Tonka sometimes feels off. The veterinarian has had a look, and then another. The slight gimpyness isn’t enough to come up with a clear diagnosis, or even to be exactly sure where the unsoundness is coming from. This isn’t a new problem. It keeps rearing its head. Or should I […]

Sound to Ride

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

Last week Tonka was feeling wonderful. He was going sound and letting me know that he felt good. I blogged about it. Jinx! I had that fun jumping lesson, and then two great rides over the weekend. Tonka was forward, balanced, doing enthusiastic canter work, and was supple across his […]

Calm Hoof Soaking

What with the coffin joint injections and a change in shoeing, Tonka has been sound. However, I felt that there was something not quite right. We had the occasional buck and resistance at the canter transitions. To me it felt like he got stuck and couldn’t step into it.   Tonka’s […]

Feeling (Too) Good

Back in August, Tonka went lame in the left front. Monika, Tonka’s veterinarian, deduced that it was coming from the coffin joint. Radiographs didn’t show anything dramatic, but she thought that there was a slight tip to the angle of the coffin bone that might be the cause of Tonka’s […]

Coffin Joint Progress

We have two trail cams set up at Turtle Hill. One of them is in the Beaver Sculpture Park. This time of year the marsh is frozen over and the beavers stay in their lodge. But we were curious about who else might be enjoying their artistic efforts. Other than […]

Artists at Turtle Hill

I wrote about this last winter, but I’m doing it again. I have a fix for static shocks at the barn. It has truly changed my relationship with Tonka. Tonka is a smart horse who makes connections. He hates static shocks. He knows they don’t just happen out of the […]

Static Shock Fix For Horses

I used to have a dog named Lily. She took her job of being vigilant about what went on around Little Pond Farm very seriously. She was not an easy dog to live with. I decided that she needed a side-kick. A Robin to her Batman. I found this puppy. […]

Scooter is 14!

I live in southern Maine. We have WEATHER. Rain, nor’easters, hail, the occasional hurricane, snow, blizzards. Fog, sun, clouds, high winds, withering humidity. I welcome (or at least tolerate) all of it except in winter when the temperature hovers at freezing and instead of snow we get rain that freezes […]

Colic Weather