I have a client who is having problems that some of you also may have experienced. She has a horse with an old injury at the withers which, with pressure from any saddle over time with repeated contact created immense pain for him, which eventually resulted in him bucking off the rider. He is now pain free, has had Mesotherapy, and has shown that he (at this moment) is not in pain but has now a learned behavior to not tolerate anything on his back, any saddle etc. He is still bucking and…

This week it has been HOT and muggy down here in N.C..  My body is having some trouble adjusting to the heat this year, nothing major, but the heat came on so quickly!  I have really needed my canes to walk this week.  At least I can still ride at a walk! 

This all worked out good with Mia.  When I got to the stable Debbie's husband brought Mia up like he usually does,…

The foundation of Dressage for the rider/horse is rhythm. I define that as a balanced combination of relaxation and forward. It sounds deceptively simple.

A rider/horse can not sacrifice forward for relaxation, or relaxation for forward. The art of riding is in negotiating the balance of the two in both the rider and the horse. Forward must be consistent; sometimes the rider relaxes…

http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/06/07/fn-training-seminar-hess-and-graf-quality-equitation-leads-success

Ok.  Here it is!.   Read the whole article and you will find that it was demonstrated ALL of the GP dressage movements in a bitless bridle.   The image shown clearly demonstrates the…

We first met Joy last December after she was taken in by the incredible people at Quest Equine Welfare in Australia.

Joy had been found at one day old, lying in…

Yet another poetic rambling courtesy of my alter ego "Shakespeare 'The Equine.'"

Enjoy!

 …

This opinion does not apply to alot of great horse people out there, rather it is aimed at the competitive aspect of the horse world.

Wow,

seems so many horse people are offended by my position that no matter the competitive venue you ride, the rider should be meeting the requirements set forth in the rules.  On another forum a poster asked the difference between modern and classical dressage.  I posted my opinions and was visiously attacked by those who choose to not conform…

“Headset” is a bad word in my vocabulary. 

Thankfully, most judges these days aren’t fooled by that horse with his nose tucked in, looking past the head to analyze the balance, rhythm and relaxation of the whole picture.

I often describe the horse as…

Ammonia emissions are a common by-product of animal waste. These emissions can negatively impact your animal’s health and production. As well, you yourself can be harmed by high levels of ammonia and even low levels can irritate the eyes and lungs. The environment is another concern, as ammonia emissions affect air quality.



Ammonia is one of the most dangerous gases that is present in the air in barns and stables. It is produced from the decomposition of manure. The protein in an…

Wednesday I saw a tornado.  Up close, while trapped in my car on an elevated stretch of highway in Springfield, Mass. Scary!  Funny what a random lethal event does to your head.  It’s clarifying. 

My sister, a fellow agnostic, asked me if I prayed.  The question took me off guard, and its answer surprised me a bit: I didn’t.  I’d wondered if this was “it”, and then thought, why not?  I don’t live in the area, just happened to be there at that moment as I traveled to Vermont for…

I only got to ride once this week.  At least it was interesting!

Because of Mia's stone bruise I could not ride her this week.  So Debbie put me on Amira, another Arab mare who needs work.  Just what I needed, getting up on a new horse during a hot muggy day.  I am not at my best on hot muggy days, I do not notice as much, my intelligence goes down, and I am worse…

Patty Fairchild's Ragtime made this world change it's view of miniature horses.…

I’ll call her Sage.

Sage was a thoroughbred mare with classic elegance. A solid bay with a long neck and pointy withers. She was very feminine, not too tall, but she was proud.

That’s who she was born to be -but what she looked like was very…

So, for the first time ever, I have no crazy story to tell. But this time, it's about my observations.

People say animals can't "reason" or that they aren't "intelligent". I have to say I dissagree, specially when it comes to horses.

The lesson pony I currently ride, is a prick. He likes to desrupt your plans, which makes him a great pony as you need to be a step ahead of him at all times. So if your coming close to a jump, I actully see him turning his ears,…

Inspired by the "Road to the Horse 2011" on DVD which arrived last week, I've decided to implement an intensive training program to get Brody ready to be ridden.  Brody's been with us almost one year now, and he came to us with a suspensory injury.  But the vet came last week for Brody's vaccinations, and gave the go ahead to climb on and ride. Woohoo!

Brody may be physically ready to be ridden, but mentally and emotionally he is not.  (And, of course, there is the…

I finally got to ride Cider again today.  Since she had turned into a nappy pony the last four times I rode her I sat down and thought about her reactions.  I realized that each time she had turned nappy she had something between her front legs in front of her regular girth, first the anatomic girth and then the running martingle.  So today she got her regular girth, no running martingle, nothing between her front legs,…

The old school resume is considered passe in many forward thinking industries and organisations. Creative thinking and "out of the box" approaches can be a major deal maker.  Modern day resumes are more than just a piece of paper with a chronological list of work experience, but, do these creative approaches work in the equine industry or are we behind the times?

Check out some of these creative CVs or Resumes for the…

My first novel about how a ballerina and a race horse heal each other is out soon .

see web www.thehealingtouch.eu  blog http://thehealingtouchbook.blogspot.com…