Terry Golson

One of the things that has held Tonka and I back from going up the levels in dressage has been the recurrent comment from the judges on our tests: needs more energy. He does the patterns correctly, precisely and with a willing fluidity. But my horse just hasn’t had that […]

Full of (Jumping) Beans

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I have a banana.    Yes, I’ll share it with you, Tonka.   All gone. No, you don’t like banana peels.   Ewww. Banana snort snot.   No, that wasn’t funny.   Yes, we’re still friends. No, there are no more bananas.    

Banana Story

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It’s been grey, cold and dank. January weather.   Then it poured rain and sleeted, which saturated the snow and turned everything into slush and then crust. The last few days, though, we’ve had a respite. Above freezing temps for at least part of the day. The paddocks went from […]

January Thaw

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Tonka feels good.   This is a lovely, forward, rhythmic trot. Note that the photo shows Tonka’s moment of suspension. All four are off the floor. I’m really happy to see that. Outside it’s been snowy and bitter cold. Tonka gets turned out in a paddock, but doesn’t move much […]

A Respite From the Indoor Arena

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It’s the end of January. Here in New England we have a couple of months of bitter cold weather yet to come, but the horses are shedding. That’s because the trigger that tells their bodies to start to lose their worn-out old hair and grow new is not temperature. It’s […]

Horses Shed Butt First

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I’ve set myself a goal to blog twice weekly – on topic. I achieved that for a decade when I wrote about chickens, and I’ve done that since May of 2016 here at Cooperative Horse. It’s a challenge to come up with ideas week in and week out. This morning […]

Metaphors

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Can you go into a tack store and come out empty-handed? What is it you can’t resist buying? For some people it’s saddle pads. For me, it’s brushes. Grooming is not only a means to an end – love that shine on a horse – but it’s a process that […]

Horse Grooming Brushes

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Tonka has been going really well. After way too long (a couple of years!) with cascading soundness issues, we’re finally out from the other side of the neck/back/sacroiliac saga. Tonka enters the indoor arena (it’s winter, it’s Maine, we’re in a ring, but at least we’re in the saddle!) with […]

Tonka Gets Hock Injections

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I recently had a master fitter come out to look at Tonka’s saddle. Saddles are stuffed (flocked) with wool, and even the perfect saddle needs to be checked yearly because the wool compacts, your horse changes shape, things happen. Nancy Shedrick pronounced my saddle to be exactly the right one […]

I Need A New Saddle

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