26. Why We Love Them
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Anna Blake
25. Autumn and Indoor Sports
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Photo & Poem: Flight
So still the herd, taking rest with soft flank to muscled shoulder, as the light shifts cooler. One nose lifts to the scent of rain coming on the breeze, the slow boil of clouds forming dark to thunder. Beyond the tree line, a slow crush of fir needles, padded footfalls and hushed birdsong. You cannot feel the … Read more
Calming Signals and Preacher Man: Still “Reactive” After All These Years
Bear with me, please. I miss my dogs, one in particular. I’m in Dunedin, and he’s 12,620 km away. It sounds even farther in Newzealandish, doesn’t it? It’s National Pet Day back home, I know he is keeping an eye on the door. The Dude Rancher takes good and kind care of the dogs while I’m … Read more
Photo & Poem: Horse Trailer Conversation
Horse Trailer Conversation She takes me from the herd, pulling me to the box. Her hand is thick, there is no air in her feet. I want to run, fast and far, instead dragging my hooves, looking away. No, stand and fight, she says with dread in her spine. Standing next to the box makes … Read more
Behavioral Euthanasia of Horses
“Anna, do you have any articles that touch on behavioral euthanasia?” It’s from a question about a rescue horse in trouble. Initially, things went well enough but now there is unusual pasture activity, unprovoked aggression toward other horses, and the issues continue to escalate. A horrible fit of extreme bucking resulted in the rider … Read more
Photo & Poem: Wild and Tame
You’ve landed in a place you don’t belong, the cat let me know, as she howled at you on the wrong side of the window sill, trees and sky just a transparent wall away. A big squawk for a small feathered thing. I excused the cat so we could be alone. Turning your dark … Read more
Can a Horse Try Too Hard?
It was the first day of a Calming Signals clinic. I was talking to a group of people about leading from behind and my demo horse stood at the end of my rope, a gelding as bright as a penny. It felt like he was familiar to the people watching and they wanted to see … Read more
Photo & Poem: Known
Across the long diagonal to the west corner of the dry lot, he’s on the far side of the herd, barely moving as he shifts weight from one hoof to the other, his neck stretched long, muzzle to the sandy ground. He pretends to eat what’s not there, so he can watch me softly. He … Read more
The Horse Trainer and the Dermatologist.
My gray mare calming signals included squinty eyes, a dry mouth, and a weird chicken-like movement with my neck and head. Every now and then one of my naked feet would kick out. Breathing? Not noticeably. If there is a medical visit I like even less than a mammogram, it’s going to the dermatologist. I … Read more