Horse Of Your Dreams

Do you ever have to haul your foal? What age do you start teaching them to load?

In this video, Goldie is loading and backing of the trailer. What I love most is that she steps herself off with no pressure on the halter.

That comes from quiet repetition. A few trips on and off the trailer, then quit. Not a marathon, just enough practice for the trailer to become a normal part of life.

Watch how she looks back and checks where the step is before backing off. When you let them think and pick their speed, they stay balanced in their feet and soft in their mind.

I believe they should learn to back off from the very first session. If you have ever had a horse that would load but would not back out because he was only taught to turn around, you know exactly why. Fear of stepping off into the Grand Canyon is real! 👀😂

Teach it early. Your horse will thank you, and so will the next person who has to haul him.

Do you teach yours to back out, or do you let them turn around?

Do your cats hike with you? Mine love it 😍

A little clip of Goldie’s first shower. We had a record high of 90 degrees, so we did some obstacle work and found that it was a great time to introduce the shower. Goldie took right to it. 💕

Swivel Post Toppers Available - The Safer Way to Teach Horses to Tie Calmly $200 plus shipping.

Teaching a horse to stand tied is not just about restraint, it’s about creating a learning environment that builds patience, confidence, and emotional regulation. The Swivel Post Topper is engineered to make tying safe, low-stress, and educational, giving horses the freedom to move without fear while guiding them toward stillness as the correct response.

Unlike fixed ties that create direct backward pressure and panic responses, the Swivel Post Topper rotates smoothly with the horse’s movement. This eliminates the straight-line pull that triggers resistance, pulling back, rearing, and fear behaviors. As the topper follows the horse’s motion, pressure is redirected laterally instead of backward - removing the “fight response” and replacing it with calm problem-solving. Horses quickly learn that movement doesn’t lead to escape, and standing quietly becomes the easiest and most comfortable option.

This system allows horses to move in a controlled circle, which reduces stress, prevents tangling, and promotes relaxation rather than confinement anxiety. The result is a mentally settled horse that processes training, regulates emotion, and develops true patience, without trauma, force, or mechanical fear conditioning.

Why the Swivel Post Topper Works

Promotes stress-free tying through movement, not restriction

Reduces pulling back, pawing, panic, and resistance behaviors

Redirects pressure safely to prevent fear responses

Builds patience, confidence, and emotional regulation

Creates calm, transferable tying behavior (barn, trailer, cross-ties, picket line, wall ties)

Installation & Setup Guidelines

Post Compatibility: Can be mounted to properly anchored wood or steel posts of sufficient strength for the size of horse and use environment

Recommended Height/Depth: Typically a 14' post with approximately 4' in ground and 9-10' above ground to the base of the Swivel Post Topper

Tether Setup:

heavy duty" chain included

Link joint at the top, bull snap at the bottom, you can add a quick release if desired

Quality fitted halter advised

Chain weight naturally helps prevent wrapping and promotes forward positioning

Length Adjustment: Long enough for natural head carriage, short enough to prevent leg entanglement

Real-World Training Benefits

Horses tied with the Swivel Post Topper are allowed controlled movement, which prevents fear-based reactions and creates faster emotional settling than fixed ties or cross-ties. The free-moving swivel absorbs pressure, removes the direct backward pull, and guides the horse into lateral positioning, making pulling back physically and psychologically unrewarding.

Once trained on the Swivel Post Topper, horses consistently demonstrate improved tying behavior in all environments: trailers, barns, picket lines, grooming stations, and wall ties. It becomes a transferable skill, not a location-dependent behavior.

This system is especially effective for:

Young horses and older horse alike

Barn sour / buddy sour behavior

Anxiety-based behaviors such as pawing

Horses that struggle with claustrophobia stress when tied to a wall or cross ties

The Swivel Post Topper includes mounting hardware for wood posts and a tie chain with snaps. A standard lead rope may also be used if preferred.

This isn’t just restraint training, it’s emotional regulation training. The Swivel Post Topper teaches horses how to self-settle, think through pressure, and choose calmness as the correct answer, safely, consistently, and without fear.

What’s Included:

✅ Post topper with swivel✅ Mounting hardware for a wooden post✅ Chain and snaps. Can also choose to use a normal leadrope.

Note- post not included. If you wish, the topper can be welded to a metal post.

. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1675527850088352/?mibextid=6ojiHh

One important part of making a safe Ultimate Trail Horse is exposing them to all of the sounds that happen in everyday life.

I like to do this kind of work after my horse already has had a workout. Not when he is fresh, full of energy and likely to react.

Here while cooling out after our session, we passed Davy in his saw room. I thought it was a great teaching moment and we decided to watch for a bit. I did not make a big deal out of it, we just watched and learned.

Notice how Dutch looks back at me to check in? That is his way of ensuring that his leader is calm and cool. If he trusts your leadership, he will take that cue from you. When you stay relaxed, he will match that energy.

We cannot control every scary noise that might happen, but we can teach them to handle those moments with confidence instead of panic.

What sounds scare your horse the most? Lawnmowers, gunshots, banging metal? What do you do to help them relax?