You are who your friends are. That adage can apply to horses, too. How we treat them will often be reflected right back at us - for good or bad. Sometimes the difference between a harsh cue and an appropriate one can be subtle. Pressure can be effective, but intensity and timing can make all the difference.

Where Should You Start? By Jec A. Ballou. When spring finally arrives, the sunny riding season ahead can greet riders with both excitement and anxiety. Where do I start, you might wonder as you calculate how unfit your horse has become from a winter of being off work. How long will it take to ease him back to fitness? What sorts of exercises and timelines should I use? In this article, I’ll answer these questions plus offer a simple schedule in addition to some rules you never want to break.

If you’ve ever walked your horse, even with a saddle on, down a trail and past people, you know how it feels. You’re enjoying your horse time and minding your own business, when someone asks Why aren’t you riding that horse? Or someone jokes about taking your “very large dog” for a walk. I had one barn neighbour show her friend on video chat “the girl that doesn’t ride her horse” (me) as we were walking by. It would be awkward if it wasn’t so common. Horses and riding are synonymous in the human psyche, and any departure from this norm is considered very odd indeed, despite the fact that some horses don’t benefit from riding and some humans really don’t enjoy riding.

From The Horse's Perspective - Until recently, no major studies had been conducted about the effect of travel on horses. The best advice most folks could hope for was to glean some pearls of wisdom from the ocean of opinions and tales of other road warriors.