Photo by: Tina Fitch On one of my many visits to southern California, I was conducting a horsemanship clinic in the town of Norco, renowned for its horse-friendly lifestyle. On any given day in “Horsetown USA,” you’ll see horses being ridden on the dirt sidewalks along Main Street or parked at a tie rail in front of a shopping center, or even in line for the drive-up … [Read more...]
December Note From Julie
signin.juliegoodnight.com-…-december-note-from-julie.urlDownload Dear friends,As the year ends, I’m resisting looking back and wondering where the days/weeks/months went, and instead I’m focused ahead on what the new year will bring. I’m a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, and I’m already busy crafting mine. I operate with multiple resolutions—personal betterment, … [Read more...]
Looking Back: The Journey of Goodnight Training Stables
It was about 34 years ago that I took the big plunge and started my own business, Goodnight Training Stables. Back then, I simply imagined a fun and active life, training and caring for horses. Little did I know, that a few decades later, I’d be a TV personality and own a media production company. I didn’t really see that coming. Horses are still our central focus, but my how … [Read more...]
Do You Have a Codependent Relationship with Your Horse?
Horses are very clever animals—quite adept at training people to do what they want. If you think you’ve never been trained by a horse, you probably aren’t paying attention. In every clinic I do, I see riders that have developed what I would call a codependent relationship—a horse that is constantly threatening disobedience and a rider that is playing along with the horse’s … [Read more...]
New Kid on the Block: Introducing a new horse to the herd
Whether you keep your horse at home or at a boarding facility, there will be times when new horses must be integrated into an existing herd. Generally, this involves a lot of posturing between the horses– chasing, biting, and hooves flying. Horses take this event quite seriously and it’s a scary proposition to the new horse and its owner. Horses are herd animals by … [Read more...]
Dealing with the Death of a Horse
It’s never easy to witness. There’s something about their power… their free spirit… the image of running like the wind, that makes it especially hard to watch a horse go down. Seeing a happy and carefree horse suddenly fall ill and struggle to survive or watching an old beloved friend suffer and grow weak… these are some of the hardest issues horse owners face. The death of a … [Read more...]
Joy 2 Ride: Top Ten Qualities of My Ideal Riding Horse
#Joy2Ride | Top 10 Qualities of My Ideal Riding Horse I expect a lot from my horses, and they rarely let me down. My horse is my partner, first mate and a reflection of my soul. I know the amazing feats horses are capable of, and after riding and training literally thousands of horses, I’ve witnessed countless times their willingness to do our bidding and their tolerance of … [Read more...]
Equine Good Citizen Award: Is your horse eligible?
Well-mannered, easy to handle horses are a joy to be around—it’s like pushing the easy button. A calm, patient, focused horse that respects your boundaries, is eager to please and willing to do you bidding is not only fun, but safer too. If a horse could be an Eagle Scout, my horse Eddie would earn the rank. He always tries hard to please, he follows the rules, works hard to … [Read more...]
Unspoken Agreements
Is your horse easy to get along with, until you ask him to do something new and different? Or, heaven forbid, something he doesn’t want to do? Perhaps he’s happy to go down the trail in the company of others, but not alone. Or maybe he’ll go anywhere you point him, alone or with company, as long as you don’t ask him to cross water. How about the horse that half-heartedly trots … [Read more...]
Top 5 Trailering Tips
Top 5 Tips for Stress-Free Trailering Loading a thousand-pound flight animal into a small container on wheels and driving that live-weight down a busy highway to a horse show or up a 4WD forest road to a trail head, is no easy task and should never be taken lightly. I remember driving my mom’s Buick (circa 1972), pulling a 3-horse-abreast trailer when I was only 16. My horse … [Read more...]
Horse Master Memories
After 11 years of producing the TV show, Horse Master with Julie Goodnight, and 260 episodes featuring a different horse and rider, I made the decision to end the series. Eleven years is a long run for a TV show—by any standards—and it was important for me to go out while we were still on top and time to move onto other projects. Although I will miss the Horse Master crew, the … [Read more...]
Horse Master with Julie Goodnight, The Final Chapter
My career as a horse trainer took a sudden detour back in 2008, when I went from riding horses for a living to producing a television series, called Horse Master with Julie Goodnight. Becoming an Executive Producer and Host of a TV series was not in the original business plan, when I started my horse training company back in 1987. But when a door opens, I tend to lunge for it. … [Read more...]
Back to Basics: Part 2, Square-One in the Riding Arena
When a horse’s training is either lacking or confused, we often talk about going “back to basics.” Last month, I talked about basic training from the ground—and how important it is to have a well-mannered, attentive and cooperative horse on the ground—before moving up to training under-saddle. If being on the ground with the horse is a harrowing experience, why on earth would I … [Read more...]
Back to Basics (Part 1)
“It’s time to go back to Square One.” This is a phrase we often throw out when a horse has developed undesirable behaviors, or the handler has lost all authority and control of the horse. But like many things in horsemanship, it is far easier said than done. Getting back to basics or going back to square one in your training may mean different things to different people, but to … [Read more...]
Reward, Reinforcement and Punishment
Horses are intricate and complicated animals and their views and perceptions of the world around them can be quite different from our own. Being prey animals and flight animals, horses are highly sensitive to all forms of pressure: physical, mental and environmental. They are lightening fast learners, which can make them very easy to train or un-train. Unfortunately, horses … [Read more...]
Did You Teach Your Horse to Kick?
The first time I saw and understood this behavioral dynamic, between a horse and its rider, was about twenty years ago at a clinic for people learning to manage their fear of horses. I’ve seen it many times since, enough to recognize the cause and effect. When a rider fears their horse will kick at another horse while being ridden, it quickly becomes a self-fulfilling … [Read more...]
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