So many thanks go out to everyone who played a part in helping bring Jobi home! Words cannot express the joy in stepping outside my door in the morning to see him grazing in the pasture. If ever there was a dream come true, it is this horse in my life. Jobi spent fifteen months …

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new chapter in Aligarh’s education. I had the opportunity to sit on his back for the first time, and I am happy to report that all went off without a hitch and left me grinning from ear to ear. Pictures at the bottom! Let’s start with the approach – …

[dc]T[/dc]he novice rider receives an unfair amount of flack from their more experienced counterparts. There is, however, a great deal of insight to be gained from working with beginners. As an instructor I have learned the most from students which are complete novices vs. riders who have many years in the saddle. There is often …

[dc]I[/dc] would venture that curiosity was killed by the Equestrian, or at least the structure of Equitation. What happens to that free-spirited and unbridled joy inherent to any horse-crazy-kid when they grow up? Somewhere it is often exchanged with seriousness and the need for perfection. So how does a person go about reclaiming that sense …

[dc]C[/dc]ompetition at the top level does not indemnify you from abusing your horse. It does not mean that judges are more fair, that the people involved care more about the horse. Caring for a horse and caring about a horse are two completely separate issues. These videos are perfect examples of that. Every horse is …

Barrel racing is a high speed event, and when speed is added to any activity the difficulty level increases as do the potential errors. Let’s also add to the mix the fact that it is a competition sport and involves money, and as demonstrated in Dressage, Jumping and Reining, to name a few competitive sports; …

[dc]How is the[/dc] herd bound horse, or buddy sour horse, approached and dealt with? I have seen many of the traditional approaches. Isolation, trailering them away, walking them because you cannot ride them away from their friend successfully, etc. I have seen various measures of success in these ideas, some have worked in mild cases, …

By and large equestrians of all disciplines and sports tend to view leading in a rather two-dimensional fashion. That is, leading is used in order to transport the horse from point A to point B but otherwise has little effect on the training of the horse. This is a real shame because the manner in …

[dc]By nature[/dc] we are designed to work against the horse, and the use of our hands is no different. When we sit in the saddle we respond in fear by leaning forwards rather than sitting up taller or leaning slightly backwards. We squeeze with our legs when we want to stay in the saddle instead …

[dc]My horse[/dc] refuses to stand still at the mounting block, or even get close! Sounds familiar? I discovered this clever trick to make the mounting block issues a breeze and to entice your horse to WANT to hang out nice and close… My first horse was a Paso Fino, and he loathed the mounting block. …