As many of ya’ll know, I have a three year old son named Reed.  As many of you also know, I have no prior experience raising children.  So basically, I have no clue as to what I am doing.  I try to apply natural horsemanship principles and techniques whenever possible, but as with my dogs, I am just not as disciplined with him as I am with my horses.  I find myself doing crazy things that I used to see other crazy parents do before I had Reed. Then, I thought that they were crazy.  Now I…

It's been a crazy week around here.  Havoc got his very first set of front shoes ever.  The smoke is different when it's billowing out between *your* front legs, apparently.  We have an excellent farrier, and Havoc actually mostly took it like man!  Not a damned thing when the nails went in.  I am sure may people just think that my boy came out being a solid citizen, but there was quite a bit of work that has gone into that kid.  I whacked his feet with a hoof pick since he was a baby.  He's…

Respect is a much needed component of communication. If you have ever had a conversation with someone who doesn't have any respect for you, or you may not have had much respect for them. You can compare this to a conversation you had with someone where both parties respect each other greatly and you can clearly see the point I'm trying to make. But the line for respect and disrespect is one that is not very clear.



What exactly is respect or to be…

When I first mounted a pony in Chile  57 years ago I was NEVER invited to consider the horse.  At most there was a small consideration for the horse’s mouth, but in 99.999% of the cases it was assumed that the horse had earned whatever abuse it had to suffer.  I also ran into the same assumptions in Uruguay, and in the USA when I returned to this country in 1963.  I found this assumption in riders, riding stables, instructors and trainers, both in person and from books and…

Hi There, This is my first time blogging on Barnmice. Wondering if anyone in Ontario , or in North America has had a horse suffering from mycotoxin symptoms and what supplement you used to help with them. Thanks

Not really voluntarily, I have to say, more of a scooty thing.  Alas, I was not there, I was in Montreal where I have been for three weeks.

At any rate, my trainer had another trainer out who we sometimes put on the new kids because his balance is perfect and he gives them confidence... plus, he doesn't care what they do and he sticks like glue... must be the long legs.  For Havoc, he needs to know the people that are doing things with him, so we decided Jen on the ground was more…

Beth Smith from Indian River, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and Desi, a 7 year old gray Arabian gelding, were recently crowned the 2013 Horse Agility World Champions by the International Horse Agility Club.  With 20 countries spanning 5 continents and nearly 1000 members competing in the OLHA Horse Agility competitions, Beth and Desi led the way from January to…

The winter weather is not helping my riding at all.

Wednesday morning it was raining, of course, but luckily Debbie was willing to give me my lesson on Thursday.  On Thursday morning she called me worried about the super sloppy ring and the possibility of ice, but she agreed to giving me a lesson when I told her that I was not up to much beyond the walk and that I was not physically able to do anything more ambitious than a slow sitting trot.  Then, with not…

Relax. Breath. Smile for your horse. It will make your body softer and your horse more beautiful. Smile.

Alex and I decided to make the trip across the water to see the equine extravaganza, Cavalia - Oddysseo, in Vancouver.  We walked on a morning ferry and then took a bus to the olympic village in the city.  The air in the crowd was electric as the opening act began.  The music, background screen, lighting and stage are gorgeous, but the horses put on the real show.  As the…

It is important to know where the bones are but also understand that in themselves bones cannot move. It is the action of the muscles, tendons and ligaments that create motion or action. Thus how the muscles feel - tense or relaxed, stiff, plump, dry, contracted, elastic is essential to good movement -and keeping the horse supple and straight.…

Does your horse's tail swing?



If a horse's tail gets caught between his hind legs he is not using his body properly. If the tail lays flat and listless these are clues that energy, messages and feedback from the brain to the body and back may not be traveling up and down his spine properly. If the tail is clamped down, the horse may be in…

Last week I got to ride twice.  Riding is out for this week, it is just too cold in the mornings!

Sunday the 19^th I got to ride Cider.  I just walked since I was too weak to do anything more.  I tried the same aids for the shoulder-in I used on Mia, but I just got one or two slight hints of Cider actually doing a shoulder-in.  Now Cider used to be used for eventing so she has had at least some dressage training, so it could be that she had no idea of what…

I haven't blogged all that much since my Maggie died.  It took the wind right out of me for a very long time. 

My Mr Havoc is doing just fantastically, he's such a sweet boy.  I can't believe he's 3.5yrs now.  He's about 16.2hh and now at an equine facility getting finished in his starting and learning about living inside being a working horse.  They love him there, because he has good ground manners and is a big sucky boy.  He does love people.  He adjusted well to longing in an…