Anna Blake The foal’s name was Sunny, his registered name Sunbrite Sunset. This photo was taken just before we met. The rest is history. Our history. Disclaimer: I’m not talking about death this time, but something much worse: technology. If you are just going to dismiss what I’m about to say because you think you are that … Read more
May I brag? I have that strange career where I travel a lot, see beautiful country as a routine part of my work. I never underestimate the importance of the land when working with horses. Horses depend on their local environment and so do we. The farm girl inside can’t look away, whether it’s the … Read more
And so, Nube [pronounced new-bay] retired in limbo. Undiagnosable. Sometimes, the solution for a long-running struggle is to just stop the fight. No answer is an answer. Let it go because peace was better than the ugly struggle of focusing on what was wrong. Let the anxiety of multiple vet visits stop and the desperate … Read more
For as often as we’ve watched horses run and thought them the most beautiful of all creatures, we should know better. For as often as we have pretended to be horses, you’d think we’d be honest. For as often as we’ve sat in the saddle with a dream and a wide open heart, you think … Read more
I have a herd of relatively normal retired horses. And then this gang of raconteurs, misanthropes, and dangerous characters, referred to as The Spots. If I’m feeling affectionate, they are The Deplorables because those who take such pride in breaking the rules deserve a term of endearment. Excuse my arrogance. I don’t even know the … Read more
A four-year-old video surfaced this week and a dressage rider deeply apologized for the overuse of a whip. She will not be in the Olympics. There’s blood in the water. In lesser news, I was at the county fair watching 4-H kids showing miniature horses. Each child had a death grip on their halters and … Read more
I am not a bliss-ninny. Loitering in denial doesn’t work for me. I’m a blunt truth-teller who doesn’t enjoy being dominated by my emotions. Or anything else, for that matter. I’m looking for an equal partner. My training approach is one word: yes. That’s because I care about one thing: horses. Could it be that … Read more
The mare would not pick up the canter. She just wouldn’t. In her defense, the rider was off balance. Every time the rider prepared for the canter, she’d launched herself forward a little out of the saddle. Almost like pumping on a swing, and the horse would slow down. I’m pretty sure the mare thought … Read more
It’s officially mucking-in-a-muumuu weather here at Infinity Farm. The horses all stand in the barn’s shade and watch me fling their manure into buckets. It’s the Fourth of July and I can’t even have fun complaining about the heat when it’s so much worse elsewhere. Like all the black horses in Texas, for instance. Still, … Read more
Dogs. We rescue them, buy them, inherit them. They are irrepressible puppies, midlife couch-partners or milky-eyed elders with wonky ears. They come from puppy mills, rescues, or impeccable breeders. No matter, once the dog is ours, they immediately become the smartest dog, the cutest dog, the most loyal dog. Every single one of them is … Read more