Terry Golson

At some point during the fifteen years that Lily lived with me, I started calling her Good Dog Lily. I did that, not because she was, in the typical sense, a good dog. She was alarmist, hyper-aware, reactive to movement, a barker, an early-riser, an observer, not a cuddler. In […]

Good Dog Lily

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Most of us have had an aha! moment that has changed our lives, but few of us take that insight and change the world. Karen Pryor is one of those rare people who has. In the 1960s she was handed an obscure and technical manual that she was instructed to […]

From Dolphins to Training Surgeons

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Our second outing of the season was another schooling show. A recognized show is under the auspices of the United States Dressage Association, and people vie for points and regional and national championships. Schooling shows are run by clubs or venues, are more relaxed, and are a place to try […]

Looks Good In Red

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There’s an expression about horses, and it’s always a compliment. That horse has the look of eagles. In 1937, a racing writer, Joseph A. Estes wrote a poem about Man o’ War, the famous racehorse: He was marked with the god’s own giving And winged in every part: The look […]

The Look Of Eagles?

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I have a fondness for horse whiskers. They certainly make selfies ridiculously fun.   But they’re also an essential piece of anatomy that the horse relies on. Each whisker has a nerve ending that conveys information to the horse – input that they can’t get in other ways. A horse […]

The Importance of Whiskers

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On Sunday, Tonka and I entered our first dressage competition since this past August. We spent most of last year dealing with difficult to diagnose and treat pain – it started in January of 2016 with bursitis in the poll, moved to damage to neck vertebrae, and continued on to […]

Getting Riding Fit

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Yesterday I trailered Tonka to meet up with his friend Maggie. Tonka hadn’t seen Maggie for a year, but before that they’d been stabled next to each other and had been paddock-mates. As it’s said time and again, horses are herd animals, so Tonka was bound to be pleased to […]

Horse Friendship and Riding Issues

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Friends at the barn invited me to go trail riding with them at a nearby Town Forest. I wasn’t able to join them, but it sounded like ideal hacking, so last week I found time to trailer Tonka over. As promised, the parking lot was large, flat, and easy to […]

Lost, or Exploring?

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Tonka lives in a barn with six other horses. They each have their own roomy box stall. They spend their days, solo, in spacious grass paddocks. Tonka likes individual turnout. In the past, he’s been kept in groups, and in pairs, but he’s never been fully comfortable. Tonka has issues […]

Barn Talk

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