Cold rain.  Cold wind. 

Last Sunday it was a cold rain, so I missed out on riding Cider.

Luckily I got my lesson on Wednesday.  The low that night had been 21° F but when I got up the TV said 25° F so I went out to ride.  I had gotten Mick an extra exercise sheet, this time a Centaur Climate Control Thermo Knit Cut-back Exercise sheet.  Mick takes a 72” blanket so I had to get the horse sized one which is…

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” Winston Churchill was certainly right, and some times of the year, more than others. I notice the holiday season has a lot of us wound up just a little tighter.

Is your horse a therapy horse? All of mine are, especially the retired ones. Sometimes…

There’s something about horses that can bring out a fierce inner dragon in us. We can get extremely frustrated while interacting with our horses. Maybe it’s because they are big and intelligent. Perhaps it’s their spirit or expansive energy. Whatever it is, we can snap!

How can you tame yourself and prevent that Yosemite Sam outburst?

I can remember schooling my…

Hi,

My name is Tanja and I currently working on my personal spare time project, my very first own blog. I like to scan through articles and other blog posts, gather ideas and combine them with my experiences, pictures and videos and share them via my blog. Some entries are also about my own horse Hafl aka TCA2 Andor, a 6-yr old Haflinger gelding. We are from Austria but keep our blog in English to serve a broader audience. Please find below the link to my blog and we would…

One of the trainers I rode with always said that being a good rider is 90% confidence. I'm sure that training, talent, and dedication comes into play also. Yet, I believe that confidence is the most important due to the fact that the other three attributes can be masked by a lack of it. A rider can't completely relax and focus if they are self-conscious and/or scared.



I still struggle with my confidence every time I ride. In fact, it gets worse as I get older. It's not even…

Love Your Pony, Love Your Planet is a delightful, engaging way to help the youngest equestrian learn the BEST methods for the ultimate health of their pony and our planet. These BEST methods are depicted on 64 pages using full color photos of actual children and their ponies. The added…

My horse loves these.

I spent part of my night baking  to give as gifts to the various equine-owning people in my life. They came out well, I think. I guess I won't know for sure until they get horse-tested, though. ;) I'm hoping they go over well with the furry beasts, as the  was a nice, easy…

My sympathies for all of you in the winter storm.   

I actually rode FOUR times this week!  Yes, I am exhausted, but we are due to get the winter storm  by this weekend, snow and ice are going to try to make it down here on Sunday, Monday it will rain and next week it will be cold again.  My son’s schedule changed so I grabbed the chance to ride today since I obviously will be huddling at home this weekend instead of enjoying horses.

Last Sunday Cider was glad…

Timid horses are the introverts at the party. They aren't usually the first horses to come up and say, "Hello!" but they can make for lovely personalities to befriend. They are naturally super light and responsive to signals and this can make them great fun to play with. Playing with a timid horse is our chance to observe subtle body language and energy manipulation in…

Why do horses do what they do and people do what they do? And why does the show ring seem to magnify those emotions and reactions? Brainfreezes, butterflies and blow-ups…all part of the competitive experience.



When we, as riders, understanding the science of how horses view their world, it helps to nip mishaps in the bud. As a prey animal…

Somehow the seasons have already run through from spring to summer to autumn, and now winter is just around the corner. It has crept up on us more quickly than it seems possible - Christmas is suddenly the next big celebration on the calendar! As a horse rider this means it is high time to get prepared for the coldest season as it is important to take extra care at this time of year.

Follow some of the hints and tips listed below so you can be sure that you are ready to deal with the…

It is official, Cider and Mick LIKE having warm butts!

Last Sunday it was cold with a stiff breeze so I was glad I could introduce Cider to the Rambo Competition Sheet exercise rug.  After Shannon groomed her I put it on and off her back and croup a few times and made sure to open and close the Velcro that holds it together at the withers.  Long ago Cider had been evented so she probably was familiar with blankets though she had not seen one in years.  Shannon saddled…

I am 28 years old and have been working with Thoroughbred race horses since my college years. I have had a hand in nearly every aspect of the Thoroughbred industry, from breaking yearlings at Juddmonte Farms in Lexington, KY to working with mares and foals, to exercising flat horses as well as steeplechase horses, and working with horses in rehab.  In 2010, I found After the Races, a 501(c)3 that rehabilitates and rehomes Thoroughbred race horses while promoting the usefulness and…

We all want success and we want it now.  We've been taught to "reach for the stars" and set big goals.  As a result, sometimes we expect so much of ourselves and our horses that we are rarely happy with our results.

If you've ever said (even to yourself),

"I should be better than this!"

Then you end up feeling like a failure because that "I should be" is really a disguise for that self-defeating old mantra that whispers quietly  "I'm not good…

For the past 3-4 years I've been in and out of the saddle, here and there for a trail ride on vacation or helping a friend out.

There's been a feeling missing from my life I've finally realized. Training, competing and just being around horses is such an amazing feeling and I miss it, a lot.

So on a visit back home to Montreal I stopped in to see my trainer and all…

We are on a temperature roller coaster down here in North Carolina.  It is around 75° F today, but on Monday morning they are predicting a low of 19° F, if not lower.

Last Monday, when I rode Mia, it was warm, so warm I put on my technical fabric cool riding shirt, and by the end of my ride I was wishing I’d put on my ice-fill sleeves too since I was sweating.  Two days later when I got to the stables for my…

Horses are hungry. The only time a horse is not hungry is when he is on his death bed or very stressed (unless he's a stress eater like me...then hide the chocolate! er... grass). Horses will choose to sleep or play at times, but if you walk up and ask (with a big bucket of treats) while they are sleeping or playing, "Are you hungry?", you won't usually be…