Relaxed & Forward Blog

Interior Design: Do It for Your Horse

Imagine your brain is a room. Stand in the middle and slowly turn to take it in. Would it be...
Read More about Interior Design: Do It for Your Horse

Resolutions and Horse Dreams

It's the twilight zone between holidays, meandering like a long, slow-motion hangover. I have no idea what day it is...
Read More about Resolutions and Horse Dreams

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,...
Read More about Horse Training Means Affirmative Waiting

Balancing Energy with a Horse

Is your horse lazy? Lazy is a name we call horses when we want to denigrate them by comparing them...
Read More about Balancing Energy with a Horse

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...
Read More about Nube: How to Train a Horse to be Patient

Do You Have Coyote Eyes? How to Look Without Looking

Can you tell when someone's looking at you? Or maybe a child in a waiting room, or it could be...
Read More about Do You Have Coyote Eyes? How to Look Without Looking

Peaceful Persistence, a Horse Training Manifesto

  What does "not conceding" mean? Oh, I can't wait to bray about this, says this trainer whose spirit animal...
Read More about Peaceful Persistence, a Horse Training Manifesto

Human Calming Signals: I Want my Horse to be Fearless.

  So, you want a horse that doesn't spook? Don't we all? Great, you wanna look for something over 25...
Read More about Human Calming Signals: I Want my Horse to be Fearless.

Training Tip: Improving Your Eye

Sometimes we look back at how we kept horses as kids, and it seemed so simple then. None of them...
Read More about Training Tip: Improving Your Eye

Affirmative Training is Fine, But What-if…

  A few years back, a pretty well-known trainer made a statement about using force with horses. Flat out, the...
Read More about Affirmative Training is Fine, But What-if…

Calming Signals: What Are You Really Afraid Of?

What are you afraid of? Maybe this question. Take a breath and check your shoulders. Are they down where they...
Read More about Calming Signals: What Are You Really Afraid Of?

Letting Go of Shame and Blame. Do It for Your Horse.

Nope. Not me. I was allergic to this color, but Hannah dressed for success from the...
Read More about Letting Go of Shame and Blame. Do It for Your Horse.

Problem Solved: Space to Breathe.

I'm walking next to you and I'm talking loudly. I am so close that you feel the heat of my...
Read More about Problem Solved: Space to Breathe.

How to Stop Taking Your Horse Personally

Bhim is a one-of-a-kind, I surely hope. People might say he's still with me ten years after he came for...
Read More about How to Stop Taking Your Horse Personally

How to Attend a Clinic

Gray Mare memories: It was one of the first clinics I ever attended. The clinician was famous; I signed up...
Read More about How to Attend a Clinic

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...
Read More about Calming Signals: Thoughts About Spooking at Nothing

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,...
Read More about Horses Are Like Bad Boyfriends (Or Why the Wrong Answer Might Be Better)

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...
Read More about Is Your Horse Mentally Exhausted?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your name and email to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.