KnP Training and Lessons

Happy New Year! https://www.facebook.com/share/17ewEbqVbG/

🐎 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞”

With all this excitement surrounding Year of the Horse, I found myself diving into the Chinese zodiac, also known as the lunar calendar - everything from how it started to what it represents. Here is what I found!

The first thing I want to note is that while the Gregorian calendar marks the new year on January 1, the Lunar New Year, associated with the Chinese zodiac, follows the second new moon after the winter solstice. So this year, the Year of the Fire Horse doesn’t officially begin until February 17, 2026.

The 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac closely follows the orbit of Jupiter, which takes just under twelve years to complete a full revolution around the sun. Ancient Chinese astronomers tracked this “Year Star” to mark long stretches of time, creating a calendar system that was predictable, observable, and practical. Associating each year with an animal made this system accessible across social classes and literacy levels - bringing astronomy, agriculture, and storytelling into everyday life.

The animals of the zodiac were chosen because of their roles in human society. Later tradition describes a race called by the Jade Emperor that determined which animals were included and their order. The animal are used in the Chinese zodiac in this order with the following traits associated with them:

🐀 𝐑𝐚𝐭 - Survival and adaptability. Thrived alongside human settlements, symbolizing intelligence and the ability to navigate scarcity and change.
🐂 𝐎𝐱 - Labor and reliability. Powered agriculture, representing endurance, consistency, and collective stability.
🐅 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫 - Power and protection. A symbol of courage, authority, and defense.
🐇 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐭 - Caution and sensitivity. Represented awareness, timing, and restraint.
🐉 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 - Authority and natural forces. In Chinese tradition, symbolized balance, rain, and imperial power.
🐍 𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞 - Strategy and wisdom. Associated with patience, observation, and deliberate action.
🐎 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 - Momentum, independence, and the freedom to pursue purposeful work. Enabled trade, warfare, communication, and expansion.
🐐 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐭 (𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐩) - Harmony and cooperation. Linked to social balance and shared responsibility.
🐒 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲 - Innovation and problem-solving. Represented adaptability in complex systems.
🐓 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 - Order and vigilance. A marker of routine, responsibility, and timekeeping.
🐕 𝐃𝐨𝐠 - Loyalty and protection. Reflected trust, companionship, and social bonds.
🐖 𝐏𝐢𝐠 - Sustenance and completion. Symbolized nourishment, abundance, and the close of a cycle.

In addition to the cycle of animals, there is also a corresponding system of elements: metal, water, wood, fire, and earth.. In the Chinese zodiac, each element lasts for two consecutive years and can be identified by the final digit of the year.

🪨 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥: years ending in 0 and 1
Represents structure, discipline, and refinement. Metal years tend to emphasize focus, resilience, boundaries, and determination.

💧 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫: years ending in 2 and 3
Reflects rest, introspection, and adaptability. Water years emphasize intuition, emotional depth, wisdom, and strategic movement rather than force.

🪾 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝: years ending in 4 and 5
Marks growth and beginnings. Wood years are linked to creativity, expansion, flexibility, and forward momentum - often times of new ideas and development.

🔥 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞: years ending in 6 and 7
Symbolizes peak energy and transformation. Fire years are associated with passion, visibility, bold action, and rapid change.

🌎 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡: years ending in 8 and 9
Acts as a stabilizing phase between elements, associated with grounding, balance, and transition. In the zodiac, Earth years emphasize practicality, reliability, and steady progress.

This cycle of elements intersects with the 12 zodiac signs, creating specific element–animal combinations in a 60-year cycle.

Traditionally, the Year of the Horse is associated with action, direction, and forward motion. Combined with fire, this year really emphasizes initiative and transformation. This theme makes it a perfect moment to ask yourself: where do you want momentum in your life? That might mean pursuing a professional goal, returning to work that feels meaningful, or finally moving toward something you are passionate about. Whatever that looks like for you, I hope 2026 brings purposeful movement and progress worth carrying forward!

However, beyond shaping the themes of the year ahead, each animal–element combination is also believed to reflect the traits of those born that year.

Now I’m curious - what’s your animal–element combination, and do you think it truly reflects your personality? Share below!👇

Cheers,
Dr. DeBoer

Great information!

😁😁😁😁https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CaH41T8YZ/

Being an equestrian in the winter when you don’t live in Florida is actually the worst 🥲

Heads up!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17dqiqXzWr/

AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) received confirmation of equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM), the neurologic disease linked to equine herpes virus (EHV-1), in a Texas Quarter Horse on November 18, 2025.

The horse attended the 2025 WPRA World Finals and Elite Barrel Race event in Waco, Texas on November 5-9, 2025. TAHC staff are working closely with event coordinators, equine owners, and veterinarians to respond to the outbreak, take measures to protect equine, and prevent the further spread of the virus. Additional participants of this event have been notified by the TAHC and are currently being monitored under hold orders.

View the full press release here:https://www.tahc.texas.gov/news/2025/2025-11-19_EHM-Waco.pdf

❤️

Roughly five thousand years ago on the Eurasian steppe, people began selecting horses not only for their strength but also for traits hidden in their DNA. A new genomic study points to two key regions of the horse genome that may have determined which animals could be saddled and steered. One gene, ZFPM1, influences anxiety and stress in other species. Its rise suggests early breeders favored calmer, more manageable animals.

The second, GSDMC, appears tied to the shape and stability of the spine. When this variant spread between 4,700 and 4,200 years ago, horses likely developed stronger backs and sturdier forelimbs. Such changes would have made them better able to carry a rider, a development that transformed human mobility and warfare. Ludovic Orlando, who led the research team, explained that the rapid spread of these traits shows how quickly people recognized and reinforced them through breeding.

Archaeological traces of early saddling and wear on horse teeth line up with the genetic timeline. The match between the physical record and the DNA record provides a compelling case that humans were deliberately shaping the rideability of horses at the dawn of the Bronze Age. While other genes and cultural innovations surely played a part, this discovery helps explain why wild herds became the trusted partners that carried humans across continents and into history.

The Texas Animal Health Commission recommends this site for information on screwworms.

Texas Screwworm Resource Website | New World Screwworm Resources New World Screwworm Resources – A Website for Texans Identify Screwworm Quickly:Photos, symptoms and behavior signs Report Suspicions:Learn how to report suspected infestations of NWS Learn about the Pest:Learn how NWS spreads and how it was previously eradicated in the U.S. New World screwworm (N...

Love this! https://www.facebook.com/share/1BeVLj3pDw/

Why I Don’t Disengage the Hindquarters

This might ruffle a few feathers—or it might just be your lightbulb moment.

Throughout our riding careers, regardless of discipline, we spend countless hours teaching horses to shift their weight onto their hindquarters and engage their back end. It's a foundational principle of balance, athleticism, and proper movement.

So why, then, do so many riders routinely ask their horse to disengage the hind—essentially shifting weight onto the forehand to move the hindquarters away? If that already sounds counterproductive, you’d be right.
Disengaging the hind isn’t a natural movement for horses. Watch them in the paddock—they use their hind end for power and stability, and their shoulders to turn. Yet, in the early 2000s, disengaging became all the rage. It was easy to teach, quick to achieve, and gave riders a false sense of accomplishment. But over time, it created horses that were hollow, heavy on the forehand, and disconnected through the body.

Some horses are particularly sensitive to this pattern. A client once brought me a horse who had attended a clinic where disengaging was drilled extensively. In just that short time, the horse became unbalanced, tense, and responsive in all the wrong ways—hollow through the back, reactive to the leg, and constantly dumping weight on the forehand. It took weeks of retraining just to undo the confusion.
Only once the horse began to shift weight back onto the hindquarters did we see real change: balance returned, steering improved, and the horse softened and began to re-engage through the core.

Do I teach disengaging? Occasionally, yes—but sparingly, and never as a repeated drill. I believe in having control over all four feet, especially in certain situations where it's necessary. But I don’t make a habit of it.
When we steer a horse correctly, we use their shoulders for direction. Think of the shoulders as your steering wheel, and the bit as the headlights. Overusing disengagement shifts the horse’s weight forward, locking up the shoulders and making steering more difficult. Riders then find themselves relying on the bit for control—something we work so hard to avoid.

And to those who say they use disengagement for “safety”: ask yourself this—if you're heading toward a potential accident, would you rather yank the handbrake and skid, or have the steering and balance to navigate around it? I know which one I’d choose.

So Where Do We Go From Here?
As riders, the question becomes—what’s the alternative to disengaging the hind?
The answer lies in the turn on the haunches. This natural, balanced movement keeps the horse’s weight where it belongs—on the hindquarters—while engaging the core, encouraging soft transitions, and promoting true body alignment. As your horse becomes more balanced and engaged, you’ll notice a lightness in both your hand and seat. Riding starts to feel effortless again—connected, responsive, and enjoyable.

Not sure where to begin? I’d love to help. Book a lesson with me and start building that balanced, responsive partnership from the ground up.

It's been awhile but my schedule has opened up and I'm able to take on a few more regular lessons. I'm also hoping to get a few fall clinics scheduled soon.

Taken a few weeks ago, we've been busy behind the scenes gearing up for new clinics, haul in lessons, and then some.