Safety and Being a Spoil Sport.
It’s time for the annual reminder that horses are not dirt bikes.
Leadership
Getting Happy About What You Don’t Know.
Most of us started as back yard riders. No shame, we were kids, we climbed up and rode. When we fell off, we climbed up and rode some more.
Hard-Headed Women.
Bull-headed, sometimes pig-headed: these are names that you might call an obstinate tomboy of a daughter. It wasn’t meant as a compliment. Did you ever hear those names around your house? I prefer the term hard-headed. In 1970, Cat Stevens (then) put out my personal teen angst album, and it had a song entitled Hard … Read more
Boss Mare: Women and Honesty.
Lately, I am discovering I like mares more and more. They are so NOT like most of us humans. They have a refreshing honesty. “If you aren’t going to drive the bus, get out of my way and I’ll do it.” Succinct, blunt and clean with her intention- a mare will get the job done. … Read more
What a Parrot Taught Me About Horses.
There were a few dark years (between leaving home and having enough income to support a horse) that I was earthbound with only house pets. I survived it. Barely. During that horse-less time, a box arrived. It was a surprise parrot -from a friend in Panama. I’m not saying it was a great idea to … Read more
A Different Kind of Runaway.
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
From a Whisper to a Scream.
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.
Who's Spookin' Who?
It was time to take my proud and extremely green Arabian gelding out of the arena for the first time. We were wandering about the barn yard and I was confident in my negative thinking -certain bad things were waiting to happen. Then my gelding spooked big, staring at a spot on the ground in … Read more
"The more I know about people, the better I like my dog." – Mark Twain
“Add to that- horse, donkey, and llama–okay, even the goats.” –Me This was a week of sharp-edged experiences. The world lost a great horse this week, a mare in our extended family. Toushay was from an era of excellence and integrity: she was athletic, smart, funny, and any human’s total equal. She was not my … Read more
It's Not About the Hat.
Willard Crockett was the first man I fell in love with. I think I was 5, and he was certainly in his 40’s, but it didn’t feel like a pre-thaw February to September sort of romance to me. (I am aware that it didn’t feel like a romance to him at all.) He wore jeans … Read more
Advice for Moody Riders.
This week a self-described moody rider requested a blog- about moody riders. To tell the truth it has been an erratic week at the barn. Each rider had their best and worst rides, in rapid succession. Passion is the green light, frustration is the red light, and the ensuing crash in the intersection can make … Read more
On Being Adversarial
Being adversarial has been a common topic in lessons this last week. None of my clients are mean, none wear big spurs or carries whips that leave welts on disobedient horses. No one has a hot temper, it isn’t that. We tend towards a more passive-aggressive type of adversarial behavior. It starts by innocently … Read more