by Don Jessop

Hello all you fabulous readers! This one’s just for fun. One of my favorite poems is written by Chalsey Wilder and it’s called, “Two Dead Boys.” My mother read it to me as a kid and you can Read it here. It’s all backwards. Every phrase comically opposes the first…

“My horse made me feel… scared, angry, frustrated, etc.” Insert big buzzer sound indicating I got that wrong! Did he make me feel that? Or did I go there? The truth is, if I remained in those negative emotions, I allowed myself to go there. Perhaps you grew up believing…

What do vets hate most about working with client horses? And how about farriers? You guessed it, horses that don’t stand still. It’s a sliding scale too. A horse that wiggles around a bit is tolerable. A horse that moves abruptly and dramatically is dangerous. And vets and farriers don’t…

In the last article, I talked all about five signs you might be doing something wrong with your horse. Today I want to give you the signs you’re doing it right. Reader beware, you might just feel like a million dollars after reading this, in case you don’t, I know…

This might be one of my favorite movie scenes. It’s Chevy Chase getting off the horse in the middle and inadvertently landing on the horse to the right. The movie, “The Three Amigos” starring Martin Short, Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin, is a classic if you like silly, funny movies. …

Imagine you’re going to ride or play with your horse today. Think of the things you want to do… Practice responses to your legs or hands or visual aids, try that new obstacle a few times, practice trailer loading, liberty training, getting that trot circle better, teach your horse to…

I’ve been deep thinking about the idea of emotional fatigue for some time now and gratefully, a student of mine brought it all to the surface again. When I hear from the people I care about, I can’t help but take a moment and reflect. This time, on paper. We…

If your horse does one of these six things while attempting to canter… don’t worry you’re not alone and their all easy to fix. Last week we talked about the first three. Here’s the link to that article. This week we’ll tackle the last three. 1. Tossing head 2. Bucking …