Relaxed & Forward Blog

Calming Signals: Another Word for Dominant

There is a wild stallion on the ridge fighting all comers for his harem of mares. We think aggression and...
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Overthinking an Undomesticated Budgie

A bright blue flick of movement, almost too small to see. White feathers spark the light, even more startling than...
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Travelblog: How I Stole Paris

I woke up introspective on my last full day in Paris. It's the same way I wake up at home....
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Travelblog: Paris is Like Visiting an Old Lover

Paris is a city full of statues of horses. They're everywhere, I noticed on my first visit. The statues are...
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Travelblog: Late for the Funeral. By Three Years.

Words about friendship and death ahead. There, you're warned. I'm still on vacation, but I'm going to talk about grieving...
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Travelblog: Thinking About Aging in Ancient Surroundings

I was in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I had finished ripping around Scotland and arrived at my hotel, where a group...
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Travelblog: It’s a Vacation. Not a Work Trip.

My first vacation in a donkey's years started with a van ride to Denver International Airport, with the obligatory drop-off...
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Growing Up: Self-Consciousness vs Self-Awareness

My teen years were pretty normal, meaning total angst and torture. There was that summer that I used my babysitting...
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Stay in Your Own Lane

I don't mind getting stuck in traffic. It practically makes me un-American to say so. I don't love it but...
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Nube: Undiagnosable

I hope I'm not going to end up writing some kind of justification for harsh training. Usually, it's easier than...
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The Arrogance of Training Animals Silly Tricks.

Do you follow the Iditarod, too? Northern breeds are such athletes with their instincts on full display. These half-wild dogs...
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Allowing Horses the Time to be Curious

I saw a video this week that I can't get out of my head. It lacked the drama of the...
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Unusual Behavior Isn’t a Training Issue.

It's time for my annual announcement. Your horse doesn't have a training problem. It isn't a brain tumor, and he...
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Interior Design: Do It for Your Horse

Imagine your brain is a room. Stand in the middle and slowly turn to take it in. Would it be...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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