I’ve been avoiding the phrases "horse sense," "horse play" and "horse around" for a long time for a number of reasons. Mostly because they aren’t in common use anymore and,...
True, my young Warmblood, is trotting individual ground poles and sequences of up to four poles in a row, in both directions at various locations around the arena by now....
Writing a column like this, where one article follows another in perfect lockstep, suggests that horse training is a serial process. It’s as if my green Warmblood True learns one...
I made an observation while writing my last two articles and I admit, what you’re about to read is from the point of view of a slightly bitter woman. Just...
Q: Why do riders who are competing in the U25 division continue to compete in the equitation? Isn’t the whole point of the equitation division to prepare them the skills...
Don’t worry, we won’t be on poles forever. Last week, my four-year-old Warmblood True was clearing a three-inch raised pole by three feet. I redirected him to a different task...
Last week, I wrote about the Duke of Wellington and his horse, Copenhagen. This week, it seems only fitting to write about Napoleon and his horse, Marengo. But first a...
Following the exercise described last week, my four-year-old warmblood True is walking and trotting smoothly from each direction over single poles scattered around the arena. With such practice, he's learned...
At 28 years old, there aren’t many jobs that Gunner, a former cow horse, is still qualified to do. His feet are sore, so he requires special padded shoeing to...
I’ve written about the Duke of Wellington’s influence on footwear, aptly named Wellingtons or Wellies. Now, I thought I might look into Wellington’s horse, an off-the-track-Thoroughbred by the name of...
You know how show jumpers sail over gigantic obstacles, like oh say…CARS? Or set records for height, like oh say… EIGHT FEET high? Or breadth… um, that would be 28...
When I was in university I took a biological anthropology class, and while in that stuffy classroom learning about monkeys and prehensile tails, I also learned something interesting about horse...
It’s time to start teaching my green warmblood True to jump. As usual, we have to begin with some preliminary checks. First, be sure your horse’s bones and body are...
I’ve always regarded the UK as the birthplace of horse sports. I’m sure that is entirely correct, but it’s how I feel. I love British TV and all things horsey...
Time: that annoying measure of life that’s worth its weight in gold! In these weekly articles, I often describe brain-based training techniques that proceed slowly. Most people, especially those who pay...
I saw a TikTok video today of a woman talking about how hard she pronounced the ‘L’ in "caulk" to the man working in the hardware store. I know exactly...
Today’s title might perplex those who read this column regularly and know that for brain-based reasons I prefer to train by reward, but non-edible reward. The three treats refer not...
Although your local climate and weather conditions will likely have an influence on your horse’s hooves, there are some universal factors that impact hoof quality and growth rate year-round, no...
Long gone are the days when we could consider our horse’s fitness the only point of concern when it comes to our athletic endeavors together. Sure, he has to collect...
