Relaxed & Forward Blog

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...
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“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...
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Being the Railbird: Anniversary Edition

Beware: Colorado Prairie Railbirds, guaranteed to spook more people more than horses. A reader gave me...
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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...
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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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Finding the Ground But In a Good Way

Our T'ai Chi master told us to drop our weight? I was barely legal and my fledgling art career was...
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Human Calming Signals: What Counterfeit Means

Back in the day, there was a word used when talking about a stoic horse that who seemed almost too...
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Calming Signals and Why the Second Time’s a Charm.

Want to know the smallest thing you could change in training for the biggest improvement? I usually say doing a...
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Does Leadership Mean Domination Now?

From a Reader: "Anna, you articulate the dance between horse and human so very succinctly. I wish it were easier...
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The Best Horse Conversations Start With “No”

Imagine that each time you climbed on your horse, he began to move in a slow canter, so rhythmic and...
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Advice? Take a Deep Seat and a Faraway Look…

My young horse was lame, so my mentor asked if I'd like a lesson on her horse. It wasn't a...
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Horses and the Pain We Can’t Stop.

The Grandfather Horse: Dirt Bath Interrupted. We've all done it. We look at that horse and...
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Calming Signals: How Do You Listen To a Horse?

What is your first memory of listening to a horse? Not standing next to a horse and being certain he...
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An Allergy, Spyglass Tunnel Vision, & a Valentine

    Most of us start with an allergy. Our noses get stuffy and our eyes are red and teary...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Who’s Risk-Averse?

This week a stranger asked for my prayers. She posted a photo of an incredibly young girl with a crushed...
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