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
Find and Fix the Pieces that Make Up the Whole Situation Last month in Part 1, I discussed the tendency some riders have to excuse their lack of motivation for education by stating that they are “just a trail rider”. This mindset suggests that these folks aren’t serious about learning … Read More
Don’t Use a Love of Trail Riding as an Excuse to Avoid Learning and Improving There’s a phrase I often hear when talking to horse people. Usually, I hear it at the start of my clinics, when we all introduce ourselves and tell a little about what we do with … Read More
Meike Horrer’s Journey with Manuel Jorge de Oliveira’s Method Meike Horrer (Thompson) is the founder and operator of Thompson Serenity Stables, a classical dressage and hoof rehabilitation facility located in Ferndale, Washington. A lifelong student of the modern dressage training scale, Meike trained and competed across various levels. However, a … Read More
Understand and Use Body Language to Speak “Horse” Working with horses gains better results with better understanding. True horsemanship involves building trust, understanding, and studying the way horses think and behave. Horsemanship’s foundation requires comprehending many principles from the perspective of the horse. It’s not just another thing we do … Read More
Signs, Symptoms, and Solutions for Improving Your Horse’s Flexibility Riding a horse who has achieved a high degree of suppleness gives a wonderful feeling to its rider. A supple horse moves fluidly and freely over the ground. Its hind legs reach well under its body while bending the joints of … Read More
Response in Spite of Trouble This month we wrap up our discussion on the principle of Response in Spite of Trouble, having covered the foundational understanding and some examples of situations starting on the ground. If you’ve not been reading along, I encourage you to check out the articles in … Read More
Response in Spite of Trouble Last month we discussed one of the most common questions I hear, which concerns what to do when a horse spooks or how to build confidence in a nervous horse. These are broad questions and can involve situations with a wide range of possible factors, … Read More
Response in Spite of Trouble Welcome to this three-part series which will cover one of the most universally applicable principles of horsemanship, what I call “Response in Spite of Trouble”. Some of the most common questions I’m asked concern what to do when a horse spooks or how to build … Read More
Four Tips for Handling Your Horse’s Feet without Stress Imagine how it feels for a prey animal like a horse to have their foot held and manipulated by a predator species like a human. It’s truly amazing they ever let us touch their feet! If we come to the horse … Read More
