Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall

Stacy shares insights from her first off-property trail ride with Ember, revealing a critical moment where riders unknowingly teach their horses problematic behaviors. By identifying the exact instant when most riders make a fundamental mistake at water crossings, Stacy demonstrates how arena training directly transfers to trail success.

• When a horse hesitates at obstacles like mud or water, is "go now" REALLY what you want to say?
• Arena work that develops nuanced communication between horse and rider enables successful navigation of trail challenges
• Maintaining consistent guidance when horses encounter new situations prevents confusion, unlike the mixed messages

This episode examines the direct connection between indoor schooling and outdoor application, demonstrating how the "high school" level subtleties developed in controlled settings become essential tools when facing real-world trail challenges.

Riders who struggle with water crossings or similar obstacles will gain actionable insights into how their communication either resolves or creates these common trail problems.

In this episode, Stacy explores how a fresh perspective on learning can transform your horsemanship journey. Through sharing her own mindset shift about future learning goals, she demonstrates how being specific with timeframes while staying open to possibilities can create powerful growth opportunities.

Key takeaways:

• Learn why comparing your current learning to a previous period of growth can be motivating rather than intimidating
• Discover how slowing down to notice more layers can actually accelerate progress
• Challenge common misconceptions about what "learning more" means

Listeners will walk away understanding that growth isn't about rushing forward or making dramatic changes, but rather about deepening understanding. Whether you're a beginner or experienced rider, this episode provides practical insights about goal setting, the importance of staying curious, and permission to explore your horsemanship journey with both the enthusiasm of a newcomer and the wisdom you already possess.

Horsemanship is often described as an art—but teaching it requires breaking that art into pieces. In this episode, Stacy reflects on the challenge of translating feel, flow, and intuition into teachable steps—and why both structure and flow must coexist within the art of horsemanship.

Key takeaways:

• Building flow without foundation leads to instability—structure is what gives flow freedom
• Inspirational teaching often reflects flow, but lacks the tangible grip of mechanics
• Over-focus on structure can limit the experience of partnership and presence
• The artistic expression of riding emerges when steps become second nature

This episode examines the contrast between structure and flow in horsemanship, offering insight into why both are essential—and how recognizing your own tendencies can bring more balance to your training. Ideal for riders who want to understand the 'why' behind the feel, and step into the dance themselves.

If you notice that you find yourself thinking or saying, ‘look, I messed up there’ or ‘my timing could have been better there’ and you have an underlying feeling of disappointment, this episode is for you.

In this week's episode, we discuss a simple tool that can help reduce the fear of mistakes and the trap of perfectionism. As riders develop the ability to feel more while riding, the heightened awareness will reveal both the things that ARE working, as well as the things that are not.

One tool for adjusting your perspective is to categorize by zones—red, yellow, and green. Once you understand what these zones represent, you’ll understand why ‘perfect’ timing isn’t always necessary.

This same concept is also a useful way to think when planning, goal-setting, and reviewing your progress.