My apologies for not posting last week, my internet connection was giving me fits.  All fixed now.

Why did I decide to change Tercel from the Spirit bitless bridle to a bit?  The last two times I rode Tercel in the bitless bridle I repeatedly got the feeling that Tercel was not getting the whole message from my aids.  Once I fixed his bolting problem with the D’yon blinkers I finally could truly feel how Tercel was reacting to my aids.  He has a pretty decent…

I planned to meet my new friend, Shari, to go for a trail ride.  We rode together about a month ago, and our horses did so well together, we wanted to try it again.  She keeps her horse a short distance down the street.

She has a chestnut National Show Horse named Bella, and she is simply beautiful, but she can be a handful.  We rode down the hill and got a good look at the river—it was too high to cross on a pony, and she didn’t mind just riding on the hill.  I told her how…

Ex-racehorses are unique, and present different challenges when it comes to retraining. They’re incredible athletes, and while they’re quickly gaining popularity among riders, ex-racehorses aren’t for everyone. To successfully work with an ex-racehorse, you need to understand their unique mentality. Here are some things to think…

How to make friends with a horse?



"Give him what he needs and he will give you what you want“

I think the quote is by Pat Parelli and it sums up what I think is the basis for a good relationship with our horse: the change of perspective.

In order for the relationship to thrive, we need to put our horse‘s needs…

“How much longer do you think you can do this?”

This week I received a blog request. You see, the reader is my age, 60, and she’s frustrated at being asked that question repeatedly. The reader’s friend tells her that she and her husband “should get rid of over 30 equines and their farm and all the work,…

Kevin and I were going to go for a ride.  I saddled up and went outside to wait for him.  Before he even got out, it started to drizzle, and he wimped out on me.  Cole and I left by ourselves.

As I’ve mentioned before, Cole hates rain as much as Kevin.  It was a light rain and a warm evening, so it didn’t bother me at all.  Each time I have ridden Cole in the…

The horse stalls that you use in your barn are trusted with keeping your horse enclosed and safe. That’s a big order, especially when it’s your personal horse who will be housed by the stall. Not all horse stalls are made the same, and there are some important points you should use to evaluate horse stalls.

Design and Overall…

You and your horses spend a lot of time in and walking up and down your barn aisle. Constructed improperly, barn aisles can be a potential safety hazard. When you’re planning your barn aisle, consider the following tips to help keep both you and your horses safe.

Build Wide

A…

I've written a bit about lightness before, but "lightness" seems to be a potent trigger word that creates great emotionally charged discussion all over the 'net. Everyone seems to agree it is a Good Thing (TM) but no one can explain exactly what is meant or how to achieve it.



So this short post covers a simple, specific exercise I've found…

MerryLegs was only here for 2 days when we introduced him to clicker training.  I had a pocket full of carrot slivers and a ball to use as a target.  His indoctrination was the standard procedure—except none of us had a clicker with us.  Ellen and I both switched our horses to a tongue click, long ago.  I didn’t want to wait until I remembered to bring a…

Hello MerryLegs

MerryLegs showed up in Cleveland last Thursday after a long journey from Manitoba, Canada.  Not surprisingly, he was a little keyed up the first few days.  I planned to just give him time to settle in and for me to get to know him.  Friday evening, I took him for a walk to the round pen.  He had to pass the outdoor arena where 2…

If you are involved in the horse world, eventually you will make some pretty big purchases and sales. Horses, saddles, tack… they all go for hefty amounts of money. And while most of those purchases and sales will go fine, there are, unfortunately, some common scams that circulate in the horse world that you should be aware of. Here are a few of the most common.

The…

When you’re hitting the road with your horses, the more visible your horse trailer is the better chance you have of standing out to other drivers and potentially avoiding an accident. There are a number of ways you can help to make your horse trailer more visible. These tips will get you started.

Choose a…

He Arrives

We thought he would be here on Tuesday, but that was changed to Wednesday because a Canadian holiday messed up their schedule.  Then, they called me and said it have to be Thursday.  There was another horse that they were shipping whose papers to get across the border expired, and they had to be renewed.  So, when Thursday arrived, I was expecting a phone call saying it would be Friday.  Well, I got the phone call, but this time they said he would be there between…

Selling a horse can be a bit of a headache. Between marketing the horse and dealing with no-show potential buyers, selling a horse takes some serious time. But have you ever thought about consigning your sale horse? Consigning a horse removes much of the…

And so, I wait.

MerryLegs is on his way, and the shipper is going to call me when he crosses the state line.  I have marshalled all the forces, and they are all waiting for the call.  This is one exciting event.

Yesterday, Kevin put a note on the bulletin board for everyone to say “hello” to MerryLegs.  Of course, there was no MerryLegs, but Kevin put an old toy horse in the stall, instead.  He tricked everyone—they loved it, but probably not as much as they…

When it comes to saddle shopping, many of the great deals on used saddles seem to be online. While you can successfully buy a saddle online, there is some important information that you need to know. Before you start saddle shopping, think about the following if you’re going to go the online…

I'ts been almost 7 months since I fell off of Cooper, October 24 2014, and stopped riding him. I even stopped doing groundwork and only went out to see him a few times a month.

My prosthetic leg was hurting all the time and I was spending so much time with a new puppy, oh and I've been having fear issues. I did get back in the saddle after the fall but that was it since then.

Also I have been wimping out since my husband started working a second job in the evenings and I just…

I have loved animals since I was little. When I was five,almost six,we lived in Texas. There I was able to go to my grandparents ranch where my older brother and I would feed grasshoppers and help with cows. One cow in particular,a black angus heifer known fondly as Cow 39, was my favorite and reason behind my love for cows. 39 would rub against me like a friendly Labrador and I'd rub and love her back. She was and is my favorite girl. We moved back…