Diamond Caliber Performance Horses

06/18/2026

Ruled out any bone spurs or anything crazy!

Back on track for his Futurity year 👌🏻

06/17/2026

𝙂𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙄𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨

If your horse has a gate issue: stopping, backing up, rearing, going sideways, needing a buddy, or suddenly getting hot, it’s easy to label it as “behavior.” But most of the time, it’s communication.

Horses don’t have words, so gate issues are often their way of telling us something isn’t right physically or mentally.

A few common causes I look at first:

𝙀𝙄𝙋𝙃 (𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜)
Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage
Only a small percentage of bleeders show blood at the nose, about 5–10%. The rest are “silent bleeders.” Signs can be subtle: dull runs, inconsistent drive, coughing/sneezing after a run, or pulling off a barrel.

𝙐𝙡𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙨
Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS)
Extremely common in performance horses, studies estimate 60–90% are affected. They often show up as gate issues, irritability, resistance, or changes in attitude under pressure more than obvious stomach pain.

𝙎𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮
Performance horses use their bodies hard and differently than nature intended. Even mild discomfort in the hocks, stifles, back, feet, or SI can show up first as gate issues, especially in more sensitive horses.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩: 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨.

Gate issues don’t usually start overnight, they build. The earlier you step in, the easier they are to fix before they become a learned pattern.

Instead of pushing through it or assuming it’s “just attitude,” I look at:

* Pain (lameness exam, soreness, hoof balance, radiographs, ultrasound)
* Airway function (scoping, dynamic scope, BAL)
* Gut health (ulcers, appetite, stress level, travel load)

An equine performance veterinarian that sees barrel horses regularly is going to be your ticket to success when a gate issue starts.

When you address the cause, most horses come back to the arena quieter, more confident, and willing again.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭.

06/17/2026

⛈️

06/12/2026

Yesterday my helper and fellow horse trainer, Reilly, and myself took a good long gander at our lives and we decided we were no longer going to be 'yes' people. We were actually going to stiffen our backbones, grit our teeth and tell some folks that nasty word 'no.'

Send some horses home. Some really good horses, that we enjoy riding.

Flat tell a couple people their horses aren't worth messing with.

Life is too short.

And in a couple of cases, 'Ride this critter yourself, she's good to go.' 🤷

Because there we were, fighting every damned day to not let anyone down and in the process, dropping the ball and letting EVERYONE DOWN. Both Reilly and I have been trying to hold down two full time jobs...she's a farrier on top of riding colts, and I am riding pasture and training horses...and it's been grinding us both to a pulp trying to find enough hours in the day. Well yesterday we looked at each other and said, "No more. Time to get a handle on this."

So there were a few disappointed clients, and for that we are both truly sorry, but I'm going to say something here that might surprise y'all; burn out is a real thing. Overwhelm leads to depression and inaction...the job will not get done right anyway. That payday looks great in our bank accounts...IF money was the only reason we were doing too much...but personally I've found if I make ten thousand a month, I'm going to give eight thousand (give or take) to happenstance and life expenses. If I make eight thousand, six is going to go that same way. So here's how it shakes out; I am never going to get rich breaking colts and day riding.

But I can be happy. Very, very happy.

So here's to me (and Reilly Paugh) being happy.

The word of the day is NO.

So if you have a horse you want ridden you are going to have to book it in and sometimes the waiting list is MONTHS AND MONTHS LONG. No exceptions. And if it's a squealing, pi***ng, bucking, no good, dishonest pig then we definitely admire you for loving it...hair on ya...but NO. (And yes, that one word IS a complete sentence.)

Have a good day folks. 😊

Pictured below; my four footed partner EZ helping me do my retirement (full time, sometimes 12 hour a day) job. ♥️

06/11/2026

06/07/2026

Kuna

This six year old gelding will be listed for sale later this month. He has feedlot experience, worked hooked to a cart and general riding.