Andrea Webster Horsemanship LLC

06/19/2025

Well said Amy!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1PGgXEzRmp/

People are discovering their emotions and that’s great….but they still don’t come before the horse’s needs

I hear nearly daily someone is discovering their neglected emotions- fear, trauma, discovering neurodivergence as an adult, and so on.

To be a well rounded person, we cannot discount who we are and we can’t shut ourselves off from the spectrum of emotions a person can have. If they have been neglected or misunderstood for a long time, it can feel overwhelming suddenly to be aware of them.

But, and I say this lovingly:

Someone’s fear does not come before the horses needs

Someone’s emotional history does not come before the horses needs

A persons need for specific comforts, routines, and manners of being does not come before the horses needs

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having emotions, but we still must remember we brought this being into our care, and they rely on us.

And so if we can’t provide the horse what they need, then we either need to seek help to attain those skills, outsource what we can’t do, or really consider if this horse is right for us.

If you’re petrified of speed and you have a horse that needs to move forward, you either need to get that horse support and learn to ride it the way it needs, or get a different horse.
Your fear is valid but the horse does not deserve that

If you can’t remember tasks or struggle to keep a schedule, you need to find a way to make regular trims (or whatever the horse needs) or outsource it to someone else.

If you’re energetic or move erratically, but it scares and doesnt serve your horse - bad news, you gotta find a way to tone it down. The horse doesn’t have to (and shouldnt have to) always adapt to everything we do

If you have trauma or emotions that are interfering with your ability to give the horse what they need that is nothing to be ashamed of - outsource it or learn it.

I can’t repair my own truck, and so I pay for that. And I rely on others for plenty of things I can’t do. I understand how my brain works and what it can and can’t do, and I manage what I need to get done through whatever resources I need to use.

There’s nothing to be ashamed of in being human, having limitations and needing help. No one can do all things perfectly.

But owning a horse is a privilege - and we don’t deserve to have them just to make ourselves feel good and find ways out of providing what they need. Sometimes what they need will come at great cost to us: financially, emotionally, physically. If we can’t provide these things, we have some figuring to do, or some choices to make.

Because it should in the end be about the HORSE above our comfort.

05/01/2024

Take care of the relationship first. Most of your problems will fade away.

04/29/2024

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03/13/2024

02/25/2024

Amy Skinner embraces a training philosophy based in Classical Dressage and sound horsemanship practices. Amy keeps the best interest of horse and rider in mind, choosing to avoid fads and quick fixes, but to seek continual learning from the best teacher: the horse.

12/10/2023

An interesting read that better explains what most experienced horseman understand already.
Treat giving shouldn't be done without paying very close attention so you do not accidently teach behaviors you don't want.
As a professional I put shanked bits, spurs, and treat giving all in a similar group. If you aren't extremely aware of your hands, legs, or the horses body language, you don't get to use these tools as you will do far more harm then good.

11/19/2023

Buck is coming back to Michigan!

11/07/2023

Well said Amy, it is such a tricky thing to find and an even harder thing to teach!

Loud people make quiet horses?
Maybe.
I don’t know about you, but as a highly sensitive person, when I’m around loud, quick moving, erratic and insensitive people, I tend to withdraw. If I can’t get away from them for whatever reason, the only way for me to get through being around someone like that is to somewhat disassociate.

All horses are highly sensitive, until someone creates lack of sensitivity in the horse.
Why would I want a horse to do that around me?
I’m certainly not saying you should tip toe around your horse, and you should very certainly prepare them for life. But why would you ever want to teach the horse that our body, our energy, our feel and the world at large is meaningless stimulus to be shut out?

Quiet, soft and calm people produce quiet, soft and calm horses. Smooth people who move with awareness create confident horses.

People who have self awareness and sensitivity to a horse’s needs produce quiet horses.

People who can prepare a horse to experience all of life’s uncertainties without creating a freeze or withdrawal response create quiet horses.

Quiet people create quiet horses.

Every horse needs a different touch, and only a person willing to spend more time listening than making assumptions about a horse can create a truly soft, calm but responsive horse.

As my teacher says: leave the life in, take the fear out!

10/04/2023

Also coming up soon. Phil Oaks will be in Pierson for a clinic later this month!