The title of our story is The Red Zone, but the fact is, there are actually three zones: red, yellow, and green.

Green zones are safe places to ride or train your horse—places like your home round pen on a sunny, calm day.

Yellow zones are places that aren't home. They have a few distractions—generally safe, but harder to concentrate in.

Red zones are the hardest places to ride or train safely. They have the highest levels of distraction. Think of other horses cantering past you on trails or in arena spaces far from home. Think of being left behind as your buddy and his horse—the one your horse loves so much—canter away, leaving you to manage the excited energy. Think of windy days, strange smells, weird sights, and unfamiliar terrain, coupled with herd-bound behavior.

Good professionals train for red zones and are honest about whether or not the horse is ready for them.

In my clinics, I quiz my students about their horses. I ask if they can canter. Many say, “Yes.” Then I ask if they can canter in a yellow zone. Most say, “Maybe, if it’s not too wild.” And then finally, after a descriptive dialogue, I ask about doing the same thing in a red zone. Most say, “No way.”

Sometimes we believe that just because we can do a thing in a green zone environment, we can do it anywhere. We assume the horse has been “trained.” But the truth is—we can’t. Horses are more complex than that.

So, the real question is: How can we get there?

How can we start to see that training success is environmentally dependent? That we all should start in green zones, then graduate to yellow zones, and one day—perhaps—even red zones?

Most riders shouldn’t try to control a horse in a red zone at first. But while in a green zone, these same riders can practice more deliberate cues like sudden stopping or steering—skills absolutely necessary in a red zone. They can play friendly flag-flashing games, unstable footing games (like walking over a tarp), or multiple-horses-in-the-space games (like two or three horses trotting around you while you stand still—or vice versa).

These activities prepare you for yellow zones and, ultimately, red zones. Remember... Rome wasn’t built in a day. But there was a day someone decided to start.

That’s your objective: Start!

Start preparing for red zones and experience an entirely different horse-human partnership.

With good judgment, you can keep yourself and your horse safe and progressing. If you don’t start, trust that you can always work or play in a green zone—you’ll always have that.

But if you do start, trust that you’ll be able to explore the world. New opportunities are unlimited.

It’s a beautiful, big world out there—with trails, friends, and more.

Just start, we would love to help you, check out our Beginners Guide - Click Here: