This Summer Starts off Hot and Muggy

We are not getting a break from these conditions, the lows are in the mid-upper 70'sF and when the sun rises it rapidly gets worse. I am so very grateful that the ladies I ride with are OK with me starting at 8:00 AM, the humidity is high but at least the sun has yet to heat the ground up.…

Working on My Riding Muscles at Home

This week I could not ride at Debbie's because she had her first summer riding camp. I could have ridden after the kids went home, but with highs above 90°F this was not possible for me (oh I miss the days when I could ride in the 90's!) Thinking back to past summers I remembered…

Working on Tiny Details

This was a good week, I got to ride all three horses.

It has gotten into meteorological summer down here. Shannon now picks me up at 8:00 AM in an attempt to spare me (and her horse) the icky sweaty super humid weather that gets the sweat pouring down into my eyes. I am still riding at 9:00 AM at…

I love this thought from Clinician, Chris Sorensen at the recent EC Convention (Can. Equestrian Team) “One of the most amazing things that you learn as you train with top people around the world is that almost all of them practice basics every day. We all think that these famous riders are going to teach us magical tricks that are eluding us, but the fact of the…

As I Become Stronger

In one way the last two weeks have been frustrating, the horses are STILL NQR. Debbie has me ride Bingo while he wears his BOT exercise boots, then after the ride she applies DMSO and wraps his leg, all in the hopes that his new wind puff improves. I mostly walked with him, and when Debbie asked me to trot him so she could check and see if his croup was even, I stayed up in…

On the benefits of installing lateral “buttons “ on competitive horses, while “jumping as little as possible.”

“I do lots of flat work. A work a lot of poles on the ground to replicate the same kind of training that’s required for the course, but over a rail on the ground instead of having a jumping effort. It just minimizes the impact on the horse. I have a…

When you really think about it, whipping an animal is cruel. Yet many horse riding methods and those which proclaim themselves to practice 'natural horsemanship' whip horses and use whips in all of their routines. It is surprising when we consider that horses are adored for their intelligence, memories, beauty and sensitivity. Why would anyone teach to whip and cause pain to such an extraordinary animal?

True Natural Horsemanship has done away with the whip and instruments of pain…