behavior

To the uninitiated, a horse’s body language can seem inscrutable. A horse prefers to be subtle and nuanced in their conversation. A horse communicates what they’re thinking with a turn of the ear, a wrinkle that appears in the corner of the nose, a shift in weight. Unfortunately, when those […]

Horse Body Language 101: Relaxed

by
I’ve had Tonka for seven years and there hasn’t been a day with him that I haven’t worked on a certain behavior. Actually, it’s more of a mindset. I call it connected relaxation. With attention to this goal, and consistency in training, it has come to underlie everything that my […]

Connected Relaxation

by
It rained all day on Thanksgiving. The horses were not turned out into their big paddocks, but Tonka has his in/out so at least he got to put his head outside. The barn was closed to boarders so that the staff could have most of the day off. We all […]

The Sanity Nugget

by
Horses are herd animals, which means they prefer to be in a group of their own kind. Feral horses living on open rangeland organize themselves into a family subset of mares, foals, a few youngsters, and a stallion who keeps them together. There are roving bands of bachelors, angling to […]

Friends Over the Fence

by
We moved to Maine a year ago. Our house sits on a rise overlooking a beaver marsh. We named the property Turtle Hill because turtles lay their eggs here. Right now is prime nesting season. We are thrilled to see these ladies.   The view to the front of the […]

Tonka’s Thoughtful Place

by
Tonka and I have been busy. This week we’ve done a broad range of activities, from trail riding to jumping, and my horse has been enthused and game for all of them. Several of our rides were flat work in the arena. I focused on cadence and an engaged topline. […]

Stop to Smell (Eat) the Flowers

by
Do you recognize your horse’s happy face? A horse’s expression can be hard to read. We humans are clued into smiles. That’s why we like dolphins so much – even though they’re not actually grinning. It’s why it’s common to think that birds don’t have emotions – because their beaks […]

Your Horse’s Happy Face

by
On Saturday I trailered Tonka to Turtle Hill. He’s been here enough to get comfortable with being near a body of water. In the past, riding near ponds and rivers put Tonka on high alert. No longer. Tonka is also at ease being on his own. So, we had a […]

Tonka the Explorer

by
Here is how to catch a horse: Don’t. I’m not being flippant. Your horse associates being caught with what comes after. If every time you walk up to your horse the consequence is less rewarding than what they’re doing at the moment, then they’ll keep their distance from you. Are […]

How To Catch A Horse

by