Category Archives: Books and Film

For well over a century, Félix Nadar’s 1891 portrait of Selika Lazevski has captured imaginations.     Selika is said to be a celebrated equestrian of Nineteenth Century Paris circuses,...

A cold front moves across the piedmont of North Carolina. The wind lifts my horse’s mane from his neck, causing us both to shiver. He stands like a statue as...

From our earliest interactions with horses, from our very first riding lessons, we learn about equine reactivity, about prey mentality, and we’re warned of the likelihood of the “spook.” So...

There are many in-saddle scenarios where a horse may “rush”: during transitions, before fences, or whenever you pick up the trot or canter or ask for the rein-back. The rhythm...

In the past decade chiropractic work—for human, horse, and other animals—has been increasingly accepted by the mainstream as a viable means of easing or, in some cases, eradicating pain or...

Admit it: it is one of the trickiest lines to walk as a horse owner and rider. Most of us want our horses to be happy, comfortable, and love us...

Join Linda Finstad on an extraordinary photographic journey into the "back stretch" in her new book The Humans of Horse Racing. Discover the inner sanctum of racing, strictly off limits to the public,...

Miniature Horses and small ponies can be just as athletic as their full-sized counterparts. We often see them driven or performing tricks, but believe it or not, they can also...

The truck lurched. Then again. My stomach jolted to my throat. We heard a loud bang, and the truck swerved. “What was that?” I bolted upright, peering over at Dad...

Andrea Waldo has written the book that I wish I'd had many years ago. Fear and anxiety issues are things I've struggled with as a rider. I've had the good...

John’s barn was small and sweet. He explained to Zoe when she showed up at three-o’clock that he leased the property from a couple who lived in Manhattan. They had...

That’s right. As FEI/USEF dressage judge Janet Foy says in her book Dressage for the Not-So-Perfect Horse, “No one will die if you make a mistake. No one has had...

Most of us recognize that horses communicate with each other via body language, but did you know that you can learn his “words” and “phrases” and use them with horses...

When aren’t we seeking a breakthrough? That “aha!” moment when the lesson clicks and we and/or our horses not only get it but can do it (whatever “it” might be—square halt,...

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...

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...