Terry Golson

I just returned home from four days in Houston, Texas. I was there for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) annual conference. There were three full days of lectures about the science of animal behavior (with ethology, physiology, and a few other ologys thrown in.) I go to […]

IAABC Conference Conversations

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It’s still so cold that Tonka is turned out in a sheet or blanket.   But it’s been warming up to above 40° F in the afternoons. That’s a good thing/bad thing. The trails are clear of ice!   But the ticks have woken up. The other day, scratching the […]

Hands On Grooming for Tick Season

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I think that the big picture is cute.   The view from on top gets even cuter. There’s a whorl in that skunk mane. It’s a part of my horse that cannot be tamed!   As a trainer, I’ve learned to break down behavior into the smallest possible components, find […]

Seeing The Details

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When my son was little, there was a book that we read over and over again. . It’s a retelling of the classic turtle and the hare tale, but with Disney characters and cars. Goofy, of course, is the turtle. As he perseveres through set-backs he repeats this refrain: Slow […]

Slow and Steady, Steady and Slow

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Humans find symmetry beautiful. (Google this. Fascinating research!) We also equate symmetry with athleticism. Oh, to be an ambidextrous baseball batter! But most of us are either left or right-handed. Beyond that, wear and tear alters our posture. Perhaps a shoulder droops a little, or we’re stronger on one leg […]

Counting to Position Success

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It takes just one bad scare to change how your horse behaves from then on – for days, maybe months, maybe years, maybe forever. With observation, management and training, you can alleviate some of your horse’s fear, but you might not be able to “fix” it. I’m in this situation […]

Overcoming a Fearful Incident

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Steve and I have been doing the sort of thinking that went into deciding what’s right for the Goat Boys, for ourselves. In the last few years, much in our lives has changed, but our physical space has not. It’s better to be proactive about these things than to have […]

A Move To Maine

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Several times a year, I teach a Problem Solving Your Problem Animal class through local adult and community education departments. Each person who comes loves their dog (it’s usually a dog, although I’ve had people discuss cats and parrots, too) but they’re at their wit’s end. Each person has an […]

How To Choose A Trainer

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In April, the Goat Boys, Pip and Caper, will be ten years old. They’re twins. They arrived here when they were 10-weeks old. They are delightful, charming, clever, and optimistic. I adore them.  Wethers (neutered male goats) can live to be twelve years old. Some live to be fourteen. So, the […]

A New Life For Old Goats

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