Terry Golson

Tonka says that he shouldn’t have to wear his fly mask anymore.   He’s right. But I wish that he didn’t also think that now that the grass is grazed down, that the ground is best for rolling in and getting dirty.   He’s also right that there aren’t a […]

A Change Of Seasons

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Most horses have three gaits – walk, trot and canter. But a few breeds have other ways of moving their four legs. Some horses pace, which is when legs move in lateral pairs. The Icelandic horse has a unique fourth gear – the tolt. It’s four-beat, like a walk, but […]

Riding The Tolt

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Icelandic horses have, over a thousand years, adapted to the landscape. There’s a lot to adapt to. Dark winters. Snow. Ice. Rain. Wind.   Icelandic horses are stout, sturdy, have thick coats, and those hindquarters are sloped for a reason – rain and snow sheets off. There is little in […]

Icelandic Horses And The Wind

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Last week, Steve and I traveled to Iceland. He had one of those decade-beginning big 0 birthdays, so we thought we’d celebrate it by seeing the northern lights. We actually saw them from the airplane window flying into Iceland! and then again when standing in the dark on a windy […]

Iceland

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It’s October, Halloween month. Which means that people are dressing their pets up in costumes. I’m not one to call my animals “fur babies” (I think that does a disservice to seeing and appreciating their true natures) but yes, even I have succumbed to the silliness of Halloween. Here are […]

Halloween Horse and More

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Summer is a Quarter Horse who was rescued from the kill pen by Rita. She is one lucky mare. Rita is lucky, too, because Summer is a super little horse. Summer does, of course, have issues, but Rita accepts and accommodates them. In return, Summer adores her person. I was […]

Being Calm is Self-reinforcing

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Today, Karen Pryor and I went on our annual autumnal outing to apple orchards. We buy this and that, what catches our fancy. This year both of us couldn’t resist the five varieties of plums grown at Westward Orchards, nor the delicata squash, still with dirt on them, from Carlson […]

Karen Pryor And Tonka

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In my last post I wrote about how horses can show herd-bound behavior in some situations and not others. I have a story for you to further illustrate this. Tonka lives in a barn with seven horses.   There are only six grass paddocks. During the day, all of the […]

Herd Bound, Continued

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I can ride Tonka past the paddocks and into the woods, and he doesn’t give the barn a backward glance. He loads willingly into the trailer and looks forward to adventures off of the farm. We can arrive at a trail head where there are other horses, and he’ll sometimes […]

Situationally Herd Bound

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