TIPSY TUESDAY - LINDSEY MCLEOD

jmacandcompany
Jul 17, 2018
3 min read

Lindsey McLeod might only be in her early 20s but she's been riding and training successful barrel horses since she was a little girl. Her first major accomplishment was at the ripe age of 8 years old when she was the Youth Reserve World Champion behind the legendary Hot Shot. At 18, she was the National High School Rodeo Association Champion Barrel Racer, She's also qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo, and qualified & ran at the American Rodeo. In between all that, she's trained some great futurity, rodeo and open horses that have gone on to do amazing things with their riders. And on August 19, 2018 she and her equally talented sister, Katelyn, will be hosting a barrel racing clinic in Morro Bay, California. To see more details, click here.

I recently got her to give us some training, barn and life tips for Tipsy Tuesday!

BARN TIPS

Here are some barn tips that anyone can use if in a pinch (or in general)... Trash cans double for perfect grain holders and coffee cans work great for a grain scoop if your old one breaks!

TRAINING & EXERCISING TIPS

I’ve found if you saddle all horses in the morning after feeding, it makes things move faster, getting them rode throughout the day.

My favorite way to keep a horse exercised is to start out walking for a minute, then lope 5 minutes one direction. Walk a minute, then lope 5 minutes the other way. It doesn’t sound like much but it’s equivalent to 1 mile and really gets your horse in shape.

If you are having trouble finding the “right” bit, my biggest piece of advice would be to break it down and make sure you horse is really moving its body parts correctly. Often, we are blaming the bits when its really that our horse isn’t moving correctly through the turns. Try that and see if that helps! One of my big things is, I always try to NOT blame my horse. 99% of the time it is OUR faults as the rider and not the horse. Video your runs. Make your friends, parents, anyone watch, and always be eager to seek advice and help. When you go ride everyday, break the little things down and find what you can do to be just that much faster!

If you have a “problem” horse, don’t think of them as a problem. Make it a challenge and really spend the time to figure out how to better that particular horse. Don’t give up! Sometimes the best horses take that much longer. Any progress, is still progress.

TIPS FOR GOING DOWN THE ROAD

When I’m rodeoing, I want my horses as comfortable as possible. No matter what I can do, it’s not the same as it is at

home so I try my best to make them comfortable.

If hauling a long time, I unload every 6 hours to walk the horses and let them get their heads down and drink. I offer them water every time we stop, and I give them electrolyte pastes to make sure they are always drinking. I like to get to the rodeo a couple hours early, if possible, to let my horses settle just a little bit before a run.

After a run, I will let them drink and chill out for about an hour then I will put poultice on their legs and wrap them in a quilted wrap or if I have my ice boots, I will ice them. I like doing this because their legs need to stay tight and cold. Ice and poultice takes out any inflammation and makes them feel fresh and new. Rest is super important on the road so I like to let them relax as much as possible!

BUSINESS TIPS

Any tip or advice I wish someone had given me about the business side of training horses, would be not to let your

emotions run to high. As a horse trainer, you don’t own the horses you ride. When someone places their horse in training

with you they can stay in training for a year or 3 months-- sometimes shorter or longer. The hardest part is putting your blood, sweat, and tears into a horse and then that horse goes home to their owner. You know the day is eventually going to come but it’s hard not to get attached to the horse that you’ve worked so hard on. However, at the end of the day, you just have to smile and know that the owner is going to love and do so good on the horse that you worked so hard on!