Category: Uncategorized

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

https://worldbitlessassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WBA-Global-Survey-2020-General-Report.pdf

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

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,

At some point, in my early 20’s, I started to question the manner in which we train our horses and what this means in terms of how this field evolved, or, rather, stagnated, for thousands of years.  Traditionally, training involved

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