My book about a girl who turns into a horse, "The Trouble with Being a Horse," is really going places! Since getting US distribution the book has been picked up by a few chain stores and has gotten quite a lot of reviews! I have to say I'm pretty pleased that the book is liked by both horse people and non-horse people (the true test!). Here's what Readers Favorite had to say: 

Reviewed by Joy H. for Readers Favorite



Olivia loved horses and loved working at the…

We had a nice, horse weekend.  The river wasn’t crossable, but our younger niece came out, and she made it fun for us.  I started out riding Cole in the arena.  He had a lackluster day.  I then let my niece take him down the hill to the river.  He was pretty good for her, and she is getting used to his bouncy walk down hills.  When we got to the bottom, we let her trot on the flat part a bunch of times.  Cole has a normal trail trot, and she was posting is beautifully.  (She can’t manage his…

First, I am NOT a natural rider. 

I have heard about or read about natural riders since I started riding in Chile some 54 years ago.  I was told by my parents that they had been told that there were these people who could just get up on a horse and ride perfectly from the very first time.  Perfect seat, perfect hands, perfect timing, perfect from the very start.  My…

Three weeks ago I filmed my schooling of Sundust the ex-WP Quarter Horse that I am re-schooling.  We made the video into a how to use Spirit Bridle and how to ride using Sympathetic Aids......

Last weekend we filmed Sundust's two owners, Gloria and Cathy, schooling themselves and him.....  And then put a brand new rider up for the first time......Sandra did very well learning to sit up straight, the hands, etc......

So now I have three videos, one each of the Ladies, that will…

Once you decide to ride horses, you put into place a domino effect of consequences, which will occur whether you are conscious of them or not. It is like a rule of nature – the results are the results regardless of your intentions, desires and motivations.

And so you proceed to put your weight on horse’s back, asking him to move in tandem with your (sometimes uncoordinated) instructions, changing the weight distribution on his back and legs and (quite) possibly…

Last night was farrier night.  my sister and I come out to the barn after work.  Sometimes, the farrier gets there before us because he does another horse at our stables.  When he finishes, he starts Cruise and Ranger.  He waits for me to do Cole so I could help with holding him.

When I got there, my sister was talking to him and there were no horses in the crossties.  I was surprised and wondered what was going on.  My sister said that they started Cole, and he was so bad…

There was only a little daylight after work and the river was too high to cross, again.  I rode Cruiser up and down the hill three times.  He was quite energetic, and even did some gaiting up the hill.  (Cruiser has standard gaits, but he also does a stepping pace when he is excited.  He can get quite fast.  He must have gotten it from his Morgan side, as there are gaited Morgans.)  When we got back to the barn, it started to rain, lightly.  Perfect timing.  It rained the rest of the…

Steady Trotting Home

The trails by our barn do not form any sort of loop. Basically, we ride out to our desired distance, turn around and come back. There are a few tiny loops, but they join the main trail, so the horses get that definite feeling that they are headed home. 

Most horses will travel faster on the way home than on the way out—that is a given. Horses like to be home where their friends are. This doesn’t happen if we are riding Cruiser and Ranger…

Take Advantage of 15 years of European MistakesHorseGuard Fencing is the LEADING choice for European horse fencing, currently protecting two out of three horses.Before this, many misconceptions led people to make uninformed choices.

 …

Henk the Friesian Horse writes:

A couple of new horses arrived at the farm last week: an older chestnut warmblood named Lego, and his pet, a mini named… well… not really named. I’ll tell you more about that later.

When these two arrived, they got regular stalls in the barn like the rest of us, but instead of going out in one of the paddocks we use, they went into the sand-ring on the other side of the barn. Once we all go outside in the morning, the only evidence we…

You need:

- one soft, almost soothing “fits-like-a-glove” saddle

- one enthusiastic, steady, energetic, perky-eared red-head mare swishing rhythmically through a sweet-smelling smorgasbord of dried, crispy leaves

- one clear and wide path lined with tall trees, glowing brilliantly with hues of yellow, red, orange and…

Yes, another rained out long weekend for my sister and me…

Thursday, the river was too high.  We rode Cruiser and Ranger up and down the hill 3 times.  I worked with Cole in the arena, and we had fun.  My sister rode him for a little bit, and it was nice because then I could watch him.  He is quite a sight.  I then led him down to the river as a reward.

Friday, the river was still way to high to cross.  This time, we rode Cruiser and Ranger in the arena, too,…

Had a great lesson today. Our coach could see that we were all riding speedy horses today so we spent the lesson working on slowing down. We were to do a lot of whoa and back up, also did posting trot on the long side and sit jog on the short with circles in the corners. We learned to stay on a circle and keep our horses head and shoulders in between the reins. I was also working on getting Cooper to lower his head more and to give him more rein, to trust him more. By the end of the lesson…

Ever since I started reading books on riding I have been trying to puzzle out what the horsemen actually MEANT.  When I got my first horse I had the comforting illusion that I knew at least a little bit about riding (I had 4 years of trail riding as a young kid).  My first horse, a 5 year old just gelded green broke Anglo-Arab gelding quickly taught me that I did not know much at all.  Fortunately a few months after I got him I ran into and quickly…

CLAIRE DOROTIK, LMFT

Having spent a lifetime around horses – growing up riding and training horses and later riding at many of the country’s top show barns – Claire, in many ways, understood horses before she understood people.

Claire’s competitive accomplishments include top placings at the Almaden farms Mini Prix, the Michelob Classic Mini Prix, the Monterey Bay Mini Prix, a 2nd place finish…

Hi all,

Here's a great joke to head into the weekend with!

How to be Gracious

>  Jennifer's wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her

> excitement - not even her parent's nasty divorce.

>

>  Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear, and would be the

> best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever!  A week later, Jennifer was horrified

> to learn that her father's new, young wife…