refreshers or tune-ups. I'll agree to a 2-week evaluation to determine the length that I think the horse needs to stay but it's not going to be less than 3 months. Ever

Things I Won’t Sugarcoat as a Horse Trainer. 🙃🐴

30 days isn’t going to undo years of bad habits.
I don’t care how talented your trainer is. If they claim they can fix it in 30 days it probably won’t last or there will be other issues that pop up because they were crammed and jammed.

Sometimes you’re the problem.
Sometimes it’s your horse. Sometimes it’s both of you feeding off each other’s bad decisions Either way, somebody has to say it. And I promise I’m not telling you because I enjoy awkward conversations.

The horse comes first.
Not your show schedule, not your expectations, and definitely not the timeline you came up with before your horse was consulted. I’m going to do what’s right for the horse standing in front of me, even if that means taking the scenic route.

Your horse isn’t plotting your downfall.
I know it feels personal when they spook at the same trash can they’ve walked past 437 times, but horses aren’t waking up in the morning brainstorming ways to ruin your day. Sometimes they’re confused, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or just having a moment. Our job is to figure out which one before assuming they’re being jerks.

My time is valuable too.
I love my clients, their horses, and what I do. But I also have a schedule, a business to run and a barn full of horses that all require my attention. Boundaries and barn policies aren’t personal. They’re how I keep the circus running without actually becoming the circus.

Obedience and understanding aren’t the same thing.
Just because a horse does something doesn’t mean they understand it. I want horses that can think through situations, not horses that are terrified of getting the wrong answer. I’m trying to develop functioning members of society not four legged remote control cars.

Your horse might be in the wrong career.
You can have the fanciest papers, the best breeding, and a pedigree full of champions. That doesn’t mean your horse got the memo. Sometimes your fancy show prospect just wants to wander around the mountains. Sometimes the horse you want to pull out every two weeks and trail ride would rather be in the four walls of the arena. Genetics are great, but personality doesn’t always read the brochure.

More riding doesn’t always mean more progress.
Sometimes the biggest breakthrough happens in 10 minutes. Sometimes I spend an entire session working on something that looks painfully boring. And sometimes we have to revisit kindergarten because apparently standing still and steering are advanced concepts today.

Your horse is allowed to have a personality.
That doesn’t mean they get to run the show but I don’t want to train the character out of them either. I like a horse with a little personality. Clearly… considering I seem to have a talent for collecting the equine equivalent of society’s misfits.

Sometimes the horse you want isn’t the horse you have.
And that’s okay. Not every horse is destined to be a world champion, a kids horse, or your next unicorn. Sometimes you’ve got to stop trying to turn a horse into something it isn’t and start appreciating what it actually is.

I’m not manufacturing progress for social media.
Some days we’re doing fancy things. Other days we’re working on standing still, steering, or remembering that the arena they’ve trained in for two months isn’t suddenly haunted. Not every training session is Instagram worthy.

I’m going to tell you what I actually think.
If I think your horse is sore, overwhelmed, in the wrong program or that you’re contributing to the problem, we’re going to talk about it. You pay me for my knowledge and experience, not to sugar coat the truth just to get more money out of you.

At the end of the day I’m not interested in producing robots, rushing horses through a program, or putting a pretty bow on something that isn’t actually fixed.

I’d rather give you an honest horse than an impressive looking problem.

26/10/2026

The horse world is small - do good business.
Don't contact people that are on my training waiting list and tell them you'll do it cheaper.
Don't tell people you'll do it better.
(Even if you think you can)
Just don't poach business.
It's going to come back around.

26/10/2026

24/10/2026

I just know, after all the c**ts I've started in my life, I'm going to die because a gaited c**t fell on me.
Guaranteed

24/10/2026

Other people’s horses…

I stopped watching other people and their horses a few years back. I was driving myself nuts in a totally unproductive way.

Especially if the horse and person were having some trouble, I might find myself catching feelings and opinions.

Worse, I might find myself expressing those feelings and opinions when no one was asking to hear them.

And, curiously, almost no one is ever asking. 😆🐴☺️

I made a little rule to keep myself in check.

🛑 No attention and no opinions given unless someone is paying me for that service. 🛑

Only then could I be sure that forming and communicating ideas about other people’s horses was actually called for.

That little rule made going out to public horse events way more fun.

There are so many reasons why watching other people’s horses was backfiring on me.

First and foremost, it distracted me from focussing on my own horses and horsemanship.

Second, it needlessly exposed me to things that could trigger me.

Third, watching often made me “puff up” with conviction, when humility is a much healthier frame of mind for me.

Fourth, I risk hurting people if I speak from that (false) sense of certainty. Not cool!

Finally (related to three and four)… whatever I think or feel about what I’m watching, there’s a good chance I’m wrong.

You can’t see the whole picture from a snapshot.

I was out in public last weekend with a challenging horse. Both of us struggled. People had a lot of feelings about what went on. I did too.

I wonder if anyone stopped to question their understanding of what they saw — a vivid snapshot, far from the whole picture.

The varied spectrum of reactions and input I received made it clear that other folks project their own ideas and experience onto difficult situations just as I do.

It was interesting to learn where different people are coming from by hearing their thoughts about me and my Rorschach blot of a horse.

They probably had some good stories and ideas.

It maybe wasn’t the easiest moment for me to hear it all, though.

All of us in the horse world have been on the receiving end of judgment and unsolicited advice. So I don’t have to tell anyone how that feels.

But have you ever considered how it feels for you when you’re the one having the judgement or giving the advice?

Do you think that frame of mind serves your best interests as a horseman or horsewoman?

Do you ever wonder if there’s a better way for you to watch other people with their horses?

After following my “no watching” rule for a few years, I’m now searching for a new perspective for witnessing the action at horse events.

I’m hoping to carry a gentler and more grounded attitude into that environment and to learn how to maintain awareness without the burden of reactivity and judgment.

It helps that I have a more profound sense of my own vulnerabilities and limitations.

It also helps to have a community of kind and generous horse people who model the growth that’s possible when we show up day after day for our horses.

From this quieter vantage, I think I might enjoy watching other people’s horses again.

💕🐴💕

photo: Joel Conner working my Yakama Reservation horse Shay at his clinic in Port Orchard, WA, September 2026. The one person I was actually paying for advice.

PC: Keepsake Horsemanship/Karen Wright

**tstarting

23/10/2026

Interesting...
What do you think about some of the super high sales reported from a few elite auctions?
Premier Auctions sold a $430,000 horse in July.
Real or smoke and mirrors?