So many horses that come into my purview in the past year have been rescue horses, more than ever before. It is a sign of our times that so many horses are desperately in need of homes. Fortunately, the ones I have met recently have been at my clinics and are in my Equine Ortho-Bionomy practice, and have found loving homes.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to work with some ponies, all with different personalities and levels of training. While they are really no different than horses, they are often treated differently and are in some cases so small that adults can’t get in the saddle, which may mean they might lack some basic training.
In the past few weeks three of my friends/colleagues/clients have had accidents involving equines. This is a subject very close to my heart since I have had bad accidents myself, one which almost took my life. I have begun to somewhat specialize in the area of helping people get back on their feet after such accidents, in addition to the other work I do. I really believe that because I came so close to death doing something I deeply love, it has made me able to help others in a very particular way.
Recently I have been concerned about how people and horses come together, and how we “read” what horses are telling us.
(Okay, if you really want to, you can get off to sleep and for meals, if you think it’s necessary.) 
Continue reading 10 tips to riding horseback for the rest of your life
We need to stay in our own truth. Admiring experts is wonderful, but even experts can be wrong.
Recently there has been a lot of attention in the horse press given to whether it’s best to ride a horse with a saddle or not, or even whether to ride horses. This query also extends to whether we should all ride our horses in a neck rein or bitless bridle, are all bits cruel, etc.?
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.”
Continue reading Just got my horse back from the trainer and…
When should I stop riding my older horse? This question comes up periodically, because at some point in every horse’s life, they get too old to be ridden. That’s the truth of the matter. They simply don’t enjoy it any more, and even if they do, they are physically unable to continue to carry a rider safely.
Someone wrote to me recently telling the story that once they were working with their horses and someone began yelling and hitting a horse nearby. This caused the storyteller to have a bad accident, because it scared her horse.
Continue reading Creating an energetic, mindful bubble for your horse!
