Everything about domestication is unnatural for a horse. We limit movement, confine them without a way to escape, we limit forage types, and we put them in small caves (trailers) to transport them away from herd members just to name a few offenses. Domestication requires a lot of compromise and inconvenience on the part of the horse.

My day started at 6:30 with chores. I pulled into the house at 8p with a trailer of client horses. My assistant and I worked 5 horses, taught two lessons, we fed the farm, then I loaded two horses to be on the road to the vet by 2:45p. I pulled back into from the vet at 8p.

Yes a day late.

Yes, a day late. Sometimes life just makes priorities change.

Yes late

Yes late…. Oh the wind. Depending on the day in Texas, it is either closing us north or blowing us south. We are in that time of year where it is just warm and blustery or cold and blustery. At our horse, the horses still have to be worked. Many of us have adversion to riding in the wind. We feel the horses are more reactive, so we get nervous and feed that anxiety to the horses.

Teaching Takeaways Fine Print October Part 2

Teaching Takeaways Fine Print Farms - October Part 1

November Master Zoom

We can’t train pain. You have heard me say this before. Horses are designed to hide pain. By the time we see pain, the horse is pretty uncomfortable. Training is not pain free. There will be discomfort associated with fitness. Getting in shape creates soreness. This is not the pain I am referring to. The pain I am referring to is in regard to joints and supporting structures like tendons and ligaments.

Everything is dangerous to a horse until proven otherwise. It is your job to prove otherwise. It is not the horse’s job to be brave for you.

The Franch Part 2

What a lovely group of horses and humans we had in North Texas at teh Franch! We had a great day of learning.

Your horse doesn’t care who is in the White House. Enjoy them and keep working at being the best version of yourself for them!

A huge pet peeve of mine is walking into a lesson and seeing a rider that’s been on their horse less than ten minutes and they are trotting the horse around. The rider skipped all the walk warm up and when they did walk, they did not walk straight or with a purpose.

Beau Soleil Farms Part 3

Beaus Soleil Farms Part 2

To inject or not inject, that is the question. First, consult your veterinarian. The following is just my option based on my experience rehabbing horses.

October Master Zoom

Pay attention to the little details to avoid bigger problems. Many of the large problems we have with our horses can be avoided by not missing their small communications.