Author Archives: Gretchen Lida

Horse people know more about what is going on in the sky and in the dirt than most. We have multiple weather apps on our phones and check them often....

As a horse girl, I am sad about the Queen's passing, but I understand others' rage. A recent photo from Queen Elizabeth II's funeral finally broke my cold, jaded soul....

There is a certain odor in tack shops on Saturdays. Lingering among the luscious scent of new leather and sun shirts fresh off the rack is the unmistakable perfume of...

Happy #Buyahorsebookday! Today, Trafalgar Square Books is hosting a day dedicated to horses on the page, and we are launching our first literary roundup to celebrate. After hosting the HN Reads...

When I meet someone new, I often don’t introduce myself as a horse person—and it is probably not for the reasons you think. Ok, maybe I lied. It is partly...

“Twenty-two percent of millennials say they have ‘no friends,’” claimed a Vox article from 2019. While that stat was pulled from a poll of fewer than 2,000 people, the truth...

The renowned wildlife program Nature on PBS has produced several equine-centric episodes that span the planet. Julia Roberts rode with nomadic horse masters in "Wild Horses of Mongolia." In "Legendary...

In its efforts to invade Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's troops took control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in late February. Troops seized the exclusion zone around it, which is now a...

It is well chronicled here on Horse Network that I, Gretchen Lida, have depression. I can be a sad sack who happens to love horses. Like clockwork, the worst spells are usually...

Earlier this week, my mare let out the world’s most pregnant capriole ever documented. Perturbed that she was not the first back into her stall for dinner, she took a...

When I was a preteen I could name all the essential horses in Lord of the Rings. But even then, I knew not to expect much equestrian nuance in high...

"You look cute in that," the person I love said when he first saw me in barn clothes. There was hay in my hair. The ratty t-shirt and jeans I...

Horses and cowboys are ubiquitous to the romance genre. A good steed and a tough man is such a well-known trope that it seems impossible to separate "The West," and...

In March, the New York Times profiled an equine-based life-coaching facility with a star-studded client list in the Ramsay de Give penned essay: "Can We Learn Anything From Horses?" The Equus Experiential...

"Gretch, you fell from six feet going 25 miles an hour," my horse trainer said as I stood up and limped back to the mounting block. I dusted the arena...

Burnout isn't just a buzzword but a reality for millions. It is a state, defined by researcher Christina Maslach, of exhaustion in which we are often cynical and less effective at...

After 20 years of riding other people’s horses, I finally have one of my own. As I latched her stall door for the first time, a familiar sense of worry...

When Benjamin Franklin proclaimed that, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he was referring to fire prevention in Philadelphia. But, this sage piece of wisdom is...

The editor of the new anthology Horse Girls: Recovering Aspiring and Devoted Riders Redefine the Iconic Bond, Halimah Marcus, once refused to write about horses, and no one ever questioned...

I just bought my first expensive helmet. Then I spent the entire drive home from the tack shop panicking about how much money I had just spent. Up until that...