#HORSE TRAINING

Mythbuster Monday: You Can Break A Bad Habit With More Intense Training

February 2, 2026Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #mythbustermonday, #seriesComments Off

On Mythbuster Monday, we tackle a variety of equestrian myths to either bust or confirm. Today’s discussion: Can you break a horse’s bad habit with more intense training?

The Sin of Riding While Amateur

January 29, 2026DeAnn SloanReader Submission#AMATEUR, #HORSE TRAINING, #opinion, #YOUR TURNComments Off

One of our readers offers this thoughtful, first-person reflection on what happens when a capable adult amateur chooses to bring along a green horse — and the judgment, assumptions, and quiet resilience that come with doing it anyway. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Working With, Not Against, Instinct

January 21, 2026Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“Feeling safe makes all the difference in the world … the sense of security in their environment increases trust in their humans.” (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Go Wide

January 14, 2026Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

Sometimes the kindest contact for a green horse isn’t perfect equitation, but giving them space, options, and room to figure out their own balance. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Internet Karens and Behind the Vertical

December 17, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #OHINTERNET, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

Welcome to the comment section, where everyone’s an expert
(more…)

The Good, the Bad, and the Nickel-and-Dime: A Field Guide to Horse Trainers

December 15, 2025DeAnn SloanDeAnn Long Sloan#EQUESTRIANPROBLEMS, #FUNNY, #HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #LISTSComments Off

Here is a not-entirely-comprehensive, loving, and slightly unhinged field guide to the trainers you’ll meet in the horse world. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: People My Thoroughbreds Are Thankful For

November 26, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, #THANKSGIVING, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

Horses may not think in thank-you notes, but if they did, this list would be their holiday card. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic: Aboard a Dragon? Ride Into the Bend

November 19, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

Presented by Kentucky Performance Products. (more…)

The Lasting Influence of a Skilled Trainer

November 17, 2025Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAININGComments Off

“Selecting the appropriate trainer is not a matter of choosing the most prominent name or the highest price point… You are not just paying for a set number of training rides. You are investing in your horse’s cognitive and emotional framework.”

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: When The Goal Is The Problem

November 12, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Goals, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

This week’s Thoroughbred Logic explores why rigid goals can backfire in horse training — and how embracing flexibility often leads to happier horses, better partnerships, and a more fulfilling ride.

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: The “Survive-a-Ride”

November 5, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Equine Wellness, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“There’s no amount of reasoning with what is under you, because you can’t reason pain and fear and the eventual lack of self-perseveration that comes with it. But often, you can hunt down the cause, treat it and try again, this time with more data.”

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Spooky Season Tricks

October 29, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Spooky Season, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“I … have a couple of electric goobers who love the excuse of the crisp fall days and the start of the north wind to light up and let out. And as such, here are some basic tips to both manage the spooks and bucks and bolts.” (more…)

Breaking vs. Gentling: Spirit Lost vs. Spirit Shared

October 23, 2025Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAININGComments Off

“A gentled horse isn’t afraid of making mistakes, because mistakes simply are part of the learning process. They’re not punished into silence, they’re guided into confidence.”

Teaching Emotional Control: Horses and Kids Aren’t That Different

October 21, 2025DeAnn SloanDeAnn Long Sloan#HORSE TRAINING, parentingComments Off

Teaching emotional control — whether in horses or children — isn’t about avoiding stress altogether, but about helping them recover from it with confidence, calm, and trust. (more…)

Wild Rides: Bringing Along a Young, Incredibly Athletic Horse (and Why You Should Probably Stretch First)

October 20, 2025DeAnn SloanDeAnn Long Sloan#FUNNY, #HORSE TRAININGComments Off

Because bringing along a young, athletic horse isn’t just training — it’s an extreme sport disguised as character building. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Three Types of OTTBs You’ll Find at the Makeover

October 15, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #RETIRED RACEHORSE PROJECT, Thoroughbred Logic, Thoroughbred MakeoverComments Off

There are three types of OTTBs you’ll see a the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover, and this year Aubrey brought one of each. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Track Tight

October 1, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE CARE, #HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, Equine Wellness, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

From tight muscles to swinging trots, this week’s article explores what it means when a horse comes off the track ‘track tight’—and how time, turnout, and care transform them into sport horses.

Triple Trouble: Routines With Horses

September 26, 2025Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#HORSE TRAINING, #series, #tripletroubleComments Off

“As riders, trainers, and caretakers, our job isn’t to enforce our preferred style of management…We’re taught certain methods or we form habits that work well for one horse, and then we assume that same approach will work for every horse that comes into our barn. But horses will prove you wrong quickly.”

So You Think You’re a Colt Starter

September 23, 2025Grace BillotteGrace Billotte#COLT STARTING, #HORSE TRAININGComments Off

Colt starting isn’t for the faint of heart — do you think you have what it takes? Before you go to start your young horse, see if you meet these five crucial qualifications. (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Smart, Not Bombproof

September 3, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“‘Bombproof’ is one of my least favorite terms to describe horses. I mean, when a bomb goes off, I’m going to either freeze or jump. I expect my horse to do the same. I do not want them to stand there and not realize or care that the world around them is changing rapidly.” (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: The Critical Art of Hoof Angles

August 13, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE CARE, #HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“Instead of beginning one’s search for pain under where a horse palpates sore (their back or SI, for instance), I’d recommend first taking a good long look in the other direction — their feet.” (more…)

Improving Your Riding: Trusting Your Partner

August 12, 2025Marcella GruchalakMarcella Gruchalak#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #improvingyourriding, #seriesComments Off

“When trust is broken or never fully built, it becomes a barrier to progress. No matter how experienced you are, your cues won’t communicate to your horse the way you expect. You’ll start to overcompensate, using more leg, stronger bits, harsher training aids, and more assertive body language, but force can’t substitute for foundation.”

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Accommodations

August 6, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“A softer, more (literally) accommodating ride crafts openings for them to figure out the best placement for their hooves, best way of moving energy over their back. Such a ride channels flexibility to help build the strength and the confidence …” (more…)

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Five Things To Bring From the Backside to the Barn

July 30, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #series, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“Just a heads up, this isn’t a boarding barn.”

Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: PPEs and PTSD

July 23, 2025Aubrey GrahamAubrey Graham, Sponsored#HORSE TRAINER, #HORSE TRAINING, #KENTUCKY PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, #PPE, Thoroughbred LogicComments Off

“…while these exams are often described in terms of ‘passing’ or ‘failing,’ there really is no such thing. It is all a subjective view of the particular vet of the particular horse on one particular day in time in relation to the needs and desires of the particular buyer.” (more…)