Terry Golson

We’ve all taken selfies. Getting a decent photo of yourself is difficult enough; adding a second being to the shot complicates things. Why are selfies so popular anyway? There’s no way to get a flattering view when posing shoulder-to-shoulder with a friend while holding the camera at arm’s length – I always struggle […]

Selfie With Horse

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There’s nothing interesting under the snow in Tonka’s paddock. It’s packed dirt.   A horse’s digestive system is designed to have a constant influx of small amounts of forage, and ideally that would be consumed while walking – about fourteen miles daily! Obviously, this isn’t possible for our horses. With animal care there […]

A Browse Walk With My Horse

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Zak is one of my clients. He’s developed a skin condition on his legs. It’s very itchy.   Zak thanks me for my care.   Animals do express gratitude, but we humans are often dull to what they are telling us. One reason that my animals talk to me is that […]

Zak Thanks Me

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working trot
I’m a writer. I believe that the words that I choose to use – and not use – matter. As someone who has had her manuscripts marked up with red ink by editors, I know that the words that I have in my head, when put down on paper, aren’t always as clear as I intended. […]

Words Matter

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I keep Tonka at a boarding barn that has both an indoor and outdoor ring. Some people never get off of the property with their horses, but I do. It’s good both physically and mentally for the horse to get out and see new things and to move over varied terrain. […]

From a Horse’s Perspective

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Today might possibly have been the most perfect day to be out in the woods all year. This morning the biting insects were gone. Fallen leaves that smelled sweet, and yet somehow like old campfires, were underfoot. The sky was blue and the sun lit up the leaves still in the trees so that the […]

The Best View

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Clicker training is the term used to describe working with animals using positive reinforcement. The basic idea is that you mark the behavior that you want (often with a noise maker called a , hence the terminology) and then you immediately reward. The animal learns to work for desired consequences (as opposed […]

Believe the Ears

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Horses sleep lying down. Tonk’s stall is clean when he goes in at night, but horses poop, and Tonka always seems to find a pile of manure for a pillow for his (white!) quarters. During the day, he has a favorite sandy spot in the paddock to roll in.   Some horses are […]

Horse Grooming

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Not quite twenty years ago, I had a dog that needed something to do. The sport of agility was beginning to gain popularity, and so I took classes and joined a club. I’d been a horsewoman, but found the change to a dog sport difficult. I wasn’t sitting on the dog […]

Before You Use a Clicker

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