For a five-year old the Mops-horse (his pasture name) is going through a real ugly duckling phase as muscles and ligaments shape shift and more circle work comes onto the agenda. Odd, but true and perhaps not helped by a pot belly that’s suddenly exploded from nowhere, the product of his never-ending enthusiasm for food, […]

As odd as it seems to us today, the car was seen as the saviour and solution to the horse population and environmental issues at the turn of the century.

There is one thing that every horse owner dreads. It haunts their dreams and keeps them up at night. It’s THAT phone call. The one you get hours after you kissed your horse goodbye for the day and left him safe and sound and all in one piece. The second you see the barn’s name […]

This week it was cold, windy and rainy, which isn’t exactly an ideal combination for a relaxed ride on Luc in the indoor arena. I was a little concerned when we stepped through the door from the tack-up area to the arena and Luc stopped dead in his tracks and snorted. His eyes were wide […]

Apparently, three years after Epsom the King gave Anmer to Ontario’s Department of Agriculture and the horse became a leading sire in Canada.

With winter just around the corner I’ve been figuring out which paddocks the horses will be in. Currently Spring Song goes up the driveway, past the arena and into the largest paddock on the farm. She is with two other mares. The distance from her stall to her paddock is about 100 metres. In the […]

In the November/December issue of Horse-Canada, in my article “Starting Them Young: Clicker Training Foals,” I mentioned two new games – Magic Hands and Touch the Goblins. The goal of magic hands is to have the horse maintain a light contact between the part of his body you are touching and your hand, usually the shoulder. As you move […]

Begin at the Beginning. No matter what the age of your horse one should always begin at the beginning of training because there will always be holes to fill in. Going back and revisiting basic lessons is always valuable. In my latest Horse-Canada article “Starting Them Young: Clicker Training Foals,” in the November/December 2014 issue, […]

In the fall, at the Imperial War Museum of London, the late Warrior was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry and his contribution to the war effort.

Several things have happened in the past two weeks: 1. I’ve been playing with Zelador creating an on the spot tiny trot under saddle (the beginning of a piaffe) and taking this two-beat movement forward into a very slow trot. 2. Our coach, Alex Reinfels, pointed out that transitions back and forth from the piaffe […]