Whoa Podcast About Horses Horsemanship

Western Dressage with Jennifer Collman How can western dressage help your horsemanship?  Jennifer Collman has over twenty years experience training horses.  Jennifer is the manager of a training and instruction program overseeing 60 students and 20 horses. Western dressage is so important to her, she uses it as a foundation for her training techniques. In response to a listener email, I sought out an expert in western dressage and came across Jennifer's name.  A quick email and soon we were talking on the phone.  Jennifer is on the Competition Committee for the Western Dressage Association of America.  She also was a founding member of North American Western Dressage, a great source of educational material about western dressage. Much of our conversation is about general horsemanship principles and how techniques in dressage can help the "average" horsemen understand their horse better.  Communication is a two-way street.  Many times we are focused on getting our horse to understand us, but how often are we

The origins of the Whoa Podcast about #horses and how it evolved over the years. 

Brandi Lyons knows how fear can limit your horsemanship goals.  That's one reason why she calls her website Lyons No Limits.  Brandi works in all disciplines. In this conversation, we talk about problems the average riders faces and what they can do to improve their relationship with their horse.

Andy Johnson Horsemanship Andy Johnson lives in Missouri.  While operating a feedlot, he noticed the cows moved easier when he used low-stress cattle handling.  Andy could even use it while on horseback.  Once he had the cows working well, he started working with horses.  Andy Johnson quickly found out how much he didn't know.  He signed up for a three-day clinic at Downunder Horsemanship in Texas.  At the end of the clinic, Clinton Anderson asked Andy if he would like to join his Academy of elite trainers.  Two years later Andy graduated from the Academy. Unfortunately, life has twists and turns and Andy had to leave Downunder Horsemanship.  He's hung out his horse training shingle at his ranch in Missouri with his wife Chrissy.  Andy Johnson travels the country giving clinics, hosts them at his ranch, and brings in outside horses to train.  It's a family affair with Chrissy who is a CHA certified instructor. Andy Johnson has a great story to tell.  He also has some wonderful horse training tips which he sh

Dueker Ranch Horse Therapy Dennis Dueker once thought giving pony rides to disable children was a waste of time.  Then, he got to see the healing power of horses first hand.  It not only changed his mind, it motivated him to establish Dueker Ranch Horse Therapy.  The story began shortly after Dennis retired from General Motors when he was asked by a friend to volunteer at a horse therapy facility in California.  When the Dueker family moved to Arizona, Dennis saw a golden opportunity to establish a horse therapy in his hometown of Payson. Wanting to do it right, Dennis studied and got his accreditation from PATH Intl, the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship.  He also found Horses Help, a horse therapy center in Phoenix where he could volunteer. Through his volunteer work, Dennis noticed that many families in need could not afford the benefits of horse therapy.  He set up Dueker Ranch as a 501c3 charity and provides his horse therapy for free. Links Dueker Ranch GoFundMe Page Dueker Ranch Webs

Bonus conversation

Lindsay McKenna Lindsay McKenna has led a full life, and it's still going strong.  She broke a wild horse at age 12, took flying lessons at 17, and joined the Navy in 1964. And, those are only a few of her accomplishments.  Because of her military service, Lindsay McKenna is sensitive to military experiences.  She writes what she knows, and she knows about veterans and PTSD.  She has written so many novels dealing with military and mercenary subjects, she earned the nickname “Top Gun of Women’s Military Fiction.” Because of her military service, Lindsay McKenna is sensitive to military experiences.  She writes what she knows, and she knows about veterans and PTSD.  She has written so many novels dealing with military and mercenary subjects, she earned the nickname “Top Gun of Women’s Military Fiction.” But Lindsay McKenna knows about horses too.  Her new books, the Wind River Valley series, deal with horses and ranching life.  Because Lindsay has been around horses all her life, has even owned her own ranch