What is the purpose behind teaching your horse personal space? We teach horses to respect our personal space for safety and manners. A woman I knew told me that if your horse is walking right beside you, spooks and bolts you'll get run over. She always said to keep the horse 2-3 feet away or an arms distance from you. Not only does teaching personal space help avoid being trampled it also helps to avoid being crowded, knocked in the head by his head and…

There is nothing I enjoy mmore than watching a jumping competition on TV. When Daniel Deusser or Scott Brash(1&2 top jumpers in the world) clear those jumps its breathtaking. I recently watched a jumping competition with a young, new rider. His time was poor and his riding not much better. I cringed watching him jump and knew he wouldn't be in the jump off. Here is what I saw.....

Going into the…

Summer will officially begin in three days, on Father's Day actually. In the state of Michigan the seasons change each week and we just go with the flow. While summer begins in three days the heat began on June first. Yesterday was in the eighties but a steady down pour of rain cooled us down. The day before was also in the eighties with no…

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,…

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…

I have loved animals since I was little. When I was five,almost six,we lived in Texas. There I was able to go to my grandparents ranch where my older brother and I would feed grasshoppers and help with cows. One cow in particular,a black angus heifer known fondly as Cow 39, was my favorite and reason behind my love for cows. 39 would rub against me like a friendly Labrador and I'd rub and love her back. She was and is my favorite girl. We moved back…

 Today I was able to…

Just like people, animals can have allergies too, and it's important that we know what they are and how to treat them. I'll discuss two here and more in the future. I have a list if allergies. I am allergic to dust, cats(hospital worthy), dogs, rabbits, birds, perfume, cologne,scented detergents, scented candles,mowed grass, rabbits, chocolate(very small), mold,pores,pollen,flowers,weeds(of various types) and finally, spores found in dirt. I am not…

The Rose is a delicate flower, with its beautiful petals and sharp thorns to protect it. A long smooth stem gives it an elegant appearance that captivates many. They come in many colors and…

This week was absolutely positively beautiful weather. Perfect weather in fact, minus the 4.2 earthquake that was felt by most of Michigan(I definitely felt it). 

The sun was out, the sky was blue and a gentle breeze blew through the trees. Green grass like emerald jewels greeted you wherever you went. Grills were brought out and hotdogs were cooked as children played in their yards. Siblings took their younger siblings and dogs for walks through the park and returned with…

What defines a trail ride as a trail ride? Is it a simple jaunt throughout the back pasture or a slow walk through the words? Is it merely trotting through someone's field or leaping over logs and cantering through rivers in the woods? 

When I rode with Sandy, I rode outside weather permitting.  Sandy didn't have an arena or indoor inclosure so I had to ride throughout her 22 acres, all fenced in I believe. After a couple weeks of lessons I was allowed and expected to…

There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.

Logan Pearsall Smith

A while back Julie suggested and then ordered I make a goal chart for myself since I was being a little hard when I rode. I suffer from chronic perfectionism 100x over the…

It isn't natural for a horse to back up. If you look at horses out in pasture or in the wild you won't see any backing away from a situation. When that alpha mare comes barreling on down on a young horse, you won't see it back away. Usually the horse in trouble will pivot and turn away or rush past quickly,but not back up. So why do we bother teaching our horse to go backwards in the first place? 

I don't…

I'll start with my adventures with the vets yesterday then move onto today. 

As some of you may know(those who don't pay atttention!) next year I'll graduate highschool and my search for a college(it's between Findlay or MSU) to study veterinary medicine for large animals, mainly horses and cattle. Knowing this it was very important I find a veterinarian who does what I want to do to shadow. So I did. I found Dr. Esterline who works at a clinic near where I live. We…

It all began in 1988 with a man named Dennis Thompson on a small ranch in South Texas. Dennis was raised in Indiana where he worked in marketing research designing and marketing animal products such as Silver Shampoo and…

I believe I said I would do a write up on the Trakehner a while back. Well, here it is. Allow me to introduce you to the Trakehner, an elegant and fine breed of horse. 

In the 13th century in what was once East Prussia a horse, the Trakehner, originated. The base stock for this breed was descended from the Tarpan(another write up for another time), however in 1732 King Frederich Wilhelm I founded a stud at Trakehner to develop coach horses and later a calvary(using…

This isn't a blog post, technically. I wrote a short story and wish to share it. All honest opinions are desired and appreciated!

Please enjoy............... 

If there's one thing my Aunt Teresa taught me, its that death is inevitable,no matter what you do to avoid it you can't. This is what angered me the most about being plagued by cancer. People get all weepy,run away relatives suddenly return and the medicine sucks. My Dad barely has dry eyes anymore and…

 David naps,stands and nurses on his nurse mare... WR ranch is currently trying to get the mare to be…

If there's anything the story of Thumbelina taught us, its that size doesn't matter, anybody can make a difference if they try hard. No matter what others say or think about you, keep up the good…

*ahem* to the left we have the gorgeous Scout(of run gypsy run) in all his glory, and to the right we have Shiva(of Big N little gypsy vanner horses) in all her beauty. …