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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
“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...
Does it Feel Like Everyone is Watching You?
It's you and your horse. Sometimes people looking at him think he isn't much but that's because they don't know...
Calming Signal Substitutions: Helping Your Horse
Most of us are old enough to remember what a rolled-up newspaper is for. Wacking the dog, of course. Because...
Thanksgiving is for the Dogs.
Here are two of my dogs, Preacher Man and Manning, guarding the back door. You'll notice they are facing the...
Gray Mares, Time, and Priorities
Do you notice that it gets a little easier to be yourself every day? Public speaking wasn't the sort of...