Do horses want a job?

Most horses want a job. After all, we've been domesticating them millenniums to want to work with us. Good or bad, that's what we've created.

When I was a kid, I dreamed of living among horses in the wild, free as they were to do as I pleased. I figured that unfettered lifestyle would make me happy. Of course, I also imagined I could talk to horses like Dr. Doolittle. It was just me and that herd bonding, sharing and […]

Young Horse Training Tip #3: Ride every other day

Young Horse Training Tip #3

Trial and error is always a big teacher when it comes to young horse training. Sometimes, what you discover will surprise you. For many years at Halcyon Acres®, young horses were lucky to get a day off each week once training started. Probably a big part of this thinking came from the racetrack, where young […]

Keeping your horse cool during the summer

horse care during summer months at http://HorseSenseAndCents.com

Periodically we offer horse care tips on the Horse Sense and Cents® blog. Paisley presented some good tips to get thinking about now it seems like winter might actually leave this year and summer may appear. Chin up – no more chopping ice, climbing through drifts and skating to the barn – get ready for […]

Will your horse drink the water you give him?

good horse care requires fresh water always

Horse owners tend to be most concerned about water during the summer months. Some forget the importance of keeping it clean. Colic can become a big problem in the winter if a horse does not have constant access to water. Just because there’s no concern for algae, doesn’t mean your trough, bucket or automatic systems […]

Seven tips to help your horse weather a brutal winter

horse barn with melting snow

It’s snowing again – pelting and stinging missiles brought forth from another day (actually night at this point) of 30 mph winds. The horses here are suffering from this extended brutal winter, as am I. Last year, I was busy harvesting some of the vegetable produce from the garden by now, with (very unusual) temperatures […]

Special horses can make you cry

It amazed me to watch what I came to regard as ‘my little helper’ in action. . . . What struck me as so odd about all this is Redford certainly isn’t a herd leader. In fact, he ranks pretty much at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Forevever horse homes – kind or cruel?

Is a forever home really the kindest decision for a horse’s happiness and welfare? Sometimes. Sadly, putting this mandate on horse and human partnerships doesn’t always work as planned.

Horses, round pens and natural horsemanship

If you think your horse learns to trust you because you run him around in a restricted circle until he’s exhausted, think again. Some practitioners boast ‘licking and chewing’ as a sign of submission and associated respect (and this is something to be proud of?), but this can also signal stress.