At the recent ground work conference I attended, there were two demonstration handlers who were said to be professional trainers. From the first moments, when they were awaiting their demo, there was an aggressiveness to their handling of the horses that bothered me. In most cases, they were handling horses that did not belong to … More Social Politeness
On the occasions that I help my mother get Coffee ready, I find myself thinking of the horse I met two and a half years ago. I suspect that his breeder and trainer would be very disappointed to see what he’s become. Yet, for me the transition makes me smile. A recent interaction left me … More A Tale of Two Coffees
On his visit this week, our farrier declared to my mother that Noble “needs manners!” This declaration followed an ill-advised decision to disregard my mother’s advice, ignore what has worked in the past, and have his assistant catch and hold Noble. The result can best be described as a wrestling tango. In spite of the … More “Needs manners!”
It’s getting ugly out there! There’s a battle raging on social media, and at the heart of it is the equestrian pursuit that I love. On the one side you have the “Dressage is horrible! I’d never do that to my horse!” On the other is the “It’s only a moment in time! And besides, … More Dressage Wars
You’ve probably heard it: “Control the feet and you control the horse.” It’s popular with the Natural Horsemanship folks. An even better variation is “Control the feet and you control the mind.” Trouble is, if your definition of controlling the feet is to make the beast run when you want, stop when you want, and … More Control the feet
“What is it that leads to the violent treatment of horses in the training process?” – Per Waaler I recently read a column on why violence enters into horse training. The whole column is very good (read it here), but the last part was so important that I had to share it. The author is … More Before It is Too Late …
Horse Crazy Once Again 