Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall — Outdoor
Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall

Stacy Westfall teaches people how to understand, enjoy and successfully train their own horses. In her podcast, she shares all of her knowledge in her area of expertise: horses. She offers insights into issues that riders face in their own minds as well as the way they are viewing the challenges and goals they have with horses. She shares tips on becoming a better rider as well as a better leader for your horse.
Discover how you can understand things from your horses point of view so that you can enjoy the learning process with your horse. When you are able to understand what your horse is experiencing mentally and physically the process of learning new things becomes more enjoyable.
Your goals may be showing, trail riding or simply enjoying life with horses-all of which Stacy enjoys herself.
She shares her own struggles and successes to allow listeners to understand that everyone experiences ups and downs.
Through her podcast, website, YouTube channel and social media Stacy answers questions about: Fear, when to sell a horse, goal setting, safety, ground work, trailer loading, lead changes, reining, spins, stops, western dressage, ranch riding, when to get help, lessons, clinics and improving your safety, success and enjoyment of horses.

Copyright: © StacyWestfall.com

Latest Episodes:

Episode 234-Pressure: Do you prefer sensitizing or desensitizing? May 10, 2023

Show notes

Today I'm answering a question that came in regarding two horses owned by one person. One horse is very responsive to pressure, while the other is more bold and brave…and doesn't respond as much to pressure. The caller shares how this is causing her a challenge.

In my response, I explain:

the importance of establishing YOUR view of responsive vs reactive
MY view on responsive (which includes 'responding' by not avoiding pressure)
emotional pressure vs physical pressure
the idea that people tend to naturally sensitize or desensitize and why
the potential pros and cons of combining riders who like to sensitize and sensitive horses
the importance of understanding YOUR view on pressure
the 'test' I used before riding a horse that shows me their understanding of emotional control (expressed through a physical test)

Episode 233- Are you riding reactively or proactively? May 03, 2023

Show notes

I asked riders this question, "Is there a feeling you really struggle with that seems to be affecting your riding?"

These are a few of the answers: self doubt, battling negative thoughts, imposter syndrome, inadequate, anxious, nervous, anticipating problems, judging myself, sad, frustration (time frame…taking longer than expected), lack of confidence, anxiety, fear, fear, annoyed, ashamed, mental exhaustion, short tempered, unsure, lack trust, annoyed, disappointment, frustration, uncertainty, worry, low self esteem, depression, frustration, anger, grief, alone, tense, overwhelmed, doubt, (time frame), lack of confidence, defeat, self-pity, dependence, guilt, frustration

In this podcast, I share:

the problem with denying negative emotions
five signs you may be a reactive rider
what reactive riders create
traits of a proactive rider
the skills you need to become a proactive rider

If you would like to be notified when I offer another free training session (as mentioned in the podcast) go to my website and join my email list.

Episode 232-Training bank account and emotional bank account Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

This week, I'm answering a listener question about training vs emotional 'deposits' when spending time with a horse.

I answer this question from several angles, including:

earning' the right to be in their space.
seeing the horses side of the conversation
your human view of work
what Professional trainers must identify
what non trainers (horse owners) must identify
DISTRACTED horse…getting 'rewarded'
rules, boundaries and training cycles

Can you DEEPLY enjoy all the time spent together…even the 'work' parts?

Episode 231-Groundwork: earning the right to be in each other's space Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Today, I'm answering a question that came in about my philosophy of 'earning the right to be in each other's space." The caller explains that she understands the concept as it applies to a pushy horse having to earn the right to enter her space. She is curious about how this concept applies to timid or fearful horses. Other concepts discussed include:

a horse being distracted or not interested is discussed as a separate issue from earning the right to be in each other's space.
how curiosity impacts both the pushy and the timid horse
the importance of training the emotional state
fight/flight/freeze
the problem with being sneaky
the importance of showing up in the same energy that you would if you were riding a horse you were confident on.
timid horses are drawn to powerful energy

Episode 230: Are your corrections causing more problems? Apr 12, 2023

Show notes

On today's podcast I'm going to share with you a three step way to evaluate your corrections when you're training your horse. I actually don't like the word correction…but I'm using it because it gets to the essesnce of the problem the quickest. In the podcast I will explain why corrections cause more problems and how I choose a different technique.

Let's start with the three criteria I use when evaluating a technique.

I think these are easier to understand if you put yourself into specific situations, so imagine as I say this, that you are loading a horse in a trailer.

The criteria I use for evaluating your techniques would be: 1-your emotions 2-the technique (if anticipated, does it create positive response) 3-horses, response or reaction (indicates their level of understanding)

Punishment example: horse stops moving forward on the way to the trailer, you begin jerking the rope and backing him up. This fails my criteria number 2. If anticipated, this horse logically goes backward when anticipating your correction. This is what puts it into a punishment category instead of a training or teaching category. In a teaching situation, the guidance the rider gives DURING the problem, if anticipated, causes the horse to get better. This approach is highly effective and is much more enjoyable for the horse and rider.

Episode 229: "What do you do with your horse goals and dreams when life brings it to a halt?" Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

I received this question, decided to make it a podcast topic because I have recently experienced a significant setback that derailed my plans.

I see three types of life issues that can bring you to a halt.

1) Mindset issues: This can show up as fear, limiting beliefs, or EMOTIONS YOU WOULD PREFER TO AVOID. It often feels like resistance.

2) A temporary circumstance that derails your plans. An example of this would be me breaking my hand in January and missing three months of riding. This is a temporary situation that does truly take you off your planned path… The biggest risk here is often that, although it is temporary, my hand is going to become fully useful, and I will be able to continue on… The greatest risk is that your mind might leave the facts of the situation, three month delay) and loop back into mindset issues.

3) The third type of life issue that can bring things to a halt is a circumstance that permanently closes a door. The death of a horse, for example.

When you hit a wall, or get derailed, it is tough to recover if you haven't been practicing some type of emotional weight lifting with smaller things. The thought patterns you practice in the small things is what leads to the ability to keep going when the bigger things happen.

Episode 228: How do I keep my horse from getting bored? Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

I often get questions like, "How do I keep my horse from getting bored?" or "How do I keep repetitive things from becoming boring?" or statements like "My horse got bored with that, so I changed it up."

One reason this is interesting to me is because…I don't have bored horses. Yet, if you were to watch me day to day…I seem to do a lot of repetitive things that could easily be seen as boring.

In this episode, I share and explore the topic of boredom from both the human and the horse perspective. I share the problems that I often see occur when riders try to solve the problem of 'boredom' when the actual issue is something entirely different.

Episode 227: The two biggest lessons showing has taught me. Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I am wrapping up the 'horse show' season of the podcast. Showing has hugely impacted my development as a rider, and in this episode I share two lessons I learned directly from showing.

One was really challenging. The other is pure goodness.

I close by sharing some of the many reasons listed by people when I asked, "Why do you like going to horse shows?"

(updated)Episode 226: The trainer, the showman, the judge: ways of thinking that impact your riding. Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

In this podcast, I'm discussing three viewpoints THAT ARE happening in other aspects of riding…but are most clear in showing. Understanding these three roles will improve your understanding of your riding challenges.

Phrases or thoughts like: "oops, I messed that up", "that was terrible" "ooh, that was bad", "I hope they didn't notice that" and "lets try that again" are all clues to the way you are thinking…and they happen in and out of the show arena.

When you attend a horse show and ride into a class, there are three different ways you can show up; as the showman, as the trainer, or as the judge. Most people are jumping around between these three without knowing it, which is less effective and exhausting.

Learn what each of these roles has to offer and how understanding them can improve the quality of the time spent with your horse.

Episode 225: Calculated plateaus in training and showing Mar 08, 2023

Show notes

Learning the skill of establishing a calculated plateau will require you to know yourself, know your horse, and exercise self-control.

A calculate plateau happens when a rider chooses to stay at, or return to a known level of skill. This is beneficial for creating consistency and confidence in the horse and rider. It also proves that the rider knows their horse well enough that they can create this.

In this podcast, I explain what a calculated plateau is and is NOT as well as the benefits. One of the main benefits of creating plateaus in show situations is to prevent over-showing, which is a state of mind. It is asking the horse, and/or yourself, to perform at a higher level than you are consistently capable of doing in regular training.

Related Podcasts