The Many Ways to Love and Cherish the Older Equine by Allison Trimble I am no stranger to loving senior horses. I kissed my childhood horse, Bayleen (37), for the last time in June of 2013. She was followed soon after by her running partner, Gus (33). Many of … Read More
New Book and Trading Cards Featuring the Chincoteague Pony by Lois Szymanski The newborn foal peered at Caroline from her computer screen. This was the foal she knew she had to buy. Caroline had worked hard and saved all her money to buy a wild Chincoteague pony foal and now … Read More
Committed to Youth and the Gift of Experience by Catherine Madera The most meaningful things in life are wrapped up in experiences, those that connect us to others and the natural world. These times form the foundation for a successful life, especially for young people. Unfortunately, facilitating such experiences … Read More
The Trail Rider’s Guide to Surviving Winter by Robert Eversole Sometimes, despite our best intentions, it’s easy to hibernate the winter away and neglect the wonderful planning and preparing opportunities that these cold, gray and even bleak days provide. I’ll be the first to admit that it doesn’t … Read More
How to Improve Your Riding in Just 10 Minutes a Day I was sitting in front of the computer this morning staring at the blank computer screen, waiting for inspiration to hit me for this month’s column. Our focus for July is the performance horse. As I was perusing through … Read More
The Performance Demands of Backcountry Riding As a trail rider you are a high performance rider, and your horse or mule is your high performance partner. By “high performance” I’m not only referring to the various extreme trail riding events we often see. Even away from judges, spectators, crowds and … Read More
Strategies to Help Make Every Ride Count When training a horse, there are so many things to take into consideration that it can become a bit overwhelming. One article says this, a video says that and another clinician said something different. How does a person know what to believe? It … Read More
Applying Observations of Balance to Under Saddle Work Alice riding with a garrocha poleLast month we observed balance primarily from the ground. I asked you to watch balance shifts within movements along with rhythm, carriage, and overall structure of the horse. We looked at some specific maneuvers and attempted to … Read More
Part 3: The Round Pen by Allison Trimble I use the round pen for a multitude of situations, from foundation training, to confidence building in riders, to re-training horses. It is an extremely valuable tool that I often see misused. For instance, it is a critical mistake to use … Read More
Jackpots, Draw Pots and Finding Your Level of Competition by Roger Braa and Catherine Madera Every equine sport has levels of competition and ranch sorting is no different. This month we asked Roger Braa to explain the nuts and bolts of competing: how and where to start out as … Read More
