The Willing Equine

This longer episode all about having conversations with family, friends, and professionals within the equestrian community who have a different approach to keeping or training horses than you do. It's also about dealing with negativity, skepticism, and criticism from those who don't understand why you keep and train horses the way you do. At the end of the episode I invite my listeners to share wi...

In this episode I talk about what trust in a relationship looks like, what creates trust, and how punishment impacts that trust... And I also briefly touch on how we can use other approaches to train/resolve problem behaviors without the use of punishment to maintain the relationship. ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWilli...

In this episode, three of my students join me to talk about what confidence looks like for horses and for ourselves.. and how do we "train" confidence? What does confidence even mean? Is a horse born confident or un-confident? What are the factors that go into helping us feel confident; confident riders, confident handlers, and confident trainers. And what are the factors that go into helping our...

Are you a perfectionist at heart? Or feel like maybe you should be? Then this episode is for you! I dive deep into my struggle with perfectionism and how it has impacted my horsemanship journey, my everyday life, my business, and more. ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦

If we are being honest with ourselves, there is really only so many hours in the day. How do we choose which behaviors and things to manage and which to train? In this episode I share a little about my own process and why for many situations management is all you need! While in others .. I think you're doing a disfavor to your horse to only manage the situation. ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instag...

I've been asked quite a few times how I achieve working, having horses, and being a mother .. how I manage all that. In this episode I get a little raw and personal with you guys and share my strengths and weaknesses, the challenges I've faced, and some tips and tricks I've learned along the way. ✦ www. TheWillingequine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook....

"Effectiveness is not enough" is something I say a lot (quoting Dr. Susan Friedman), and I mean it. R+ (positive reinforcement) is a VERY powerful and effective way to teach our horses behaviors we would like them to do and know, but it's not inherently more ethical or "morally sound" way of training. I explain why in this episode and also share some of the ways I modify my training to focus on et...

Bex, of Positively Together, joins me all the way from New Zealand in this podcast episode where we answer a question we received from a student. "How to find the middle ground between seeing our horses as objects for our use (machines/sports equipment) and seeing them as over romanticized magical spiritual leaders?" ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com ✦ www. ClickerTraining.co.nz ✦ Instagram.com/TheWilli...

In this episode I'm adding on to my previous episode about changes we can make to improve our horsemanship, improve our horse's lives, and ways we can make a world of difference in our relationships with our horses. These are practical every day application ideas that can sometimes magically cure a lot of behavioral issues. I also discuss the idea of making changes as you can, it's not an all or n...

In this episode I've collected together some ideas of ways we can work to have a kinder and more ethically minded approach to interacting and keeping horses. A lot of this episode is focused on training practices (R+ or not), but there are some practical husbandry ideas too. At the end I ask you guys for some help in prepping for the second part of this topic! I'd love to do a follow up with ideas...

It's not uncommon to see horses appearing grumpy or offering behaviors seemingly out of control when the trainer is just learning to implement an R+ focused training program. This can make it look like the horse is not having a very "positive" experience and is frustrated, and at it's worst can become dangerous. Often times the cause for these issues is the human's understanding of the "Language"...

Left brained, right brained, introverted, extroverted, lazy, friendly, stubborn, playful, dominant, submissive, gentle, sweet, rude, competitive, mean, sassy, funny.... Do any of these describe your horse? What's their personality type? Who are they? What are they born with and what develops over time? ✦ www. TheWillingequine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Fac...

In this episode I get a little more personal and talk about my journey to developing TWE. The ups, the downs, the challenges, and how I arrived here ... I hope this episode is inspiring to anyone who has their heart set on a dream but isn't sure how they are going to get there.

Let's be real, horse ownership isn't all rainbows and butterflies. In fact, there's a LOT of responsibility and stress that goes along with caring for these beings we love so much. In this episode I answer a listener's question about being responsible for a horse during tough times ... how to prepare for those inevitable medical bills and extenuating circumstances... And what to do when you really...

It's a question I get a lot... How do I work safely with food rewards with a horse prone to founder, gaining weight, or that really needs to get into shape but has zero motivation to do so. Well... Here you go! This episode is all about how I help horses stay healthy and get into shape with positive reinforcement and using food rewards. ✦ www. TheWillingequine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦...

Let's talk about stress. Let's talk about "negative" and "positive" stress. Let's talk about chronic and acute stress. Let's talk about how it impacts training, and whether or not training with positive reinforcement creates less resilient horses. In this episode I cover a LOT of ground. Including how R+ doesn't automatically = ethical training, and how I help my horses be safer and more confident...

Story time! This episode is the recap of a real life "walk the talk" moment with one of my horses that happened all in a single day. When I'm talking about not using punishment, giving the horse the benefit of the doubt, approaching behavior issues from a whole horse perspective, how trust is built and maintained, deepening your relationship with your horse, recovering from mistakes, letting go of...

In this episode I answer a listener's question about how to interact with horses that aren't your own, in a positive way! I discuss four different ways you can do this, briefly address the idea of respect (not in the way it's typically talked about 😉), and also talk about the struggles of trying to communicate with people about possible changes for their horses. ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com✦ Insta...

Wouldn't it be nice if we could clicker train people? I mean, technically.. there's the science for it and it does work (look up TagTeach), but I don't think the other horse owners at the barn would take kindly to you clicking and giving them gummy bears haha. BUT, we can use the idea of shaping plans and reinforcing approximations of behavior with positive reinforcement for both ourselves, those...

Until recently, horse training has been rather localized. If you wanted to learn how to train a horse, you found a nearby trainer. If you wanted to become a horse trainer, you went to work for a local horse trainer. Unfortunately the number of R+ focused trainers is still rather limited, and so there isn't always a nearby trainer you can learn from. In this podcast I talk about how it's still poss...

"Damage control" AKA what to do when your horse is already over their fear threshold, and losing their mind. can we keep both them and us safe without using punishment? Can we help them return to training without demanding obedience and respect through the use of aversives? What about if your horse is running scared in the pasture, how do you help them calm down? I talk about this and more in this...

Do you have a "bond" with your horse? is riding tackless proof of having a bond with you horse? What if you don't ride, let alone tack-less, can you still have a bond with your horse? In this episode I discuss my thoughts on this matter! ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com ✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦

Looking for your future equine companion/partner is challenging and stressful. it's a big decision! Especially if you go into it looking to make a life long commitment. In this episode I discuss some of the ups and downs, what you need to be prepared for, and my biggest tips for finding that perfect horse for you. ✦ www. TheWillinhEquine.com ✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillin...

As much as we want to focus on training our horses, it's important to remember there are two learners in the relationship with your horse. With every interaction we are learning, as are they. ✦ www. TheWillinhEquine.com ✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦

In this episode I talk with Sara Kalenkiewicz ( @equineapprentice ) about what horse abuse looks like in a wide variety of situations. I know this sounds like a terrible episode, but I think you may find it really interesting and perspective broadening. We look beyond what the law defines as abuse/neglect... and dive head first into this touchy subject to discuss the grey areas of "abuse". ✦ www....