Long Ride Home

08/23/2026

Discover the delicate balance of rein pressure for effective communication with your horse. It's not about force, but about feeling and subtle adjustments to achieve true connection.
Find out more in the full video with Mark Rashid and Crissi McDonald, link in comments!

08/22/2026

Unlock your horse's responsiveness by understanding the inside leg to outside rein half-halt. It starts with clear communication: your leg activates, your rein adjusts. Master this fundamental connection for a more harmonious partnership.

08/21/2026

Discover the surprising link between your horse's jaw and their back. Releasing tension in the jaw unlocks better movement and overall well-being. Simple techniques to improve your horse's comfort and performance.

08/19/2026

A little while ago we had Mark Rashid and Crissi McDonald on the podcast for our channel that focuses on equine assisted healing and there were so many great takeaways that are relevant for all horse people, so go check it out through the link in the comments!

08/18/2026

Linda Tellington-Jones eplains how presence helps you find true connection with your horse. It is something you'll feel in your body, a sense of union and understanding.

08/17/2026

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥

When we’re working with horses, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of looking for one universal truth that will support the well-being of our equine partners. The perfect balance, the correct head position, the right amount and type of work, and so on. But a more flexible mindset can serve both us and the horses better.

Balance isn’t one fixed thing. It is dynamic; something we’re continuously finding, losing and finding again.

There isn’t one correct head position either. Where the horse can find the most support depends on the ground conditions, their individual anatomy and development, and the type of activity we’re doing.

There will be days when a focus on relaxation and resolving tension is most beneficial, and other days when a good gallop is the better choice.

Even when we find a general template that works well, there’s always a chance that something changes and causes it to stop working as well. When we reach that point, can we listen to the horse and be flexible enough to adjust what we’re doing? Are we willing to let go of what we held as our truth for a while?

Taking this approach doesn’t mean there are no principles or that anything goes. It means that if we want our work to increase our horses’ well-being, we need to keep listening to the feedback they’re giving us—and have the open-mindedness and humility to adjust when they show us that their needs have changed.

If we can move beyond always needing to be ‘right’ and instead find the willingness to learn from the horse in front of us, we’ll be in a much better position to be helpful.

The truth remains flexible, because the horse, the situation, and the moment are always changing.

Have you experienced a situation where a horse caused you to change your mind about something you thought was true? Let us know in the comments!

08/16/2026

Asking a horse to change requires you to expand your comfort zone. If you're not willing to step into the uncomfortable, what leadership can you offer to someone more vulnerable?

08/15/2026

✨ "Mansa Musa is probably one of the top five greatest men in history — and most people have never heard of him." – Louis Hook

Ever get the sense that the horse world's history has some very big gaps in it?

Louis Hook, founding member of the Compton Cowboys and author of Black in the Saddle, joins Rupert to trace the African cavalry traditions erased from the record — the Moors' 800-year hold on Spain, Mansa Musa's cavalry-protected gold empire, and the land-grant horse culture of East Texas.

This is a conversation about reclaiming a history that never actually went away.

👉 Watch here: https://youtu.be/61xUDtO4bno

✨ "Mansa Musa is probably one of the top five greatest men in histo...

08/14/2026

We meet more and more people who are interested in sharing the joy of their horses with people who could need a bit of support in their lives. Horses who have gone through a good classical education are often perfect for this! All of our dressage horses also provide equine assisted services and excel at this work. If this is something that calls you, we have neuroscience backed programs that train you to work together with your horses to provide well-being to people who need it!
Check it out through the link in the comments.

08/12/2026

Watch this horse and rider combination go from assisted shoulder-in to doing shoulder-in on their own! Rupert helps on the ground first so horse and rider understand the aids and the exercise, and with this preparation he can then step away and they can progress in a relaxed manner. This is how dressage becomes empowering for students to learn!