Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall – Details, episodes & analysis

Stacy Westfall discusses the overuse of the phrase "I'm sorry" in everyday situations and how it relates to horsemanship. She recounts observing excessive apologizing in a workshop setting and at grocery stores, questioning whether these apologies are genuine expressions of remorse or habitual responses. Westfall emphasizes the importance of understanding one's emotional defaults and how they impact interactions with horses.

She encourages riders to examine why they apologize during lessons or while sharing arena space, suggesting that many of these apologies are unnecessary and may stem from misplaced feelings of inadequacy. Westfall advocates for clearer communication and understanding of riding etiquette to reduce the need for constant apologies.

The podcast also touches on the emotions involved in buying and selling horses, prompting listeners to reflect on their initial emotional responses to these situations. 

This episode of the podcast explores the concept of "decision fatigue" and the challenges of navigating the "messy middle" or "miserable maybe" when faced with big life decisions. Stacy shares how this process can be similar to what a horse expereinces when being trained to approach and relax around scary objects. 

Key takeaways:

- Decision fatigue is similar to physical fatigue - making too many decisions can mentally "overwork" the brain
- The period between first considering a decision and actually making it is rife with potential for decision fatigue
- Setting boundaries and dedicated "decision-making time" can help manage this process

Overall, this episode provides practical strategies for handling the challenge of big, complex decisions and avoiding the mental strain that can come with prolonged indecision.

In this podcast episode, Stacy Westfall introduces the concept of viewing a horse's behavior as an "invitation" that riders can choose to accept or decline. She explains that horses often present two types of invitations to riders:

- Emotional invitations: When a horse becomes anxious, jumpy, or displays a particular emotional state, it can be seen as an invitation for the rider to join that emotional state. 
- Training invitations: Horses may also invite riders to use certain aids or respond in specific ways during training or riding. For example, a lazy horse might invite the rider to do more work to maintain energy, while a hot horse might invite the rider to constantly apply the brakes.

Stacy encourages riders to:

- Recognize these invitations from their horses
- Become aware of their default responses to these invitations
- Consider choosing a different, more productive response
- Look for invitations during their next 10 rides
- Aim to break habitual patterns by responding intentionally to their horse's cues.

I recorded this audio while riding Willow bridleless; day 2. 
My point: I didn’t set out to ride Willow bridleless, as in, the thought was NOWHERE in my mind. 
Yet, we arrived here. 
Looking back at our journey, you could say we took many detours…or you could say that I consistently took the next most obvious step.

Consider what would happen if you took these two steps, over and over and over again:

1- remember why you are doing this. What was your dream-goal?
2-take committed action. 

Sometimes the next, most obvious step…really is the best choice.

200 episodes and over 1,000,000 downloads later…its working!

200 episodes and over 1,000,000 downloads later…

When I started this podcast, I wanted to help riders understand their horses, so they could create clear, confident, communication…and it’s working!

To celebrate reaching these milestones, I’m sharing my student success stories. These moments are glimpses into the process of gaining clarity through understanding. You can hear both the struggle and the breakthrough, as well as the enjoyment and the success.

Thanks for listening!

The trickiest concept of them all…If the horse gives the ‘incorrect’ answer…it doesn’t necessarily mean you taught the lesson wrong.

This one can make you crazy…
Or it can make you micromanage…
Or it can tempt you to force things to happen…

The challenge is that in teaching the horse…we are always getting feedback from them, but if they give the ‘incorrect’ answer…it doesn’t necessarily mean you taught the lesson wrong.

If the horse questions you…and you think his feedback means you’re doing it wrong…you might change what you're doing…even though the horse was just asking if some previous answer could apply here...or was offering something creative...or was asking for clarification. 

What stands in the way of reaching your dream?
The ability to hold belief for the amount of time it takes to achieve it.
But…
If it's as simple as believing…why don’t we just believe?
There are many hidden benefits to NOT believing. 

It conserves energy, allows you to stay where you are, and lets you experience less of the uncomfortable emotions that often come with trying new things. 
But…
What if you ARE capable?
What if you can do it if you just keep going?
Learning to hold space for belief is a skill you can learn. 
I’ll explain more in the podcast.

The difference between testing, training, and micromanaging is TIMING.

If you are not sure of the difference in timing there, is a much higher chance that you will be frequently ‘correcting’ mistakes, or you’ll find yourself trying to prevent mistakes.

There is a way to train your horse that feels like guiding instead of ‘correcting’. In this podcast, I share how you can set your horse up for success, stop micromanaging and ‘test’ when you are confident the horse knows the answer.