Last weekend I went to a clinic with the ever-talented Terry Church. I’ve worked with her a lot over the years and always look forward to bringing her my greenest, most challenging horses to help sort out. This year I didn’t have a particularly challenging horse to bring, so I Read more
As some of you may know, I went to a clinic a few weeks ago with the wonderful and talented Amber Lydic. I learned so much from her in such a short time, but what has stuck with me the most is about my release. If you know me or Read more
When we think of working a horse we automatically think of movement and physical exercise. Many equestrians lament not being able to work their horses in the winter do to weather. While not everyone has an indoor arena to ride in, there are plenty of other ways in which we Read more
It is pretty well accepted that equestrians should be the leaders in their relationships with horses. However, the term “leader” means a lot of different things to different people, making it easily misunderstood. As with governments, there are many different ways in which we can be leaders to our horses. Read more
18 year old me with my horse looking at me and saying, “Really? I don’t believe you.” There is a certain school of thought in horse training that you should never hit, push, or otherwise use physical force on a horse. Although I certainly don’t want to promote beating horses Read more
It seems to me in this whole world of horses everyone is always rushing. We hurry to tack up, to get on, to finish our ride, to get to the show, to get home, to… What’s the point? Why do we even bother riding if that’s how we really feel? Read more
Lowering your horse’s head is a great way to help your horse relax, give to pressure, and focus on you. It is one of the most basic elements of horsemanship that anyone can learn, but many people have never been taught. I use this exercise any time I am first Read more
“…anything forced is not beautiful.” ~Xenephon, The Art of Horsemanship “I try to feel what the horse is feeling and operate from where the horse is.” ~Tom Dorrance For the last five years I have been struggling with the term “natural horsemanship”. When I was writing about my training style Read more