Category Archives: Horsemanship

Horse people know the kind of body language horses use to mean “Go away!” A pinned ear, a lifted head, a shift of the hip or a hind leg lifted...

Growing up, most little girls dream of owning a pony. Braiding pink ribbons in their hair, kissing their soft noses, feeling the freedom that comes with having four legs take...

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...

In 2013, Harvard Business Review published an article by Bronwyn Fryer entitled “The Rise of Compassionate Management (Finally).” The piece formally announces the growing acceptance, and indeed, preference, for compassion...

I started 2017 by attending two big meetings—one which celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA), and one which heralded the start of a new era...

When horses act up, it’s easy to point the finger back at them. But what many horse owners may not know is that their own management practices may actually be...

Nothing will ever replace my childhood daydreams of galloping my horse down the beach without a saddle or bridle, just like Alec Ramsey and "Black" in the first of "The...

In 1996 I participated in a three day, self-awareness workshop. It was enormously helpful and quite enlightening. One of many concepts I learned made a huge impact in my life....

I woke up at 6am this morning and refused to leave my bed. It was a bitter 8 degrees outside in Lexington so instead I reached for my phone and...

Have you ever watched or ridden your friend’s horse and thought: “I wish my horse was like that?” Have you ever known the husband or wife of one of your...

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...

Recently, a trainer that I admire on Twitter asked me, “How much would you ask to be paid to set jumps?” I thought this was an odd question, but I...

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...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zxbE2siHQ8 Since the publication of my book RIDING HOME ~ The Power of Horses to Heal, I have discovered many remarkable programs that utilize horses to heal a number of varied emotional...

Live in the moment. Be here now. Look at your feet; that’s where your life is. The past has been spent; the future is an unwritten check but the present...

On June 12th, renowned horse trainer Mark Russell suffered a catastrophic neck injury while hosting a clinic in Massachusetts. The accident occurred as Russell was working a young horse. He...

The most asked question in the equine world is: “Why does my horse sometimes refuse to do what I ask him to do?” No matter what situation is occurring the...

Today, for the first time in my life as a riding instructor, I asked my students to consider what should be the most fundamental question: What does your horse need...

How does a horse's personality in the herd relate to how they behave towards people? Horses Lower Down The Herd Hierarchy Horse personality sometimes comes across as one thing with...

"I don't do this horse justice." How often have I heard someone with a nice horse say something along those lines? "My horse could do so much better if he...