horse body language

It’s now officially spring. But we horse people already knew that. The shedding!   Here in the north our horses’ manes are waxy with gunk, their bodies remain dusty and grimy no matter how much grooming we do, and their white hocks (for those of us “lucky” enough to have […]

Bathtime

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Steve often comes to my lessons to take photos or video. It’s great to have a record of our progress. But for someone like me who is self-critical and analyzes details, it can be hard to have concrete evidence of all of those things that I need to improve (those […]

What the Ears Say

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Tonka had something sticky on his nose, so I used his favorite soft curry on it.   Seven years with Tonka, and I never knew that he liked this. Now he wants me to curry his nose everyday.   A relationship is never static if you pay attention to what […]

Something New: Nose Grooming

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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

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After years of me writing about things, it’s time for Tonka to have his say. Here’s his point of view of last week’s lesson.         Show season starts soon. I’m sure that Tonka will have a lot to say about that!

Tonka’s POV

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While Tonka and I did our warmup walk in the ring yesterday, we stayed out of the way of a lesson. The horse being schooled is a big, powerful mare, with a goal of competing in the jumpers. There’s a lot of energy and drama when she goes. The fences […]

Listening Despite Enthusiasm

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Tonka and I continue to learn to jump as a team. I listen to our trainer, Steph, and then try to convey her advice about how to approach the obstacles to Tonka, but he has his opinions about the best way to do it. When Tonka gets frustrated, his way […]

Jumping Teamwork

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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

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