Relaxed & Forward Blog

Nube: What If This Isn’t Wrong?

My first ex-husband used to tease me about my frantic love of shortcuts. I was always up early, on the...
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The Joy of Imperfection

We are sick to death of the violence against horses. It isn't just the damage caused by rollkur in reining...
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Nube’s Ulcers: What We Can’t Control and What We Can.

When Nube (nu-bay) was two and first diagnosed with ulcers, it felt rare, almost exotic. People were just learning about...
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Culture Wars in the Barn

There is a recent article in the NYT about the culture wars going on in dog training that's worth reading....
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Horse Training Means Affirmative Waiting

Humans, aren't we swell? Compared to horses, we have dim, frail senses, we're seven times slower in our response time,...
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What It Means to Love a Horse

I'm talking to a new client who contacted me for help, asking them to tell me about their horse. They...
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Famous Cruelty, Ordinary Cruelty, and an Affirmative Solution

  Another story of cruelty hit the international press last week. Operation X documented horrors happening in a well-known Danish...
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Thanksgiving: Our First Horse Was a Dog

Meet my dogs, Preacher Man, Mister, and Jack. They're in the doorway to my writing studio. It's Thanksgiving night, which...
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Euthanizing Your Horse: How to Trust Yourself

It's colder now. The leaves are gone. The wind charges at us from the north, and the temperature drops ten...
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Horse Trainers: How Do You Know Who to Believe?

It was the end of a long clinic day, and we were wrapping up. Almost done on time until this...
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We’re Not Perfect: The Great Halloween Wreck of ’23.

In my online Barnie group, we do performance art around Halloween. My horse, Bhim, along with Edgar Rice Burro, Arthur,...
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Book Launch: Say Hello to ‘Undomesticated Women’ by Anna Blake

  It's before dawn on a Friday morning and I'm in an RV park in Amarillo, Texas. I've been mud-wrestling...
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Horses and Chimpanzees, Or Why Horses Aren’t Cuddlers

  When I first moved to my farm, I pretended to be Jane Goodall. My land was a high desert...
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Horses Measuring Intelligence in Humans

It's my fault for asking for blog topics. She writes, "Can you possibly do a blog post on why your...
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Human Calming Signals: Help Your Horse to Take Your Cue

You think it's a simple task you're asking your horse to do. You use an affirmative approach, not willing to...
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Nube: How to Train a Horse to be Patient

I don't like cameras. How you can tell is my neck swells up and my double chins flare out wider...
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Human Calming Signals: Actions Louder than Words

"Anna, after reading this piece I realized that I know how to do this; just not with horses. As a...
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Focus is Active Listening. Horses Do It Naturally.

I had a friend who used to write me little vignettes about the antics of her and her horse at...
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