You know, I love to watch all the horse races when they come on. My family, of nine, and I like to pick out a horse, usually by uniqueness of name, and pick it to come in first, or second or third. The one thing I so enjoy about watching horse racing is being able to sit with family. In my youth of fourteen and three quarters I have noticed something in what seems to be all races. The victorious horse always seems to start in the very, very back. When that horse comes to the final stretch it…

Sometimes, you just have to.....

Pause......

One of the toughest lessons

in great horsemanship is to just....

simply.....

pause.

Every great horsemanship professional uses The Pause in training.

Western horsemanship trainers call it "soaking", my mentor called it "taking a break". Whatever you want to call it, it's all about…

As my readers know I have been seeking security in the saddle for years.  I have Multiple Sclerosis and I was blaming all of my riding security problems on my MS, my lack of balance, my great weakness, my exhaustion from the least physical activity, my lack of a proprioceptive sense and my general lack of coordination.  I figured that there was NO WAY I would ever feel as secure in the saddle as I did when I was younger.  As it turns out I was blaming the wrong thing (my…

I’ve let loose a few decent rants about groundwork lately. I should apologize about the goose-shrill tone in my voice, but I’m not sorry for the sentiment. Groundwork is so crucial to good horsemanship and too many of us tolerate bad ground manners, in our horses and in ourselves.

It’s our fault. We’re always busy, always late, always distracted. We have a slam-bam-thank-you-‘Mam approach: Grab them, toss the halter on, pull them out of…

I have always been pretty good with horses, but never with predators.  This includes men and dogs.

Scout, my Jack Russell Terrier, confirms everyday to me that I have no business attempting to train predators.

Scout is a serial killer.  I am pretty convinced that she must be reincarnated from some famous serial killer madman.  When she is locked in on the kill, there is absolutely no reasoning with her- she cannot see or hear anything else.  After the kill, she always…

I have always loved the Arabian horse and the Friesian horse breed. I love to occasionally you tube videos of the Friesian in action and read and re-read 'My friend Flicka' by Mary O'hara, a book on Arab horses.

I love how majestic the Friesian looks. How they stand tall and proud, with their glossy black coat shining in the sun and their long flowing manes. I love how long their tails are and the feathers that adorn their hooves. The Friesian originally was from the Netherlands along…

You love your horse and your training sessions.  Does your horse feel the same way?  Liberty sessions are an excellent way to keep your horse engaged and to determine if you're horse is signing up for class.  The VIDEO in this blog demonstrates Hank, a retired Thoroughbred, doing just that.  He's engaged in his classes and…

People are commonly told that they need to be dominant to their horses, but such advice is not in line with scientific studies on dominance behavior. Although dominance hierarchies certainly exist among horses, there is no need for people to try to assume a place in such hierarchies. Horses will naturally defer to people because we, as a species, are more confident than horses are and thus more likely to be leaders in the horse-human relationship. Consider the Budweiser ad run during the…

Are you on a tight schedule?  Are you having challenges finding time for your horse?

There is a solution.

When I was focusing more on riding than bonding I found I often didn't have the time to groom, tack up, ride, cool down, untack and groom again.  I often chose to do nothing rather than interact with my horse.  Then I would feel guilty because I wasn't…

People ask me all of the time how I got into natural horsemanship- and I always tell them at the beginning of any of my clinics…

11 years ago I had no idea what natural horsemanship was- Seriously- no clue.

I was eventing at the Preliminary/Intermediate level on my Thoroughbred George, and we either did really well or…

People often tell me that their horse loves to work, loves to jump, loves to show…From what I know about horses, I’m not so sure. Equitation scientists looked into the matter… 



Imagine a conversation between you and your horse, if horses could talk. 



You: Good morning Spunky. Ready for a…

I have been thinking lately a lot about how hard it can be for middle-aged and older women to either get back to their long interrupted riding or to start riding.  It is not easy.

We know we can get hurt.  Many of us have osteoporosis and many more have arthritis.  Our youthful figures have gone away, our once athletic bodies have dissolved, and we just do not feel as sprightly as we did when we were younger.  Medical issues pile up, kids and families threaten all of…

lake

These are the dog days of…