Photo & Poem: Dwindling Light
His swayed back so warm in the late afternoon but he doesn’t lie down. His shoulders bear his weight...
Confidence Lost and Found
We thought having a horse would make everything perfect. It's a dream most of us were born with; we...
Photo & Poem: Hand
One draws attention, standing by a tolerant gelding and playing the horse whisperer, tickling withers, teasing his whiskery muzzle....
Affirmative Training and Spoiling Horses
Most of us hear voices. We might be working with our horses on an issue and floundering in the moment,...
Be-Here-Now: Focus on Safety (Helmets and Response Time)
You're standing in a tennis court just behind the baseline, being mildly uncomfortable in your tennis togs because the...
The Thing About Geldings
I'm the sort of horse-person who hears about a castration and pops a cork for a toast all around. I...
The Thing About Mares
A Przewalski mare and foal in Scotland When Larry McMurtry wrote Lonesome Dove, he gave Woodrow...
Be-Here-Now: Focus on the Task
Does your horse get restless or bored when standing with you? Does he pull the rope, trying to graze when...
Photo & Poem: Asking for Her Eye
She knows my presence before I see her. Under the tree in the far corner of the pasture, no...
Leading from Behind and Green Grass
Pia, a lovely intelligent mare who has no issue with grass. *Public Service Announcement* Your horses...
The Argument for Curiosity: From Fear to Courage
Cadence teaching contact. I rarely have any idea where I'm headed. I get in a car...
Photo & Poem: Birds and Horses
Fences mended with twine until there’s more time. Scrubbed water tanks filled fresh, drank down to half by noon....
Calming Signals and Holding a Grudge
Sometimes your horse isn't forward and it's frustrating. Or he doesn't like the trailer, and now neither do you. Maybe...
Can You Feel Your Hand?
Can you feel your hand? How about your fingers? Literally, can you feel them if there isn't a paper...
Calming Signals and the Thing We Call Stubborn
In celebration of Edgar Rice Burro's birthday, he's asked me to rant a bit about the thing humans call stubborn....
Photo & Poem: Flight
So still the herd, taking rest with soft flank to muscled shoulder, as the light shifts cooler. One nose lifts...
Can a Horse Try Too Hard?
It was the first day of a Calming Signals clinic. I was talking to a group of people about leading...
Horses in Solitary.
This is my fence panel. I lost count of the other's just like it, eight, I think. I find them...
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