Topics on general care, training and welfare of horses
“Oh, if life were made of moments, Even now and then a bad one–! But if life were only moments, Then you’d never know you had one.” “Moments in the Woods”, Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim For too many people, riding and training horses is about goals. The first ride. The first show. Moving to … More Moments
Roxie was supposed to be my fun horse. I was looking forward to starting Noble, but needed a horse to ride regularly in preparation for that time to come. A friend showed me an ad for a cute six year old Paint mare and a few days later Roxie came home with us. Nearly five … More Roxie’s Road
I’ve heard it all of my riding life, but social media seems to have brought it out in full force. I’m talking about any riding advice that begins with, “You must …” I don’t think it matters the discipline, there are always those people who are convinced that what they have learned, and what has … More There is only one ‘must’ in riding
A few years ago, in the course of trying to retrain Tally after the “trainer” who started her had botched it so badly, I was making one last walk circle before getting off. But my dismount did not happen as I’d planned. We’d just turned across the arena when a slight rustle was heard from … More The explosive equine
There is one constant, every winter – Noble hates the mud. Once it reaches a certain point of sloppiness, there is nothing that will entice him to cross the ‘bog’ to reach the higher ground and grass. This has been going on for years. Even when Java was around, we had to take the long … More Noble and the mud
A recent Facebook conversation about positive reinforcement led to someone asking a question about one of my favorite fallacies – if you comfort a fearful or spooking horse, aren’t you just reinforcing the fear? I first encountered that idea when I started training our dogs, just over twenty years ago. My experience with a variety … More The fearful equine
Horse Crazy Once Again 