Oops!  I ironed a hole right through my dress pants for the second day of judging in Israel.  And my pants from the previous day had a small rip beginning.  No needle and thread…maybe duct tape?  Prayed for the seam to hold as I crawled through fences…gingerly!

I had to take my own advice-when things go wrong in the show ring, never mind and carry…

 I LOVED coaching this group of older teens, each hoping to earn a place on the Israeli AQHA youth world cup team.  The following year each will head to compulsory military service, before pursuing any post-secondary education. 

This must be what contributes to their strong work ethic and…

Before my judging assignment in Israel begins, I’m standing in King Herods’s 1^st century “Hippodrome”-the site of ancient horse shows and chariot races Herod built at the time of Jesus Christ-part of his summer palace in Caesarea.

It hit me – Tomorrow, I’ll be standing in a 21^st century…

My judging colleague is from Italy. My ring steward (and wonderful interpreter), Israeli.

Striking, as a “reserved” Canadian, Middle Eastern shows are more…  dramatic!  Enthusiastic applause for every class, down to the final one at 9:00 PM. 

Passionate viewpoints are expressed at the show office, over the walkie talkie and from the sidelines are…

"Mr Smith, I think for the sake of your daughter's well-being, you should invest in a horse..."

Reading an article about the effects smartphones and social media have on us, I‘d say the science is confirming that uneasiness many of us have our ever-present screens.   "There's compelling evidence that the devices we've placed in young peoples' hands…

Had a little chuckle in the produce section yesterday J

Hmmm…the process of choosing just the right melon includes the 3 things I consider in choosing just the right solution to offer a horse and rider!

LOOK- We scan the melons comparing one to another - any flaws? I scan horse and rider-looking for resistance, tension,…

Jim Wofford wrote an insightful piece a while ago in Practical Horseman on the “mindless application of equipment, regardless of whether it is suitable for this horse at this stage of training.”

What do you think?

He said, “Nosebands are one of my many irritants when coaching.  Almost every horse I see [dressage,…

On a Nova Scotia horse judging trip, how cool to detour for some whale watching with my son and his friend!

As horse gals we pondered what it would be like to ride 'em!

We could almost touch them-hmmm...could they have been trained to come so close??…

Mystical, humorous or deliberately elusive – the terms we use in the horse business can leave a rider scratching her head.  I was a coach’s worst nightmare - “What do you mean by that?” I’d ask . I rarely got a meaningful answer.

When coaching ,I’ll often press a rider to explain a term they’ve used. If they struggle to put it into words, we’ll unpack the idea…

Heading off to a show this weekend?.

(condensed from hunter judge, Laura Kelland ‘s May17 blog)

DON’T go to the show  if:

•  you aren’t getting excellent rides at home, …

Instead of donning a red tail ribbon, train towards and attitude adjustment.

1. Set the boundaries. When your horse snarks at another horse, re-establish the boundary through which he snarked . For instance, if he kicks out, move his haunches sideways from the leg on the side he kicked.  If he lunges his head toward his neighbor, back him up. Don’t respond…

It’s not uncommon at open shows to see a red ribbon fastened on the tail of a horse. The message? Stay away.  I kick.

if your horse’s territorial nature has gone so far as to warrant a red ribbon it's time to go back and do some homework before going off property.  (More on that  next post!)

I know some people with red ribbon…

The debate around legalizing marijuana continues. Some would say it’s condoning a vice. What about “condoning” cribbing? More and more researchers  are leaning toward it.

Dr. Daniel Mills, an equine behaviorist UK specializes in stereotypies. “ I’d generally say, unless the horse colics recurrently, that it’s better to allow him to crib then to prevent it…

Avoid it  - If I’m going to stir up a storm, I need to be able to ride through whatever horse’s response so that he doesn’t find bucking rewarding. So I might come at a training problem in another way vs attacking head on.

Examples – small wins vs epic wins. 3 % improvement. Aim to never have to step back down the training staircase because you jumped…

A behaviour expressed in variety shapes and sizes:

• one buck or multiple.
• a sharp kick out with one or both legs,
• stationary, stalling, rocking, humping or while running.

A buck can also follow a flight incident like an exclamation mark on the tail end a spook.

Why does my horse buck?

Equitation scientists…

I can still hear my early instructors barking at me. Like any novice, while I focused on keeping my horse going or identifying the right diagonal, my hands would elevate and bounce around. But the more I tried to force them down, the stiffer and more jarring they became. As a coach, I make it a goal to describe the importance of and specifically how to develop elastic…

 I learned equitation fundamentals to the repetitive tune of  “head up, heels down!” trotting around and around  the riding school ring. I aquired the “whats” of riding in those early years, but didn’t get good answers to my “whys!”  It’s a shame – if I’d grasped the logic and the science behind the skills, and how I’d use them in the future, I’d have been…

Are ponies tougher than horses?

French researchers say so.

Speaking about the ways we can preserve the welfare and sanity of riding lesson horses, Dr. Clémence Lesimple said that poor riding technique has the greatest impact on the presence of injuries, and it also has an effect on stereotypy development. (ie. cribbing and weaving).

“Frequent…

The more we ride them the better we get at memorizing them. We build upon previous experiences and observations. Our brains are actually changed. We’re learning to learn.

So, if experience goes through the routine, perhaps wisdom says, This is the way things typically go.

 Left lead skills are typically followed by a lead change and some…

They’re everywhere – advertising vacations to vaccinations (if you love your horse, you’ll immunize with…)

Winston Churchill got it right- “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”

Horses are therapy.  They make us feel good.

But let’s be honest, our horses might not be feeling the love as much…