I first decided I wanted a horse in 1974. Life circumstances changed and changed back until I was seriously getting ready to find one next year.

Opportunity knocked in early July. I answered, and on 1 August 2011, became the human half of a new partnership with a seven-year old bay gelding, a 16.2 HH Quarter-horse named Oakley Pine.

Pithy phrases like 'seize the day' and 'when opportunity knocks, answer the door' don't mention the corollary about needing antacids to…

We did some round pen work first and Cooper was very good.

I got my husband in the round pen to have him try to work Cooper but he wasn't assertive enough and Cooper just wanted to come in to him.

It's dark now by lesson time at 8:30 p.m. so we rode indoors.

We continued on trying to slow the jog around 3/4 of arena and 1/4 did posting trot, trying to extend and stay collected.

I was trying to relax my legs but it wasn't working tonight.

I had a stiff neck…

I have been having some difficulty lately with two trainers. My dressage trainer herself has issues with this too. The only difference is that she has two in the same discipline, I have two in different disciplines (dressage and jumping).

Sometimes I wonder if she is sad about me doing bothe and not be a primary dressage rider. Dressage will always be in my…

The calendar changed and so did the weather. These first September days have been undeniably Fall- shorter, crisper and with a bit more oxygen in the air. The moon rules the prairie and this weekend is the Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. I won’t say the word- but tick, tick, tick.

The horses didn’t need a calendar to know. There has been a break out of the Fall…

Craigslist is really making our job  easy…  We happened across this first ad a few days ago and just couldn’t stop ourselves from commenting.  And commenting not just on the horses themselves, but on the pricing.  Yes, all the horses below are from the same area within the same state and within a few hundred dollars of a $6000 price tag.  No, we’re not sure why either.

Must see 7 year old,…

But he does comes with his blue rubber ball!

This is a stunning horse. 18 months old. Will likely mature to be about 14- 14.2 hh. Excellent conformation. Registered with the…

There IS a difference between a “broke” horse and a “trained” / broke horse” just because a horse is “broke” to ride does NOT mean he or she is “trained” Does your horse know how to “flex” and “give” to pressure? Can you do a “one rein stop”? I can train your horse to do these two simple tasks and more. I can teach him or her to lunge, neck rein, correct leads/lead changes, to back, side pass, run barrels, poles, trailer load, etc. and I can teach YOU as the…

Henk the Friesian horse writes:

OnTRA (the Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association) is asking its member centres to nominate outstanding riders, volunteers, and of course HORSES for special recognition. So naturally I expected Lil to nominate me. You don't get much more outstanding, after all. With my tall, dark and handsome looks, my charming personality, my aristocratic breeding... It should be a no-brainer.

But for some reason she thinks that working only a handful…

As the days shorten, good planning in conjunction with quality feeds and facilities can make the transition from warm autumn days into wintry nights a little less difficult for all involved.



One of the most productive ways of keeping horses warm and supply nutrients is to provide free choice, good quality hay.  The heat of fermentation when the hay is digested by microbes in the horse’s hindgut is the main source of warmth for the horse. The heat is produced during the biochemical…

We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves – well, actually today it’s just me: Dressage Princess.

We’ve been trying to come up with nicknames for ourselves for a while now and have come to the conclusion that we’ll just go by our drug discipline of choice.

First off, a little bit about my riding history.  I started riding almost 20 years ago and would not go faster than a walk for about a month.  I’ve been going strong ever since   I’ve…

The Intentional Horse - the inbox magazine by, for and about the natural and holistic equine community begins  Sept 15th!



 

The inaugural issue of "The Intentional Horse" is set for September 15th.  

This email magazine is by, for and about the natural and holistic equine community and is totally free. 

It will publish each Monday and Thursday via email. 

If you are interested in receiving "The Intentional Horse" or you know horse lovers who will,

would you…

But he does comes with his blue rubber ball!

This is a stunning horse. 18 months old. Will likely mature to be about 14- 14.2 hh. Excellent…

Originally posted at: http://frwdnrnd.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/the-99-lucky-rule/

The 99% Lucky rule is very simple – when you’re around horses, and particularly in dangerous situations, you are lucky 99% of the time. That is a good rule – unless it happens to be the 1% of the time that you might be ‘un’-lucky! Then, it’s no fun at all. Let me explain…

When you are around horses, safety must come…

Craigslist is really making our job  easy…  We happened across this first ad a few days ago and just couldn’t stop ourselves from commenting.  And commenting not just on the horses themselves, but on the pricing.  Yes, all the horses below are from the same area within the same state and within a few hundred dollars of a $6000 price tag.  No, we’re not sure why either.

Must see 7 year old, well trained, registered Quarter Horse…

This week I got to ride Debbie's new Arab, Mick, twice.  Such a nice horse, so pretty, nice shoulder, good neck, well trained, obedient, and with a good attitude.  Still he is not perfect.  Riding him I feel less power under me than I do with Mia and Cider.  Part of the reason for this is however well trained Mick is, somehow the previous trainers and riders did not do the gymnastic work necessary to strenthen Mick's hind end, and when I look past his…

7 year old gelding for sale. Work and Pleasure horse. If any questions and seriously interested please CALL two # five-# one #-four # seven #. Please not after 10pm thanks.

 …

Seriously, we couldn’t make this more obvious unless we actually painted spots on him!

Once again, thank you…

Lately, I am discovering I like mares more and more. They are so NOT like most of us humans.  They have a refreshing honesty. “If you aren’t going to drive the bus, get out of my way and I’ll do it.” Succinct, blunt and clean with her intention- a mare will get the job done.

Thank you. Bluntness is a gift after so much of passive aggressive chatter like, “Honey,…

Often when we hear the word calcium we think of it as a bone building nutrient, but calcium also serves many vital functional roles in addition to structural roles. As discussed in our previous blog post, Keeping the Horse Replenished – Equine Electrolytes, calcium is one of the most important electrolytes, which are mineral salts that create electrical current in the horse. When evaluating the distribution of calcium in the horse we see that:

• Approximately 99%…

...he wants his hocks back

2011 Cremello Quarter Horse colt (in the process of being registered). He is out of Shortys All Spark (goes back to Shining Spark and Doc O’Lena) and Niftys Memgold (Jackie Bee bloodlines). He is a stunning cremello with big blue eyes. He is very mellow,…