Affirmative Training and the Rhythm Method
Remember when you first heard the term The Rhythm Method? I was almost certain it had to do with something...
A Funny Thing Happened During the Euthanasia.
We've been having llama line dances here for over twenty years. It happens at dusk and it is boundingly beautiful....
Photo & Poem: As if Love
She declared that she loved her horse as if loving took a sort of noble skill rare to our kind....
Things My Dogs Don’t Care About.
I'm the kind of person who has big dogs. I always have been, not that my dogs care. I have...
Photo and Poem: Three-Quarter-Ton
Driving home from the feed store on a back road, easing my foot from the gas pedal, the three-quarter-ton...
Long Dark Night of the Soul: Colic
Andante's nickering. I've pulled the hay out of his run and swept the mats. He has a baritone voice, a...
Photo & Poem: Sage Under-hoof
An elder red mare and her rider babysat us as we climbed in and out of ravines, my young horse...
Why Training Techniques Don’t Work
It's Sunday night and the clinic has ended, but there might be a horse or two that can't seem...
Photo & Poem: Words
“You’re not wearing that, are you?” Voicing her anxiety first, was my blouse revealing something more than unconventional taste? Welcoming...
Deconstructing Fear with Affirmative Training
Something is off with your horse, but you can't tell what. You might be leading him or you might...
Photo & Poem: Sunset to Dark
Talking with her while I walk the farm, I say look what you’ve done with the new grass. Earth sends...
Affirmative Training and Corrections You Regret.
People tell me that when they're with their horses, they aren't always perfect. They sound apologetic, you'd think I wore...
Photo & Poem: No Gloves
The woman doesn’t make a good first impression. Her hair is dry as straw under a ball cap from Tractor...
Edgar Rice Burro on Covid-19 and Physical Distancing (on World Donkey Day)
Does Covid-19 impact my herd? The email asked, "I wonder if you've noticed the quieter world in your horses?...
Photo & Poem: Slap Hands
Sit next to Jack, she said. Mother’s youngest brother on leave from the Army at our kitchen table. He pinched...
It Could Be Worse. You Could Be Married to Me.
"Honey, when you're in town will you pick something up for me?" I don't quite wait for the answer. "Great,...
Photo & Poem: Aged-Out
Aged-out with his horse, he said, like a sell-by date in the grocery store. We all stop riding, just a...
How to Be a Safe Anchor for Your Horse
For us long-timers, if we've been lucky, it feels like we're always standing in a ghost herd. They're good company...
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