Author: Jaime Hope Blees

Every time Emily comes to town I learn more about my horse, myself, and life. This trip was just as good or better than the ones before.

My favorite part of this clinic was that it included a few new friends which is not always possible! The clinic is individual lessons that we all observe while not working with Emily so it goes deeper than a group lesson generally can. That also means we have less ability to take very large numbers and spots are ALWAYS offered to those who have participated in the past first before opening to the wider circle of friends.

Emily is so great to work with and learn from that people rarely give up a spot though sometimes other life things prohibit someone from participating and then we end up with an opening or two which happened this holiday weekend.

We also had some great young riders join us for the first time! I love seeing these young women begin to mature into not just riders but horsewomen!

Bonus is always getting to reconnect around horses with my ‘old’ horsemanship friends. Brandea and I have co-hosted the clinics before she moved and we’ve prayed and cried and laughed over it all for years. Now that she’s in South Carolina it’s both exciting because she’s beginning to take the horsemanship movement to new places but also sad because she’s only here a limited time. But she and her husband both came for the week and that was wonderful! (Oh and her horse too!)

My second favorite thing about this clinic is I came in with a horse that appeared to be injured. However since the fall I had a hard time convincing her she WAS indeed injured. She continued to act like she was fine even though she basically had a hole in her knee and exposed flesh healing from the inside out that refused because of where it was to stay wrapped.

I decided to use sulfa as an antibiotic because of how deep and close to the joint the wound was. I don’t run to antibiotics often but in this case I thought it through and kept her on them until the wound had closed the deepest part of the hole which was over a week. I began with saline cleaning twice a day in case of dirt or particles and then I used dynamite trace minerals (wound care line) drops, then antibacterial wound care spray and a bandage wrap with Neosporin at first. The vet wrap was always down before the next visit, but it made me feel better as the last thing I remembered was seeing the wound covered and I pretended when I came back it had just come down like minutes before I arrived. I also had K contained in my own little “hospital ward” for the first 4 days, and she basically refused to stay in there even when it was electrified. I saw the orange handle off each visit and I think it was Wyoming letting her out… but maybe I’m biased by the tats….

So I would come the first couple days in a panic and tell God that as a Father he had one really important job here: Keep the mare in the hospital confinement pen, and keep the bandage up!! Really one might think the God of the universe could handle that small detail for me.

He replied very clearly to me during that first prayer:

Daughter, you may SUCK (yes, that’s what I heard, I know it sounds a bit vulgar but it got my attention… apparently God doesn’t always speak King James…) at treating and bandaging wounds, but I am ACE at healing them!

Though I have seen God healing through process in this case, and I believe it was important for me to do the human things I know to be responsible for healing care, the healing itself has been miraculous. Each day more layers are growing toward the surface and it has never looked pussy, yellow or smelly etc. It has been healing at an accelerated rate, and the mare hasn’t take one lame or off step through it all.

Thus I showed up to the clinic with a wounded animal to work with. I was sure it was the right thing because the mustang mare isn’t traveling right now per her own decision that I cannot override, and no one really showed up in great need for me to step aside my own time slots. So I took that as the clear message to come work with the horse with her “weakness” and see what would come of it.

I am amazed at what we got from the sessions. Amazed.

I believe God when he says he has plans for us, plans for our good. I believe God when he says he works more in our weakness than our (perceived) strength, yet when he does it I’m still blown away.

We spent a few minutes on leadership (this mare always tries to control the world, I can work on leadership with her for the rest of our lives, and I love that about her! She always demands I be on top of it). I got on and we rode a little to see how it would go. It was fine.

I had been focusing on a better back up this year on my own and Emily helped me tweak that in my own body and improve communication. I found moments of real softness and impulsion going backward that I’ve never felt on a horse before and it’s cool!

Then we talked about my riding position going from the deep seat balanced elementary place to beginning to find more lightness that will invite her into more lifted balance through her topline underneath me. After years of working on my riding there is always more, but this isn’t exactly improving it (though I’m always improving for sure), it was a new level that is now the right time to play with. We spent a lot of time working on tweaking my own body and hand movements into a more refined place that changed things in K’s body that was fun to feel.

We also got into seeking the soft feel I’d been trying out on my own as well this year. I had experimented this winter and spring but had not felt success. With Emily and her guidance we had some nice moments of it standing still, walk and trot as well. That was really exciting.

One of my goals is to begin consistently finding a left lead canter because as much canter work as I’ve been doing 98% of it is right lead. That is definitely an imbalance I don’t want to continue. Yet all the digging on how to do this and trying different things had not opened that door yet consistently. I’ve seen her canter left lead on a long line but under saddle it’s rare.

It seemed obvious we would not be working on left lead canter with a horse with a deep knee injury on the left leg. Well we did not, however on the last session we DID work on the canter in the right lead which was just fine, but Emily was able to help shape how my body moves which was different from some of the advice I’d dug up from other experts. Also the way I ask for the canter I wasn’t happy with. I’d also tried to dig up the “proper” way to ask for a canter and it didn’t seem to line up with the riding style I had been building. When I talked it over with Emily she gave me a solution that I had not found in all my searching previously but it felt totally in line with what I was searching for, was MUCH more subtle and also put my body in place better than the other ways I’d read and tried.

I didn’t work on the left lead, but now I have a way better way to ask for and practice the right lead and the left will come in time.

Meanwhile it’s clear that I don’t need to compete in another 50 till later this year. God is so good in his grace he gave us a fabulous ride for the “comeback” ride in May so we know we are on the right track.

I have a new saddle to play with that I think will clarify some things my Balance Felix wasn’t quite doing well for her (it’s a still a Balance but a Nexus model and it seemed to set better than the Felix has been) and I have some new layers of physical balance to work into with her that will bring us to a higher level, and if I do some of that work through the summer I believe the rides this fall will be better than if I pulled us (without leg injuries) through the OD 50.

Instead Iva and I will go and drag ride and crew for Amy in the 100. Hope will get to come to ride camp and we’ll see how she does in that environment without a competition to muddy the waters. Iva will learn how to navigate an endurance ride trail with me guiding her and see what she needs to work on in order to succeed with her horse in the future. K will get a good training ride in without having to beat the clock on a hard 50 which will allow us to play around with some of the new things on a shorter “training” ride. All things seem to be working together for our good, and a glimpse of glory seems to be peeking through the weakness that terrible wreck brought.

The August clinic will be here before we know it, and if everyone who’s asked for a spot claims it, we’re already full… but I’ll keep the word out if we have any last minute places available. I think God should move Emily to VA permanently so we can have more access to her teaching brain, but so far he’s been silent on that one… Thankfully he knows best and I can trust I will have exactly what I need, when I need it!

Originally Published April 19, 2021

Hope and Iva are doing fantastic. They took their first solo ride on the property last week. The plans for Hope were somewhat loose at first, and I am pleased that instead of me doing the work to bring Hope around to a new way of life, I’ve been able to help Iva learn how to do it herself together with Hope. Iva has been around my horses and observing my particular way of working for years on and off as well as working for and riding at other barns. She has seen a variety of methods and approaches and ridding, and cared for a fair amount of horses in her young life. Now she has the opportunity to dig in and do it herself with a horse that gives her freedom to learn, in an environment that encourages (for lack of a better expression) the Hope Horsemanship way of a relationship firstprocess.

It has also given me the gift of being able to work closely with someone to help them in making the process their own. My goal for Hope Horsemanship is not to train horses but to encourage people who are seeking answers to find them and own the process so they don’t get a trained horse, they get a partnership.

Unfortunately trained horses become “untrained” as soon as the patterns the trainer set into place are undone by a human if they do not understand the foundational work. Many horses are so generous in spirit they are still safe reliable mounts no matter what the human does. They “fill in” gracefully and usually unnoticed. Other horses do not fill in and these become the “problem horses” and are passed along home to home until they find a rider strong willed enough to force them into at least basic compliance, or if they are fortunate someone with the understanding and skill to partner with them. These “problem horses” are often amazing horses waiting for the right connection to bloom. Their brilliance is often waiting to be tapped by understanding of how to take what was seen as a “malfunction” and turn it to something positive. Brilliance can be used for good or evil as we know!

Hope is no problem child. She is looking for a solid leader. However once this is satisfied she is willing to comply and wants to work together. She has a lovely disposition and a kind and humble heart. She is a perfect horse for Iva to learn and grow with.

Wyoming on the other hand is what many might consider a problem child. She is intelligent and communicative, bold and quite friendly. Yet she is not an easy horse to move forward through the normal “school” system. I’ve had her a few years now and she has regularly demonstrated a one step forward two steps sideways pattern that often has me excited at a victory then confused when the slide off the cliff seems to come close on its heels.

I’ve ridden this mare on the trails, around the arena, I’ve gone slower to fill in holes and gaps, I’ve moved faster to not get “stuck in kindergarten”, I’ve introduced lots of new things and I’ve tried sticking with a pattern to bring familiarity. Forward, sideways, backward, forward, the journey has often more questions than answers for me.

Today I’ve been considering in horses and life the contrast of success and failure. I think all would agree that success is more fun hands down. Yet I’ve never learned as much from a success than I have from each failure. Every time I’ve not gotten where I had set out to go, or accomplished the goal I set I’ve learned something about myself, about my horse, about the world, and I have heard more than once that the magic is in failing in the right direction, or as I think of it: Failing Forward.

The other day I took Wyoming out of the field to do some work together.  Instead of trying to ride her I decided to mix up something we have foundationally solidified in the past: standing to mount; with something that is still challenging for her: leaving the field to explore new places on the new farm.

I took the mounting block challenge idea from February (Mounting Block Challenge Video) and adjusted it to walking through woods, around the main house and fields. What I found to some dismay was the horse who had learned to stand while I got on and off had begun a pattern of walking off as I was dismounting. That was not a good pattern to continue, but depending on where we went even standing still and in place for me to get on began to break down.

This fundamental previously simple thing for us was showing serious cracks. Instead of being upset by this, I was fascinated. How could our foundation at this point be so full of holes. I observed and experimented and began with making the wrong thing much harder. If she did not line up with me and if she moved while I went to put my foot in the stirrup I put her into motion and at one point had her cantering circles in an open area both directions.

This did bring about my intended result eventually because she did not want to have to run so hard, but I knew something was still weak under the surface.

I could make her choose the right answer, but I was acutely aware that she was not buying into the plan. I could sense that under the surface she was… not ok with it. Even as she would stand still and get control of herself, she was not at peace. I had her body doing the right thing, her mind was working, but what I saw was the emotional system was being overridden but not strengthened.

Khaleesi is the horse you will probably hear the least about in these blogs. She is the true beginning of Hope Horsemanship because she is the first horse I started from untouched. Six years later we are working together well and the things I learn from her are more subtle. The road with her was so different from the switchbacks and curves with Wyoming. K does not tend to be a highly emotional horse. It doesn’t take much for me to bring K back to her mental system and if she goes “up” it’s not hard for me to dial her back “down” pretty quickly. She doesn’t lose her head often or for long.

Wyoming has more emotional reactions and once she does it is not easy to dial her back into a mental-thinking state. I have ways to bring her back by asking her things she knows that she can do, I allow her to keep moving through the reaction but ask her to control her feet and where she moves. Yet even so, the disturbance is there still– right under the surface. Panic and anxiety just below the skin. 

With Khaleesi I can get a big burst of blow up, move through it quickly and come back and move forward- kind of like a geyser. With Wyoming, the simmering pot, once we’ve hit boiling over it’s going to take a lot of time to bring her back down.

I do not think I saw this clearly in the past because she would do her best to comply with the request… until she couldn’t. So physically on the surface especially if I wanted to see success it looked pretty good. The other day however as I noted the basic steps we had cemented in months past crumbled beneath me in new places I saw that if her emotions took over she just could not comply.

This clarity seems to fit hindsight for me as well. One thing that was curious for me is how she would lay down on the trail and roll- yes with me on her and with the saddle. It didn’t feel mean spirited – and when she finished laying down (not being able to roll especially as I insisted she get up and act like a “real horse” for goodness sake) she would let me get back on and we’d continue together usually better than before.

I’ve been watching her rolling habits and though some of them are after a ride to scratch and rub the saddle itchies, I’ve also seen her do it in ways that now I would say were a moment of emotional release. Even though she had complied with carrying me out onto the trail with a buddy, under the surface she wasn’t all ok and the build up had to come out somewhere. I think the roll was a physical outlet for her. Like a childish need to suck a thumb to pacify herself. When she finished things would be more relaxed for a time.

Eventually trying to get her to leave the property for a trail ride brought various levels of bucking and even rearing which told me once again that there were holes in the foundation, and simply doing it more often was not filing in the holes, it was widening them. She was saying: I can’t.

I have heard Stacy Westfall talk about horses needing to learn emotional control early in their training. Overcoming negative emotions (fear and anxiety especially) take practice. I believe most horses get this without people thinking a whole lot about it, but in some cases when horses are more controlled by an “overactive” emotional system this may need more intentional work. 

I have found over recent years, being more aware of this in my own life, the more often I have a fear that I face with my mental system (the truth I know) the more adept I get at keeping my head and not drowning in the feelings that come. Each time I face something that feels frightening and get through without my fears being realized I can take that and build on it. Is it possible that horses’ emotional systems run in a similar though simpler fashion?

I have a strong mental side and do not tend toward overactive emotionalism however I do have triggers and emotional “nerves” that will make an exaggerated reaction. I have friends who can go into an all-out panic attack over things that don’t make sense to me, but the feelings are so real they affect the physical system and the mental system is held hostage to the entire thing. Anxiety and panic attacks are not generally of real dangers, but that doesn’t make them any less real when the system is under attack. You cannot rationalize someone out of a panic attack.

I don’t have satisfactory answers yet about this in humans or in horses. I would consider on the surface my mounting block challenge work the other day a “failure” because the horse in the very video I created to show the activity could not perform the simple activity in the new environment.

However- this “failure” has given me insight and new questions to work with than the success ever would. I have come to see that success is not always about doing my goal as I set out to do, but for this horse- who I value and see so much brilliance and beauty in – I want to help her move toward confidence and strength and trust. In that process I am going to learn and grow myself.

I am not convinced she will ever be confident and comfortable taking on new places and challenges as my more domestic horses, but I have to do what I can because not trying leaves her in a place of being anxious about every new stimuli in her world. That is a vulnerable place to be. I cannot control her environment completely for the next 20 years.

Maybe I can help her strengthen her emotional-mental system so that even if scary things enter her world- if they aren’t truly dangerous (there is a difference between things that are unknown and things that are dangerous and learning the difference is important)- if she isn’t in danger then having the confidence to stand and be able to process a reaction will keep her from exploding which is generally uncomfortable and takes a lot of energy not to mention can cause ulcers and a weakened immune system.

** Follow up**

Yesterday I went back to try again and watch for signs of her anxiety under the skin. The foundational issues in mounting were gone completely and she lined up beautifully- all until the last, farthest point. I could see her emotional system being stretched, but not far enough to create a boiling over. In time she overcame the anxiety even there and stood for me to mount and dismount with minimal concern.

I hope consistency will begin to bring confidence and of course the new things will always become less new as exposure increases. 

What I look forward to learning is if increasing the new experiences to include some offsite trailer trips this year will help build confidence or break down her ability to cope.

For some horses like Khaleesi, stirring the pot to create a reaction in a safe environment to make sure she learns how to control and face new things and emotional spikes have been important to making her a safe horse to be around and ride. I am not sure if this approach is good for Wyoming, yet. I may need to be more aware to gradually bring her toward simmering and then have a release valve to bring her down to comfort. This may be a maturity issue in her handling development, or it might be part of who she is individually.

Stay tuned!

Originally Published April 5, 2021

I hope you are all enjoying whatever spring looks like in your area. The end of winter for us was a bit cold, windy, icy and more indoor than outdoor for the humans, but spring brings sunshine and new growth.

It also brings an entirely new opportunity to the Hope Horsemanship Herd, they made a move a few miles up the highway to a beautiful farm. The farm owners travel often but would like to have horses again in their lives and have asked if I would help them find and maintain a couple of nice horses for them and their family to ride around the 600+ acres property. 

It’s a nice fit for me and will be fun to work with a larger herd adding two of their horses to my three mares. They are just positioning themselves for this expansion and have a beautiful new barn in the “horse pasture” area that is not finished out on the inside yet but will be this year.

We are all looking forward to the new relationship and opportunities and I had a talk (no really, I did) that she was being upgraded to a nice office, in the high ground overlooking the river, but also she was being promoted to manage a larger herd in a new place. She accepted and we made the move.

The move was initially the most difficult on Wyoming because she has not left the farm except on trail since she arrived there four years ago. Because of her experience with trailers in the past has been 100% negative (meaning a trailer always means removing her from whatever herd and left she had gotten used to) this process has been not only physical (being confined) but emotional (trusting that she wasn’t being taken away again from everything she had come to know). I have only been. mildly successful in the past 2 years getting her to stay on the trailer willingly.

This move gave me an opportunity to put purpose and meaning behind the “exercise” because she was actually leaving a place, but she was sticking with her family, her herd. The place is less important than the herd, so I knew if I could just get her to face her fears, she would see it worked out this time. 

So often we work horses in the hypothetical… much arena work is this way. I believe it does matter that we do our best to use horses or put them in a position of purpose as well. It is important to learn the communication of good steering, body control, self-carriage, and impulsion but once these skills become manageable it’s an important developmental step mentally and physically to get out on the trail, open a gate from the saddle, work a cow, jump a log, or in this case use the trailer to get to a new home. The purpose adds something valuable to the entire process.

In this case it also meant we had no choice but forward. It wasn’t easy- the video gives the highlights but not the entire 2 hour process of working this mare as best I could to choosing the trailer willingly, and finding some comfort in the process. In the end it was messy, and I had to insist with more force than I wanted to. She knew by the end of the morning that there was no other option, I would back up this ask completely as much as she required and she did walk in, a little more shut down than I would like someday. 

In my observation with horses and trailers, this level of anxiety and being shut down comes from the emotional connection, and with all the work I’ve done to get her comfortable getting on the trailer including adding her herd leader, nothing was going to get her to face that fear except the purpose of you must come or be left behind. Finally something worse- only she didn’t understand that.

I am pleased to say that once she unloaded 5 minutes up the road and walked into her new field with her herd, she seemed to be completely in the moment and I see no lasting detrimental effects. The herd is settled in and seems content in the new place. Wyoming is friendly as she ever was seeking me out whenever I visit. 

I have not revisited the trailer, but I will soon. Now that this step has come it is important to continue forward with her. We have 2 local clinics this year she will participate in and one hopefully this fall in North Carolina, the wild one is going to have to get used to the fact that her job will mean a little travel. 

Here is my video of the herd move, enjoy!

Originally Posted January 15, 2021

Hope has had a few weeks to settle in. The rain rot scabs on her topline have healed nicely, she’s had a full treatment of gut health by Basic Equine Health (basicequinehealth.com) as big changes are likely to cause stress on the digestive system leading to potential ulcers. She is on our nutrition program based on forage testing and seems to have put on a few pounds.

She is now in composite shoes [check out the video including interview with Marcus Wise Composite Shoe Interview] She looks good, she is settling into the herd well, and has done some very basic minimal groundwork here and there to get to know her.

If things go as we anticipate, Hope will become Iva’s horse so for now most of the process will be Iva learning to help this lovely mare open up and become more sensitive to her and trust her as her main human leader. I will do my best to guide the pair along and encourage them on their way.

The first ride was at a nearby recreation area with about a 10 minute drive door to door. Sometimes it’s easier not to have the barn and the other horses on the property as too strong a draw while getting to know a horse for the first time which is why I chose to drive off to a new place for their first ride. I also came along with Khaleesi who is the herd leader and should give Hope some confidence that she may lack as she and Iva are getting to know each other. The idea is to make the process as easy on both of them as possible to start.

Before loading on the trailer Iva practiced the flag leading exercise to connect Hope to her more than distractions from the farm/herd. She doesn’t completely self load for us yet. She will get partially onto the trailer and get stuck needing a little help, my preference is for the horse to self load and we will get there with her in time. For now she will follow a human onto the trailer nicely so we begin with what she does well.

At the trailhead Iva took Hope out around the pasture to lead with the flag while I tacked Khaleesi which gave her a chance to separate Hope from Khaleesi and once again connect the two of them before riding. 

Hope was not evasive to mount but she needed support in standing still while Iva got on her. The two will work on that going forward.

On the ride Hope did a great job safely carrying Iva around the trails at walk and trot. She moves freely and has a nice little jog and a good solid walk. Iva noticed Hope was more connected to Khaleesi than to her as we might have expected. On day one we didn’t press the issue to far. Hope has spent 24/7 in the field getting to know and trust Khaleesi and just hours with Iva or myself one on one. The relationship is going to be stronger with the other mare for now, and in time Iva will continue to build connection with her so that she can put more trust in Iva and become her “herd of two” when out together. 

For a first ride out it was very successful. Hope has a nice forward spirit and we are excited to see she might enjoy some distance riding as she develops!

As we launch a new website and a new begin with a new year right around the corner, what better way to tie it all together than a new horse!

Welcome Hope, the first rehab horse for Hope Horsemanship.

Hope is a 14 year old quarter horse mare with experience in barrel racing and riding lesson work. We don’t have a clear picture on her story, I’ve been told she has been passed from rescue to homes and back a few times ending up in South Carolina not thriving in a job as a lesson horse. 

She arrived home at our farm December 12 and went seamlessly into my mare field. She isn’t accepted into the inner circle of Khaleesi and Wyoming yet, but she is allowed to graze near them and seems to be accepted into the number three spot vacated in October by Molly the Morgan.

Upon closer inspection she has rain rot scabs on her topline and hindquarters, and I think her mane and tail will show upgrades in her nutrition as we go. Her hoof quality is good though the heels are contracted and the frog is closed up from what looks to me like a long history of metal shoes though she’s barefoot now. She’s been ridden at some point and probably for a while in saddles that didn’t allow for blood flow and created atrophied muscle and her spine is slightly raised above a topline with lack of back muscle development.

She has a kind eye and isn’t completely shut down but has a dullness in her response that makes me wonder what her personality will be like when she begins to trust and open up here. I really like her.

My initial impression is she has learned to do her best to keep her head down and try to do what is expected and not ask too many questions as much as she could tolerate. From the short time I’ve had with her I think she is willing to work with humans but at some point in her past it’s likely a a line would get crossed where she just cannot go, this could mean physically or mentally unable, and that is where the trouble is likely to show up.

Time will reveal what’s in there and what this mare will be capable of. One thing is certain this time for her: I didn’t bring Hope here to find out what she can do for me, I brought her here to see what I, what we, can do for her. I hope that will be a change for her from the outset that will encourage her to give us a chance, and will mean a different outcome for her.

Check back here to see how it goes with her!