Running Water Never Goes Stale

So you gotta just keep on flowing

  • Goodbye, Sweet Dragon

    I walked out of the pavilion after my lesson Monday morning to see the barn owner C. holding a syringe. That’s never good news. I asked who was sick? “Red is showing mild colic,” she replied grimly. Uh-oh. Red is her heart horse, the baby she got to build into a show horse, who she… Read more

  • Talos Doesn’t Want to Walk

    I’m standing in a grass field at the end of Talos’ lead rope.  It’s 11:09am and it’s hot.  My phone says it’s 91 degrees, but it feels like 102.  I feel like it’s at least twice that.  Sweat is dripping off of every part of my body and I am questioning a lot of life… Read more

  • Affirmative Cowboy Curtaining

    I was super excited to introduce Talos to the cowboy curtain of doom, because it’s the perfect opportunity to show him that he gets to make his own choices now and do some confidence building. Yay for affirmative training! I tacked him up and walked into the arena. I did not think we’d be riding… Read more

  • Overcoming Obstacles

    I don’t know if you know this about Texas, but in the summer, it’s fucking hot. So this leaves two options for riding: In the dark, or ass o’clock. Riding in the dark is only possible if you are lucky enough to have a well-lit arena, which we have not ever had. J. tried to… Read more

  • The Best You Can

    “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”~Maya Angelou Griffy came with a 16″ Custom saddle (Custom is a saddle brand, I don’t mean it was custom made for him) that I hated. It was small, I was big, and no one was having a good time… Read more

  • Learning to Listen

    I’m really fortunate that I was introduced to Anna Blake very early in my adult horsemanship life. Her class on calming signals did a lot to shape my approach to my horses by introducing the notion that horses communicate with us, and if we want a true partnership with our horse we have to learn… Read more

  • Are Some People Just Bad at Riding?

    This question was posted on r/Equestrian today, and it I wanted to address it here in longer form (I commented on the post too.) The poster had been riding for 5 years, and felt like she wasn’t getting any better. When she watched videos of herself, her lower legs were swinging and she didn’t feel… Read more

  • Welcome to Horse Girl Summer!

    Forget about Hot Girl Summer, it’s time for Horse Girl Summer! I find myself in a position I never imagined: with two sound, rideable horses. Given the history I’ve had with managing lameness, this seems less likely than the one-in-14,000,605 chance the Avengers had of defeating Thanos, and yet here we are. Right now I’m… Read more