First Ride With Jax Moonlight
This is the first time Jax has ever carried a human. Humour me, and take a minute to watch it, feel it. Notice what you notice, and then I’ll tell you how I experienced it. I’d love to hear yourRead more
A barefoot hoof trimmer, a singer/songwriter, an amateur farmer - these are some of the hats Kesia Nagata wears when she's not full to bursting with wondrous equine co-creation.
The Light that Holds Us – Northern Herd Update
Hello from my iteration of “quarantine” to yours – we here, however, are no strangers to connecting at a distance. From the digital to the intracellular (sometimes both at the same time!), this community is well versed in communicating and collaboratingRead more
How We Feed in Winter to Build Soil & Grow More Grass
This winter on our farm in Northern BC, we are experiencing hay-feeding season (and the costs and labour associated with it) as something much more than a necessary means to an end (ie keeping everyone alive through the cold months).Read more
Merging the Herds – The Three Lads Settle In
It’s now been over a month since Montaro, Jax and Juno climbed onto a trailer bound for the Kispiox Valley, and four weeks since we brought the two herds – my resident herd of five, and the three lads fromRead more
Singing Horse Herd North
KESIA’S HERD: Here are the 5 horses that live permanently with me in Northern BC, in the order they’ve come to me. Amalia or Molly – is a purebred Quarter Horse mare born in 1999. She is the eldest ofRead more
Horse-Directed Healing: Healing Wounds and Proudflesh
Falcon was standing alone in the field, which in itself is not a strange thing as this particular thoughtful, dreamy horse often lets the herd drift away while he occupies his own little world. What was strange was that heRead more
Leylines – Music Video with Falcon & Louka
Every now and then I remember to go muck around without with the beasts without any agenda. This time I brought my camera, and was treated to an intimate invitation into the birch grove where the cows and horses spendRead more
Regenerating Stressed Pasture
I am an absolute rookie when it comes to pasture and grass management. For years I couldn’t really conceive of it; I guess I took grass for granted. Being the ongoing steward of a small piece of the earth hasRead more
Listening to the Wound: 3 Horses Heal Without Intervention
In early January, my mom and I spent 3 days traveling a 5 hour round trip to spend time supporting land defenders at the police blockade on the way up to Unist’ot’en Camp, where members of our neighbouring First Nation,Read more
Rewilding the Herd – Firefly and the Great Beyond
She’s been asking for weeks to go with me beyond the fence. There is always a reason not to, and usually I can argue the legitimacy of those reasons. The days are short. I haven’t been well. I have toRead more
Winter Blessings From the Northern Herd
I can now tell you with some confidence what the temperature is outside by looking at the light; before coming here, how could I have known the seemingly endless variations of light on snow? Here we sit at a perfectlyRead more
Amalia Speaks – Energetic Permission & Your Hidden Power
She turns suddenly from my outstretched hands, the plea in them hanging, unanswered, between us. I can feel the hard light of the summer sun arrowing through the dappled shade. The back of my neck is moist – like myRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Update from the Northwestern Frontier
It’s been roughly a million years since I sat down to write about life on the edge of the wild. What can I say? There is not a lot of time to spend pondering, when you reside primarily in theRead more
Rewilding the Herd: And Then There Were Five
I haven’t written in ages. At first it felt like there was nothing to say. The long snowy winter was gentle, monotonous; a much needed break from the insane pace of the last year. With all the seasons under ourRead more
BOOK REVIEW: Equus Lost?
In a reciprocal relationship, there is no need for leadership. – from Equus Lost I believe the biggest, brightest truths are already within us, born in the folds of our brains and the flesh of our hearts and left thereRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Last Night on Earth
I wish I could tell you everything – about how a year on the land came and went, about what it’s taken out of and from us all to make it this far, about what the horses have been upRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Spiraling Into Horse Wisdom
I feel I have been circling for a long time. What brought me to this land with my animal and human family was a concise, clear, bright understanding of how I wanted to live. Over the course of this year,Read more
Close Encounters of the Equine Kind – Meeting the New Forest Ponies
During a recent trip to the UK, I was finally introduced to the New Forest – more importantly, I was introduced to the New Forest Ponies. My sweetie, Tim, a southwest UK native, had been talking about taking me thereRead more
Empowerment, Aggression, and Engaging with Fear
Last week, Andrea Datz gave us a thorough education in what “no” means in horse-talk and how to work with it. She spoke beautifully on the topic of letting go of expectations and trusting the process – that listening toRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Spring Vignettes
1. Birdsong When we first came here, the air was eerily silent. Above the roar of the river and the clatter and squeal of the occasional logging truck, there was an absence. I used to find it ironic to travelRead more
Rewilding the Herd: Daily Dynamics
I’m taking a break in this series from my poetic ramblings about adjusting to life on the land to get my junior scientist cap on and nerd out about horse herd dynamics. I hope you’ll bear with me; don’t worry,Read more
Rewilding the Herd – Pre-Spring Head Count
I could blame it all on the horses. In fact, when exhaustion and overwhelm creep in, when I momentarily lose my footing and wonder how in the hell I got here, when the van gets stuck in the mud andRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Being Here
The snow is gone. With a 40 degree shift in weather during some weeks – from -26 to +15 – our icy kingdom becomes, for a few hours, a dripping, sodden expanse of mud and poo. Oh! the poo. ForRead more
On Liberty Training and Things That Look Like Whips
Jini and I both signed up for Carolyn Resnick’s awesomely priced Chair Challenge (only $15!) and although we’re only on Day 3 of the 21-day program, it’s already stimulated some great discussion and questions. Here’s what we’ve been tossing about: We both reallyRead more
Audio: What Are the Rights of a Working Animal?
Those Scandinavians – they always seem a step ahead on welfare… A Swedish labour union is seriously considering extending rights and services to working animals, particularly those in the therapeutic field. Animals have worked for the benefit of humans forRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Snow-Feeders
As a South-Coast bumpkin, I never really had my horses in snow, unless you count the usual one-day affair with a few inches of fun before the inevitable melt-and-muck. It never affected feeding, just made poo-collection more arduous. But whenRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Chop Wood, Carry Water
Winter came sudden and succinct to the valley, after a long and lulling autumn. Where do I begin? The crisp, low, golden light heaving itself over the snowy mountaintops? The squeak and crunch of light snow on the driveway? TheRead more
A Collaborative Call-Out
Hey gang, I need your help. I was digging through old emails trying to find something I’d sent myself long ago, and in the process found something else. It’s the beginning of a story, or maybe the middle, that myRead more
The Paradox of Natural
When I was fourteen and lost in my own dark mind, I found comfort in this particular paradox presented by my Buddhist father: everything is sacred and thus nothing is sacred; everything is profane and thus nothing is profane. ToRead more
Rewilding the Herd – And the Land Unfolds
I used to look up at various points of the year and be shocked to see the season had changed. Despite my commitment to Paying Attention and my deep need to be in rhythm with the natural world, I’d stillRead more
What’s Safer than Safety?
Last week I had the fine priviledge of visiting my friends on a ranch I used to work on in the beautiful Cariboo region of BC, and trimming the hooves of a couple lovely equids I’ve known for years. IRead more
Rewilding the Herd – In Search of Wildness
I seek this thing called wildness. I crave it, I move toward it in body, song and thought. I exalt it even as I huddle in my toasty little log cabin, safe from the elements, the fridge humming obtrusively fullRead more
Rewilding the Herd – As We Live and Breathe
In my last post in this series, I talked about the purgatorial state that follows big changes – that part nobody warns you about, when you’ve done everything in your power to make your dreams come true and they obliginglyRead more
Riding, Relationship, and Mutual Trust
I rode my horse the other day. This sounds fairly unremarkable, but it’s been awhile. I wrote about this a while back – I gave up riding as a singular goal, or right as a horse owner, several years ago.Read more
Rewilding the Herd – Settling In
What it takes for me to write these days is 12 hours and counting of heavy rain. The absolute reticence to leave the tent until a break in the deluge propels a run to the log house. The puppy sprawlingRead more
Rewilding the Herd – Getting There
Several weeks ago I wrote about the vision of this journey I’m setting out on with my human-and-critter family: buying the land and living the dream. Or, whatever the dream looks like when it lands on firm ground and becomesRead more
Emily McDonald – Ditch Dominance
One of our favourites around here is Emily McDonald, a horse and dog behaviourist in the UK who rescued a family of feral horses dubbed the Meadow Family. Her videos are fascinating, enlightening and delightful – she demystifies the languageRead more
Rewilding the Herd – The Beginning
The driveway climbs sharp and slow, gravel crunching beneath the tires. For some reason my heart is pounding as the realtor says in his nasally drawl, I think you’ll like this one. It’s not for sale but we’re looking anyway.Read more
Do Horses Really Enjoy Working With Us?
I practice a martial art called Ki Aikido, also known as the Art of Harmony or Peace. Being less about hurting people and more about energy flow and reconciliation, it takes a long time to be any good at, andRead more
Writing With Horses
Back when Jini and I boarded our horses together, way back when we only had 3 horses between us (we’re up to 7 now!) and life was simpler (not better, but very different)… like a whole eight months ago (eons,Read more
No Pressure, No Fear: Teaching Your Young Foal to Lead – Part 3
At this point in the story, Firefly has learned to lead at liberty, and has been incrementally introduced to the halter and lead in short, spontaneous “training” games reinforced positively with praise and grooming. She can lead with no pressureRead more
No Pressure, No Fear: Teaching Your Young Foal to Lead – Part 2
After Firefly and I had established a close relationship, a few cues, and most importantly for our purposes in this article, how to come, follow, turn, back, and stop before she even saw a halter, it finally felt like timeRead more
VIDEO: No Pressure, No Fear: Teaching Your Young Foal To Lead – Part 1
Before Firefly, my Mustang/QH filly friend, came into my life, I’d never halter-trained anyone from scratch before. Both my adult horses came into my life with negative associations with the halter (and with other tack), so teaching them that theRead more
Teachers I Have Known
It has recently come to my attention that I have not formally recognized the teachers in my life. Not here, not anywhere. I was recently reminded of my desire to chart my own path and recognize the rich lineages eachRead more
Baby’s First Trim – Barefoot Trimming for Foals
So I was reading a little Maureen… and got a swift kick in the buttless chaps when I realized I’d totally missed the “trim by” date on Firefly’s baby feet (must have missed the small print for all the dirt).Read more
Building Relationship – There Just Ain’t No Definitive Guide
This is how it goes most days. I arrive in the beat up black truck they know so well. As I climb out and get sorted (apples, check! tools for the day, check! water, check!), I hear the usual ear-piercingRead more
AUDIO: Interview with Margrit Coates
This is a heart-growing, inspiring, and smile-inducing (and occasionally fist-pump-inducing) interview by Paula Slater of Straight From the Horse’s Mouth Radio with Margrit Coates, world renowned animal communicator, healer, and educator. Her groundbreaking work aside (Healing For Horses was theRead more
True Mutuality: Choosing to Ride
I stopped regularly riding my gelding, Spero, a couple years ago. I was using a bitless, treeless set-up with, I thought, pretty good results. We’d spent years riding trails together, and then spent some time in arenas trying to findRead more
Flight of the Firefly
It was clear from the beginning that there would be no nonsense endured throughout this pregnancy – no unnecessary precautionary procedures, no ultrasounds, no palpating, no internal exams, nothing. When Amalia puts her foot down, there’s no arguing. In fact,Read more
Oh, The Love Of Horses!
Here’s a graphic I recently shared on my music site, www.kesiamei.com Ever struggle to really get across how much you really, truly, love someone? Funny how words never really suffice. This was my attempt, a couple lines for a songRead more
Working Horses in Circles – Part 1 – Effects on Limbs and Hooves
I remember when I first started questioning the use of round pens and lungelines in horsemanship. It started by learning about the “flight zone” of the horse, the exact distance of which is debated – suffice to say that whenRead more
Working Horses in Circles – Part 2 – The Myth of Collection
I was talking about my recent ponderings around the effects of chronic circular motion on the horse’s body, specifically how those effects can show in the hooves. These thoughts were sparked by a great article I read on Facebook byRead more
New Study: Caring for horses eases symptoms of dementia
In my work as Horse Specialist in a local equine therapy program, I see transformation, both momentary and life-changing, in every client. The more I watch, the more I’m convinced that simply being in the presence of horses is healing,Read more
Are We Objectifying Our Horses?
I’m glad somebody out there is willing to pose the awkward questions. Julie Taylor writes for Epona.tv, and clearly outlines how and why we may be objectifying our horses, both consciously and unconsciously. From Part 1: “…objectification as in ”meantRead more
The Importance of Choice
I have always been curious about this particular phenomenon: when training virtually any animal other than the horse, our first instinct is to use positive reinforcement (that is, in the most vague of explanations, to reward desired behaviour by addingRead more
Kesia’s West Coast Thrush Treatment
So we were talking about thrush! Every horse person I talk to has their go-to, swear-by thrush treatment. There are specialized products, industrial and household chemicals, natural oils, snake oils, and magic beans. There are pastes, rubs, soaks, powders, andRead more
Thrush: that dreaded fiend
I’ve heard that thrush is a bacteria. I’ve heard it’s a yeast. I’ve heard it’s a fungus. I’ve heard it’s two or more of the above. I’ve heard it’s hard to get rid of. I’ve seen horses suffering from terribleRead more
VIDEO: Join Up and Round Pen Training: Fact or Fiction?
Monty Roberts is famed for popularizing the method he copyrighted “Join-Up”, a method by which a human trainer can take a horse, often frightened, wild or aggressive, and have them following them quietly and submissively in a relatively short periodRead more
The Challenge of Domestication
The following is, basically, the thesis of my current direction with horses. I thought I’d have to go and write it myself, but luckily Andy Beck, founder of the White Horse Equine Ethology Project, long ago saved me the effort!Read more
Musings of an amateur barefoot trimmer
Seems like a lot of people I know these days are keeping their horses barefoot (okay, maybe that’s because I’m getting selective about my horsey-friends), but when I first pulled my mare’s shoes six years ago, I was not exactlyRead more
Are “Lead Mares” Really the Leaders?
Recent research challenges our current perception of wild horse herd dynamics; though rankings and hierarchies are still apparent, the understanding that a lead mare determines the movement of a group may be up for questioning. If true, some of ourRead more
Saddle Fitting
A properly fitted saddle, it probably goes without saying, is absolutely necessary for the comfort and mobility of your ridden horse. This video illustrates many of the considerations required whenRead more
Social Learning
While intelligence can be a subjective concept, studies on types of intelligence or learning can nonetheless help us understand how another thinks or experiences the world. “Social learning” is the ability to learn a task or behaviour by watching someoneRead more
Are you feeding your horse like a horse? Part 3 of 3
We’ve talked about how the horse’s biology is not suited to the meal-based feeding schedules we so commonly keep them on. We’ve also explored how modern feeds and even hays are not optimal, and often harmful, for the horse’s digestiveRead more
Yoga for Horses – April Battles
Here’s a stellar five-minute daily stretching routine to keep your horse limber and balanced. I like to incorporate these stretches quietly into the flow of grooming, and my horses have come toRead more
Are you feeding your horse like a horse ? Part 2 of 3
In this series of posts, I’d like to draw your attention to what we feed our equine partners, and how we feed it. I would like to state that I am not a certified equine nutritionist, a vet, or aRead more
Are you feeding your horse like a horse? Part 1 of 3.
In the next three posts, I’d like to draw your attention to what we feed our equine partners, and how we feed it. In the first post, I will address how we feed our horses, given their eating practices whenRead more
Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies
Want to learn more about your favourite animal? Here’s my suggestion: learn from the masters themselves. The Cloud series, aired on PBS’ Nature program, is a detailed and breathtaking account of theRead more
Songs For Horses
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Beck has two obvious passions: music, and horses. To this, I can certainly relate! In fact, his website, mikebeck.com, is aptly titled “Mike Beck Music and Horses”. As a performing artist and working cowboy, he can’t seem toRead more
