A Step Ahead Performance Horse Therapy (Kendra King)

08/20/2026

I am very excited to say that Wendy Winn is coming to California!
Marsh Creek Stables in Brentwood!
You can register at this link .
https://www.winnhorses.org/stores/checkout

Check out Wendy’s page at https://www.facebook.com/winnhorses.org?

08/14/2026

Congratulations to Debbie Day & Kat Play!

𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝟐𝟐𝟗 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧
The crowd’s roar filled the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center as Debbie Day and Kat Play cut their final cow, marking a 229 to take a lead they would not relinquish in the inaugural $𝟏𝟐𝟓𝐤 𝐍𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 at The Run For A Million in Las Vegas.

The victory paid $27,500 to the team from Reno, Nevada.

“𝘐 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 - 𝘢 229 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘰𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭,” Day said. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴.”

The environment in the South Point during the Non Pro Cutting Horse Challenge was enough to make anyone nervous, but mounted aboard her trusty equine partner, Day says she simply enjoyed the experience and focused on her job. She drew on the coaching from her trainer Monty Buntin Cutting Horses, a $3.8 million rider and National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Famer.

“𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 [𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦] 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵,” Day said. “𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 ‘𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨!’ 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦.”

Kat Play (Kit Kat Sugar x NQH Shadow Play x Playgun) has been a special mount for both Day and her trainer. Buntin rode him to the Reserve Championship at the 2024 TRFAM Cutting Horse Challenge, and Day won the 7 & Up on him at the Bosque Ranch Winter Bash this year to qualify for TRFAM Non Pro Cutting Challenge.

The 2016 gelding owned by Dacole Investment Company and bred by Jim and Gay Karhan has well over $500,000 in lifetime earnings, and Day is closing in on the $1 million mark herself. She says TRFAM Non Pro Cutting Challenge victory is her greatest accomplishment in the cutting pen.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘈 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯?! 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘩. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 [𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘰 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦]. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘩! 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵,” Day said.

08/12/2026

08/07/2026

I will be there working!

🎉 More than just another horse show...it's the CCC Summer Bash!
Join us for an incredible week packed with competition AND fun!

August 11–15 • Paso Robles Event Center
STALLS, RV & VENDOR Reservations Due: August 2nd

🌮 Taco Party & Run For A Million Watch Party

🍦 Ice Cream Social

🏆 Daily Awards & Prize Giveaways

📺 TV Raffle

🎟️ Daily Prize Raffles

❤️ Youth Silent Auction

Great horses.
Great people.
Great memories.

Bring the whole family and come enjoy everything the CCC Summer Bash has to offer!

08/06/2026

Love it when they love being worked on! 😍

07/30/2026

That hollow behind your horse's shoulder blade, what is it?

Many believe it's wastage of the trapezius muscle, but that's not entirely correct.
The trapezius is actually thin and only covers the upper part of that area — nowhere near enough to explain hollows that can be 10cm deep or more. So what's really going on?

It could be:
🔹 Longissimus dorsi atrophy (check for a matching hollow in the neck too)
🔹 Natural conformation — high-withered types often show more of a hollow than flat-backed cobs
🔹 Posture — a weak thoracic sling letting the ribcage drop forward and down between the front legs (often the biggest culprit!)
🔹 Poor saddle fit, which can make posture worse

Encourage your horse to lift its thorax up between the front legs, and the "hollow" can disappear almost instantly.

Want to see this for yourself — the muscles and skeletons up close?

At the Inside the Horse Equine Anatomy Exhibition, you can see the trapezius, longissimus dorsi and thoracic sling in place on painted horses, and learn the exercises that help fix postural hollows for good.

14 different zones to help you understand more about how your horse functions - a fascinating way to learn with lots of interactive exhibits where you can get hands on and improve your knowledge.

📍 Wavendon Grange, Leicestershire
📅 14th–23rd August 2026

Come and find out what's really going on under the saddle.

Comment AX and we'll send you more details.

07/24/2026

💯!

Every year I post ugly pictures of excessive adipose tissue accumulated in the nuchal crest, around the croup, or around the abdominal cavity.
And every year, I face the same picture during dissections.
So it is time to repeat the plea.

Please learn to recognise and score both the Body Condition Score (BCS) and the Cresty Neck Score (CNS).
Learn that this amount of adipose tissue is not simply an extra energy store. Excessive fat is a metabolically active tissue that alters numerous biochemical and endocrine pathways throughout the body.
Obese horses are not "cute" or "just good doers." They are at risk of serious health problems, including insulin dysregulation, laminitis, and reduced quality of life.
They need educated help.
But first, they need you to recognise that there is a problem.

Killing with kindness is still killing.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2769846/
https://totallyvets.co.nz/body-condition-score/
https://hygain.co.nz/blogs/library/cresty-neck-scoring-how-to
https://ker.com/equinews/body-condition-scoring-horses-practice-makes-perfect/
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/about-us/news/20230721/equine-obesity-talk-about-equine-metabolic-syndrome-and-laminitis
https://ker.com/equinews/the-heavy-hand-of-equine-obesity/
https://www.avonvaleequine.co.uk/blog/equine-obesity-how-it-impacts-welfare/

07/22/2026

Muscle tears in horses

Something I see regularly is major muscle tears in horses that the owner has no idea about. Getting to know your horses body through hands on feeling or a good body worker who can report these issues is vital. The horse below wasn’t technically lame but had an asymmetric stride. The horses job was as a barrel racer and I’d suspect this injury is from a slip around a barrel. I think the biggest misconception about muscle tears is that the muscle reconnects itself. We build muscle by micro trauma to the fibres yes but an injury is a macro/major trauma to a muscle group and it heals very differently.

Large muscle tears in horses heal through a three-phase biological process, inflammation (3–7 days), repair (fibrous scarring), and remodeling (restoring elasticity). Full recovery for a single-muscle tear takes 3 to 12 weeks, while severe or multiple-muscle tears require 3 to 12 months of structured rest and physical therapy.
The 3-Phase Healing Process,Inflammation. Lasts the first few days, characterized by heat, swelling, and pain. The body floods the tear with blood and immune cells to clear damaged tissue. Repair, The body replaces torn muscle fibers with fibrous scar tissue. If large hematomas (blood clots) form, they can significantly slow down this phase. Remodeling, Scar tissue matures and aligns along the lines of stress. Because scar tissue is inherently less elastic than healthy muscle, this phase is critical for preventing permanent restricted motion and chronic lameness.

Treatment and Rehabilitation, Acute Phase. Stall rest, cold-water hosing, and short-term use of NSAIDs (like phenylbutazone) manage pain and excess swelling. Subacute Phase. Controlled, light walking is introduced to prevent the muscle from "freezing" up with restrictive scar tissue. Light massage (after 48 hours) and passive range-of-motion exercises help stretch the healing fibers. Advanced Therapies, Veterinarians often utilize modalities like Equine Shock Wave Therapy to increase blood flow and accelerate tissue repair, or therapeutic ultrasound and laser therapy.

I have seen muscle tears anywhere in the body and also to the aponeurosis that covers muscles. When your horse starts saying no or looks stiff, find the reason. We can’t be with them in the paddock 24/7 and lord knows they like to play paddock gymnastics and loose.

Photo below shows a major muscle tear in semitendinosis of the hind quarters. Scar tissue went the whole way through.

07/21/2026

Just sharing again today, after working on her a 3rd time - 2nd time was Friday - she is no longer bunny hopping nor is she bucking when saddled. ✔️✔️✔️
This mare was completely locked up in her pelvis & poll among other things.
It’s rewarding to be a part of her team.

07/18/2026

I’ll be in Corning at GCCHA just tomorrow, let me know if you want a time spot ☺️