h   Learning will only happen in certain conditions. The most important of these is mutual respect – between horse and rider, between teacher and student. Respect does not, ever, involve intimidation. Respect does not mean blindly following a guru figure. The word goes back to the Latin verb “respicere” – meaning: “to look thoroughly” or: “to see clearly.” Respect means taking the time to listen to someone, to consider where they come from, before accepting what they have to say – or before deciding it’s not for you. Respect means giving someone else your full attention, to try to underst ..read more

Anyone who reads my writing can tell that English is not my first language. It’s not my second language, either. It’s my third.  I grew up in Germany, where I learned to speak German without thinking about it, the way any child does. In high school, I learned English (and Latin, which does not really count, and French, which I never used). My teachers explained the rules of English grammar, correcting mistakes in red ink, assigning grades. I grew up in the 80s, so I also listened to a lot of Bruce Springsteen and the Dire Straits, realizing that my English did not help me understand the ..read more

Ivy, my favorite OTTB to date. Over the years, I’ve worked with my share of former race horses – OTTBs, but also Quarter horses and Arabians. I’ve always found that these horses, if they’re sound, can become excellent riding partners. They are not automatically hotter or more difficult than other horses. Off-the-track horses have learned a set of aids that worked just fine on the track, but does not apply anywhere else. They have learned to function in one very specific environment. When their racing career is over, they find themselves in an unfamiliar world where the rules they know no lon ..read more

There’s a lot of talk about heart, spirit, and emotional connection in today’s horse world – a marked contrast to the buzzwords of decades past, which sounded more like “Show him who’s in boss!” or “Just make him do it!” I want to do what is best for horses, which means I am happy about this change. Lately, though, there are also times when feel a little more uneasy, a litte skeptical. Here’s why:  Of course it’s good we are moving away from dominance-based training. A long time ago, when I was young and naive, I worked for a world champion trainer who used prong bits, draw reins, rock gr ..read more

I call myself a dressage rider. So why am I using my Western saddle more than my dressage saddle?  There’s a practical reason: it fits more of the horses who come to me for training. Western saddles have no built-in flocking. Instead, they are used with thicker saddle pads,  which makes their fit much more forgiving. I own two good Western saddles, one for horses with medium to high withers, the other for horses with low withers and/or wide backs. With the right kind of saddle pad, almost any horse can feel comfortable working in one or the other of my Western saddles. I also own tw ..read more

  “Sit tall in the saddle, Hold your head up high Keep your eyes fixed where the trail meets the sky And live like you ain’t afraid to die And don’t be scared, just enjoy your ride” (Chris LeDoux)   When new clients come to my barn, I always ask them what their most important goal is. My favorite answer: “ I want to enjoy riding my horse.”  To some, this may sound like these students are setting the bar low, or like they don’t have much ambition to learn how to ride well. We often use the term “recreational rider” in a dismissive tone, to describe to lesser humans than competit ..read more

Dogs and their owners start to look alike after they’ve spent enough time in each other’s company. Something similar is true for horses and their riders. No, we don’t really start to look alike – we might as well admit that even the most attractive of us will never look as beautiful as any plain horse. But in spite of this, we still mirror each other to an astonishing degree. Horses go the way we ride them. It’s a simple truth that happens on every level – physically, mentally, emotionally.  Horses compensate for their riders’ imbalances. My working student had a lightbulb moment when sh ..read more

Forest fires are burning all around New Mexico right now.  My horses and I are not in danger, at least not yet, but I know many people who had to evacuate with all their animals. School gyms and county fairgrounds have become emergency shelters. The flames have  consumed more than 200 000 acres, with no end in sight. Homes and ranches, even entire villages, have burned to the ground, leaving families with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their existence and way of life destroyed by the flames. From my barn, I can see and smell the smoke. Our blue sky has become hazy, coloring ..read more

  Riding horses is a two-way conversation. The technical knowledge of how to talk to your horse, about what you want him to do is one part of this process. The other, even more important part consists of listening to the horse’s side of the story. It’s our willingness and ability to understand what the horse is saying to us at any given moment. This is what we call feel.  All good riding consists of three elements: feel, plus an effective seat, plus a coherent system of aids. Together, these create the alchemy we try to create: effortless harmony between horse and rider. Developing ..read more

  “My horse has a hard mouth!” I’ve heard well-meaning riders use this phrase to justify their need to pull or fiddle on the reins “to get him to soften up,” or to use a more severe bit “because he won’t respect the mild one.” I’ve seen other,even more well-meaning riders use nothing but a sidepull or a rope halter on their horses, because they fear that using a bit “will make his mouth hard.” I think both of these statements could use reframing. First, pulling on a horse definitely won’t make his mouth softer. Many years ago, when I worked as the assistant trainer at a Quarter Horse sho ..read more