Spotlight on Rich Strike

The amazing conditions under which Rich Strike became the Kentucky Derby winner seems to have been eclipsed by the incident that followed the race. I have been amazed at how divisive the incident has become among horse people. I have also been cheered by how outraged much of the public […]

Dusting Things Off

For about a year I have sadly let this site languish. In that time I have retired, returned to work part time, dealt with multiple horse injuries, struggled with one horse’s rebellion (Noble, of course) – and generally just not found the motivation or time to write anything. More recently […]

Lemonade or Lemons?

Or, How I Bought a 9 Year Old Quarter Horse/Draft Cross and Ended Up With a 6 Year Old Mustang Last Fall was a bit tough. I made the decision to retire early in 2021, a major change that carries its own stress. On the horse front things were far […]

Think Less, Feel More

If there is one trend that I see reflected in social media, it’s that too many people think too hard about working with horses. Whether it is the positive reinforcement folks who obsess over every aspect of a horse’s life that might be experienced as an aversive or the Dressage […]

Leadership Lessons from Horses

I recently made a major life change – I retired from the organization where I’ve been employed for nearly twenty-five years. Of course my final week saw the requisite retirement party, with the twist of having it over Zoom due to the pandemic. I am not one to like that […]

Learning from Fiction

I watched the trainer swing the rope rapidly in the direction of the young horse on the other end of it. The horse darted here and there, his hooves tap-dancing in the sand as he tried to figure out what was being asked of him. His expression reflected fear and […]