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…

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…

In the last blog post I introduced you to Alex and her lovely three year old filly, Kalipso.  Within days of starting Kali under saddle, Alex was out riding safely on the trail.  If your baby has a good start they can be safely and successfully introduced to the wonders of the world early on.

Last week I watched Kali wander past a bed frame on the side of the road,…

He didn't refuse to go over an obstacle once yesterday. Most significantly, he went over a new jump of his own accord.

They weren't big jumps, about a meter high, no more, but he went right over them with only one slight hesitation.

I suppose most riders might not find this particularly outstanding, but two years ago it was a life-and-death argument to get over a simple trot-pole. He would explode over it and follow it up with a wild-west show. The arena has a couple of…

Last week Alex had her first ride on her three year old filly, Kalipso. Yesterday they went for their first trail ride down the trans Canada trail! Kali was calm and easy to handle every time. Her first rides have been completely solid and stress free. With any green horse you want them calm, but Kali is over 16 hands and as a big baby, it's vital that the situation is safe…

Sound the trumpets! We have a new horse at the farm and he's quite a character. He likes to lick people like a dog and is very fond of people in general. Indy is a joy to interact with. My property is perimeter fenced and when it's time to bring the horses in off my pastures, I just open the gate and they all run to their separate grain eating areas. The first day I called…

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? Brain freezes, butterflies and blow-ups…all part of the completive 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 a horse feels…

Think of riding as a conversation.

The first challenge is that we don’t all speak English. And it isn’t only the horse I’m referring to. Humans use language, but we define words differently, and sometimes, we may not be perfectly honest, even with ourselves. (I know, hard to believe.) We might say yes when we mean no. Insecurity might create a mood swing…

Humans show pain through facial expressions which have been coded and used to assess the discomfort of patients who cannot communicate their suffering in other ways, such as babies.

Scientist have done the same for laboratory animal (for example the “Mouse Grimace” scale).

And now the Horse Grimace Scale has been…

You hit a roadblock at a horse show and, because youre a thinking rider, you don’t jump to the “he’s just being a jerk” or “his saddle doesn’t fit” or “she must be in heat” conclusion, with a sigh and a wave of your hand. You look deeper. A common thread. Go through your mental files of personal experience, and the proven facts about horse physiology and behaviour…

Sometimes, you just have to.....

Pause......

One of the toughest lessons

in great horsemanship is to just....

simply.....

pause.

Every great horsemanship professional uses The Pause in training.

Western horsemanship trainers call it "soaking", my mentor called it "taking a break". Whatever you want to call it, it's all about…

I’ve let loose a few decent rants about groundwork lately. I should apologize about the goose-shrill tone in my voice, but I’m not sorry for the sentiment. Groundwork is so crucial to good horsemanship and too many of us tolerate bad ground manners, in our horses and in ourselves.

It’s our fault. We’re always busy, always late, always distracted. We have a slam-bam-thank-you-‘Mam approach: Grab them, toss the halter on, pull them out of…