Relaxed & Forward Blog

Affirmative Training: The Opposite of Dominance Isn’t What You’d Think

Sitting in a horse pen is the easiest thing in the world. I might even like to cook if I...
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The Thing About Dimensionally Succinct Horses

I've written "The Thing About" essays on Mares, Geldings, and Donkeys to dispel untrue myths and sing their praises. These...
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Loafing in Limbo: Hibernation as a Training Aid

We are in Limbo. It's that week between Christmas and New Year when nobody knows what day it is. Not...
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Nebulous Lameness. Nebulous Anxiety. And a List.

Your inner monster screams, "Just Kick Him!" but you don't. You aren't that person. You don't use spurs or whips....
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Are You Having a Midlife Horse Crisis?

I got an email from a reader last week. She had a hard question. She acknowledges she was naive, but...
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Mental Maturity in Horses

Darryl, Darryl, and his other brother, Darryl I've never been good at remembering dates, so sometimes...
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What’s Love Got To Do With It? [Horse Version]

We love horses. We love to say it loud and proud. We love the ones we grew up with and...
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Forging a Path: What to Do Next With Your Horse.

It's that time of winter when you half-think spring isn't real. Are you frustrated with how you and your horse...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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A Book Report and What We Know Now.

A bit of explanation: I grew up on a farm without a bookshelf. We were not readers. Once we finally...
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Is She Still Going On About Helmets?

Riding Habit 1801 Yes. I've been writing in support of helmet use since the start. I...
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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...
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Life Happens: The Unplanned Dismount

"I owned horses for 20 years until divorce happened," the reader said, asking me to write about it. "I think...
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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...
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Horse Woman, Our Narrative

Drawing by Rebecca Howard I usually write a gray mare rant annually on my birthday. I'm...
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