If my horses could see the big picture, they’d still say my job is hay. They have not read one of these blogs over the last dozen years or attended any of my clinics. They don’t care about how I brilliantly jabber on. It’s the hay. Boarded or at home, that’s what your horses care … Read more
Yes. I’ve been writing in support of helmet use since the start. I expect I’ll go on haranguing about helmets as long as I continue to see photos of tiny kids standing on the backs of horses with no adults in the frame. And toddlers perched on fenceposts surrounded by horses who are a bit … Read more
This week was ordinary in the horse world. We love horses, who have the quickest response time of any domestic animal. We love horses, who are prey animals with senses much more acute than ours and an instinct to spook, or bolt and run when frightened or alarmed. There were no freak accidents this week, … Read more
You’re standing in a tennis court just behind the baseline, being mildly uncomfortable in your tennis togs because the glare off your legs, like any good horsewoman’s, is near blinding. Right about then, a bullet whizzes by your ear. You know it was a tennis ball, point to the server. Taking a few strides … Read more
Audio Blog Helmets and Freedom
Defending common sense. Again.
The increased danger of riding horses without a helmet is as undeniable as gravity.
Humans. We’re supposed to be the smart ones.
I almost got in a bar fight a few months back. I would feel better about this whole episode if I was sorry. The problem is that I’m not sorry.
Tomorrow is International Helmet Awareness Day. I usually mark the day by writing about horses and helmets. Every year I read greater numbers of moving testimonials about lives saved, written by grateful survivors who live to ride another day. Courtney King-Dye is more inspirational than ever. Cute photos of kids in helmets are common. Helmet … Read more
This week there was a photo of Queen Elizabeth riding at age 85. Bless her heart; she has always been a lover of horses. She was wearing her usual outdoor head wear- a scarf. There was some internet banter about the missing helmet. I notice her family members wearing helmets for polo; perhaps she falls … Read more
A friend of mine volunteered at a nursing home. One of the patients there was always talking about riding and my friend thought that maybe I could come along and talk horses with her. That was what I knew when I entered her room.
What are you afraid of? Maybe this question. Take a breath and check your shoulders. Are they down where they belong? Move your jaw and tilt your head. Walk an arc. It’s OK, give yourself any calming signal you want. It’s how horses and humans self-soothe and return to the present. Now, can we have … Read more
“Want to go on a trail ride with me? The last time I was out, my friend’s horse slid into a ravine and broke her wrist. Bring a helmet, okay? Have you checked your girth lately? They wear out and mine is frayed but it’s fine. I know three horses who have died by lightning … Read more
How many times a week do I tell a client some version of “When we know better, we do better”? It’s a Maya Angelou quote, we all know it. It has no big words, we understand it. And yet we cling to the past. We smear shame, guilt, and remorse all over ourselves as if … Read more
Gray Mare memories: It was one of the first clinics I ever attended. The clinician was famous; I signed up for three fifty-minute lessons that came to more than I paid for my horse. It was a huge amount of money to me. The night before the clinic was to start, we all went to … Read more
Do you ever go to the barn and pretend to be a cowboy? You’d wear the shirt that matched your saddle pad and put on a Hell Hat. You’d take a deep seat and a faraway look, you’d make out over the land for the herd, whether you have one or not. Horses can like … Read more
Horses are like bad boyfriends because they only want to talk about themselves. Wait, let me explain. First of all, it isn’t a pejorative term. I’ve had enough bad boyfriends to know that I prefer them, for many of the same reasons I like bad dogs. Sure, we have to give up having “relationship talks” … Read more