Category: Building Confidence
A series of articles on building confidence in kids.
-
When Confidence Fails: Building Confidence in Kids That Holds Under Pressure
Last night at the ranch, a child and mentor were leading one of our horses through a series of obstacles. Everything was going well—until they came to a small wooden bridge. Suddenly, the horse stopped. No matter what they tried, he wouldn’t move forward. It wasn’t the obstacle. It was trust. Moments like that reveal… Read more
-
Building Confidence in Kids Starts with Identity, Not Performance
Why Building Confidence in Kids Starts with Who They Believe They Are WHEN SOMETHING SHIFTS If you spend any time around horses, you start to notice something pretty quickly—things don’t always go according to plan. And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. At the ranch, some of the most important moments don’t happen when everything Read more
-
Failure Is a Great Teacher (If We Don’t Panic)
How a Parent’s Response Shapes a Child’s Confidence, Not Just Their Behavior When Everything Falls Apart in a Moment It doesn’t usually take much for things to shift. Sometimes it’s a small noise or a quick movement—something unexpected that most people wouldn’t even think twice about. But in the arena, those small moments can change Read more
-
Confidence Isn’t Built Through Control
How to Build Confidence in Kids Through Leadership, Not Pressure When Growth Is Real—But Not Ready for More When Jericho first came to the ranch, he wasn’t in great shape. He had injuries in his hind legs that caused him to limp badly, and he was very underweight. You could see it in the way Read more
-
Don’t Rescue Too Soon: How Struggle Helps Raise Resilient Kids
Why Confidence Often Grows on the Other Side of Difficulty One of the things we do regularly with kids at the ranch is guide them through a simple obstacle course with the horses. In the arena we keep several wooden boxes—low platforms that horses can step onto or walk across. They’re simple training tools, but Read more
-
Raising Strong Kids Without Hardening Their Hearts
How to Raise Resilient Kids Through Connection and Steady Leadership What Resilience Really Looks Like Over the years, we’ve rescued several Standardbred horses. Standardbreds are bred for racing, and when their racing careers end, many are sold to Amish farms. That was the path ours took. They spent years pulling buggies, wagons, and equipment—working around Read more
