Who else is typically a skeptic to the point that you might even talk badly about something without ever having tried it? I certainly am when it comes to anything in the horse world that has been commercialized, BUT I have changed my mind about Parelli Natural Horsemanship. Why?

Before I can move to ground driving or working under saddle, I must first know that my horse can work in a forward frame of mind on a lunge line. Teaching a horse to carry forward energy on her own is key to having a horse that will be responsive to light aids and bold/confident when approaching new obstacles under saddle.

In this first session with Q working to teach her about maintaining forward energy on a circle, I hope you can see the progression from frustration and confusion to her lightbulb moment of learning to maintain forward energy on her own. It takes lots of small adjustments to body position, intensity of aids (the end of the lead rope and my voice in this case), as well as patience and good timing for rewards.

Also, always keep in mind that no matter what you do with your horse, they need mental breaks just as much as physical breaks. In this 30-minute session with Q we had a break for free lunging, and a couple breaks to go back to "forward, halt, back" as a way to give her a mental break.

It's a long video, but I chose to share the full session (I only cropped out the sections where we ended up being out of the camera frame) because I hope you can learn by seeing the "struggles" that resulted in the success. And please notice that once I got her going in her more challenging direction to the right, I stopped after only a few circles. There is no need to continually drill your horse asking for perfection. Often times the best reward in your horse's mind is being able to rest as soon as they figure it out.

Of course each horse is different, so there's never a one size fits all solution, but Q's personality is one that is more timid and thoughtful. If you have a horse that tends to be bold and even pushy, you may need to be more assertive with how you approach this exercise, but if you have a horse that needs confidence and is more sensitive, this is the approach I would take: be kind, soft and very sparing with "demanding" a response.

Welcome to the kickoff of Q's official training for the 2017 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover!  For our first discussion, I thought it was appropriate to begin with an up-close view of Q to evaluate her conformation. In upcoming posts I will also cover her movement and personality, but I think it is always important to begin by fairly and thoroughly assessing a horse's conformation. This helps to identify any areas that might require close attention as training develops or help to explain imbalances that present themselves in the early stages of training.

The following videos and photos are intended to give you a close first-person view of Q's conformation. Share your feedback - likes, concerns, etc - in the comments below, and on Friday evening I will be going LIVE on Facebook to share my thoughts and answer questions. I wanted to structure it this way so as not to bias anyone's opinions, and remember that conformation can often be subjective so there are NO WRONG ANSWERS :-)

For instance, what do you notice about her feet, legs, muscling, skeletal angles, coat condition, or anything else that stands out to you? This initial look will serve as our baseline to determine how Q is progressing and developing throughout her training.

Is there another view or photo you would like to see to help with your assessment? Please feel free to request it in the comments, and I'll do my best to get it for you. I want Q's journey to be all about you feeling like you are right here with with us for her training, so the more you engage with the conversation, the more you will benefit.

Yesterday I took Dove to her third Dressage schooling show since she retired from her racing career a little over 6 months ago, and it did not go at all as I had planned. Ever since I started working with Dove, she has been the epitome of calm, cool and collected. She has handled ground driving in an indoor arena during a severe windstorm that actually tore off part of the roof while we continued working, she has gone on trail rides, she quietly stands ground tied in the barn aisle, she is a saint for the farrier and has had riders of varying levels on her without any issues.

But yesterday was different for Dove, and that's okay. I recently posted the following on Facebook, and re-reading it gives me a great feeling of pride for knowing that I did indeed put it into action at the show yesterday.

Let me set the stage by providing some background that may sound more like pre-emptive excuses:

• Dove had an 8-year racing career with 88 starts, and she retired at the end of October 2015
• Before yesterday, I had NEVER ridden Dove in an outdoor arena
• This was only her 4th time away from my farm, and every other experience has been in an indoor arena
• The show grounds were very windy, and the warm-up ring was an open ring without fencing bordered by a large stretch of grass that leads to the barns on one side and a wooded area on the other
• I trailered in a little under 2 hours before our first ride of the day
• I mounted only 20 minutes before my first test

After confirming that I have a reliable halt, back, go and change of direction with a halter and lead rope, I move forward by introducing changes of direction in a bridle on the lunge line.

This is the first time I ever worked with Moon in a bridle and also the first time I ever lunged her.
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In the first part of the video I review some of my thoughts on safety, necessary equipment, and the key training steps to "test" before moving on to ground driving.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that one of my criteria for getting on a horse for the first time is to know that they can stand quietly at the mounting block while I move around them.

Here is a video of my first time working with Moon as part of that preparation. My main approach with this ground work also translates to many other applications beyond the mounting block as it teaches the horse to yield to pressure and remain calm and relaxed to stand.

My key components for this prep work for the mounting block include:

• Halt/Back
• Go
• Yield haunches
  • Turn on forehand
  • Side pass
• Ground tie

Please keep in mind that there are several mistakes by both Moon AND ME in the video, but I don't edit those out because I think it's important for everyone to see that perfection is the enemy of good. The key to training a horse is to remain patient, go slowly and celebrate the small successes. It's also important to acknowledge when you have advanced too quickly or stacked too many requests on at once. Give your horse mental and physical breaks and don't nag and get caught up in the details. If you do mess up, just know that you're not the only one out there who isn't perfect :-)

For our first day of training in preparation for the 2016 Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, Moon and I started with lessons in ground tying.

Over the next month, we will be focusing on ground work and will not start any work under saddle until April.

It's a long video, but hopefully you will find it valuable to help you teach your horse how to ground tie, and as always, feel free to ask questions in the comments.

It's no secret that I believe more training OUTSIDE on trails and in new environments actually yields better results INSIDE the arena, and doing hill work with my horses is quite possibly one of my favorite training exercises.

When done in-hand, not only does it condition my horse, but it also conditions me as a rider. Every rider should strive to be in top physical condition because a stronger rider is also a more balanced rider and a more stable "package" for your horse to carry.

I would like to challenge anyone who reads this to start incorporating at least one day a week to trotting hills with your horses (weather permitting of course - running hills in wet footing is never safe). Even just 15 minutes of hill work can prove more valuable than 45 minutes of arena work because it challenges your horse to utilize different muscles, and it is great for your horse's brain and overall well being.

Sometimes I think it's important to test "naughty" behavior with a horse to see how they might react in a future home. For example, over the past week I have been leading Golden Dove down the aisle together with Lady MacJazz for turnout, and tonight I worked on allowing her to walk in and out of her stall without being led.

I do this primarily for two reasons. First, because I want to be sure I expose a sale horse to as much as possible in preparation for whatever type of new home environment they might encounter. Although my goal for Golden Dove is to place her in a forever home, it's still possible that her new owner will have her in a boarding facility where they allow the horses to walk into their stalls on their own via a chute from the pastures. Or maybe it will be a facility where they lead multiple horses at a time. I want to be make Dove's transition as easy as possible by exposing her to as much as I can while she is with me.

The second reason I practice what I would typically consider undesirable behaviors is because testing these behaviors often can lay the ground work for training a desirable behavior or it can give me insight into how a horse might react in a new situation.