Your 4 year old child is hesitating in front of an open door, facing a dark room. She thinks she sees something moving in a far corner. She’s terrified. Starts crying when you insist she goes in there then shut
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Friend or foe? Which one are you?
Calming signals and how often they are misunderstood
Most horse people fall short of understanding calming behaviour that manifests as “calming signals”. Examples of these are yawning, scratching the face, lick and chew, and looking sleepy, among others. We tend to interpret such signals through our own, human
Read moreA word on nose bands
Bits are like pebbles in your shoe. Always uncomfortable. This is regardless of the rider’s level of softness, or even if the reins are resting on the horse’s neck, untouched by human hands. (See: Clemence.pdf) Depending on where they poke
Read moreWorld Bitless Association 2020 Global Survey results
https://worldbitlessassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WBA-Global-Survey-2020-General-Report.pdf
Read moreLeadership and respect
Traditional horsemanship language is ripe with terms such as “respect”, “leadership”, “alpha mare”, “dominance”, being the “boss”, and others in this vein. Traditional horsemanship is also the product of thousands of years of people becoming trainers by learning from other
Read morePain detection
Linked to this post is a pain ethogram by Sue Dyson, an equine orthopaedic clinician and rider. Pain detection is an important skill for all riders and horse owners to have, particularly for those with little handling and/or managing experience,
Read moreHow it all started
I have been in and out of the saddle, sometimes with large gaps in between, for over four decades. My first time riding, I was four years old. My dad took me to the zoo, where they had hand-led pony
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