Heart Centered Horsemanship

08/31/2026

I created a substack account today! It's called Beyond Dominance, and I hope you'll come along for the ride as I explore themes of dominance and it's opposite, co-creation, to discover what horses can teach us about inner peace and saving the planet.

https://beyonddominance.substack.com/p/what-if-dominance-isnt-the-answer?r=4gqru1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

08/30/2026

When Polly arrived, I knew she had issues with being in a herd. I was told she tended to act like a stallion and displayed dominant behaviors.

Dominance isn't moving other horses out of the way, but rather seeking to control or manipulate others for one's own advancement or to have power over them. This is rare to see in horses, but Polly did, indeed, have a tendency to herd other horses around.

Training methods that rely on dominance did not work well with Polly. She's not one to back down from a fight. Seeing how well she responded to my methods, her person asked if I would take her. She recognized that what I was doing brought out the best in Polly, and she wanted to see her thrive.

When I brought her home, I hoped she would get along with Abby. It didn't take long to realize that wasn't going to work. She was lunging Abby in the pasture, neither of them would relax for long.

That's when I knew she needed Crow. I don't know what it is about him, but other horses have always stepped aside when Crow approached. He doesn't so much as pin an ear, I've never seen him be aggressive, actually he's a very sweet and loveable guy, but he has a presence about him that other horses respond to.

Crow doesn't dominate Polly, but he doesn't get pushed around by her either. He's at the top of the "who moves who" game, without so much as pinning an ear.

Crow is an excellent example of how we can show up in a way that is not threatening or intimidating, yet horses will naturally soften and organize around us.

08/26/2026

When we consider success a happy, healthy and sound horse for life, the game changes.

08/20/2026

Want to experience Mindful Horsemanship without bringing a horse? Auditor spaces are still available for this Saturday’s clinic at Equuvation :: Therapy + Education Center

Auditors are invited to participate on the mat from 10–11am, as we explore grounding, body awareness, intentional movement (and what that communicates to the horses), and the exquisite feeling of letting go of unnecessary muscular tension.

Our small group of six horse-and-human participants will then be guided through practices that include connection through presence and supportive touch, along with the foundations of communicating in the horse’s natural language of movement, energy, position, and body language.

During lunch, auditors are invited to join us for a group discussion and Q&A, offering an opportunity to dig deeper into what you’ve observed and how these principles might apply to your own horse.

The afternoon portion of the clinic will be shaped around the individual horses and participants - their questions, challenges, and goals. This is a wonderful opportunity to see Mindful Horsemanship applied in real time with different horses and situations.

Come spend the day learning, observing, asking questions, and discovering what becomes possible when we approach horsemanship with awareness, curiosity, and connection.

Get all the details at https://heartcenteredhorsemanship.com/equuvation-2026-819572

08/10/2026

I am very grateful to Anna Fox at Equus Enlightened for including me in her podcast! This was such a fun conversation, I hope you’ll give it a listen 😊

Let’s have an honest conversation: How do you know when you’re doing right by your horse?

Is it when your trainer approves?

When the judge gives you a ribbon?

When your horse performs the movement correctly?

Or is it something you can feel—even if no one else is there to validate it?

In our latest episode, Stacey Carter of Heart Centered Horsemanship raised an important question: Many riders have become accustomed to looking outside themselves for confirmation that they’re doing things “right.”

But what happens when something looks correct and feels wrong?

What happens when the horse performs beautifully while feeling tense, shut down, or disconnected?

And what happens when the work looks unimpressive from the outside—but you and your horse feel safe, soft, and completely together?

Performance can be evaluated. Trust, joy, and connection are harder to measure.

That doesn’t mean goals, competition, or correct movement are bad. Stacey’s challenge is to pay attention to the quality of the experience beneath the result.

How does the movement feel in your body?

How does it appear to feel in your horse’s body?

Are you communicating clearly—or constantly cueing, gripping, correcting, and managing?

Is your horse participating in the conversation or simply complying?

So here’s the question I’d genuinely like you to answer:

**What tells you that an interaction with your horse was successful?**

Is it the result you achieved, the way it felt, the response your horse gave you—or some combination of all three?

There’s no single “correct” answer. Share yours in the comments. Let’s see how many different ways horse people define a good partnership.

Hear the full conversation with Stacey Carter of Heart Centered Horsemanship on The Thinking Horse and Rider Podcast, available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube.

08/08/2026

We are getting ready to welcome a new member to the herd! First we needed to do some rearranging, and Daisy moved in with her old friends Crow and Merlin. Crow seems to approve 😊