Has it been one of those weeks? Everything that could go wrong–did? We all know how it feels when gravity gets heavy-handed and you begin to feel thick and bound by life. It happens. Maybe you should go to the barn and let yourself be carried a while. If you have a partnership with a … Read more
This week I have been preparing for a clinic this weekend at Infinity Farm. It is the my favorite clinic every year: Fundamentals of Dressage. One of my clients asked if it was going to be the same as last year. (Eye roll -is this a trick question?)
It has been a scary week in our horse world. Everyone is aware by now that there is an outbreak of EHV-1, a potentially deadly virus. Get educated and understand bio-secure recommendations. Use the internet to its full and best potential by getting the actual facts as given by actual professionals, like veterinary colleges or … Read more
… and Grace gives herself a promotion. Dressage borrows lots of language from ballet -after all, we are the dancers of the horse world. Pas de Trois is a dance of three. I have commandeered that phrase to describe riding lessons as a conversational dance between horse, rider and instructor. All three participants have to … Read more
The head of the herd at Infinity Farm is the kind of horse you might call Grandfather- with reverence. He was a flashy something in his day; what he lacked in confidence he made up for with bravado. We made a pair and a quarter century later, we have both softened and matured with age. … Read more
Who hasn’t begged for a pony for Christmas? My generation scrutinized the color plates of horse breeds in the H volume of our aged Encyclopedia Britannica.Kids today haunt websites like www.horsecrazygirls.com. Generations agree, a pony for Christmas it the very best present.
The least flattering time I heard this re-incarnation plan was while I was rubbing mineral ice on my horse’s inner thigh. He had torn a muscle and was in his second month of stall rest. The man who said it thought he was Columbus in the New World, and a total laugh riot.
Here at Infinity Farm we are riding in a rut- literally a rut runs along the rail of the arena. The first definition of rut in the dictionary is “a sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles.” Most arenas have ruts. Every week I do Zamboni work to the sand, but a … Read more
They say that old age is not for the faint of heart and neither is this post. Don’t expect a warm Disney story about my horse aging. Spirit is 23 years old this fall -retired for 7 years. He has hated every day of it.
I was at a dressage show earlier this season and overheard two women talking about a rider they both knew. “She isn’t driving the horse onto the bit; she just isn’t strong enough to drive him to the bit!” one said with a sharp edge to her voice. My heart sinks when I hear comments … Read more
“How long do you think you will have to take lessons?” Twenty years ago and I can still hear that tone in my mother’s voice. She wondered why her adult daughter -after a life of riding- would need lessons.
Let’s start at the beginning; loving horses is fine, but they don’t care about that. Horses will choose respect over love every time.
It’s the movie National Velvet-and a 12 yr. old Elizabeth Taylor lied. The Man from Snowy River came a bit closer, but still fell short. Don’t even start with me about The Horse Whisperer. These are beloved horse movies, watched by horse-crazy girls and boys of all ages. By definition, movies require a suspension of belief from the audience.
Lots of us riders are perfectionists. It isn’t a bad thing to want to get things right. We want the best for our horses- the best care they can have for their health and well being into old age. We want to be the best riders we can so that their work is easier … Read more