What To Do When You’ve Tried Everything
"I tried everything," my client says. This isn't something that I hear once in a long while. It's a time-honored...
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...
Things We Should Refuse to Train Horses To Do
Warning: Loudmouth Party Pooper Rant. I think we all know whose side I'm on in this horse training reality show....
The Season of Letting Go
The autumnal equinox is about change. There's a miserable fog today, dense and so uncommon on my high prairie. Chilly...
Calming Signals: Thoughts About Spooking at Nothing
There are two kinds of spooking. This is the first: It was midmorning on the ranch, and we were riding...
Reverse Anthropormophism: Building A Better Relationship
Do you ever go to the barn and pretend to be a cowboy? You'd wear the shirt that matched your...
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...
Horses Are Like Bad Boyfriends (Or Why the Wrong Answer Might Be Better)
Horses are like bad boyfriends because they only want to talk about themselves. Wait, let me explain. First of all,...
Euthanizing and Herd Anxiety
"I’m wondering if you could address animals and grief in one of your columns. We’ve lost a horse and a...
Affirmative Training: Navigating the Nebulous.
"I have a three-step process guaranteed to transform your horse into your perfect partner and it only costs ten thousand...
A Training Question About Hurrying Horses …and a Grass Fire
I see people in the grocery store thoughtfully reading labels and pondering choices. The Dude Rancher and I look like...
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...
Brain Science and the Art of Play
It's cold on the flat windy treeless prairie of Colorado. The next few months will be even colder but right...
Relaxed & Forward in 2022. Now What?
The lockdown at the beginning of 2020, followed by months of quarantine, was a wonderful opportunity for a thoughtful assessment...
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...
Is She Still Going On About Helmets?
Riding Habit 1801 Yes. I've been writing in support of helmet use since the start. I...
The Dynamic Power of Consistency
We would like consistent behavior from our horses. It would be good if they took each cue with light and...
Affirmative Training: Misunderstandings About Control
You have made some changes in how you work with your horse and you're both much more relaxed. You've evolved...
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