Horseman's Academy

Understand this, and you understand the whole game. In this voice memo Jake emphasizes the often-overlooked benefits of the yield-to-a-stop exercise, a crucial step in our colt starting process.

A quick mini-masterclass on connecting the word "whoa" with the sensation of a horse loading up, "getting into his legs", and stopping soft and balanced. How to make it muscle memory. And how it becomes the starting point for a really good sliding stop.

In this voice memo Jake offers several examples that illustrate what he calls the 'confidence equation': Confidence = (Horse Skills) x (Rider Skills) That multiplication sign is important. Because if either the horse's foundation or the rider's abilities are at zero, then what's the product? ZERO. It doesn't matter how well trained your horse is — if your skills as a rider are lacking, and you encounter a situation where your horse needs to rely on you for leadership and guidance, you will fail the test. On the flip side, even an expert rider will struggle to maintain control of a horse with a poor foundation. So if you want more confidence, fun and success in the saddle? Both you and your horse need to level up. It's as simple as that.

In this episode you'll learn the predictable, step-by-step formula we're using to help our Non Pro clients get wildly better results with their horses — going from "foundation" to "finesse" faster than they ever thought possible. We document our process with an owner who recently hauled to our facility for an Uplevel private lesson, then committed her reining horse to 30 days training with Lundahl Performance, and took another 3-day private lesson at the end of the program to experience and practice what her horse had learned. You'll discover what steps we followed, what exercises and concepts drove the biggest breakthroughs, the philosophy behind why they work, and how to get those results for yourself. Ready to dive deeper into our training philosophy and get to the next level? Start your journey with this free training video: The Ultimate Lead Change Formula. Lundahl Performance Horses Website: LundahlPerformance.com Find Us On Facebook: Facebook.com/LundahlHorses "Making Advanced Horsemanship Accessible"

Jake shares some personal experiences, and the story of a successful client, to illustrate how most beginner riders under-estimate their own capabilities, and their horse's potential. Only when you've taken the first major steps toward bettering yourself as a horseman, do you recognize the true scope of the opportunities in front of you. Want to experience that transformation for yourself? Visit coltstarting.com/dream and check out "Dream Horse Academy".

I've started a lot of wild mustangs over the past 13 years. Here's the biggest lessons I've learned.  My program:  https://www.coltstartingsecrets.com/ Training without a plan is just guessing.  Don't guess. Learn the program. Follow the steps.  Stay on track and stay safe.  https://www.coltstartingsecrets.com/

In this podcast I share two stories which serve as important examples of what can happen when you miss this critical step in the process of starting a horse under saddle.  For a free masterclass on colt starting check out the following episodes:  Day 1:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lead-change-troubleshooting-dry-work-basics/id1345025627?i=1000463522073 Day 2: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-horse-motivation-flag-work-intro/id1345025627?i=1000465614836 Day 3: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stress-free-trailering-leading-by-the-feet/id1345025627?i=1000468145180 Days 4-6:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-live-cattle-horses-that-charge-humans/id1345025627?i=1000471914333 Colt Starting Secrets online course:  https://www.coltstartingsecrets.com Our website:  https://www.lundahlperformance.com 

Jennifer Osborne is a professional firefighter and owner/operator of Fire & Ice Horses, a thoroughbred rescue based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview we discuss a wide range of topics including horsemanship education, and our reactions after the Along for the Ride Symposium in February 2022. Along For The Ride Website:  https://alongfortheride.pro/ Fire & Ice Horses on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireAndIceHorses Lundahl Performance on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LundahlHorses Our Website (join our newsletter here): https://www.coltstarting.com/ Colt Starting Secrets: https://www.coltstartingsecrets.com/

Coaching call recap. Here's a voice memo I recorded after a 1-on-1 call with a client whose reined cowhorse was struggling with a sloppy, sucked-back, unbalanced spin. The primary exercise we used to get this horse confident and balanced again is the "Forward & Around" Exercise. The Forward & Around exercise is one of my favorites for teaching a horse to spin. You're working with the horse's psychology (instead of against it) by building the release of pressure into the maneuver itself, and building desire in the horse to stay in the turn and maintain their balance independently, with minimal input from the rider. See the video: https://youtu.be/m2JoMl5to0k Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lundahl Our Website (join our newsletter here): https://www.coltstarting.com/ Colt Starting Secrets: https://www.coltstartingsecrets.com/

Confusion is both a barrier and an accelerator for learning. In this voice memo, Jake answers a question from an Academy member who's experienced a communication breakdown between herself and another horseman.  ColtStartingSecrets.com 

Just a quick voice memo to share something that's been working well on a couple horses I have in training: Using certain exercises as mental "anchors" to encourage better habits.  ColtStartingSecrets.com

Timestamps:  0:00:00 - Training a Pushy Foal/Weanling  0:16:35 - Colt Starting Days 4 thru 6  0:56:26 - Introduction to Live Cattle  1:17:39 - Horses that Charge at Humans    ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 4 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! We lead off the episode with our thoughts on training pushy, cantankerous foals and weanlings; and teaching these young horses to handle pressure. During the Foundation segment, we walk through Days 4 thru 6 of our colt starting program, including saddling for the first time. For the Advanced segment, we continue our cowhorse series with an in-depth breakdown on how we first introduce a horse to cattle. Finally, we wrap up with a question about a horse that's aggressive and charging the handler; how we would address this behavior, and how we would handle the situation overall from a professional's perspective.     ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

In this bonus segment, we answer a question from a listener in search of the right horse to pursue her cowhorse ambitions with.

Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Building Good Trailering Habits 0:22:57 - Colt Starting Day 3 & Leading by the Feet 1:11:07 - Flag Work Problems & Solutions 1:47:08 - The True Meaning of Leadership ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 3 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we take a deep dive into horse behavior in and around the trailer: How bad habits develop, how to instill good habits, and how to achieve quiet and confident hauling. During the Foundation segment, we walk through Day 3 of our colt starting program and lay out the step-by-step process for Leading by the Feet. For the Advanced segment, we expand our discussion on flag work with common training issues and mistakes you should expect, and the tactics to fix them. Finally, we wrap up the episode with our thoughts on true leadership and riding with confidence.  ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

In this bonus segment, we tackle two problem scenarios recently submitted to our Facebook inbox: A horse that's constantly leaning, and a horse that's constantly over-reacting and getting easily distracted.

Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Getting a Lazy Horse to Respect Leg Pressure 0:27:51 - Colt Starting Day 2  0:46:42 - Introducing the Flag to Young Cowhorses 1:05:38 - Horses That Are Hard to Catch ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 2 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we answer a question about a lazy reining horse that doesn't want to run hard. During the Foundation segment, we dive into Day 2 of our colt starting program with Desensitizing, Round Penning, Yielding the Hindquarters, and preparing to handle the horse's feet. For the Advanced segment, we discuss how to translate the dry work fundamentals we've established to the flag for the first time. Finally, we wrap up the episode with a note on hard-to-catch horses.  ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

If you're going to work with young stallions, you need a good program, and you must have good feel and timing as a horseman. In this bonus segment, we break down the consequences of poor planning, poor breeding, and poor training; and how they created a "mutually abusive" situation between a horse and human.

Timestamps:  0:00:00 - Lead Change Troubleshooting 0:25:42 - Colt Starting Day 1 Round Penning & Desensitizing 0:52:25 - Dry Work Preparation for Young Cow Horses 1:04:20 - "Smell the Leather" Challenge ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 1 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we provide answers for horses that are jittery and have a bad attitude about lead changes. During the Foundation segment, we dive into Day 1 of our colt starting program with the Round Penning and Desensitizing exercises. For the Advanced segment, we discuss the dry work fundamentals we want to instill in a young cow horse before moving on to the flag. Finally, we wrap up the episode with a note on rider self-esteem and our "Smell the Leather" challenge!  ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Season 2 of our podcast begins, hosted by Jake Lundahl and Amy Keegel of Lundahl Performance. Here's a brief rundown of the important bits to remember:  NAME CHANGE - Going forward, this will be the Horseman's Academy podcast (formerly "Project Horse podcast")  NEW GUESTS - We are opening the podcast up to guest appearances by equine professionals with valuable insights to offer.  NEW Q&A FORMAT - We're taking questions from our listeners in a new way. Submit a question via email or Facebook message, while including 3 plausible answers to your query in the message itself.  Thanks for listening!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lundahl/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lundahl/support

Audio from our 'Ask Me Anything' broadcast on Facebook. We fielded multiple listener questions and gave away free LPH merchandise!