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...
What’s Love Got To Do With It? [Horse Version]
We love horses. We love to say it loud and proud. We love the ones we grew up with and...
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...
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...
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...
Calming Signal Substitutions: Helping Your Horse
Most of us are old enough to remember what a rolled-up newspaper is for. Wacking the dog, of course. Because...
What Does it Mean to be Domesticated?
If you have been reading along for the last 1300 or so weekly essays of mine, you know sometimes I...
A Love Letter to Dirt.
It's the eve of Christmas Eve and I'm worried about my dirt. Maybe the world has bigger problems and maybe...
Patience in Real Time
A clinic organizer was telling me about a trainer she brought in, someone whose approach was significantly more aggressive than...
Brain Science and the Art of Play
It's cold on the flat windy treeless prairie of Colorado. The next few months will be even colder but right...
Relaxed & Forward in 2022. Now What?
The lockdown at the beginning of 2020, followed by months of quarantine, was a wonderful opportunity for a thoughtful assessment...
Gray Mares, Time, and Priorities
Do you notice that it gets a little easier to be yourself every day? Public speaking wasn't the sort of...
How Horses Train Us
You are a horse trainer. It does not always give me joy to say so, but it's true and other...
What Does Having a Connection With a Horse Mean?
What does it mean to have a connection with a horse? You just know I'm going to be a loudmouth...
A Legacy of Homegrown Ingenuity and Bull-Headed Confidence
I am the great-granddaughter of pioneers. They traveled far, mixed their blood with those not like them, and built lives...
Your Horse’s Memory is Your Best Training Aid.
My friend, Bruce, died from colic one year ago today. You are remembered. Our memories of...
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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