Photo & Poem: Other
Stalking each other, the pale color of prairie straw, she should be a coyote but her tail has short...
Hindsight Argument for Affirmative Training
He was a huge gelding with obvious draft blood. I could see white all the way around his eye. It...
Photo & Poem: Scream
Her crusty old body wobbles, too frail to run on uneven hooves, no energy to eat. Don’t call her...
Consistency in All the Right Places.
In the winter months, below-freezing mornings make for stiff joints and a cold bit; midday riding is the best. As...
Photo & Poem: Boundary
Dim light elongates in the lavender dusk, boundaries soften to faded nuance. Barn horses bolt at an inaudible sound,...
Battlecry of the Gray Mare
Sun's up, I've thrown hay, and now I'm in the shower. My second-best thinking happens here because there's a window...
Photo & Poem: Unsettled
Unsettled in-between days, a musty fog slows the sunrise, flannel jacket zipped-up for early chores. The chill is a relief...
The Power of Yes
Ever noticed how easy it is to see the horse who's resistant? How easy it is to pick out the...
Photo & Poem: Dignity
If only she was more demure, that her words had come with a coy smile, eyes dropped to her sunken...
The Big Picture, Thank You.
Horse people can be a little intense. Come to think of it, I can't say I've ever met anyone who...
Book Review:Horse Prayers by Anna Blake
Horse Prayers has landed! So grateful for this wonderful review from Anne, and she shared two of my favorite poems.
Photo & Poem: Sanctuary
Moving like a newborn, narrow body swaying on spindly legs, but stumbling on hooves so long that you must push...
A Problem With Grazing.
From a reader: The ideas and thinking presented in your blog have been hugely helpful in improving the time my horse...
Photo & Poem: Cold Front
A flannel barn shirt buttoned but resisting a jacket, feeling as uneasy as the horses, hay blown wide, flighty hooves...
Jack the Dog: Calming Signals and Anthropomorphism
Maybe there's a rule that if you have dogs long enough, you eventually end up with a terrier even if...
Photo & Poem: Counterfeit
The herd stands close as the midday heat saturates the air, shadows black on the earth, their bodies held...
Photo & Poem: Counterfeit
The herd stands close as the midday heat saturates the air, shadows black on the earth, their bodies held...
Riding From Behind
In my fantasy world, you've read about leading from behind and beyond, and tried it with your horse. It wasn't...
Photo & Poem: Beginnings
Dream Horse He’s midnight black with steely eyes, on hooves so light they make no sound as he sails...
Leading from Behind, Part Two and Beyond
Leading from behind is an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp, but most things about working with horses are counter-intuitive for humans...
Photo & Poem: Calendar
Tufting the Corgi Do I need a sweater? The evening air has cooled thinner, the time on the clock doesn’t...
Leading from Behind, Part One.
Here's Norman, the new kid at the barn. He's a young Percheron-TB cross with pretty wonderful gaits and a sweet...
Photo & Poem: Beginning the Fall
A heat so profound that horses were knocked back, sheltering all day in small shade, relief for the sparse...
Riding: If We Can’t Feel It, We Can’t Fix It.
After the last blog, a friend/trainer thought legs should have been mentioned. Or as she put it, "'The...
Photo & Poem: Roots
There was a single elm on the short path from the house to barn, its trunk no larger than...
Riding: Feeling Every Stride, From Our Inside
This is the recurring nightmare. You're on a twisted version of Dancing with the Stars. There are glaring lights and...
Travel Blog: Shall I Be Mother?
Say hello to Bruce. He is the spokesmodel for The 2018 Long Ears Tour, an unexpected title bestowed on my...
Photo & Poem: At a Writing Workshop
At a Writing Workshop A dog stalks the sofa, gazing with one eye and then crossing his nose to...
The Middle Path: Negotiating Care With Busy Professionals
My advice: Find someone who gets along with donkeys. A question from two readers: "We...
Horse Prayers Book Release July 5, 2018 (Yay!)
Horse Prayers, Poems from the Prairie is available July 5th! The release of Horse Prayers, Poems from the Prairie,...
Photo & Poem: Surviving Vulnerability
Dark eyes, older than her years, the horse’s shoulder shows damage, thick scars and a stilted gait, the opposite...
Self-Awareness Without Apology
We aren't kids anymore. That's the complaint. Riding seems easier in memory. When we were younger, riding was rose-colored and...
Travel Blog: Addressing the Vegetarian Haggis
Distant Balmoral Edinburgh, Scotland. The first moments in a new country are never the best....
Photo & Poem: Say Her Name
As you say her name, your voice drops deep, a tight raspy croak. Not haunted with loss, but shaken...
Meeting the Przewalski's Horse in Scotland
Val and her son, Hulagu They're wild horses discovered by Nikolai Przewalski, a Polish-born colonel in the...
Photo & Poem: Ducks and Geese
Seven iced-over winters followed by sweet bugs on long summer days. Flightless old girls with twisted toenails and dim...
See It Through His Eyes
It's a perfect day. No wind, not hot. The kind of day that you spend most of the months of...
Photo & Poem: A Smoky Memory
A dusky pink summer dawn, stepping out the porch door, halt. Dread at the smell of unnatural heat. How...
A Natural Instinct to Dominate
I find it fascinating to watch children talking to animals. It's almost like studying mustangs. Kids are who we are,...
Photo Challenge & Poem: All Time Favorite
Directions Turn on the dirt road at the bottom of the hill, then go past the big curve. Slow on...
The Middle Path: Lighten Up, It's All Your Fault
Sometimes people tell me that I'm preaching to the choir with my blog. That it's the other "really creepy horse...
Photo Challenge & Poem: Twisted
Midnight in Alaska The wheels of my bag click over the tile floor, scanning signs...
Bringing Horses Home
We don't ask much from horses. It starts simply. On the day that we are thrilled to get the horse...
Photo Challenge & Poem: Liquid
I saw him first, diagonal light giving a soft profile against a black-blue shadow, then he turned and time...
Heart Horses
"He's my Heart Horse," she says by way of introduction. A hush falls over the room. Or maybe that's just...
Photo Challenge & Poem: Place in the World
Water creeping across the prairie, a wandering path of small ponds in a landlocked state,...
The Art of De-Escalating
It's an ordinary day. Quiet, no wind. You could be on the trail or in the arena. You might be...
Photo Challenge & Poem: Unlikely
She's an economical cat, a tabby with concise ears, a tiny nose, and pointy feet on my sternum, lowering herself to...
Building the Bubble #5. Just Honor Them
Some of us value horses for their physical working ability on ranches, we "use 'em hard." Decent care, no...
Photo Challenge & Poem: Lines
Such an arc to his stride, soft rhythm as his hooves cut the arena sand. Sit tall, rider, with...