Jake Lundahl is a professional horseman. He is passionate about colt starting, bridle horse training, and helping riders level up from “zero” to mastery. Known for his sharp insights and common sense teaching style, Jake has a gift for breaking complex ideas into simple, practical steps. Join us as Jake shares his most groundbreaking experiences, helpful advice, and no-BS lessons for training horses that work and win. If you’re a rider or owner who’s always searching for better answers,…
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Many riders chase surface-level appearances and miss what true collection actually feels like: lift at the withers, hindquarters engaged, front end light. In this episode, Jake explains why face-checking cycles fail and how true self-carriage emerges when softness and steering fuse together through the neck rein. The key moment to introduce this concept to the horse is what he calls the " turning…
"Feel and timing” is a mysterious concept for many riders because no one ever explains what it actually is, or how to grow it. In this episode, Jake breaks it down into what he calls the " four-factor awareness model" — Softness, Acceptance, Balance, Rhythm (SABR). These four layers act like tumblers on a combination lock: at first you just reward basic physical compliance, then mental relaxation,…
Most riders never move past “apply pressure, get release.” In this episode, Jake breaks down the three evolutions of pressure every horse goes through— avoidance, acceptance, and seeking —and why staying stuck in stage one creates stiff, reward-hacked horses that look trained but aren’t. You’ll learn how to evolve your horse’s mindset from just escaping pressure to actually relaxing into it, and…
Approach and retreat is just the surface. Underneath it lies the real structure: Orientation. Attention. Engagement. In this episode, Jake unpacks the hidden behavioral code that governs how horses process fear, curiosity, and uncertainty. You’ll learn why most riders misread “the try,” how to spot the difference between attention and engagement, and how to avoid unintentionally training your…
In this episode you'll learn the predictable, step-by-step formula we're using to help our Non Pro clients get wildly better results with their horses — going from "foundation" to "finesse" faster than they ever thought possible. We document our process with an owner who recently hauled to our facility for an Uplevel private lesson, then committed her reining horse to 30 days training with Lundahl…
In this podcast I share two stories which serve as important examples of what can happen when you miss this critical step in the process of starting a horse under saddle. For a free masterclass on colt starting check out the following episodes: Day 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lead-change-troubleshooting-dry-work-basics/id1345025627?i=1000463522073 Day 2:…
Jennifer Osborne is a professional firefighter and owner/operator of Fire & Ice Horses, a thoroughbred rescue based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview we discuss a wide range of topics including horsemanship education, and our reactions after the Along for the Ride Symposium in February 2022. Along For The Ride Website: https://alongfortheride.pro/ Fire & Ice Horses on Facebook:…
Coaching call recap. Here's a voice memo I recorded after a 1-on-1 call with a client whose reined cowhorse was struggling with a sloppy, sucked-back, unbalanced spin. The primary exercise we used to get this horse confident and balanced again is the "Forward & Around" Exercise. The Forward & Around exercise is one of my favorites for teaching a horse to spin. You're working with the horse's…
Confusion is both a barrier and an accelerator for learning. In this voice memo, Jake answers a question from an Academy member who's experienced a communication breakdown between herself and another horseman. ColtStartingSecrets.com
Just a quick voice memo to share something that's been working well on a couple horses I have in training: Using certain exercises as mental "anchors" to encourage better habits. ColtStartingSecrets.com
Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Training a Pushy Foal/Weanling 0:16:35 - Colt Starting Days 4 thru 6 0:56:26 - Introduction to Live Cattle 1:17:39 - Horses that Charge at Humans ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 4 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! We lead off the episode with our thoughts on training pushy, cantankerous foals and weanlings; and teaching these young horses to handle pressure. During the…
Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Building Good Trailering Habits 0:22:57 - Colt Starting Day 3 & Leading by the Feet 1:11:07 - Flag Work Problems & Solutions 1:47:08 - The True Meaning of Leadership ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 3 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we take a deep dive into horse behavior in and around the trailer: How bad habits develop, how to instill good habits,…
In this bonus segment, we tackle two problem scenarios recently submitted to our Facebook inbox: A horse that's constantly leaning, and a horse that's constantly over-reacting and getting easily distracted.
Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Getting a Lazy Horse to Respect Leg Pressure 0:27:51 - Colt Starting Day 2 0:46:42 - Introducing the Flag to Young Cowhorses 1:05:38 - Horses That Are Hard to Catch ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 2 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we answer a question about a lazy reining horse that doesn't want to run hard. During the Foundation segment, we dive into…
Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Lead Change Troubleshooting 0:25:42 - Colt Starting Day 1 Round Penning & Desensitizing 0:52:25 - Dry Work Preparation for Young Cow Horses 1:04:20 - "Smell the Leather" Challenge ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Welcome to Season 2 Episode 1 of the Horseman's Academy Podcast! In our Q&A segment, we provide answers for horses that are jittery and have a bad attitude about lead changes. During the…
