As I searched for my next horse, a vision of a bay with a thick, black forelock kept materializing in my imagination. One day I was scrolling through Facebook and saw Glory, a 4-year-old Belgian Draft/Paint/Friesian cross; she WAS the horse in my visions!
Read MoreUpon our return to Montana, I was reunited with Mesa and met Boston, a yearling, for the first time. I knew it would be thrilling to have horses again, but what I didn’t expect was the treasure I received in Boston. Looking back, I know without a doubt that Boston found me. That wise filly taught me more about the horse-human relationship in the short time we were together than I had learned in years.
Read MoreOn a wintery January day, I drove out to a local Paint Horse breeder to see her foal crop. There were 11 newly weaned foals in a variety of colors. One darling filly captured my heart. I wasn’t even horse-shopping, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that we belonged together. I let this feeling linger until I finally went back two months later and bought her. Clearly, I followed my heart when deciding to make Mesa my new equine partner. This decision came from a place of love and I felt elated when I finally said yes to my desires.
Read MoreI decided to take a chance on the old guy and made arrangements to have Ernie imported from Canada. The night he arrived was cold and snowy. I went out to the barn where I would board him at about 10:00 pm to meet the transport truck. He stepped off the truck and I was struck by the big-ness of him. He was every bit of the 17.2 hands he had been advertised as, if not taller and his body was as long as a train. His head perched atop his giraffe-like neck as he took in his dark, windy surroundings. The barn owner, Sam, offered to lead him down the icy black driveway to his stall, but I declined and in that moment decided to be the person Ernie could trust and count on.
Read MoreThe year I turned 45, I began shopping for my dream horse, a warmblood dressage partner. It didn’t take long to realize that the only warmblood dressage horse I could afford was either a weanling or one with health problems. I opted for a colt and had visions of the two of us growing old together.
Read MoreI thought that mini-horses would be a great way to ease back into horse ownership. I could not have been more mistaken!
Read MoreFor about five years during my thirties, I endeavored to have a horse again. Unfortunately, none of my attempts lasted more than a few months.
Read MoreDanny and Blitz were going to be my “dream team.” I would train and show them as a way to build my reputation in the horse business and attract more clients for lessons and training.
Read MoreMy love affair with Sherman began long before I ever rode him. In fact, if you had told me that I would one day ride that exuberant gray Andalusian stallion on a daily basis, I would have told you that it was just a dream of mine! Sherman had spent time traveling with The Royal Lipizzan Show as a solo act and I had seen Barbara ride an exhibition on him at my first horse show four years earlier before I had even met her. He knew all of the Grand Prix dressage maneuvers, as well as fun tricks like cantering-in-place, rearing and bowing.
Read MoreBarr could do it all…and then some! From the very first show that my trainer, Barbara, allowed me to ride him in, we were a winning combination. He was a plain-looking quarter horse gelding, a far cry from the fancy Arabians I had been riding, but such a talented athlete.
Read MoreShe started me off riding Squire, an Arabian stallion, in a dressage saddle. My love affair with dressage and all things fancy began there. Squire was so incredibly sensitive that with the slightest touch or shift of weight he would be moving sideways. I never realized that a horse could respond to such a light touch.
Read MoreWhen I was twelve, I started taking riding lessons. My first riding teacher introduced me to the English saddle on her horse, Khuzabar. I immediately fell in love with riding English and learned to ride over cavalettis and small jumps.
Read MoreSince my first two trainers had graciously let me show their horses, I easily became hooked on the horse show world! Now, at thirteen, I was ready for a show horse of my own, who I hoped would also be my forever horse. Lucy-B came to live with me in Montana from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was a 3 year old gray Arabian who had the most lovely floating trot and such a kind eye. She was perhaps the sweetest horse I had ever met.
Read MoreArmed with my 4-H Colt Manual, I set out to train my new filly. I didn’t realize, however, that being a hot-blooded breed, CLI was more on the reactive side of the spectrum. With no tools or knowledge for how to train a reactive horse, I learned to “tip-toe” and “sneak” around very quietly so as not to set her off. I had never heard of desensitization, except for the paragraph in my manual about “sacking out” your colt, which just seemed cruel to me at the time…
Read MoreI am a woman who…
Read MoreHe was a three-year-old, green-broke Morgan/Arabian cross. I absolutely loved him! I’m pretty sure I didn’t take him for a test ride or learn how to handle him. I was eight and we had no experience with horses. To this day, I wonder what my parents were thinking!
Read MoreI was getting ready to head to the barn the other day, when I realized that all of my “barn” jeans were in the laundry. Remembering that I had a pair of riding pants, or breeches, I set out to find them. They were tucked away in the back of a dresser drawer, hardly ever worn, heck they looked brand new. As I was about to step into them, I had a thought, “You are not worthy to wear these riding pants. Who do you think you are? What kind of horse woman are you anyway? People are going to think that you are trying to be an equestrian.” Actually, that was quite a few thoughts and they stopped me in my tracks. Whoa! As I considered NOT going to the barn that day based on my pants situation, I had another thought. “Is it true?”
Read MoreAfter spending three decades teaching, I approached year 31 a bit differently. I had always let the state standards and district curriculum drive my lessons. However, something had shifted within me. I asked myself what my teenagers really needed to learn this year and how our time together would be the most impactful on their futures.
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