I assume your horse respects your space; that on the ground he stands a couple of feet away, relaxed and cool. He doesn’t shove his way through gates ahead of you, or jerk the lead rope out of your hands, or perform police-like…
I assume your horse respects your space; that on the ground he stands a couple of feet away, relaxed and cool. He doesn’t shove his way through gates ahead of you, or jerk the lead rope out of your hands, or perform police-like…
Added by Anna Blake on June 5, 2015 at 9:28am — No Comments
Have you noticed that horses are incredibly quicker than we are? I’m going to tell you the good news about that, but it’s going to take a while to get there.
Horses have the fastest response time of any common domestic animal. Yes, they measure these things, and horses are quickest to perceive and respond to stimuli–partly because they are…
Added by Anna Blake on February 13, 2015 at 9:51am — No Comments
We see things differently than horses. And like usual, I think we should try to be more like them.
To start, one of the easy ways to tell if a mammal is predator or prey is eye position. Predators, like us humans, have our eyes close together, aiding our depth perception and…
Added by Anna Blake on January 23, 2015 at 8:50am — 2 Comments
It might be the word I say more often than any other during a lesson. I know it’s the cue that does the most good. It’s certainly the cue that’s the most natural:
Breathe.
Alas, it’s also the cue most under-rated. I see riders disregard the suggestion immediately.…
Added by Anna Blake on September 5, 2014 at 9:27am — 2 Comments
This Halloween was the 14th anniversary of moving here to Infinity Farm. In the beginning I called it the Howlin’ Cowgirl Rancho. Old friends still like that name better. And the first few years, I did a whole lot of howling at the sky. Moving here was a strategic retreat, a witness protection sort of escape, from a life that was falling apart…
Added by Anna Blake on November 1, 2013 at 8:00am — 2 Comments
“You know what your problem is? You’re too sensitive.” Ouch. Have you heard this? It feels like being accused of throwing like a girl.
It’s dismissive. This definition of sensitive means I’m not dependable, that I’m an emotional liability. When I was younger, hearing this would make me defensive. My mind ran like a rat on a wheel, I choked on my tongue and my heart rate jumped. I appeared… well… too sensitive.…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on February 24, 2012 at 8:33am — 3 Comments
Henk writes:
The stall next to me wasn’t empty for long. A day or two after the Spanish horses left for their new home in Nova Scotia (see November 9th post), Louis, our Canadian horse, appeared next door. He likes to live outside in the big pasture, so I hadn’t seen him for a while. He was looking exceptionally grumpy.
“Merde,” I heard him curse under his breath. He was avoiding me, trying to get to the far side of his stall, but every time he put his…
ContinueAdded by Lillian Tepera on January 18, 2012 at 5:56pm — No Comments
This is the time of year holiday greetings include Peace on Earth. We need it- there is so much conflict in the world…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on December 30, 2011 at 8:34am — No Comments
Infinity Farm is not located in the Holy Land, but we are a stable.
This isn’t really a manger. It’s a banana yellow pull-wagon.
And this isn’t Baby Jesus. It’s Hannah- she helps me with…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on December 23, 2011 at 8:24am — 1 Comment
It starts innocently. Maybe when you were little, your dad watched John Wayne movies like mine did. We fell in love with a column of cavalry horses (instead of their riders.) We loved those horses until the cavalry met a band of Indians- Indian horses were always better. Or it may have been a movie like My Friend…
Added by Anna Blake on October 28, 2011 at 8:00am — 1 Comment
I was learned this fact years ago riding with a group of friends at a barn party. The sound system was cranked up and Bobby McFerrins’Don’t Worry was playing. I am sure…
Added by Anna Blake on October 14, 2011 at 8:00am — 1 Comment
The equestrian world can seem kind of bi-polar. Some of us ride like headless (brainless) horsemen with little consciousness for our horse or surroundings. Some of us are such control freaks that we slow every walk stride and micro-manage our horse’s nose into being afraid to take a breath. Most of us are working towards a middle ground.
Dressage seems to attract riders who like…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on September 16, 2011 at 8:12am — No Comments
Henk the Friesian horse writes:
OnTRA (the Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association) is asking its member centres to nominate outstanding riders, volunteers, and of course HORSES for special recognition. So naturally I expected Lil to nominate me. You don't get much more outstanding, after all. With my tall, dark and handsome looks, my charming personality, my aristocratic breeding... It should be a no-brainer.
But for some reason she thinks that working only a handful…
ContinueAdded by Lillian Tepera on September 7, 2011 at 10:54am — No Comments
Allergies & Skin Health
An allergy is an exaggerated response from the immune system to a substance in the environment, called an allergen. Although horses can become allergic to things they eat, inhale, or touch, insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH or "sweet itch") is…
Added by SmartPak Equine on August 25, 2011 at 12:00pm — No Comments
Henk writes:
It's show season! For us, that means getting our manes french-braided and doing everything from dressage tests to trail classes to leading patterns, all the while being filmed on video. The videos are then uploaded to Para-Equestrian Canada where our riders compete on video against riders from across the country, all of them with some kind of disability.
What a cool idea. We horses get to show off to people we've never even met, and the riders love it,…
ContinueAdded by Lillian Tepera on August 24, 2011 at 1:39pm — 1 Comment
There were a few dark years (between leaving home and having enough income to support a horse) that I was earthbound with only house pets. I survived it. Barely.
During that horse-less time, a box arrived. It was a surprise parrot -from a friend in Panama. I’m not saying it was a great idea to catch a bird and ship her, I’m just saying that she…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on July 29, 2011 at 8:17am — No Comments
Henk writes:
It's impossible to overstate the importance of a well-trained human to the happiness of a horse's life. As with anything, you can cut corners and start with an untrained human -- or even try to reform a spoiled one -- but unless you're an expert, it's a risky thing to do.
Cry if you want, but you'll learn to sit that…
ContinueAdded by Lillian Tepera on July 22, 2011 at 2:30pm — No Comments
Henk writes:
I've been working in therapeutic riding lessons for the past couple of weeks because Sunny, the tiny Standardbred with the delicate physique has hurt himself again. His owner (who lends him to my human, Lil, for lessons), calls it Recurring Sunny Summer Lameness (RSSL), because he likes to maim himself each summer and spend at…
ContinueAdded by Lillian Tepera on June 30, 2011 at 2:00pm — No Comments
“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
The first time I saw this quote it was on a…
ContinueAdded by Anna Blake on April 8, 2011 at 8:18am — 1 Comment
My wonderful son asked me last week what I wanted for Christmas, muttering that it was probably too late to order on-line to get something by Christmas. I went to the wonderful book site (amazon) and found that I could get any amount of horsie books by Christmas, and I asked for "Riding and Schooling Horses" by Harry D. Chamberlin, the Captain of the US Cavalry teams for international competition so long ago. This book,…
Added by Jackie Cochran on December 26, 2010 at 1:00pm — 8 Comments
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