Connection has become a buzz word in the horse community, but looking at all the interviews and taglines that use the word, I wonder: what exactly are we all talking about? I don’t think we all mean the same thing when we talk about connection. I can’t be totally sure though because as I waited for it through even hour long podcasts… I have never yet heard it defined.
Tag Archives: equestrian
Behind the Scenes at HH: New Videos + Fall Clinic!
I’m changing things up a bit this fall! I’ve been working on some new YouTube videos that share the heart of my horsemanship journey—real, honest, and imperfect in all the right ways. Plus, our last clinic of the year is coming up soon in Warm Springs, VA, and I’d love for you to be part of it.
Path to Vermont Series: Change the way you think
It’s amazing how many endurance miles Khaleesi and I have completed without her having a forward thought. I suppose that reveals how much one can force a horse through on sheer willpower and drive. Early on, I learned a lot about driving horses around. No, I don’t mean in a truck! I mean the energy or force applied to make a horse move away from pressure. To ride any horse on the most basic level, you have to communicate effectively that a horse go forward, and have the horse do so in response. In my experience, most people approach this by driving the horse. The reason this is such a common approach is probably because it is so effective. Yet, I have since learned you can drive a horse forward without the horse having a forward thought, and this is actually a problem!
The Winter of Discontent…
Though we are still in the frozen tundra of January, I am pretty excited about the year to come. The community around PowerfulHorse is organically beginning to form and I truly enjoy the family that is coming together around this approach to horse life. We will be sharing time this year around some horsemanship clinics as usual, but I am working on some fun bonus days to meet with other professionals such as….
Does my horse love me?
I love my horse, but does my horse love me? Do horses love anywhere near the way humans think of love? Does it matter? Can we be friends? What DO I want from my horse and what can I give her? What is best for her needs as a creature in my care?
The other side of trouble
What grieved me as I watched Wyoming flailing on that lead rope like a fish on a line was a snapshot I had somewhere in my heart of how many of us go through life or seasons of life like this. We are fighting and we can’t seem to stop fighting. We end up getting hurt, and hurting those around us while we flail and fight against what we perceive as life threatening pressure but what is intended to be a comfort.
Mind or Meat
Endurance News Summer Extra just printed this article I wrote, since it’s been officially published I can now share it here for my own readers. Anyone who’s attended an endurance event has heard the conversation with the rider who has the horse that pulls their shoulders out of joint, determined to run at the fastestContinue reading “Mind or Meat”
Hope Horsemanship 