Progress Comes One Small Step at a Time I may have found the secret to a well-lived life. I call it, “Do whatever you can do.” Okay, maybe this just works for me, but I want to share it with my fellow horse people who might also struggle to get … Read More
Facing End of Life Decisions with Best Friends My senior horse, Gunner, has Cushing’s disease and chronically sore feet. Although he’s on medication to treat the disease as well as reduce pain, each fall as the days shorten and his cortisol rises, he has another episode that pulls him down … Read More
How to Help Your Horse Feel Safe The most important characteristic of a safe, well-trained horse is trust. Horses who trust people are far less likely to behave in erratic, explosive, or aggressive ways and are a joy to handle and ride. Creating trust in horses is the responsibility of … Read More
YouTube Tutorials Can Be Helpful, but They Don’t Replace In-Person Instruction Social media can be useful; it connects us to neighborhood groups that let us know what’s happening in our community (is your power out too?) and keeps us in touch with long-lost friends from high school. I use YouTube … Read More
Finding Peace and Classical Dressage at this 18th Century Portuguese Estate In May 2025 I attended an immersive educational opportunity for working equitation judges in Portugal. Following the training, many of my fellow judges and other attendees planned to participate in some of the riding and training opportunities horse people … Read More
A Trainer’s Perspective on Arena Surfaces Few things are more important for the soundness of our horses than the arena footing we ride on. Years of training horses and teaching lessons has given me some strong opinions about what’s best. If you pay attention to horses as they work, it’s … Read More
Inspiration Comes from a Clinic Student My summer has been busy with travel, judging working equitation shows, and teaching clinics. I feel fortunate to meet people of all ages, types, abilities, and backgrounds, and horses are the same all over the world—they fill me with joy. Horses humble us, make … Read More
Travel, Horses, and Learning Bring Back Joy Last winter, after my 7-year-old gelding Gus was diagnosed with DSLD and had to be retired, I found myself in a state of hopeless burnout, going through the motions of work, eat, sleep, repeat. I love my farm and have a good life, … Read More
Life’s Journey Evolves How We Train As a young horse trainer, I had great ambitions. Although my love for horses has always been true, in my youth I took a more self-centered view of our relationship. What could they do for me? I thought about what we might accomplish together, … Read More
Receiving Comfort from Special Friends Long Gone Throughout my life I’ve mined my imagination when I need to escape stressful situations. I use this skill to transport myself to a happy place and time. Memory is my greatest tool as I close my eyes, breathe, and think of some places … Read More
