Relaxed & Forward Blog

Interior Design: Do It for Your Horse

Imagine your brain is a room. Stand in the middle and slowly turn to take it in. Would it be...
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An Affirmation of a Life Shared with Animals.

It's springtime in the Rockies. The time change was last weekend, so I'm waking up at three am now, but...
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Are We Over-training Our Horses?

My Grandfather Horse was so good with latches he could have broken out of Alcatraz and made it back to...
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Horses and Chimpanzees, Or Why Horses Aren’t Cuddlers

  When I first moved to my farm, I pretended to be Jane Goodall. My land was a high desert...
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Balancing Energy with a Horse

Is your horse lazy? Lazy is a name we call horses when we want to denigrate them by comparing them...
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Human Calming Signals: Help Your Horse to Take Your Cue

You think it's a simple task you're asking your horse to do. You use an affirmative approach, not willing to...
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Human Calming Signals: Actions Louder than Words

"Anna, after reading this piece I realized that I know how to do this; just not with horses. As a...
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Focus is Active Listening. Horses Do It Naturally.

I had a friend who used to write me little vignettes about the antics of her and her horse at...
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Do You Have Coyote Eyes? How to Look Without Looking

Can you tell when someone's looking at you? Or maybe a child in a waiting room, or it could be...
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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...
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Calming Signals: What Are You Really Afraid Of?

What are you afraid of? Maybe this question. Take a breath and check your shoulders. Are they down where they...
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Worried About Everything? Protection From the Unexpected

"Want to go on a trail ride with me? The last time I was out, my friend's horse slid into...
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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...
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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....
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Calming Signals: Repeat after me, “Not that I care…”

Because they're doing construction down the road. His previous owner says he once spooked at a llama. The wind is...
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Silent Night: The Truest Words Aren’t Words At All.

I was standing outside of a hotel at five in the morning waiting for my limo. Obviously, several things had...
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How to Stop Taking Your Horse Personally

Bhim is a one-of-a-kind, I surely hope. People might say he's still with me ten years after he came for...
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“Why is Everything With Horses So Hard?”

"Can Competition Horses be Trained Affirmatively?" she asked. I know why she asks. This rider has been trained to think...
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