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...
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...
Virtual Dressage and Girls in White Shirts
The FEI passed good rules this year, and the Olympic judging held to the high side. Dressage had things to...
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...
The Problem with Pre-Corrections on Horses.
She enters the barn, looking left to right. What does she think her horse might be afraid of? First, let's...
Is She Still Going On About Helmets?
Riding Habit 1801 Yes. I've been writing in support of helmet use since the start. I...
The Dynamic Power of Consistency
We would like consistent behavior from our horses. It would be good if they took each cue with light and...
Beyond Legal Whiskers
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports unanimously banned horse whisker trimming, effective 1 July 2021. Horses snort and rub their...
Affirmative Training: Misunderstandings About Control
You have made some changes in how you work with your horse and you're both much more relaxed. You've evolved...
Calming Signals and Feculence
I'm responding to a request to write a few words about poop. "BM, defecation, excrement, fecal matter, the deuce, sh*t,...
Calming Signals: Planning for Stress
Calming signals are an animal's emotional response to their environment, expressed in body language, sometimes in increasing anxiety moving toward...
Homeschooling Your Horsemanship
In one online class this week, a woman in Maine said it was 90 degrees that day and her...
Part of Your Horse Stays Behind
When it came time to say goodbye to my dressage mentor, a trainer that I'd ridden with several times a...
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...
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...
Take a Cue from Your Horse
He was a bright young gelding. Alert, athletic, and so willing. One day he would become the kind of breathtaking...
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...
Saying Yes to a Horse When You Mean No
Sometimes something someone says sticks with you because it's brilliant. Sometimes it sticks because it's plain wrong. I was working...
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