Terry Golson

This whip holder is at the entrance to the indoor arena where I board Tonka. There’s nothing unusual in this. In my sport of dressage, a rider carries a whip.   We’re taught that if the horse ignores the leg aids (a squeeze, perhaps a jab or a kick) that the next […]

Cue, Threat or Punishment?

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Not quite two years ago, when I went looking for a horse to buy, I didn’t think that I’d do much more than easy trail rides. I have various physical issues, and was happy to be able to sit on a horse at all. I wanted a horse with a kind […]

Something New

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Tonka and I have been busy. The sport that I do with him is dressage. You might have seen photographs of large and fancy horses trotting in place with their noses pointed to the ground. That’s dressage, but that’s not what I do. At dressage’s foundation is the belief that slow […]

Balance With Your Horse

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Note this article (in slightly different form) is also available at Karen Pryor Clicker Training.   Horse people are also often dog people. Barn dogs have to greet animals and people with good manners, come when called, and remain still when necessary. But, for some reason, equestrians don’t think to […]

Teaching a Horse to Stay

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I know that I haven’t posted much about Tonka recently, but I’ve been thinking big thoughts about horses, relationships and training, and I’ve needed to let my ponderings stew and become coherent before committing them to words on this blog. At the end of October I moved Tonka to a stable a […]

My Beautiful Horse

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There’s all sorts of theories about why women love horses. I’ve heard people go on and on about how women get a power rush from being able to control a large beast, and that there’s an undercurrent of sexual connotations. I don’t buy it. It’s also not just about having […]

Conversing With My Horse

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Horses are generally quiet animals. They do most of their communicating with their bodies. Why talk when a flick of an ear can bring all of your pasture-mates to attention? Once in awhile, though, a horse will use his voice. Some horses don’t like to leave the group, and, when […]

The Nicker

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The horses are shedding. They are itchy. They roll. Did I mention that it is mud season? Here Sister is showing off what mud season looks like at a New England stable.   X (the ex-steeplechase horse) has managed to get his entire right side, and all the way up […]

Muddy Horses

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I am a reward-based trainer, and although horses respond to scratches, movement, access to things they want (etc., the list is long), most horses love, love, love cookies. Tonk’s favorite flavors are mint and apple (yes, horses are particular) and so I came up with this recipe. I warn you […]

Homemade Horse Treats

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