It’s been the same story every year. The flies come out. Coffee and Tally do the Cha-Cha when the fly spray touches their sensitive hides. And Noble remembers that he’s much taller than we are, when it’s time to wear his fly mask. Last year, in an effort to mitigate the challenges with Noble’s ‘coyness’ … More A Tale of Two Fly Masks
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
The last thing I want to do is drag myself out from under the warm blanket, in my warm house, to venture out into the cold and the rain. It has been over a week, and four tissue boxes, and I am tired of struggling to breathe. Just standing up can be enough to make … More Horsekeeping while ill
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
It was, admittedly, probably not the best choice. Due to weather and the holidays, Noble had been idle for a while. With his paddock now mucky, even the newly emerged grass does not tempt him to go out into the field beyond. So, he sulks in his stall and has temper tantrums – though far … More Bad decision, good outcome
Five years ago, today, we set out on the three hour journey to pick up the colt of my dreams. More than just a dream, he was something out of a long held fantasy – and someone was giving him to me! I am not the person who ever wins the raffle, or finds a … More The long strange trip
Horse Crazy Once Again 