Tag Archives: herd behavior

Cold hooves, warm heart – holistic equine care for the cold weather

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.

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Managing wild and crazy horse behavior

With the cold weather and difficult footing, horses become very antsy and get “cabin fever.”

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Be true to your horse

We need to stay in our own truth. Admiring experts is wonderful, but even experts can be wrong.

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Working with all six senses and horses

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.

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Ten horsey things to be thankful for

Usually I don’t do seasonal blogs but this year, it feels special to list a number of horsey things I’m thankful for.

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Recognizing horse guides

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.

Jazzmine, who appeared in my dreams
Jazzmine, who appeared in my dreams

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The art of knowing horses

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. IMG_0760 Continue reading The art of knowing horses

Maintaining a performance horse naturally

These days we are inundated with information on how to manage our performance horse, geriatric horse, and what ever, usually from the companies that sell supplements. If there is a problem with your horse, there is probably a supplement designed for it.

Sharif paying attention to work done on his neck.  [Catherine Sobredo Photography]
Sharif paying attention to work done on his neck.
[Catherine Sobredo Photography]
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Go with the flow of equine rhythms

Much like people have mantras and chanting for their meditations, horses move and flow rhythmically. If we can watch, feel and be a part of their rhythms rather than imposing our own modern-day rushed rhythms on them, we will find they are much more likely to want to be with us, and will be curious about us.

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Just got my horse back from the trainer and…

You fill in the blanks. Several things could have happened here. In a perfect world, the horse is doing great. You have great energy and your horse and you are a real team. Best case, your trainer has also worked with you and your new horse to know what the trainer is doing so that you can all work on “the same page.”

Kaiden is one of the youngest horse trainers I know - creating curiosity
Kaiden is one of the youngest horse trainers I know – creating curiosity in the horse

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