Episode 352: Survival Riding—What It Looks Like and Why It Happens

In this episode, Stacy Westfall explains how survival riding develops, why it often goes unrecognized, and what keeps riders stuck in that cycle. Drawing on stories from her own childhood as well as patterns she sees in adult riders, Stacy reveals the two main roots of survival riding and why avoiding the uncomfortable work only makes the problem grow. Key takeaways: – Survival riding often begins with not knowing what you don't know, leaving riders unprepared for escalation – Guilt and fear in adult riders can keep them from practicing the very skills that would prevent runaway moments – Short-term safety choices can mask long-term gaps in communication and control – Building advanced skills creates readiness and dissolves the need for "white-knuckle" riding This episode examines how survival riding shows up, why it persists, and how skill-building replaces scraping by with confidence. It's especially relevant for riders who recognize moments of barely holding it together and want to move toward deliberate, prepared riding.

You can listen to Episode 352: Survival Riding—What It Looks Like and Why It Happens online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 352: Survival Riding—What It Looks Like and Why It Happens is an episode from Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall by Stacy Westfall.

This episode is 40:12 long.

This episode was published on Aug 20, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Train Your Own Horse with Stacy Westfall when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.