Tag Archives: horses

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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How do I build trust with my horse? – Liberty Foundations Clinic at Spirit Horse Ranch

“Both equines and humans learned to overcome fear and step into trust and love. Hope you enjoy the picture of you and beautiful Starwyn.” – Lisa Malone
“Every time I close my eyes even for a moment I see those beautiful horses faces.” – Lucy Taylor

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Continue reading How do I build trust with my horse? – Liberty Foundations Clinic at Spirit Horse Ranch

From your horse to you: special gifts of connection

Recently a trainer came to me and asked to observe a class because she wanted to see what was different about it than the liberty work she practices. It made me think about the way I do things and how effective it is, and I get used to the results because they are there and tangible. But someone coming in may think, well, so what is so different about what she does?

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Creating an energetic, mindful bubble for your horse!

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.

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What if I can’t ride my horse?

The question: What if I can’t ride my horse? was asked at a clinic some time ago. There are many reasons why we might not be able to ride our horses:

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The re-hab of a performance horse

Patches knew all these things …once, and then his life changed. When he came to us he didn’t want to do much that meant he had to “perform.” He had been a ribbon-winning show horse and then a therapeutic riding horse. At first he was on good behavior with us. He loved children so it was easy for him to carry a child. It was one thing he truly enjoyed.IMG_2232

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You Gotta Love Horse People!

Recently I had a client in my office who had a swollen ankle. She has had a swollen ankle before so I mentioned to her: rest, ice, compression, and elevation of the leg for self-care.

Self-care is a big part of my practice.  I said, “okay, if your horse’s fetlock looked like this, what would you be doing?”

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Taking matters into her own hooves!

I really like this expression and it fits so many experiences I’ve had with horses, where they see their human not taking appropriate charge and so they feel they must take charge!

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Develop a “seventh sense” in horse work

Pat Parelli says you must be “mentally, emotionally and physically fit” to handle horses. I would argue that many people who aren’t physically fit can do a lot with horses. To me the bottom line is energetics. The horse recognizes the energy in the person, and will respond to that.

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Have you hugged your therapy horse today?

I know what I’m about to write is probably controversial to many people. But I believe therapy horses need help.

Until our gelding Patches came to live with us, I didn’t know much about the horses in therapeutic riding programs. I thought they were doing a public service and that was great. Now I see remnants of that experience in our horse and have spent two years helping him get confident again. During the past two years, I’ve spoken to others who have either worked in such programs or who have horses from the programs and have also seen similar problems these horses suffer.

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