This article by SmartPak got me thinking about ways to safeguard my horse's gut, especially this statistic: "An astonishing 60% of performance horses suffer from gastric ulcers."

What types of steps does everyone take to guard against ulcers, colic and general stomach upset?

In their natural state, horses are constantly grazing and their digestive system is continuously processing forage, breaking it down into nutrients that are then…

Way back when I was about 16, we had an night at the manège that is etched in my memory.

It was a "perfect" moment.

But it didn't start that way, it started out as a very, very imperfect evening. Mssr. Godot wanted us to passage and the horses just wouldn't. They leaned on the bits too much, some were too fast, others didn't passage so much as fade to a walk from lack of energy. And he sat in his booth overlooking the arena, calling out "Tempo! Tempo! Non, non, non!…

Sending out a BIG Thank You to Barbara F of Barnmice for sending my 14 yr old son Tyler and I off to Cavalia Odysseo with the winning…

On this Memorial Day weekend I find myself in distress because what our veterans have fought and died for is being destroyed from within. So I wrote a small piece from my perspective regarding the destruction of the country our Veterans have fought for.

‘America Succumbs Through Implosion’

Destroyed by the Undermining of Fundamental Cultural Ethics E. A. Buck  May…

As Mia trains my hands to her satisfaction I keep finding myself going back to Piero Santini’s discussion on hands in his books, “Riding Reflections” (1933), and “Learning to Ride” (1941).  Santini was a student of Caprilli’s, and his books were the first ones in English explaining the Forward Seat, back then the new system of riding.  In an earlier blog, “Another Blast From the Past--Caprilli on Contact“, (…

This is pretty close to my heart right now. With most of Northern Ontario under fire, many people face the chances of evacuation, and not many are prepared. I am absolutely dumbfounded by the amount of people who are not prepared for situations where your pets need to be evacuated, or that there is some form of contingincy plan. 

I am going to give some basic information on what you need to do to be ready :)

First and foremost, since this is a horse forum, I'll start…

  This is one of the best five minute reads! Game Changer, for sure. Cathy Rivers does it again!

  Re-posted from http://www.bighorsedreams.com/2012/05/2-ingredients-to-help-you-achieve-your-potential/

 …

Starry and My Niece

My boyfriend, Kevin, was helping my brother pick up my older niece from college.  That left me with Starry and no one to help with my barn chores.  My younger niece enthusiastically agreed to come out and take Starry on a ride and do the watering when we were done.

 …

This is such a good idea.

SmartPak is visiting different barns to profile horse rider connections.

As riders, we know there’s a special connection between us and our horses that’s hard to put into words, but this bond is so strong that even non-riders can sense it. In an effort to better understand this relationship, our staff Photographer, Kristi (one of the few non-riders at SmartPak), will be visiting a different SmartPaker’s barn each month to…

In case your horse is going blind in one-eye or needs to have it removed due to illness and you're not sure how to move forward.  Before you decide to either put them out to pasture or put them down please consider Norman's story.…

Update on Evening Rides

Remember Cole Train—the horse who became a handful on evening rides?  Well, things have improved immensely.  All I had to do was just keep riding him on the trail in the evening.  Our schedule has us out three nights a week.  Each ride, he gets better.  He has improved so much that I keep forgetting he used to be a problem.…

Posted on Facebook in 'Dressage Schooling Discussions'

I have had the pleasure of working with Allan Buck and two of his horses, both of which are being trained in classical dressage while also being used in a therapeutic riding…

   Had the opportunity to experience the process of Inner Nature Design...amazing...Cathy (Rivers) did my design....she's now offering the process to the equine community! It was definitely the missing piece for me...so I want to share and re-post this from her blog!  Also, she's doing a free 30-minute Discover Session if anyone's interested...it's so worth it!

 …

Equine Therapy: Unplugged

More people than ever before are “connected”. Smart phones, Ipads, laptops and video games seem the norm when forced to wait for any these days, even if the wait is only 3 minutes. Additionally, these connection devices have easily infested almost every area of our lives and people -- so much so that to ask someone to put down the phone, shut off the computer or ipad, or disconnect the earbuds from their ears is like…

I finally found and got something I have spent decades looking for, a leather fringe brow band.  I was drooling over the Smith Worthington sole-leather treed jumping saddles and started looking at the bridle gear on their web site when I found it!  Luckily my tack store has a relationship with Smith Worthington so I was able to order one.  This week I have introduced all three of the horses I ride to this new piece of gear.  I am happy, happy, happy.  I had sort of made one…

  Cathy River's latest blog re-post from http://www.bighorsedeams.com. Love this!

This past week I have been introducing my 2 year old filly to the bit. First two times, no problem. She was willing to put it in her mouth and she chewed and fussed on the rubber snaffle. Then came bit attempt #3 and out came the “You Can’t Make Me!” For little Peg, she decided there was nothing in it…

Love this post by Cathy Rivers!

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What would it be like for you to live as fully in the moment as your horse? Would living in horse time bring you more success? More happiness? More brilliance?

While horses live primarily in the present moment, humans spend the majority of their time in either the past or the future. For example: You might be worrying about how you and your horse are going to do at your next horse show…