Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall

In this episode, Stacy Westfall reflects on the 20th anniversary of her first bridleless competition ride, sharing insights from her journey. She begins by addressing common challenging emotions face…

This episode, Stacy answers a listener's question about working with ‘outliers’. Outliers are horses with unique needs or circumstances. Stacy shares insights from working with outlier horses, those …

In this episode, I answer a listener question about a horse who has become heavy on the bit.  

Topics include:

• The importance of identifying concerns as a crucial first step before implementing any…

In this podcast episode, I answer a question from a listener who is preparing to start their horse under saddle and has questions about the progression from a rope halter to bits with shanks. 

Topics…

A listener wrote in that she recently got a new trail horse, and she said, “he's supposed to be a "super finished" trail horse.”  But he is not acting the way she imagined a finished trail horse shou…

Early in training, or early in introducing a new concept, it is an EXCELLENT idea to reward the smallest try. 

But here is the question.

When do you start expecting the full answer?

This is where peo…

It is remarkable how well horses can learn to read a rider's seat cues. 

In this podcast, I explain how I use my seat cues to communicate with my horses, including how these seat cues can naturally …

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you have probably heard me say, “Your horse is asking you questions.”

Sometimes people will reply, “My horse isn’t asking questions…he is making s…

The questions you ask will impact the information you gather and your entire riding experience. 

Often times, the question “Am I doing this right” Or “Is this correct?” is a lightly veiled, “Is this …

One goal when riding is an increasing consistency in your horses' response to your cues.  This will only be possible when YOU are consistent with the application of, and release of, the cue.  The qui…

Have you ever wondered, but how do I get him to do it for longer?  Maybe you want your horse to keep loping until you tell him to stop. Maybe you want him to stand until you ask him to go.  Maybe you…

Training a horse involves creating a language between horse and rider.  It is very common for a horse to be somewhat guessing at the answer at times during this process. 
Your response to their best …

Simply put: a pattern is a planned ride. When you ride with a plan…you’ll begin to show up consistent. The more consistent you are…the easier it is for your horse to become consistent. 

The magic of …

In this podcast, I discuss two ideas, the challenge of asking questions, and ‘why bend?’

The theme of this season of the podcast is, “No question is too small.” Today, I explain:


• why riders don’t a…

One major difference between the early rides on a horse, and the more finished rides on a horse, is the way the cues are used in combination. In this podcast, I describe cues as ‘doors’. 

The beauty …

If you are consistently taking action, and you recognize that you are having some success, but not at the rate or speed you anticipated.this episode is for you.

Today, I’m sharing three reasons it ca…

Many riders experience doubt, tension, or frustration when riding because they are unsure of themselves, or are confused by their horse's response.

Many horses exhibit resistance and behavior issues …

When I hear a rider say, ‘I’ve lost the connection with my horse.” I see red flags go up in my mind.

Here’s why.

The vast majority of the time, if I were picking a number, I’d say about 80% of the ti…

I have the beautiful privilege of speaking with many people who love horses.  The majority are women.  Many of them are pursuing their horse dreams in the second half of life.

The tipping point where…

In this episode, I discuss how quickly horses begin to recognize patterns of behavior, and I answer a listener question about working around feeding time.

While these may seem unrelated, I think the …