Spring Fever, Bad Behavior, or Flight Response?
It's February on the high prairie at the fringe of the Rocky Mountains. The pond is still frozen so there...
Can Horses Forgive Us?
The reader said that an essay I'd written "brought to mind how many times my involuntary predatory instincts have surfaced...
A Short List of Things Horses Do Need Us to Teach Them.
For all our love for horses, humans are still predators. We don't like to hear that. We're defensive; we've seen...
A Short List of Things Horses Don’t Need Us to Teach Them.
If Edgar Rice Burro were to title this Bev Doolittle-like photo, he might call it Beauty and the Beast. He...
Contact: Wait Too Late… Then Panic
Dear Fellow Primates: It is our instinct to grab. It is our instinct to talk in imitation-semaphore with our...
Calming Signals: “But My Mare Likes This Bit”
I arrived at the clinic grounds Friday afternoon so I could meet the organizers and check out the facility. They'd...
The Word Inside an Exhale: EASE
It's January first. The calendar has flipped over and I'm happy with the new numbers. New Year's is an excellent...
Living the Question
"Why can't my horse behave for the farrier?" Sarah isn't the only one who asks this question. Picking up feet...
The Solitary Journey to the Heart of One Horse
I listened to a podcast interview with Jane Goodall this week. She is my personal superhero, and I will never...
Calming Signals and Whiskers
I always thought of grooming as part of the warm-up for the ride. It's the price paid up front, a...
Altering Time to Benefit Your Horse
You have a plan for your horse and an expectation of how it will go, but it's taking way too...
Who’s Risk-Averse?
This week a stranger asked for my prayers. She posted a photo of an incredibly young girl with a crushed...
Human Calming Signals: Authenticity
Some people are just so effortlessly magic with horses. They seem to do nothing, but horses hang on their every...
COVID-19 with Horses: How Are We Doing?
If horse people know one thing, it's that it's never just one thing. Having horses also means we partner with...
Real-Time Communication: The Land of What-If
My horse always pulls his head away. My horse never wants to go first on the trail. My horse always...
Horse Woman, Our Narrative
Drawing by Rebecca Howard I usually write a gray mare rant annually on my birthday. I'm...
A List of Inedible Treats for Your Horse
It's funny how something someone says can turn over in your mind for years after. I had a visitor, and...
Do You Need Riding Lessons?
It was a conversation about riding lessons. My friend said she thought it was strange that I'd worked so extensively...
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