HHF-Harkey Horsemanship

09/17/2026

09/16/2026

Imposter syndrome doesn’t always sound like, “I’m not good enough...”

Sometimes it sounds much more reasonable such as “Other instructors know so much more than I do” or “I should have been able to fix that rider’s problem faster.”

“If I have to look something up, maybe I don’t know enough.”

“My lessons should be more impressive.”

“Everyone else seems to have their program figured out.”

“Maybe my students would progress faster with someone better.”

Those thoughts can sound responsible. They can sound like high standards and sometimes they can even sound like motivation but if every accomplishment immediately gets followed by a new reason why you are still not quite ready, qualified enough, experienced enough, or knowledgeable enough, the finish line will keep moving.

Good instructors do not know everything. They notice, they adjust, they keep learning, and they ask questions.

They recognize when something is outside their experience and bring in help when needed. They change the lesson when the horse or rider in front of them needs something different and they understand that taking time to work through a problem does not mean they are bad at their job.

Teaching horses and riders is not a profession where you eventually reach a point where there is nothing left to learn. The more experienced you become, the more you often realize just how much there still is to know and that is not incompetence. That is just experience giving you perspective.

One thing I think instructors sometimes overlook is the evidence sitting right in front of them....

The student who finally understood something because of the way YOU explained it.

The nervous rider who trusts you.

The horse whose comfort you protected when a lesson needed to change.

The student who came back week after week.

The parent who recommended you to somebody else.

The rider who accomplished something they once thought they couldn’t do.

Those things count too and sometimes what feels like a confidence problem is partly a preparation problem.

If you are already questioning yourself, walking into the arena with no clear plan and trying to invent an entire lesson on the spot gives that little voice even more material to work with. Having exercises, progressions, variations, and backup ideas ready does not make you a better instructor by itself but it can give you more mental space to actually teach.

You do not need to prove that you belong in this profession by knowing everything. You just need to keep becoming better at what you do. There is a big difference!

09/11/2026

Brb, off to go put more OTTBs in the ranch world.
Not too shabby for Drummer’s first venture!

2 for 2 on bay boys from this family heading for the ranch ring, though this one is headed for the ranch reining, while the other keeps it locked down in the ranch trail 💪🏽

09/04/2026

Are we accidentally making our horses fragile?

Not just physically, but emotionally.

We talk a lot about keeping horses comfortable. Keeping them calm. Keeping them from getting stressed, scared, tired, frustrated or overwhelmed.

And obviously, good horsemanship should never be about intentionally putting a horse in a bad situation just to see what happens.

But I do think there’s a difference between protecting a horse and preparing one.

A horse that never experiences pressure doesn’t learn how to work through pressure.

A horse that’s never allowed to be briefly frustrated doesn’t learn how to regulate frustration.

A horse that’s always removed from something the moment they’re uncomfortable can start to learn that discomfort means something is wrong or that their only option is to escape it.

And I think physically, we sometimes do the same thing.

We want perfect footing. Perfect conditions. Perfect surfaces. We worry about hills, rocks, uneven ground, longer rides and different environments.

Of course there are legitimate physical limitations and injuries that need to be respected. But a healthy horse’s body also adapts to appropriate, progressive stress. Balance, coordination, strength and sure footedness aren’t developed by avoiding every physical challenge.

Maybe good training isn’t creating a life where our horses never experience discomfort.

Maybe it’s giving them manageable doses of the real world and teaching them, “You’re safe. Take a second, think your way through it”.

Because the reality is, we can’t predict or control every environment our horses are going to encounter.

We can’t control everything that happens at a show. We can’t guarantee what they’ll see when they step off the trailer somewhere new. We can’t make every trail quiet or every piece of footing perfect.

We can’t even control everything at home.

Sometimes the neighbor’s tarp comes flying over the fence. A dog appears where it shouldn’t. Something falls over. A tractor starts up. A horse gets loose. Something happens that we never would’ve thought to specifically prepare for.

It’s near impossible to train a horse for every thing they may encounter in life.

But I want to teach them what to do with themselves when they encounter a thing they’ve never seen before.

Because eventually they’re going to encounter something we couldn’t manufacture perfectly for them.

And when that happens, I don’t want my horses to think the world is ending.

I want them to know how to pause, think, regulate even when neither of us saw it coming.

09/03/2026

Morgan says “👁️👅👁️”
The love for this little mare is so real. Her temperament, her tolerance, the way she just *fits* into our herd so seamlessly.
We discovered recently that Miss Morgan has been hiding a stowaway (aka she’s just as prego as I am🤦🏻‍♀️) so she’s taken a step back from the lesson program as we wait for her to surprise us.
However, her favorite kid gave her a good “all up in your business bubble bath” and got her all prettied up and feeling good during this hot week.

Disclaimer: neither us nor her former owner intentionally bred this mare. She changed hands several times in quick succession before she came to us, so we have no idea what stud she was exposed to, just a rough estimate on gestation.
Also, these pictures are strategically angled to make her look as small as possible (girly is a WIDE load😂)

09/01/2026

Originally wrote and shared this in a fit of rage two years ago and it popped up in my memories today, so worth reposting!

Today’s soapbox moment: I swear, if y’all don’t leave those mechanical hackamores alone, I’m going to scream. Fair warning, no sugar coating ahead.

Mechanical hackamores are advertised and marketed as a “gentle bitless option”, which couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s not much harsher things to put on a horse’s face, and that severity isn’t diminished just because it doesn’t go in their mouth.

Let’s get into it.

One, most folks don’t properly fit a mechanical hack. The noseband will sit too low, putting undue pressure on a fragile nasal bone and tender cartilage. Learn what your horse’s anatomy looks like.

Two, mechanical hacks have 3 different points of pressure. Pressure on the reins triggers the cheek piece and top of the shank to put pressure on the poll, the noseband pulls back on their face, and the side of the shank pinches around the jaw and chin, particularly when attached to a curb strap. Those three pressure points fully encompass a horse’s face, meaning no matter which way they pull or brace, there is NO release, whether they go full rollkur or giraffe mode.

Three, holy shanks Batman. Common sense would tell you that 4-8” shanks equals a LOT of leverage, NOT a “gentle bitless option”. You don’t need that. And if you think you do, you need to train yourself better. I’d say your horse, but any horse that tolerates a mechanical hack is a saint in my book. I promise there are 4 billion better options than this one.

Y’all. There’s SO. MANY. RESOURCES out there. We cannot keep claiming ignorance when it’s willful at this point.

“But my horse is so soft and responsive in it”. Yeah I would be too if you had me in a headlock. Doesn’t mean I’m not in pain.

Do better. BE better, if not for you, for your horse’s sake.

08/29/2026

Nearly an inch of rain in an unexpected toad strangler of a storm yesterday and the arena is ready to rock and roll this morning! It’s the little things🙌🏽

08/25/2026