Horses have taught me so many life lessons. Some of them are easy and pleasant. Some are tough and I struggle with them almost constantly. Some of them I can’t articulate. Some of them, like today’s lesson, I can share with you. Today’s lesson didn’t come straight from the horse’s mouth, but rather from the other end. You see, horses poop. A lot. I am blessed with 4 horses currently. It’s not even close to how many horses some other folks have, but I’m maxed out in the poop department. Every day involves a shovel and wheel barrow. It’s not bad in summer time when it’s dry, but in the rain or s ..read more

When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was a horse. But I was a very practical kid and I knew that I couldn’t have a horse without a fence. So every birthday candle, every falling star, and every prayer was dedicated to one day having a horse - and a fence. Fast forward a decade or so later, and I was building a fence with my Dad. The fence that would house my very own horse. We had just finished the fence and it was time to deal with all the extra fence posts. The fence posts were six inch round poles about 7 feet long. They were wooden so they had the potential to rot in the rain if not stored ..read more

Confidence is a hot topic in the horse world, isn’t it? And rightfully so. Horses need us to be confident. But what happens if we aren’t confident? What if we are a naturally shy or timid person? What if we had an accident and we have more fear than confidence now? What if we are new and we just don’t know enough to be confident? What then? Are we SOL with horses? What tends to happen for folks with low confidence - wherever that low confidence originates from- is one of three things. 1. They get walked on. These people secretly hope that like-ability replaces confidence and so they set out to ..read more

https://youtu.be/aTiLVCTja2Q I have to confess, I always thought that acceptance was a bad word. I thought that acceptance was the enemy of progress. Because if I just accept where I am, then how will I ever progress. So I tried shoulding all over myself. "I should be better." "I should be further ahead with my horses." "I shouldn't be feeling this way." "I should have more clients." "I should have more patience." The list goes on. But all this shoulding had the opposite effect. Instead of advancing my progress, it was causing me to close my heart with tension, frustration, guilt, and shame. T ..read more

https://youtu.be/44AEXWpZhXk Sorry in advance for the language! Have you ever been called a dick? Have you ever been called a bitch? I have. It hurts. Yet I hear it all the time in the horse world. I hear it from horse people, I read it on social media, even from quite well respected horse folks. People call their horses all kinds of names. And yeah, sometimes it takes place with love and endearment, like, “oh you little jerk”, 9 times out of ten it’s serious, and said with anger, resentment, frustration, and exasperation. He’s an asshole. She’s such a bitch. That horse is a dick. No human wak ..read more

Sometimes it can feel like a craps shoot with our horses. Shaking the dice, what’s today going to hold?? You go out to them, wondering what your day will look like, if it will go well, or if it won’t. Wondering if you’ll end up feeling good about it, or not. If your horse does a good job, it’s a good day and we can part ways on good terms. If your horse resists and baulks, and misbehaves, it’s not a good day, and you part ways disappointed, frustrated, or put out. You put all this pressure on your horse to decide what the day is going to turn out to be. But what if you have it backwards? What ..read more

The winter is over and spring has officially arrived! I did not get as much riding in this winter as I would have liked. The weather was up and down, so that when it wasn’t freeze-your-ass-off-cold, it was fall-on-your-ass-slippery. Either way, it was a pain in the ass. So my horses and I have had quite a bit of down time this winter. But when the stars did align and I was able to get a ride in, it was a real treat. After every ride, my husband would ask me how the ride was. He would ask me where we went on the ride and what we did. If I would tell him that we went just around the pasture toda ..read more

Fifteen years ago today, Pecan, my first horse, entered my life. I wanted to share this story to honour her and all that she has given and taught me. I hope I've made her life as wonderful as she has made mine. I also hope this story shares a glimpse of just how special she really is. After a rough first day, Pecan settled in nicely. Our friendship developed quickly and I got to know Pecan for who she really is. Physically, Pecan is not the most beautiful horse in the world. She would not win any medals. Her conformation is good, but I have been told many times that she has the head of a donke ..read more

I have 4 mares. I know there are many people who prefer geldings, because they’re more stable and less hormonal. I know. Mares have moods. You know who else has moods? Me. You. Everyone. Everyone has ups and downs, high moods and low moods. It’s a part of life. Some of us have higher highs and lower lows; some of us barely fluctuate. Some of us move slowly through our moods; some of us flip back and forth quickly. But we all have moods. Even the best of us. Your mood affects you and your relationship with your horse. Here’s 5 things you need to know about your moods and your horse Moods affec ..read more

I used to believe that I only wanted horses to ride and play with. And then I realized that I wanted horses so that I could connect with them. And in more recent years, I discovered that I was drawn to horses so that I could better connect with myself and with God. I'd like to share with you an article I wrote for another source. It's a clear example of what I'm talking about. I encourage you this week to open your heart to your horses, learning what you can about them, about others, about yourself, and about God (or Creator, Source, Universe, or whichever name you personally resonate with for ..read more