Horse Training Articles

That’s No Bull. Training Horses On The Ranch.

September 22, 2014
Jenn Zeller

I started trailing bulls home this week. Their 60 days with the cows are up. Bringing bulls home is probably one of my favorite parts of ranch work. For the past several years on the ranch, it’s been solely my job. Depending on where the bulls are, how much time I have that day, and […]


Ranch Work Presents A Horse Training Opportunity

September 15, 2014
Jenn Zeller

While riding a young horse one summer, I had one of those lightbulb moments- a moment that reinforced what I have learned and what I know to be true about riding horses. Those can happen daily if we listen and are in a learning frame of mind each and every time we are in the […]


Communication Between Horse And Rider

September 12, 2014
Jessie Salter

The other day my 5 year old gelding, just up and decided he wasn’t going to load in the trailer.  He’s been in and out of trailers since the day he was born, and of coarse we were on a schedule. So, the first thing I do is get his feet moving, maybe not with […]


FEMININE VAPORS: A Young Mare Learns A Lesson

September 10, 2014
Jan Swan Wood

FEMININE VAPORS: A Young Mare Learns A Lesson by Jan Swan Wood Many years ago, when my great horse Lily was a rather green, track broke mare, we were taking care of a nice set of replacement heifers for a feller. A couple of times a week one of us would ride through the heifers […]


What To Look For In A Young Performance Horse Prospect: Part 2

September 2, 2014
Jessie Salter

In our first segment of this series we talked about bloodlines and breed history. Today, we will talk about conformation and disposition.  We know that champions come in all shapes and sizes and they all have different dispositions or quirks, which takes me back to the statement that, the horse is only as good as […]


Catching Horses

August 31, 2014
Rachel Larsen

Aside from our devotion to morning coffee, we aren’t big on rituals around our outfit.  However there is one simple ceremony we practice on a regular basis.  We catch and halter each and every saddle horse in the corral to lead them out the gate at the end of the day.  Whether they’ve been ridden […]


The Horse is Never Wrong

August 28, 2014
Jenn Zeller

Before I moved across the country,  from Texas to South Dakota, I trained horses for a living.  I gave lessons to kids, took horses in for tuning, and trained barrel horses. I loved horses, and anything having to do with horses. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how horses operated. Then, I […]


Ride Aware v. Alert

August 22, 2014
Jenn Zeller

I’ve finally learned the difference between being alert and being aware. And that is a big deal, people.  We’ve all more than likely been there: had a wreck on a horse because we got worked up over something.  We’ve all had a horse that was afraid of a tarp, or plastic bag, or a snake, […]


What To Look For In A Young Performance Horse Prospect: Part 1

August 21, 2014
Jessie Salter

When picking out a performance horse prospect several things come into play. In this 2 part series we’ll touch on what to look for and why.  We all know that a horse is only going to be as good as it’s trainer, but this might be helpful in getting a good start. Bloodlines might be […]


It’s Not About Winning

August 20, 2014
Jenn Zeller

I heard it said the other day, “We didn’t go backwards, but we didn’t go forwards either. Some days you win some, some days you lose some.” This was said in regards to a rather touchy colt. He’s probably 60 rides in to his training, and he’s still prone to hog around, bog his head, […]