Channel Archives: Learn

A tiny brown muzzle and dark, confused eyes are finally visible. The grey mare, flanks slick with sweat, rallies and completes the last push. It’s really happening; your foal is...

I tend to be pretty flexible. There aren’t a whole lot of things that I believe are absolutely critical. But when it comes to horses, when it comes to feeding...

I breed, train, and show my own horses. I know the highs and lows of doing what we all love so much. As much as a perfect ride can take...

I’ve often thought it was kind of unfair that reindeer get to be so closely associated with the Christmas holidays, instead of horses. When it comes to human history, horses...

Most equestrians have suffered through an incessantly pawing horse in the crossties. Frustration often gets the best of us and it can be tempting to resort to scolding, yanking on...

If you are an equestrian athlete, you know that confidence is your secret weapon. There is no sweeter feeling than knowing that, no matter what the situation or degree of...

I get that some horses cost more to buy than others. In fact, I wrote about it. (Read “On the Value of Horses.”) Over my career, I’ve been fortunate enough...

One evening, I was cleaning stalls when a friend, who is a nurse, stopped by the barn. She walked to the stall where I was stuffing a haynet and, without...

There’s a problem that crops up pretty regularly when it’s wet outside. I hope that you horse hasn’t had it. It’s called “scratches.” Or mud fever. Or greasy heel. Or...

You have a horse. You take him to shows (doesn’t really matter much what kind). Congratulations, you horse is now a “performance” horse. Look out. You are undoubtedly subjected to—or going to...

I’ve written a few articles about colic—myths, when to go to surgery, and such—and, with all that's been said, by me, and by many other folks, I think that there’s...

If you have your horses where they can hang out with their buddies in big grass pastures, good for you.  Good for them, too. Horses are social creatures. They are very curious...

A major piece of the puzzle of equine airway diseases has been discovered: the role of fungi. A three-year study published by The Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) involving over 700...

For every yin, there is a yang. I wrote an article on fat horses—here’s one on skinny horses. Skinny horses are the flip side of the coin from fat horses....

Have you ever noticed in training that it is often easier to do lateral work, bending, turning, and lead changes, in one direction than in the other? This may be...

I was recently at a summer show and talking to a very experienced coach who asked me if I could do a session at the barn for her riders. “The...

Sometimes, you may need to deworm your horse. Happily, if you do—and you should find out if you do with a fecal egg count rather than just blindly deworming on...

Last Wednesday, two-time Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward (USA) opted out of his first championship in over a decade when he withdrew his mount Contagious from the Pan American...

OK. You’re convinced that your mare has behavioral problems because of her heat cycle. (Not sure? Read Part 1 of this series to brush up on that.) You want to do...

It was over six-years-ago when the rickety trailer, jostling with rusty bolts, pulled through the driveway of the New Hampshire farm I rode at. Our stable relied on an aging...