Author: Jini

I shot this video on Juno’s 1st birthday, doing what we all love to do best – hanging out and having adventures! Of course while viewing the footage I realized how much interesting stuff was going on at the sameRead more

We know that relationship-based teaching works really well; resulting in an empowered horse, a truly intimate, loving, soul-based relationship, and lots of fun! But can this play-based method stand up to the pressure of a deadline – a vet visitRead more

How accurately can you, your vet, or your trainer, read your horse’s body language and facial expressions to determine whether your horse is experiencing pain – even if your pony is not limping or showing any outward signs of injury?Read more

What if you can’t ride your horse? Or your horse doesn’t want to be ridden? There is such a world of pleasure waiting to be experienced simply by BEING with these magnificent earthlings out in nature. There are few thingsRead more

How is it that by doing very little with my horses; mostly meditating, doing chores, and avoiding the rain together… when I put us in scary or high pressure situations, they respond like an old cow horse? You know, oneRead more

What do you do when your horse asks you to go so far out of your comfort zone, that you start counting off a list of all the things that could go wrong…? Last week I told you how myRead more

This video from Nicole Lampe in the Netherlands is a beautiful pictorial story of how one horse can teach each another useful skills, support him through facing his fears, and lovingly support his growth and expansion. Not surprisingly, horses don’tRead more

Our very own Kesia Nagata is currently in the studio working on her debut album for 2017. So here’s a preview of one of her songs, appropriately titled, Looking For Horses, paired with some footage of my herd on aRead more

I have been having so much fun buying horse-themed art from artists on Facebook, that I thought I’d share my top picks with you. Along with some other horse-themed gifts for whenever you need to buy for a horse-lover, orRead more

Last week I told you about the Horse As Muse workshop I attended with Linda Kohanov and Kim McElroy and showed you some of the art I created, as the inspiration from the horses informed my artistic expression. I alsoRead more

As many of you know, I was down in Amado, Arizona last week for Linda Kohanov and Kim McElroy’s workshop combining equine-assisted learning with art and creativity. Kim is a well-know equine artist; who collaborated with Linda on the WayRead more

For those of you who found my post about healing trauma stored in the horse’s body from previous riding experiences (using equine chiropractic, bodywork and Psych-K) weird… here’s another one to throw in the pot. Australian trainer, Jenny Pearce, tracksRead more

Klaus F. Hempfling has made his new movie available for free – all 1.5 juicy hours of it! Have a look and then below I’ll get into my thoughts about the film… I have read a number of Klaus’ booksRead more

I received this beautiful question from one of our readers in Europe. I say the question is “beautiful” because it shows this woman is in that precious space of opening, transition, and transformation. And yes, this space also feels veryRead more

I just returned from an Equinisity retreat up near Kamloops, BC, featuring trainer/filmmaker Elsa Sinclair. Elsa talked about the difference between using Extrinsic Motivation with your horse (pressure/release, whip, flag, etc.) and Intrinsic Motivation. Intrinsic motivations include things like matchingRead more

So in my continuing hunt for great horse books – and may I put in a plug here for anyone who is thinking about writing a horse-themed memoir or novel – please do so! Every month I comb Amazon lookingRead more

In my experience, the root of violence, bullying, aggression, etc. is often FEAR – because the being has been wounded and is super afraid and armored against being wounded or suffering again. We see this in the human world andRead more

This article by Stormy May was originally published in Horses for Life magazine Oct. 2008, titled: The Truth in the Back. The information in this article is very similar to Chapter 10 of Stormy’s new book, A Better World forRead more

In this film, trainer Elsa Sinclair asks the question: If a wild mustang were given the choice – without ropes, halters, whips, food rewards, etc. – of whether to be ridden, or not, would the horse let Elsa ride her?Read more

Emma Massingale is a British horse trainer who came up the traditional hunter/jumper route and then migrated over to liberty training and trick riding. She has 2 fabulous films out showing her journey with her wild Connemara herd. You mayRead more

I first became aware of the icky, shocking and viscerally repulsive parallels between sexual domination and the way we treat horses when I was reading the book, Saving Baby: How One Woman’s Love for a Racehorse Led to her Redemption.Read more

I introduced you to trainer Elsa Sinclair in my consensual riding post, but I wanted to give you a little bit more… Here’s the longer trailer for the Taming Wild documentary, where Elsa asks the question: If a wild horseRead more

Following on from my book review of Riding On The Power Of Others, Ren Hurst’s story threw me back (again) into the throes of my own tangled journey on this issue of consensual riding. As Ren so rightly pointed outRead more

Whilst I really loved Ren Hurst’s book Riding On The Power Of Others, in my last book review. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about this book, Riding Home: The Power of Horses to Heal by Tim Hayes. And thatRead more

Mike Shannon has written one of the most heart-warming odes to his horse Bob I have ever read: This is Bob. As of March 17, he’s 28 years old and with me for over 26 of those years. I putRead more

I’m working my way through my recent Horse Book Haul from Amazon – talk about combining two of my favorite activities: reading and horses! And I found Ren Hurst’s book, Riding on the Power of Others: A Horsewoman’s Path toRead more

Kesia Nagata shows us, through video and photos, how she teaches my semi-feral mare to pick up her hooves and hold her feet up. And how this leads to the mare being willing to have her hooves trimmed – allRead more

When my semi-feral Belgian (Brabante) mare first came to me, she would bolt at the mere sight of a human holding a rope. Yet 6 months later, I put my full body weight onto her back, for the first timeRead more

When I rescued a herd of 3 siblings – they share the same father – from slaughter, the two young colts were not gelded. Montaro was 2 years old and had already bred a mare or two. His half-brother JaxRead more

If you were never going to ride, would you still have a horse? Or would you feel guilty, or extravagant, or question the point of having such an expensive pet? Have you ever even considered the notion of owning aRead more

What if there was a way to train a horse that involved flow, ease and FUN! What if it wasn’t “training” at all, but more of a “collaborative exploration”? After my last article exploring the natural horsemanship training method ofRead more

Many natural horsemanship trainers talk about how to get your horse to do what you want with the least amount of pressure necessary. And one of those methods is to make your idea the horse’s idea. Ray Hunt writes inRead more

I was riding Zorra bareback one day and she asked me to hold the reins in my left hand only. So I did. And instantly felt as though I was going to slide off the left side of her! IRead more

Lying down with my horses is something I’ve done since I got my first horse at age 8. Some foals especially love to snuggle (others, not so much) – here’s a photo of my friend Kesia with little Firefly: OfRead more

I saw a post in a horse classified ads page on Facebook a while back. The woman had been in a bad accident and said it would likely be 1-2 years before she could walk again – so riding wasRead more

This is something I never tire of – watching my herd belt around the pasture and play with each other: JiniJini Patel Thompson is a natural health writer and Lazer Tapping instructor. She began riding at age 2 in Kenya,Read more

A horse can bully another horse (or an entire herd) for a number of reasons. Equine ethologist, Victor Ros, calls this “learned dominance” and he points out that it is a learned behaviour – usually due to competition for resourcesRead more

Am I the only one who finds it heart-wrenching, ridiculous and WRONG that zoo animals are better housed, and legally have higher living standards than horses?? I did not grow up around stabled horses. I was not taken to ridingRead more

Montaro (2-year-old Belgian/Fjord stallion) works off his energy while Zorra (Andalusian mare) grazes in the yard. Canter, trot, poles, cornering, Montaro does it all! All at liberty, all of his own free will… JiniJini Patel Thompson is a natural healthRead more

Those of you who read this blog, know that we often talk about our conversations with our horses. If you’d like to experience more of this with your own horse, then world-renowned animal communicator, Anna Breytenbach is a great teacherRead more

Two days after arriving from the rescue farm, Montaro is settling in well and very connected and responsive. We have also been for a walk outside of the fences on the lead line, exploring the house, garden, woods, cars, kidsRead more