Search Results for: leading from behind

Fear, Shame, and Affirmative Training

  This is a photo of when you first fell in love with horses. Maybe you dreamed it and it took another fifty years to come true, or maybe you’ve had a horse every day since then. This is also a photo of the first time a horse frightened you a bit. Those two experiences … Read more

Be-Here-Now: Focus on the Task

Does your horse get restless or bored when standing with you? Does he pull the rope, trying to graze when you are busy? Am I going to blame you for that, too? I was asked to share a pet peeve, which seems like inviting a donkey to a dinner party, but I’ll try to keep … Read more

The Argument for Curiosity: From Fear to Courage

I rarely have any idea where I’m headed. I get in a car with a stranger outside of baggage claim and go to a horse facility I’m not familiar with. I don’t know the participants or the horses, their histories or skill level. It’s fine though, I’d wind up giving a different clinic each time, … Read more

Can a Horse Try Too Hard?

It was the first day of a Calming Signals clinic. I was talking to a group of people about leading from behind and my demo horse stood at the end of my rope, a gelding as bright as a penny. It felt like he was familiar to the people watching and they wanted to see … Read more

The Gap Between Wanting a Horse and Having the Horse You Want

Sometimes it happens behind a trailer. The horse needs a moment, but the human is in a hurry. Horses and humans famously define “hurry” differently. The human tries one approach, and the horse is almost ready to get in, but since the human doesn’t read Calming Signals, they give up and try something else. Then … Read more