Q&A: How Can We Keep Beginner Riders Out of the Jumper Ring Until They Have a...
Question courtesy of Curtis Pool. This is a very complicated question as there are so many different points of view when it comes to teaching people to ride. As a trainer, solely in America, I can...
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“Don’t Think About It”—Yeah, Right.
Working with young horses means dealing with frequent shying. After two years of near-daily work under saddle, True is only now beginning to be more trustworthy in terms of shying, but he can still...
View ArticleNo Bones About It
Today I thought I’d venture down the horse’s leg as there are a lot of curious names down there. We will start at the bottom and work our way up completely out of order. First on the docket is… Coffin...
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Sharing the Arena
True loves to share the arena with other horses: “Woo-hoo! Play time!” Mares are especially exciting because they’re rare where he lives… and, well, because they’re mares: “Hey, baby! Wanna buck?” And...
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Are Exosomes the Future of Suspensory Injury Healing?
Suspensory ligament injuries. The dreaded ‘s’ word in the equine veterinary industry. “I call it the ‘s’ word just because I’ve made quite a few girls and, I think, a few men cry, using this word,”...
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These Boots Were Made for Riding
A friend of mine texted me the other day, “Why are they called field boots, dress boots and paddock boots?” Fair question. Why are they called field boots? And so, as the resident #horsewordnerd, I...
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Love Nips between Horses
Aww, sometimes horses are so darn cute. I know that sounds anthropomorphic, but hear me out and judge for yourself: True’s been separated from his injured pasture mate for a couple of days. With the...
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Counting and Rhythm Make Great Dance Partners
This excerpt from Anne Kursinski’s book, Riding & Jumping Clinic, takes the rider through an exercise that helps leverage a key component of a good distance: rhythm. Refining Your Sense of...
View ArticleThe Perfect Flying Change
Flying lead changes are on my short list for True at this point in his training. We’ve been doing a lot of simple changes, shortening the number of trot steps gradually, and he will now switch leads...
View ArticleHow do you dishorse?
If you turn to page 1 of the 1976 Pony Club Manual of Horsemanship you will find instructions on how to dismount. Page one. That’s how important this is. I’m not going to walk you through how to get...
View ArticleAI’s “Majestic” Take on Horse Words
This week I was plum out of ideas, so I thought I’d go out on a limb and try a chatbot AI program to see if it could offer any help. The first thing I requested was broad, but I was curious to see...
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Health Care for the Young Horse
Young horses demand certain types of nutrition and veterinary care that are a little different from adult equine needs. My young Warmblood True has been very healthy. I attribute that partly to a...
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The Unintentional Dismount
Sometimes forced dismounts are met with laughter and other times tears and ambulances. I think it’s fair to say that 99.9% of the time we’re jettisoned from the saddle it’s either straight over the...
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The Backward Step
The human prefrontal cortex loves progress. Forward, forward, forward. Set the goal and move inexorably toward it. Sometimes you can’t go as far forward as you’d like in one leap, but even a little...
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Hello, Mares! Preventing Misbehavior
Uh-oh! Our boy True has discovered mares. Most of his buddies so far have been geldings. When the occasional mare walked past, he was curious and attentive. But only recently has he been housed near a...
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The Power of Horse-Human Connections
Anyone who has spent enough time around horses knows there’s a strong, uncommon bond between our species. Through a millennia-long partnership that dates to 3500 B.C., we’ve developed a unique,...
View ArticleWhat to Do When You See Something Troubling
I can remember where I was standing. It was just an ordinary coffee shop, somewhere in Midtown New York. The midday rush was on, and the counter was swamped with orders. Suddenly, I became aware of...
View ArticleHorses and the Ancient Olympics
Horses have been a part of the Olympics from close to the start. There is no way our four-legged friends, who helped shape humanity on multiple levels, could be left out of something as spectacular as...
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Somebody Moved Stonehenge!
My green warmblood True and I have started riding around a 275-acre ranch after our work in the arena is finished. It’s a nice way for him to cool out and do some trail-riding kindergarten at the same...
View ArticleWomen & the Ancient Olympics
If you’ve read my previous Olympic-themed posts, you know that women were not allowed to attend or participate in the Ancient Games. And for the most part that was true. However, women did have their...
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