Anna Blake She is a woman of a certain age. A retired wildlife biologist who wears Crocs when weather permits, and muck boots the rest of the time. She’s living her dream, a farm filled with rescue horses and dogs. She’s one of us. I think she’s taken every course I teach, and I’ve been to her … Read more
I can’t remember my age when I first saw Dogs Playing Poker, the famous painting by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. It portrays dogs smoking cigars and playing cards. I didn’t see the original, of course, but a copy painted on velvet. It still offended my little girl’s sensibilities. I didn’t think dogs should smoke. Or maybe … Read more
It’s Corgi tufting season. I gather enough hair in my mouth to build a bird’s nest hourly. It’s effortless, but when I groom Mister, he acts like I jerked each hair out by the roots with a rusty tweezer. He’s right. I had longer hair before I was in school and made similar sounds when … Read more
It’s the week between Christmas and New Years. And call it a holiday tradition, but I have no idea what day it is or even what year it is. I’m old enough that it feels like a year lasts about twenty minutes, but this year was the meanest twenty minutes ever. Looking back, it feels … Read more
Do you ever just stop in your tracks, look at your (insert your choice: horse, dog, child) and go blank? It’s like the music stopped halfway through the dance. It’s so quiet you could hear a clock ticking. You’re not sure what you were doing, but you have a feeling it was important. Of course, … Read more
In fifth grade, they pulled us out of class for hearing tests. They clamped skinny black headphones on us and told us to raise our hands when we heard sounds. Then I sat there waiting to hear for a long time. Long enough that I knew I wasn’t hearing. And I wasn’t the kid who … Read more
I feel it in my bones like a rusty joint before a rainstorm. An itch that flopping around in a dirt bath might not cure. Alas, I feel a rant coming on. Sometimes I just need to vent a little so that I’m fit company for horses again. You may notice I’m not apologizing. A friend … Read more
Over the river and through the woods, To grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through white and drifted snow… It was a Thanksgiving song we learned in grade school. Do you remember? I knew, from the moment I saw my farm, that they wrote that song about … Read more
Happy Thanksgiving from Infinity Farm and The Gray Mare Podcast. … Relaxed and Forward Training by Anna Blake is no longer on Facebook because of repeated hacking. If you or your horse appreciate my writing, please share, subscribe to this blog, or join me at The Barn School. The Barn School, is a social and … Read more
I was taking the trash out to the dumpster in the alley. As I reached the back gate, I saw something moving frantically. I couldn’t make it out. It was pink and black and flapping about in a dusty pothole. It was the kind of thing you aren’t sure you should walk toward. Then it … Read more