A reader from England describes her Welsh gelding as “way more whoa than go.” She writes, “I want to do as much as possible at liberty with him and build a bond and incentive for him to want to be with me.” That’s the good news!

The trouble is: “When I have got on him I always struggle to get him to move, I have to resort to moving his hindquarters over and then…

Paradise Returns

Mrs. Shoes replied to my email.  As I expected, MerryLegs was never a barn sour horse at his Canadian home.  She described how she gentled him by touching him all over with the whip and the rope.  This was excellent news.  Since I planned to do it, too, it would just be a review of something he already knew.  Evidently, everything I was experiencing was a new behavior, my theory was probably correct—and the good news—it isn’t very ingrained in his head. …

Trouble in Paradise

I have been having some trouble with MerryLegs.  It all started when he didn’t want to walk out to the loop.  I don’t know what caused him to feel that way, but I couldn’t get him budged without a struggle.  That was the beginning.  It began to spread.  Soon, he didn’t want to walk away from the barn, down the driveway, down the street and eventually, he didn’t want to go out the barn door.  At one point, he didn’t want to go in the barn, either.  Ellen…

If you’re planning on building a horse barn, then you want to make sure that you do it right. Before you start building your barn, take a look at these common barn building mistakes so that you can be sure to avoid them.

Opting for Cheaper Stalls

In an attempt to save money, barn owners may choose to buy cheaper, lesser quality stalls to put into their…

A sneak peak of the making off: 

http://www.dressagehafl.com/2015/06/sneak-peak-making-off-freestyle-2015.html

It is almost summer, and down here in the sunny South the hot, muggy, and insect infested summer weather has arrived.  On Wednesday it was cool enough to wear my Fits Techtread summer weight breeches and my Ovation Cool Rider long sleeve shirt and I handled the heat fine, but on Friday it was a few degrees warmer and a lot more humid so I put my coolest clothes on, my Kerrits Flow Rise Performance tights and FITS Fanfaire long sleeve shirt, and I still sweated a…

There's a buzz in the horse community....

Just published by Friesen Press a compelling book of short poems... "Horse Daze" portrays the everyday encounters people and horses experience together and on occasion apart.

Horse Daze comes with exceptional acknowledgements from Dr.M.E.Southern, Co-Founder Spruce Meadows and Mr.C.H.Riddell owner of Clayborne…

Have you heard? Stall mats aren’t just for stalls anymore. These versatile mats can serve countless purposes in your barn. The next time you’re ordering stall mats, you may want to buy some extras to have on hand for these many uses.

Protect Stall Walls From a Stall Kicker

Stall kicking is a nasty habit that can take a toll…

Your barn manager is entrusted with the care of all of the horses in your barn – a big responsibility. Finding a good barn manager can be a challenge, since the position demands a variety of specialized skills. When you’re looking for a barn manager, try to find someone who has the following…

Great Success!

Friday evening found me struggling with MerryLegs.  He didn’t want to go out of the barn, he didn’t want to walk  on the street, he didn’t want to walk back to the loop, he didn’t want to go around the first corner of the loop,  he didn’t want to go into the indoor arena…  He wore me out.  He would either plant his feet or go backwards. …

Everyone needs a best friend, but equestrians are lucky – we have some of the best best friends in the world. In honor of National Best Friends Day, here are the top reasons why horses make the best best friends.

Horses Are Excellent Shoulders to Lean On

When it comes to needing a shoulder to lean on, horses…

Oh, to be back in the saddle again felt rather wonderful. It's been Oh so long since I last rode him and I feel we did very good. 

Naturally before riding I was put to work, haha, but it was fun. There's nothing better than unloading hay and mucking a stall, I'm serious. Those two jobs and riding are my favorite things to do. My sister and niece are temporarily staying with us, so my niece, Nicole,…

What a change a little bit of equipment can make with a horse!  For the last 2 ½ months we have been riding Tercel with the blinkers, and riding Tercel has changed from a heart-stopping 30 minutes of stress to a sleep-inducing 30 minutes of more or less boredom.  Believe me, right now I prefer the boring rides!  Tercel was not ridden regularly during this time, and for three weeks he was not ridden at all, so this welcome boredom was not caused by working Tercel…

Are your horse jumps looking a little tired and weathered? Jumps take quite a beating, and without regular care, their appearance can quickly deteriorate. If you’d like to put a little life back into your jumps, we’ve come up with some great ways that you can refresh your jumps.

Sand and Paint

One of the simplest ways…

Improvements?

I decided to try taking MerryLegs down to the river in the evening all by myself.  No Ellen to give us moral support.  I had no problem getting him to the street.  As we were walking down the road, a couple cars went flying by.  It bothered him, and he jumped a little.  When I got to the head of the trail, he said he couldn’t enter the dark…

When we ride our horses we are asking a lot from them physically mentally and emotionally. 

Physically we want them to carry us, our weight and the saddle too. Their muscles and joints and bones must endure this heavy combo for however long we decide to ride them. It is the equivalent of us carrying a heavy backpack and physically working for long periods of time. At the end of the day our…

Summer is upon us, and so is the busiest time of year for many riders. Horse shows, clinics, and trail rides take up much of our day, but there are still important barn chores that need to be done. Here’s a quick to-do list to help you start off summer right.

Scrub Water Troughs

Have you…

The Honeymoon is Over

I knew that MerryLegs and I would have our “moments” as we got to know each other, but I was surprised about what the first moment would be.  I took him out of the barn to go for a walk on the driveway—heading for the back of the property.  After just a few steps, he decided he wasn’t going.

He has had some other incidents of refusing, and I was able to get him started back up by shifting his weight.  That wasn’t working, this time.  I…