Holistic Horsemanship

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

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 3 of Stormy’s book, The Path of the Horse;Read 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So I’m in the paddock with my Andalusian horse Zorra and it’s a beautiful sunny day. She’s all brushed and nicely clean, so I hop on. And she pretty much immediately asks me to get off I say, “Are youRead more

Many people talk about their horse going lame as being an unexpected gift; one that forced them to stop doing things to and with their horse, and experience just being with their horse instead. The interconnectedness of LIFE, the stateRead more

Most natural horsemanship advocates use a flag (or a swinging rope) to apply pressure to the horse, and this pressure is applied at varying levels of intensity. When the horse does what you want, the pressure is removed – that’sRead more

The other pony (Syrup) who is in with my horse Zorra, used to be a bully. My daughter Zara is free leasing him from his owner, Cheri, and every other free lease he’s been on has returned him within 3Read more

I walked into the dining room at the oceanfront resort in Akumal, Mexico and my brother’s girlfriend rushed over, gave me a big hug and said, “Jini, I found your horse!” “Whaaaat???” Justine proceeded to tell me about a friendRead more

My soulmate horse, Zorra, arrived from New Jersey two months ago. I have yet to sit on her back. Why? Well, first I’ve been getting her chiropractic treatments, then we’ve been healing emotional traumas from past experiences using acupressure (EFT)Read more

When I first saw this story on Facebook, I traced it back to Andy Andrews site: This may be a first… A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with herRead more

I’m pretty sure Klaus Hempfling is also a martial artist – you can tell by the way he uses his BODY in conjunction with energy. In fact, let me google that right now and then report back… okay, so heRead more

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

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

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 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

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

                    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

                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

As someone who’s written internationally bestselling books on natural healing methods for Inflammatory Bowel Disease – and I have an entire book just on probiotics – I come to the topic of probiotic supplementation with a bit more specialized knowledgeRead more

We’ve got a two-week trip to Mexico coming up and my biggest concern is making sure my horse, two cats and guinea pig are looked after well while we’re away. But taking care of my animals while I’m away, doesn’tRead more

Those of you who have read any of Linda Kohanov’s books, like Riding Between the Worlds: Expanding Our Potential Through the Way of the Horse or Margrit Coates’ Connecting With Horses will already be familiar with various methods used toRead more

                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

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

Linda Guanti from Yoga With Horses shows us how to perform a few simple stretches to relax our horses and keep them a bit more limber! Tip: The easiest one to start with is the tail/spine stretch. As long asRead more

Okay, so here we go with the serendipity of the Universe – LOVE IT!! I’m working with a gorgeous horse, Fire – the picture here is of my daughter leading him. But when you take this purebred Arabian horse toRead more

Great advice from veteran Canadian horse trainer, Daryl Gibb, at a Wild colt-breaking clinic I attended at Silver Star Stables in BC, Canada. Daryl shares stories from his career, of various horse problems and how they were solved, and fromRead more