Today, I’m coming to you from our training facility in Weatherford, Oklahoma, on a beautiful Monday morning—80 degrees and no wind, which is rare for February. With a full day of working horses ahead and preparation for Road to the Horse underway, it’s a great time to reflect on something that’s been on my mind a lot lately: the difference between coaching and training.

The Mental Side of Horsemanship

When we think about training a horse, most of the time, we focus on the physical side—getting them to perform certain movements, refining their responses, and conditioning them for their job. But coaching is a whole different thing. Coaching is about leadership. It’s about communication, encouragement, and building confidence. It’s about teaching in a way that helps the horse (or the rider) not just do something but believe they can do it.

That’s something I’ve been more aware of as I prepare for Road to the Horse. When you put a colt in a round pen, surrounded by thousands of people, they’re going to feel insecure. They’ll be looking for reassurance, for confidence. And that’s where coaching—not just training—comes in. It’s not just about executing the right steps; it’s about making the horse feel secure enough to respond, to think through pressure rather than react.

The Four Main Sessions of My Clinics

This understanding of coaching versus training has also influenced the way I approach my clinics. This year, I’ve structured them a little differently, breaking them down into four focused sessions to help riders develop true communication and confidence with their horses.

1. Understanding the Release

The first session is all about understanding the release—because if your horse doesn’t understand where the answer is, all you’re creating is more anxiety and frustration. A release is what tells the horse they got it right. You can do all the exercises in the world, but if you’re not rewarding the right response at the right moment, they won’t truly learn. This session is foundational because, without clear releases, everything else we do is just noise.

2. Feel, Timing, and Balance

The second session focuses on feel, timing, and balance—three things that separate good horsemanship from great horsemanship. Your body is your main tool of communication with your horse. How you move, where you place your weight, when you pick up or release pressure—it all matters. If we don’t have good feel, timing, and balance, we can’t communicate effectively, and our horse is left guessing.

3. Stop, Rate, and Turn

The third session is about refining the stop, rate, and turn. These are the fundamentals of a well-broke horse. If your horse knows how to stop correctly, slow down when needed, and turn with balance, you’ve got the foundation for almost any discipline. But you can’t develop these things without mastering the first two sessions—understanding the release and refining your feel, timing, and balance.

4. Softness and Straight Lines

Finally, the last session focuses on softness and straight lines. A horse that carries softness at all speeds and stays straight is a horse that’s confident and responsive. If your horse isn’t soft, you’ll struggle with straightness. And if you don’t have straightness, you’ll struggle with precision, whether you’re roping, running barrels, or just riding a straight line down the arena.

Being Present and Making the Connection

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in horsemanship—and in life—is the importance of being present. With so many distractions around us, it’s easy to lose focus. Our phones are buzzing, our minds are running in a hundred directions, and we forget to listen—to our horses and to the people around us.

When I step into the round pen, I put my phone away. I don’t carry it on me because if I’m distracted, I’m not connecting. The same goes for my coaching. When I’m working with a horse or a rider, I don’t want to just be going through the motions. I want to be fully engaged, reading the situation, and making real adjustments in the moment.

The same way a coach can make or break an athlete’s confidence, we as horsemen can make or break our horse’s confidence. If we apply too much pressure or don’t offer the right release, we create uncertainty. But when we help them find the right answer and reward it, we’re building trust, one moment at a time.

It’s a Lifelong Journey

This approach to horsemanship isn’t something you master overnight. It’s something you commit to every day. That’s why I always say, “Be a perpetual learner.” Try to improve something every day—just 1% better than the day before.

At the end of the day, coaching isn’t just about teaching horses; it’s about teaching people, too. Whether it’s a coach inspiring an athlete, a teacher guiding a student, or a horseman helping a colt find confidence, the goal is the same: build belief, communicate clearly, and help them be their best.