All posts by horsesatliberty

Women who love their horses too much

You might laugh and say, “oh, how can that be? What’s wrong with loving your horse too much?”

It actually isn’t the loving, it’s the tipping over to please the horse that is the problem. One you tip, you lose your center. You’re no longer able to hold your leadership and your horse may take advantage of that and stop listening to you.

562765_3448962312685_1847238930_n Continue reading Women who love their horses too much

What to expect in an Ortho-Bionomy session – for people or animals!

Many times people ask me what to expect in an Ortho-Bionomy session, either for themselves or their animal. That’s a broad question, because it will depend largely on what is going on in the body at the time of treatment.IMG_0630

Continue reading What to expect in an Ortho-Bionomy session – for people or animals!

Flexible boundaries in horse work

The other day I was working with our gelding, Patches, on a liberty ritual that involves a pile of hay and him walking to me rather than to the hay. We then walk to the hay together, and include stops and sometimes backing up on our way there.

Patches focused on Princess
Patches focused on Princess

Continue reading Flexible boundaries in horse work

Can you hear me now? Quality time with your horse

“Can you hear me now?” was a phrase in a popular advertisement for cell phones years ago. I recall being at a ride where I had to climb to the top of a big  hill to get any connection. The beauty of that was everybody there made one phone call at the end of the day and the rest of the time no one could reach us and we didn’t bother to reach them. Our horses and our friends who were present got all our attention.

Patches_cellphone Continue reading Can you hear me now? Quality time with your horse

Establish an energetic connection with your horse

In the beginning of horse liberty work, there are rituals to follow such as:  Sit with your horse. Wait until he/she engages with you. Keep him away from you if he gets too bossy, etc. The idea behind this is what is important: in doing this and the other rituals you are establishing a bond that has the potential to deepen your bond or change it if necessary.

IMG_2108

But why does one person succeed in getting that horse to move off and another has trouble doing it? Why is our own personal energy so different?

Continue reading Establish an energetic connection with your horse

Winter horse care

Happy New Year!

Between breaking the ice in the water tanks or dealing with tank heaters, regular maintenance such as hoof care and illnesses, there is always something to do for horses in winter. Complicating matters here in the Southwest has been the extreme cold lately. The following is an update of an article I wrote in my newsletter of January/February 2011.

IMG_2020 Continue reading Winter horse care

Interspecies bonds provide a comforting presence

This Discovery News Channel headline: “Dogs Sent to Newtown to Comfort Grieving” caught my eye.

“Discovery News – A team of specially trained dogs just journeyed 800 miles to help grieving children and adults at funerals and other gatherings this week in Newtown, Conn.

IMG_1518

Continue reading Interspecies bonds provide a comforting presence

Is my animal in pain?

A lot of times owners ask me if their horse or dog is in pain. Generally they don’t ask about their family members because people can verbalize their pain. When I work on humans I rely heavily on what they tell me as far as pain goes, and how it’s going – is it getting better, worse, is there any change whatsoever?

orthobrochure4

Continue reading Is my animal in pain?

Competition with conscience

I have been thinking a lot about how people approach competition with horses and how to nurture our relationships with our horses while we are asking them to perform for us. The reason why is because a lot of times horses experience burnout, as a result of their humans pushing for some kind of success.

Khami Endurance El Paso Continue reading Competition with conscience