Author Archives: Rebecca Didier

We all blame “habits” for our behavior, both good and bad. And most of us understand that the more we do a certain behavior or think a particular thought, the...

Most of us hold tension in some part of our bodies—our shoulders, our lower backs, our jaws maybe. It might begin as just a little tweak (say, on Monday) and...

Ah, the corners of the riding arena…so often haunted by bogeymen and other mysterious “somethings” certain to cause a scoot or a spook. By a year or so into your...

If you’re like me, you look at your first-pony photos (it’s all about nostalgia these days) and cringe a bit at the position of your leg—no doubt, stuck a little...

It is so easy to get stuck in a rut when working with horses. We get good at what we know and then so many of us rely on the...

Sparkling white lines and broad swathes of color denoting bike lanes and crosswalks—to us, they are provided to ensure our safety, but so often our horses perceive them as terrifying...

Gripes? Gosh, I’ve got them. Let’s begin with people not picking up after their dogs and end with partners not cleaning out the lint filter on the dryer…and you can...

We’ve all known one—an insecure horse, that is. He’s the gelding that doesn’t like being by himself in the ring; she’s the mare with the serious FOMO, “screaming” and carrying...

You can leave your jacket behind and (this year) don a funky fedora. Friends become fierce competitors and cameras click as rider, trainer, and coach examine the array of obstacles...

When canvasing equestrian-related social media, it appears that draw-reins are quite fashionable again. And every “like” says “regression” rather than “retro.” After all, it has been 9 years since the...

Many riders and trainers undervalue the benefits of trick training—you know: teaching your horse to bow, sit, paw or nod on cue…maybe carry things around the barn or arena…and who-knows-what...

“I didn’t grow up in a horsey family,” says Karen Robertson Terry, a tall, tawny-haired regulatory affairs professional in the pharmaceutical industry. “But I was naturally drawn to horses from...

Ever wondered what your horse would say to you if he could? What is he thinking as you pull his mane, tighten his girth, sponge his dock? How does he...

According to Maclay Finals winner, judge, clinician and author Anna Jane White-Mullin, most “rushers”—horses that run to fences—are topped by nervous riders who panic when their horses become tense or...

My first digital camera changed my recorded equestrian life. Gone were the awkward, ginormous-head-tiny-rump photos I’d so often caught on film years prior. Now, when my horse moved from where...

Perhaps one of the most destructive of all emotions is fear of failure. This is not your normal everyday fear of being injured; it’s the fear of making a mistake,...