Setting Training Goals
This time of year, reflection and goal setting comes naturally. I’ve always been a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions and more often than not, I keep them. For me, the secret to keeping
Resources for Free Articles
Building A Better Relationship: Does My Horse Respect Me?
Question Category: Building a Better Relationship Question: Dear Julie, I have a 5 year old Tennessee Walker that I have had for almost a year. I am not sure if some of the things that
Bratty Behavior In Horses
Recently, I gave a training clinic with this very title at a horse expo. Since I do not travel with my own horses, I am reliant on the expo producers to find appropriate horses for
Quick Tips To Check Stirrup Length
Appropriate stirrup length is critical for all levels and disciplines of riders. It is important for safety, for rider balance and for the effectiveness of the rider in developing correct riding skills. Time and time
Horse Behavior: Understanding Horse Behavior
Before we can ever hope to understand, let alone control the movement of a horse, it is important to know the various behaviors that motivate a horse to move in the first place. Being a
Horse Behavior: The meaning behind audible expressions
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Dear Julie Goodnight, Several times this spring my mare has made a sound that sounds like a Donkey; she did it on the 28th of May when I put her
Horse Behavior: Seasoning A Horse For Shows
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: I am writing from Pretoria South Africa. My daughter recently attended her first show-jumping event. Her horse boxed (trailered) without major problems and also traveled well. At the event this
Get Your Horses And Barn Winter-Ready In The Fall
Things change fast up here in the mountains in early fall. The beginning of fall still feels like summer, but by the end all the leaves will have fallen and the mountains will be capped
Horse Behavior: Horse’s Instincts
Question Category: Horse Behavior Question: Hi Julie, Can you tell what specifically are the horse’s instincts and how can we use these to our advantage in training? Yours gratefully, Emma Answer: Emma, The horse’s instincts
Gravity: The Draw Of Horses After An Accident
Horses have their own gravity. If you’ve loved them in the past and been pushed away because of an injury or accident, it’s possible you’ll be drawn right back to their beautiful, sleek,
Horse Behavior: Aggression At Feeding Time
Question: Hi Julie, First a “thank you” for all the help you have been to me in working on becoming a “natural Horseman”. My question is one regarding aggression at the feed bucket. I have
Leadership And Authority
Horses crave it and thrive on it; they worship the ground the herd leader walks on. Horses can recognize leadership traits in both horses and people and they cannot be fooled– either you act like
Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through The Stages Of Life Part 3: The Senior Citizens
In our small town in Central Colorado, the schools are small and organized—with different wings for different ages of students. The elementary, middle and high schools are all separate but nearby. In the past two
Return Of The 5-Pound Challenge
OK everyone. We’re starting our famous 5-Pound Challenge again! This time it’s beefed up with a pledge you can sign. This is your chance to join the Goodnight Team in getting in shape–to improve your
Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through The Stages Of Life Part 2: The Prime Time Horses
Note: In this three-part series, nationally respected horse trainer/clinician Julie Goodnight talks about the three “wings” in her barn (the elementary, middle and high school wings) and discusses what’s important to the age groups
Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through The Stages Of Life Part 1: The Young Horses
Keeping Your Horse Healthy Through the Stages of Life Part 1: The Young Horses In the small town where I live, we have a large school complex with three different buildings– the elementary, the
The Horse Master Episodes I Remember Most
Perhaps it is because I get to work with the horses and riders one-on-one when we are taping the show or perhaps it is because I watch the show again in the editing phase and
Raise Your Foal Right
Recently I was in Hamilton, New Zealand, as a clinician at EquiDays— their national horse expo. I met a lot of great people there, including three talented horsewomen, who were demonstrating their skills in a
Riding a Young Horse; Advancing Training Skills
I’m so proud of my young horse, Eddies Pick, a 3 y/o AQHA gelding from the famed 6666 Ranch, by their World Champion stallion, Sixes Pick. I bought Eddie back in April from the Legends
Prepare To Ride Bridle-Less With Neck Rope
Is your horse well-trained, and you’re ready to add a neck rope to your riding regimen, in preparation to go bridle-less? Clinician Julie Goodnight recommends riding with a neck rope and your bridle to know
Reflections On Riding Bikes And Riding Horses
To celebrate our anniversary, my husband and I recently bought new mountain bikes and made a commitment to get in better shape. Living in the land of mecca for mountain bikers as we do, a
Good Horse Gone Bad
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. “My new horse has turned out to be a nightmare. The seller misrepresented him as a well-trained horse. I think he was drugged when
Conquering The Canter
In every clinic that I teach, there are riders eager to canter; all they want to do is canter-canter-canter and maybe work on lead changes. Then there are those that want to canter but dread
Hay At A Premium Yet Again
After a record-breaking low snowpack here in the Rocky Mountains, a brittle dry spring, triple digit heat and single digit humidity, it should come as no surprise that the price of hay has set a
Guest Blog: My Top 3 Lessons From The Julie Goodnight Yoga & Riding Retreat
By Amy Herdy I’m going to be brutally honest here: I was a fan of clinician Julie Goodnight before attending her ”Women’s Riding and Yoga Retreats and Ranch Riding Weekend at C Lazy U Ranch” in Granby, Colorado.
My First Day On The Job, By Eddies Pick
My name is Eddies Pick and I come from a long line of working horses. In this, the third year of my life, things have really changed for me. It seems like only yesterday I
How Working Cattle Helps Your Horsemanship
I asked Julie to tell me a little about why she loves cow work and how it has improved her overall riding. Read on to find out what Julie loves about cow work, then check
Is Saddle Fit More Important to the Horse or the Rider?
I’ve just recently returned from a great clinic. It was a great group of riders and horses and I enjoyed working with all of them. We had green horses, finished horses, novices and experts, a
Preventing Herd-Bound Behavior
Horses are instinctively herd-bound. It’s one of seven categories of instinctive behavior in horses and it is known as gregarious behavior. A desire to be with others. BTW, the other categories of instinctive behavior in
Adversarial Relationships with Horses
I see it all the time at clinics, expos and at TV shoots. Sometimes it’s between untrained horses and inexperienced riders/handlers—a constant battle of the wills; but sometimes the opposite is true—often I see experienced
Ready to Ride: My Philosophy of Colt Starting vs Breaking
I like to talk about starting a young horse under saddle—what we used to refer to, crassly, as “breaking” a horse. It is a good sign for the state-of-the-horse-union that this term has fallen out of
Horse is Terrified of Being Mounted
Hello Julie,I have a 4 yr old registered paint gelding, Zippo Pine Bar bred, tall and gorgeous that I have had for just over a year!!! But, he is terrified of being mounted. I bought
Winter Riding Goals
I love the meditative state we get into, my horse and I, riding round and round in the endless monotony of the indoor arena. Nowhere to go, nothing to look at, no distractions, no surprises.
Horses in the Cold: We Blanket for Our Needs, Not Theirs
It was 6 below zero this morning. Relatively warm by some standards, when you compare it to 25 below, which our neighbors had. That’s why our valley is known as “the Banana Belt of Colorado.”
Take off Halters for Turnout
A few days ago, I was driving home from my last trip of the year, relishing the thought of being home for eight weekends in a row. As I drove through South Park (yes, there
Differences Between Horse Training and Dog Training
In almost every clinic I do, we start with ground work to help establish a productive relationship between horse and human—to develop respect, obedience, focus, communication and control. Frequently, someone will remark that training horses
Behind the Scenes: Prepping the Ranch for a Horse Master TV Shoot
Many years ago, a dear friend of mine told me that if I was going to keep up the pace I had set in my career, I should take a big fat red marker and
Why One Rein Is Better Than Two
This is the heart of clinic season for me and I have been on the road almost every weekend—WA,CA, OH, CO, MA. They were all great clinics with interesting people and horses. This weekend I
Bucket List
Starting last week, new episodes of Horse Master airing for the next nine weeks, which were filmed in Queen Creek Arizona back in January. As usual, I was happy with how all the episodes turned
A Smile In The Face Of Adversity
Last week I was a presenter at Equine Affaire in Columbus OH. In case you’ve never been to this expo, it is huge with hundreds of vendors, every kind of junk food imaginable (and some
Heads Up! A Report From The Helmet Symposium
Tucked away in a corner of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in South Florida’s elite horse capital, a small but impressive group of equestrians, physicians, researchers, manufacturers and organizational leaders gathered to discuss the
Sunny California
I’ve just returned from southern California and a fabulous weekend at Equine Affaire. We had beautiful weather, good crowds and I met and talked to tons of really nice people. I was busy all weekend
Eight More Episodes “In The Can”
I just returned from a week in Queen Creek AZ (just outside Phoenix), for a Horse Master shoot. We taped nine episodes of the TV show in just four days at the Horseshoe Park &
What’s Your Pet Peeve?
About ten years ago, as I was walking through my barnyard, I came across a stray piece of baling string on the ground and it prompted me to start a new column, “Pet Peeves Around
Starting Fresh
I love New Years Day even more than Christmas. Last night we “celebrated” in our sane and civilized way, which allowed us to be tucked into bed by 10p. Rich worked all day, ending the
Do You Wear A Helmet?
It’s hard to believe that the holidays are almost over. That means I’ll be back on the road again soon, heading to Wellington, Florida next weekend for the first “Helmet Symposium.” It’s a big summit
Burn Out In Therapy Horses
Recently I was a speaker at the NARHA annual convention, which conveniently for me, was in Denver this year. That means I didn’t have to get on a plane to go somewhere for the first
Shooting a TV Show
Lots of people have asked me about how we make the TV show and since right now we are in the midst of it, I thought I’d write about what’s on my mind. We’ve long
Why Are Julie Goodnight Clinic Riders So Nervous?
I know from what people tell me—either before or after the clinic—that they were very nervous to ride with me. This always surprises me, although I’ve heard it enough to know it is a common
Never Say Never
Horses have taught me a lot in the past 50 years. In particular, I have learned that there are three things to keep in mind when it comes to horses: Never say never. Never say