No, I’m not building a real barn. That would be easy. I’m handy with tools and I’ve been known to use my truck in some unusually creative ways. This new barn is different. It’s a “website with an online membership group” but I think it’ll be more comfortable if I just call it The Barn. Most … Read more
My working definition of stress is being alive.
I don’t usually say it that bluntly but I wanted to get your attention. I need to make a payment on a debt. Usually I start with the term sour stomach.
“To practice equestrian art is to establish a conversation on a higher level with the horse, a dialogue of courtesy and finesse”. Nuno Oliveira.
“You know what your problem is? You’re too sensitive.” Ouch. Have you heard this? It feels like being accused of throwing like a girl. It’s dismissive. This definition of sensitive means I’m not dependable, that I’m an emotional liability. When I was younger, hearing this would make me defensive. My mind ran like a rat … Read more
“She seems kind of flighty and erratic. Doesn’t have the self-respect of a yearling. I don’t trust that kind of mind in a human.”
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
Namaste is a Sanskrit word -which means it’s very old. Most translate it to some version of “The spirit in me respects the spirit in you.” There is so much in a name. Namaste is also an easy-on-the-eyes, young, Friesian-Arab gelding with a big dressage heart. I have known him for about 5 years and … 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
I was being half-mauled by a terrier. I was running an errand in an urban office and the dog’s owner was horrified. She apologized, explaining that her dog never did that. In the dogs’ defense, I have a very special stink to my feet. I carry with me a cornucopia of delightful smells from several … Read more
I’ve traveled in all directions in the last few months- looking at potential lesson horses. I want to rescue the skinny ones. I try to guess how much retraining will be needed for others. The right horse needs to be not too old or too tall. There is a temperament I am looking for; tolerant, … Read more
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.
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.
Riding can be a form of meditation in the best sense- a release from day to day drama and worry. It’s amazing how much better the air is just a few feet above the ground, and moving through the air at a trot really does give you the feeling that sheets get- blowing dry on … Read more
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 struggle to balance horses and money. There is an assumption that owning horses is a rich person’s game, and especially in a sport like Dressage. But not all of us have imported horses, or trailers worth more than a small home. Some of us have more passion than money, more try than … Read more