Clik here to view.
Putting Smell to Work
If you’ve read Horse Brain, Human Brain, you know that our human noggins are designed to rely on vision as their primary sense, but horse brains are ruled by smell. True, my green Warmblood, just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
4 Ways to Combat Seasonal ‘Equestrian’ Disorder
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, November is far from the most heinous month of the calendar year. February, for instance, is arguably much worse with its modest temperature averages and...
View ArticleShould I Send a Dick Pic? Take the Quiz!
Innovation in the 21st century has reshaped society in ways good, bad, and largely still unknown. In addition to rapid gene sequencing (good!), AI (terrifying!), and space travel (we’ll get back to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
That’s Chestnuts For You
What makes a chestnut horse a chestnut? I have written about roans, palominos, bays and Appaloosas and today I thought I’d add to the collection and talk about chestnuts. Chestnuts are generally easy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Likes to Jump”
Brain-based horsemanship makes a person pretty skeptical about what horses do and don’t “like.” Without a prefrontal cortex that can evaluate and judge, horse brains are left to innate instincts and...
View ArticleIs It Time to Quit Riding? How to Know if It’s Time Hang Up Your Helmet
Fear, rising prices, and the pressure to maintain an adequate work/life/sport balance is leaving many amateur equestrians feeling the burn. So how do you know if it’s time to hit the pause button?...
View ArticleQ&A: What Is Social Media Doing to Our Kids and Our Sport?
This is a tough subject. As a trainer, I have a really hard time with social media and the time it takes our kids away from “real time” with their horses—the hours and hours wasted on screen time that...
View ArticleThe C-Words
Ahhhh, words. I love them and since I love them so much, I’m going to explore a few that we use in our day-to-day and some that we don’t. I’ll start with the one that I’ve always wondered about but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mistakes with Youngsters
Two years ago, I had just purchased my then-three-year-old Warmblood True. He’d been with me for three months, and I took him to a small schooling show just to ride in the trailer for a few miles and...
View ArticleWhat Do Sunrises and Equine Joint Health Have in Common?
With the help of a grande vanilla latte, I like to get to barns early for lameness exams. I watch the sunrise, observe horses in pastures, ask questions about feeding, watering, medicating and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Cavvy Code
It astounds me how little I know about the horse world. I have been involved with horses my whole life, though almost entirely on the English side of things and that is where much of my knowledge...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Training the Human
Sometimes the hardest part of horse training is training the human. This problem shows up in many ways—we humans often reward at the wrong moment, apply different cues at once, fail to recognize...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Bareback Years
It was snowing and blowing yesterday, so my young Warmblood True got the day off and I worked on a photo gift for my father. This required sorting through 170 years worth of photographs: ancestors,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vacuums
My green Warmblood True and I have been experiencing a lot of snow lately and don’t have an indoor. We manage to walk on long hilly driveways, practice lateral maneuvers in the flat spots, ride in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ground Manners
Ground manners in any horse are very important and often overlooked. Why? First, they transfer to mounted work. A horse who’s been taught to pay attention to you, follow your instructions, and respect...
View Article10 Resolutions For a Safer, Brighter New Year in Sport
Whether you’re eating healthier, taking up daily meditation, or embracing ‘Dry January,’ the New Year is all about self-improvement. But it’s not just people who can benefit from methodically...
View ArticleQ&A: What does it take to properly care for a horse at top level? What aren’t...
This is very straightforward to me. As a trainer, I think too many of us are scared of their owners/clients. Horses don’t have to do all that they do for us. Top show hunter, jumper, and equitation...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Winter Hiatus
True and I don’t take much time off during the winter because doing so requires so much re-conditioning in spring. Time spent re-conditioning during the riding season is time stolen from teaching True...
View ArticlePower Imbalances Are A Part of Sports—And That’s Just What Abusers Are...
At first glance, the Olympic Training Center might seem a long way from the neighborhood swimming pool, skating rink, or riding school. It’s not as distant as you’d think. Even for the elite few that...
View ArticleWhat in the Wallop?
I don’t know how I got here, but here I am. Every now and then a word springs to mind that’s just odd enough that I’m compelled to look into its origin. Today, for reasons unknown, that word is...
View Article