For years, I never really questioned whether my horse needed shoes. It wasn’t until I started hearing about the benefits of a barefoot horse that I started to reconsider. Shoes were simply part of horse ownership. You pulled them every six weeks, the farrier came out, and that was that. So when I started thinking…
I Went. I Did It. And Apparently I Can Drive a Land Yacht
Remember when I wrote that whole blog post about going to a horse show without a trainer? Remember how brave and philosophical I sounded? Maybe confidence is something we have to find for ourselves. Maybe I need to trust everything I’ve learned. Maybe I can do this. Well. There eventually comes a point when you…
Project Topline: How I’m Helping Tino Build His Back
There comes a point in every horsewoman’s life when she finds herself standing in the pasture, squinting at her horse from the side and thinking, Was that hollow behind his withers always there? In my case, the horse was Tino. Tino is 16 now, and while he is still handsome enough to know it, his…
The Cooling Vest I Didn’t Know I Needed — Until I Wore One
There are certain horse-show purchases that feel a little extra… right up until the moment you use them and wonder how you ever survived without them. For me, that’s a cooling vest. And after dealing with hot summer horse shows, long barn days, endless trips back and forth from the stalls, and the special kind of…
Horse Showing Without a Trainer: Confidence, Chaos, or a Little of Both?
Since I started riding in the late 1970s, I have always shown under the guidance of a trainer. It was never even a question. You rode with a training barn, your trainer went to the show, and you showed under their direction. That was simply how it was done. Personally, I love being coached. I…