Remember on Memorial Day
In the United States, Memorial Day (today, May 31st) was created as a poignant holiday to remember and recognize those who have sacrificed their lives to help maintain the freedoms and safety we enjoy in this country. Regardless of your political leanings, feelings about warfare, ethnic background or apathy, the men and women who have […]
What’s all this horse talk about “respecting my space”?
Do you really want to teach a horse to learn through fear, exhaustion or pain to surrender to you? Wouldn’t it be better for both horse and human if space was shared and respect was mutual?
Therapeutic horses can merely be happy ones
The whole event turned out to be a huge hit for all involved. The horses came running when called and kindly, happily and easily made themselves accessible to the visitors. All the residents were able to interact with the horses without concern or accessibility challenges.
Who’s to blame when boarding situations go bad?
Even if you assume the boarding facility is providing excellent care (which isn’t always a given), domesticated horses need attention and engagement.
Whisper, shout or click – is your system hearing the horse?
Getting a horse to do what you want is usually a pretty easy task. Most horses succumb to treats, threats, routine or demands if they understand your message. Still, there’s a difference between compliance and engagement.
Rescuing Off-The-Track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs)
Today, TB owners can’t give away a horse that’s no longer running competitively, rescues are over-flowing and adopters may get the warm fuzzies initially, but most are ill-prepared to transition a horse that comes with no training to help them understand the requests presented for their new career. Are the horses really better off now being dumped into a holding stall or pasture environment that provides no preparation for future demands or little stimulation during their stay?
Equine sites worth viewing
These are three very different approaches to the adressing issues in the horse world, but I hope you’ll find each equally interesting and engaging.
Horse blogs worth checking out
Looking for blogs worth a read? Here are our picks for today: Horse wellness blog http://sreinhold.wordpress.com Stephanie Reinhold provides a tremendous amount of detail in terms that even a layman can understand on the anatomy of the horse, how what we do impacts the horse’s movement and health, techniques for relieving tightness, stress or discomfort […]
Is the cause bandwagon really helping horses?
With the proliferation of social media and instant global networking, it seems every day there’s another opinion-driven outcry concerning what others shouldn’t be doing with horses. Unfortunately, most who support a pitch crafted to incite rarely take the time to understand the issues. This tends to be the case with any politically motivated activity (and […]
Consider the horse
There’s been a recent barrage of messages lately through blogs, online forums, DVDs and other platforms that lambaste those who use tactics that ignore the horse’s needs. Of course, most of these directives are worded in a techie fashion that excludes the neediest novices from the conversation. It’s also interesting that some of the more […]