09/06/2026
Mara wrapped herself around the post while exploring this new structure in the Meditation Pasture...
Watch to the end & wait for the "why" before you panic & start typing how unsafe this is...
Now, for your horse, we would agree that it would be unsafe if you haven’t put in the work that we have to train them like this! But for THIS horse, and the others we have trained to think through something like this (while under constant supervision) it is not!
It's certainly not as dangerous as training a horse to rear up (or some other trained tricks we’ve seen), nor as dangerous as asking young horses to perform at a level that could be harmful to their development and create long-term physical issues, nor as dangerous as riding cross country (with fixed obstacles that have no give) and any number of other things people choose to do with their horses that have an element of danger to them…
We all do horses differently and to deem 1 thing as acceptable and another unacceptable as a blanket statement is to be oblivious to the dangers that everything involving horses has.
It is not my place to tell my friends who run barrels, or do eventing with their horses, or ride without a helmet, or even the ones who use ties downs or harsher bits, that they are wrong… I certainly have an opinion on those things, but what I choose to do with that opinion is not handle my horses that way, rather than tell anyone else what to do with theirs.
We do NOT recommend you do this with your horses, without proper training by the handler and understanding by the horse, and never without constant supervision!
You can literally see Mara thinking through this situation (if you are an educated horse person) and not "reacting" to it & I am SO proud of her (and thrilled that I caught this on camera to share).
The women who were on site this morning were fascinated by her lack of reaction and many commented on how cool it was to watch her think through it, rather than react as well, so it was a beautiful teachable moment.
This is what we train ours to do, whether it is a rope on a halter, a vine on a trail, or anything else they may be tangled in or find resistance from.
