Relaxed & Forward Blog

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...
Read More about An Affirmation of a Life Shared with Animals.

Nube: What If This Isn’t Wrong?

My first ex-husband used to tease me about my frantic love of shortcuts. I was always up early, on the...
Read More about Nube: What If This Isn’t Wrong?

The Joy of Imperfection

We are sick to death of the violence against horses. It isn't just the damage caused by rollkur in reining...
Read More about The Joy of Imperfection

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...
Read More about Are We Over-training Our Horses?

The Gap Between Wanting a Horse and Having the Horse You Want

Sometimes it happens behind a trailer. The horse needs a moment, but the human is in a hurry. Horses and...
Read More about The Gap Between Wanting a Horse and Having the Horse You Want

Nube. More Dark Clouds and Questions With No Answers

The worst thing about remembering a horse in the past is that maybe there are options now that your horse...
Read More about Nube. More Dark Clouds and Questions With No Answers

Nube. Dark Clouds and Questions With No Answers

Nube (Nu-bay) was particular. He required my undivided attention in the saddle and on the ground. My focus had to...
Read More about Nube. Dark Clouds and Questions With No Answers

How To Buy a Horse

He was a bay gelding in his teens when we met. A Quarter Horse with a bit of a downhill...
Read More about How To Buy a Horse

Edgar Rice Burro. All He is Saying is Give Peace A Chance.

Yet another horse trainer got tarred and feathered on social media this week. It happens all the time. People jumped...
Read More about Edgar Rice Burro. All He is Saying is Give Peace A Chance.

Trainer Love: In Memory of Seri

Seri died this week. She was never my horse, but she is part of the trainer I've become. Seri was...
Read More about Trainer Love: In Memory of Seri

Nube’s Ulcers: What We Can’t Control and What We Can.

When Nube (nu-bay) was two and first diagnosed with ulcers, it felt rare, almost exotic. People were just learning about...
Read More about Nube’s Ulcers: What We Can’t Control and What We Can.

Resolutions and Horse Dreams

It's the twilight zone between holidays, meandering like a long, slow-motion hangover. I have no idea what day it is...
Read More about Resolutions and Horse Dreams

Culture Wars in the Barn

There is a recent article in the NYT about the culture wars going on in dog training that's worth reading....
Read More about Culture Wars in the Barn

Horse Training Means Affirmative Waiting

Humans, aren't we swell? Compared to horses, we have dim, frail senses, we're seven times slower in our response time,...
Read More about Horse Training Means Affirmative Waiting

What It Means to Love a Horse

I'm talking to a new client who contacted me for help, asking them to tell me about their horse. They...
Read More about What It Means to Love a Horse

Famous Cruelty, Ordinary Cruelty, and an Affirmative Solution

  Another story of cruelty hit the international press last week. Operation X documented horrors happening in a well-known Danish...
Read More about Famous Cruelty, Ordinary Cruelty, and an Affirmative Solution

Thanksgiving: Our First Horse Was a Dog

Meet my dogs, Preacher Man, Mister, and Jack. They're in the doorway to my writing studio. It's Thanksgiving night, which...
Read More about Thanksgiving: Our First Horse Was a Dog

Euthanizing Your Horse: How to Trust Yourself

It's colder now. The leaves are gone. The wind charges at us from the north, and the temperature drops ten...
Read More about Euthanizing Your Horse: How to Trust Yourself

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your name and email to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.