When I was four my parents took me on picnics in England (where I was born) to the country, and the highlight of my day was getting to see an old farm horse who would come to the fence in search of treats and a pet. I knew nothing then, only that my heart was so drawn to that horse that I carried him home with me in the car, everywhere I went from thereon, in my imagination, in my heart, in my soul.
I decided to go through and pick out what readers had deemed the best Body Language blogs of 2013.
This week I posted a video of Jazzmine going over cavaletti using only the liberty rein. In the past, I have taken her over cavaletti at liberty with just a halter, to guide her if she loses her connection with me. This is our first exercise with the liberty rein.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dEkR5PHAX0&w=560&h=315]Continue reading Working with the liberty rein over cavaletti
In my previous post, I talked about physical exercises for horses during winter, to avoid “wild and crazy horse behavior.” In this post I’d like to talk about using bodywork to support your horse at any time, but I think it’s very appropriate right now, when movement is difficult for horses because of the footing and the cold weather.
Continue reading Cold hooves, warm heart – holistic equine care for the cold weather
With the cold weather and difficult footing, horses become very antsy and get “cabin fever.”
We need to stay in our own truth. Admiring experts is wonderful, but even experts can be wrong.
Touch, hearing, sight, scent, taste: the five senses? I wrote about touch last week. It is only one sense that a horse experiences. I would also add “feel/vibrations” to the list, because it isn’t just physical touch, it’s the sixth sense that something or someone is out there, or that horses feel it through the earth.
Touch can change heart rates, calm and nourish. Touch is the way we sometimes make contact when nothing else can work. I remember being in the hospital and having someone touch me in a healing way, just touch, not trying to move me, and it made all the difference in the world. 
Continue reading The importance of touch in horse work
The closer we get to horses, the deeper our experience can become. Horses can guide us in remarkable ways. My mare Jazzie came to me in dreams for two years before I brought her home. I am in the process of learning why she wanted to be with me so much. Sometimes (probably more often than not) horses know things that we don’t know yet or that we can’t sense.
This past weekend I conducted a workshop in Corrales, New Mexico at the home of Nancy Freshour, an avid horsewoman. The three who participated were all accomplished horsewomen and really knew their horses well. 
Continue reading The art of knowing horses
