Calming Signals: What If Horses Are Meant to be a Mystery?
I'm not sure when I started sitting on horses, but I hadn't started school. You couldn't really call it riding....
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...
A Message from Heaven (for my professional friends)
I am a woman who possesses an interesting range of enviable skills. Getting surgery is not on the list. One...
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...
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...
Affirmative Training: The Opposite of Dominance Isn’t What You’d Think
Sitting in a horse pen is the easiest thing in the world. I might even like to cook if I...
Calming Signals: Adjusting the Volume of Quiet
It's been quiet here. Winter is good for that and we haven't had a day above freezing in a while....
Cleaning Out the Toolbox
If it weren't for manure frozen into the ice, we'd have no traction at all and it's only the eleventh...
Bhim: An Invitation to a Clinic in Your Home
I have a problem. I'm a clinician who loves her job and at the same time, wonders if there are...
Nebulous Lameness. Nebulous Anxiety. And a List.
Your inner monster screams, "Just Kick Him!" but you don't. You aren't that person. You don't use spurs or whips....
“Why Don’t You Post Training Videos?”
Photo by Ilona Gerou It was at the dark ages of VHS, long before the...
Helmet Safety and the Ability to Buy Hay
If my horses could see the big picture, they'd still say my job is hay. They have not read one...
Leading Horses with Spatial Kindness. What?
The exercise was to halter your horse thoughtfully, asking the horse's permission for each step of the process, and acknowledging...
When Impatience and Cruelty are Normalized
Sometimes I find myself standing in front of people talking about horses' feelings. I'm almost embarrassed; I was raised to...
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...
Being the “Good” Horse Isn’t Easy.
People want to tell me about their challenging horse, the quirky one, the scary one, the kill pen (scam) horse....
Reverse Anthropormophism: Building A Better Relationship
Do you ever go to the barn and pretend to be a cowboy? You'd wear the shirt that matched your...
Are You Having a Midlife Horse Crisis?
I got an email from a reader last week. She had a hard question. She acknowledges she was naive, but...
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