Human Calming Signals: What’s Your Barn Persona?
How aware are we when we pull on a persona? We're usually aware when we tidy one up to make...
COVID-19 with Horses: How Are We Doing?
If horse people know one thing, it's that it's never just one thing. Having horses also means we partner with...
Real-Time Communication: The Land of What-If
My horse always pulls his head away. My horse never wants to go first on the trail. My horse always...
Horse Woman, Our Narrative
Drawing by Rebecca Howard I usually write a gray mare rant annually on my birthday. I'm...
A List of Inedible Treats for Your Horse
It's funny how something someone says can turn over in your mind for years after. I had a visitor, and...
Do You Need Riding Lessons?
It was a conversation about riding lessons. My friend said she thought it was strange that I'd worked so extensively...
Affirmative Training: Can You Take a Hint?
It's a story that I've heard quite a few times. You've heard it too. The horse was getting a...
How to See It Like a Horse
My friend was tracing her Arabian's family tree. She'd driven north of Denver to see her horse's sire and ran...
What Horses Want to “Talk” About.
What is it about the snout of an old horse? Especially a pink and black muzzle? How can it...
Distraction: A Simple Answer for Bright Shiny Things
Is your horse distracted? Is he always swinging his head at every noise? Does he knock you with his...
Calming Signals and What You Can’t Unsee.
Our Barn Rat first met horses when she was three days old. She started earlier than some. Now, she's...
Making Peace with Anxiety
A caption for this photo? "Dressage rider doesn't grasp the fundamentals of team penning." How about "Dressage rider brings a...
Photo & Poem: Forever Now
Walking past the mare, I let my hand follow the shape of her body, her hair so short it has...
Photo & Poem: Her Place
A stick pony to start, with a wooden head and twine for a mane. The tiny girl stomped unevenly, imagining...
Photo & Poem: Midsummer
Midsummer, the mare stands square, hooves flat and neck low, her muzzle faced into the corner of a dark stall,...
Affirmative Training and the Rhythm Method
Remember when you first heard the term The Rhythm Method? I was almost certain it had to do with something...
Photo and Poem: Three-Quarter-Ton
Driving home from the feed store on a back road, easing my foot from the gas pedal, the three-quarter-ton...
Long Dark Night of the Soul: Colic
Andante's nickering. I've pulled the hay out of his run and swept the mats. He has a baritone voice, a...
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