Human Failings, Horses, And Judgment
A four-year-old video surfaced this week and a dressage rider deeply apologized for the overuse of a whip. She will...
How Affirmative Training Was Born.
I am not a bliss-ninny. Loitering in denial doesn't work for me. I'm a blunt truth-teller who doesn't enjoy being...
Calming Signals: Love vs Understanding
The mare would not pick up the canter. She just wouldn’t. In her defense, the rider was off balance. Every...
Independence, Liberty, and My Personal Shining Sea
It's officially mucking-in-a-muumuu weather here at Infinity Farm. The horses all stand in the barn's shade and watch me fling...
Travelblog: Mister Has a Dark Night of the Soul.
Dogs. We rescue them, buy them, inherit them. They are irrepressible puppies, midlife couch-partners or milky-eyed elders with wonky ears....
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...
Overthinking an Undomesticated Budgie
A bright blue flick of movement, almost too small to see. White feathers spark the light, even more startling than...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Nube: Undiagnosable
I hope I'm not going to end up writing some kind of justification for harsh training. Usually, it's easier than...
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...
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...
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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