As the dust settles after the rush of Black Friday and the Visa bills arrive, I was thinking about how easy it is to get our credit and our lives out of balance in our consumer culture . Bling and brands – when I began judging I was struck by how little influence fashion trends … Read more “Is it a need or a want?” –the Black Friday balance.
What book influenced you as a young rider? It’s fun to ask this to my clinic participants. Black Beauty typically tops the list. But this classic is more influential than I thought – so I learned at this weekend’s Equine Industry Symposium at the U of Guelph. Written from the horse’s point of view, Sewell’s … Read more From the horse’s mouth
Standard equipment in English disciplines. Training equipment in western. While nosebands are designed to prevent bit evasion, in the horse business, we’re inclined to think “If a little is good, more is better! Are we masking bit evasion without asking WHY the horse might be resisting? Who knows where the “two-finger rule” for fitting bridle … Read more Nosebands – how tight is too tight?
Here are 10 tips to spice up your schooling, if you need some inspiration to avoid the couch and get into the saddle in these darker evenings! – suggestions from equisearch.com. However, I omitted # 6,7 – I thought they were boring! Keep in mind that every time you ride, you are “training” your … Read more 10 Horse Arena Work Boredom Busters
I’ve learned so much about horses by watching them – particularly the countless ones I’ve watched revolve around me on the lunge line.(One at a time of course). I’ve learned to “read horse” by studying the subtleties of body language and facial expression, noting signs of stress, distraction and relaxation. Lunging has tuned my eye- … Read more Lunging horses – why bother?