What makes a good rope halter and lead?
Below are the qualities that matter most, plus how to tie a halter, attach a lead rope, and where to buy reliable gear. Rope Halters…
I’m impressed with the way someone’s horse feels, not what it can do.
I think that for most of us, when we first start out with horses, we don’t realize how crappy most horses feel in their interactions…
Give your horse affection that makes THEM feel good.
Horses show affection quietly. Most of what people call “affection” toward their horses—verbal praise, loud pats, handfuls of treats—mostly makes us feel good, not the horse. Good…
What’s the difference between a feel and a cue?
I get asked this question a lot. It’s a great question that really prompted me to contemplate and differentiate the two in my own mind. …
Almost anything can be normalized.
This article was originally written in response to the video of an Olympic equestrian athlete coaching a young rider by repeatedly whipping a frantic horse…
Humans love competitions. Horses don’t even know they exist.
This article was originally written in response to the video of an Olympic equestrian athlete coaching a young rider by repeatedly whipping a frantic horse…
Humans take things horses do naturally and exaggerate it to unhealthy proportions.
This article was originally written in response to the video of an Olympic equestrian athlete coaching a young rider by repeatedly whipping a frantic horse…
Pressure is cruel when the horse can’t make sense of it.
This article was originally written in response to the video of an Olympic equestrian athlete coaching a young rider by repeatedly whipping a frantic horse…
I’d prefer my horse live in a big field without shelter, than in a stall 12+ hours a day.
This isn’t hypothetical. I’ve kept my ponies at multiple farms where they lived out 24/7 with no shelter—or with shelter most people would call “inadequate.”…
Working with the mind, versus working with the feet.
One of the biggest differences between training methods are the concepts of working with a horse’s mind versus working on their body. I’ve heard it…
Skijoring: preparing, instead of scaring your horse.
January 2024 I’ve been helping a student train for the local Skijoring competitions this winter. This is a horse I helped her start 2.5 years…
If you can’t do it on a loose rein, you can’t do it at all.
Like most people, I learned to ride with a “straight line in the rein from the bit to the rider’s hand”. The idea was to…
Hoof care and setting your horse up for success
I am not a fully trained farrier — but I have been trimming a variety of horses for the past 13 years. And hoof care…
If you can’t do it on a loose lead rope, you can’t do it at all.
A little follow-up to my post about riding on a loose rain, and how your horse’s true emotions will rise to the surface when you…