Calming Signals: Thoughts About Spooking at Nothing
There are two kinds of spooking. This is the first: It was midmorning on the ranch, and we were riding...
Horses Are Like Bad Boyfriends (Or Why the Wrong Answer Might Be Better)
Horses are like bad boyfriends because they only want to talk about themselves. Wait, let me explain. First of all,...
Bit Contradictions: A Confused Conversation
"Slower, please." "Here we go." "Don't bang..." "Almost ready." "... my teeth." "Good..." "Not good." "Stand." "Let go." "Back up."...
Is Your Horse Mentally Exhausted?
No other animal is quite like a horse; never fully wild and never quite domesticated. Engaged with us but never...
There Will Be No Faith Healings Today
We've all seen it. Someone holding a lead rope and hyper-stimulating a young horse with a stick until he...
On The Road for Horses: Adventure, Drama, Dog Hair.
Aftermarket radar. I hope you didn't worry I'd get lost. I installed radar and didn't...
Our Horses, Ourselves: Simple Steps to Having More Confidence
Want to do a kindness for your horse? Perhaps show your affection in a "love language" that suits horses? Did...
The Failure of Good Intentions
There was a time that I thought if I saw my horse curled to one side, itching his flank, I...
How to Focus Simply.
I had just finished a lesson when another woman I knew at the barn came up to me with a...
Affirmative Training: Navigating the Nebulous.
"I have a three-step process guaranteed to transform your horse into your perfect partner and it only costs ten thousand...
Why “Ride ’em Through It” Is a Bad Idea
"Sure, your horse is tossing his head and wringing his tail, but you push him on. More leg. Ride 'em...
A Training Question About Hurrying Horses …and a Grass Fire
I see people in the grocery store thoughtfully reading labels and pondering choices. The Dude Rancher and I look like...
“Why is Everything With Horses So Hard?”
"Can Competition Horses be Trained Affirmatively?" she asked. I know why she asks. This rider has been trained to think...
The Simple Truth About Complicated Training
It was back around the time the light bulb was invented. My Grandfather Horse was a lanky spooky colt, I...
Affirmative Training: Response Time and a Hail Mary Pass
My client and I were having an online meeting. We'd been working on a systematic process of getting her and...
Being the Railbird: Anniversary Edition
Beware: Colorado Prairie Railbirds, guaranteed to spook more people more than horses. A reader gave me...
Does it Feel Like Everyone is Watching You?
It's you and your horse. Sometimes people looking at him think he isn't much but that's because they don't know...
Training Your Horse: Spring Fever and Fluid Goals
Ants in your pants. It was a childhood affliction constantly mentioned by adults when we couldn't sit still in church...
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