Relaxed & Forward Blog

Photo & Poem: Body Voice

One horse flicks his ear, still grazing, another pauses his jaw, his tail still amid flies. The mare lifts her...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Body Voice

Horsewoman, A Computer Can Smell Your Fear…

  We are horsewomen. We muck 13,505 pounds of manure a year... per horse, and you know we don't own...
Read More about Horsewoman, A Computer Can Smell Your Fear…

Photo and Poem: Spring Thaw

  The air hung heavy, strangely moist for a desert prairie. Dense fog as rare as raindrops. The ice on...
Read More about Photo and Poem: Spring Thaw

Let Perfection Go. Try Consistency.

Here is a shortlist of the things horses don't understand: Sarcasm. Exploitation. Shaming. Guilt. Drama. These are human behaviors that...
Read More about Let Perfection Go. Try Consistency.

Photo & Poem: Two Women

I had the window seat on an early morning flight to Tucson. In the row ahead were two women. I...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Two Women

Riding a Princely Trot

Is your horse uncomfortable in the trot? He might toss his head or maybe his strides are short and choppy....
Read More about Riding a Princely Trot

Photo & Poem: Coyote Run

Ancient mountains send coarse sand and sharp stone down, just pebbles at a time, to leave us unsteady on our...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Coyote Run

Walk, The Queen of Gaits

  Some riders keep to the walk, a sweet sashay that's almost a lollygag. They want their horse to stay...
Read More about Walk, The Queen of Gaits

Photo & Poem: Pride

She has no time for gentle words and soft hands primping her mane. The broad-chested mare may allow a stiff...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Pride

Escalation: Finding the Thing Before the Thing.

It feels like you wake up in the middle of a movie, one of those thriller-action plots that have too...
Read More about Escalation: Finding the Thing Before the Thing.

Photo & Poem: Natural. Magic.

  The young visitor stared at the bay mare’s mane. “Would you like to brush her?” I ask. Sending the...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Natural. Magic.

The Next Horse: Remounting after the Hardest Fall of All

    This perfect horse of yours has been with you since he was young, or you got him near...
Read More about The Next Horse: Remounting after the Hardest Fall of All

Photo & Poem: Hunger Moon

Fresh snow fell yesterday and more will come tomorrow, but in the still between-time, a full moon sits high in...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Hunger Moon

Spring and Horses That Fly Like Kites.

Left: A breathtaking view of Pikes Peak from my pasture. Right: An aerial view (from the...
Read More about Spring and Horses That Fly Like Kites.

Photo & Poem: Hand-Me-Downs

  Leota would send a note warning that she’d put something in the mail and we waited. She was a...
Read More about Photo & Poem: Hand-Me-Downs

Calming Signals: Sleeping with a Reactive Dog

    I don't mind bragging; I've slept with some very fine dogs in the course of my long and...
Read More about Calming Signals: Sleeping with a Reactive Dog

Photo & Poem: To Soar

  Alone in the sky, her broad wings create their own horizon, as she...
Read More about Photo & Poem: To Soar

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.