Looking to Dig Deeper? Here are some ideas.
Starting a Young Colt with Clicker Training
In April of 2017 I purchased a yearling Andalusian colt who I named, Tranquilo. He's kind of my last ditch effort to have the horse of my dreams before it is too late. At this writing he's a coming 2 year old and I could not be more proud of this young man! Right...
Prelude to a Scratch (Solving a Problem with Hoof Handling)
I bought Libby for my non-rider husband and she came to me as a 25 year old with some age-related issues: arthritis, sore hocks, and lameness in her left spavin. Yet she impressed me by making a ten hour trailer ride from northern Ohio and trusting me enough to...
Grass – The Carpet of Motivation
I wrote this article several years ago. It had gotten lost in the shuffle of updating my website. Unfortunately the video that had gone along with it is among the missing. But, here is the article anyway. --Sharon Here in New England one of the things I really...
Finding what motivates a change
This week I worked with Libby, a 30 year old Quarter Horse mare, for the first time. Libby and her owner, Kirsten, were referred to me by Libby's massage therapist, Heather Davis. Libby suffers from some lameness due to injury and hard use (before Kirsten). Not...
Thoughts on Softness and Breathing on the Trail
Editor's Note: Laurie Grann is a dear friend and a most excellent horse woman. She recently participated in a week long clinic with Mark Rashid. She wrote up her thoughts about how she is working his ideas into her every day riding. The result is what follows. ...
Does your horse have the right to say No?
Much of my appreciation for classical dressage training comes from my lessons with Karl Mikolka. One of the (many) things I remember him saying (probably while my horse was having a fit) was, "the horse is allowed to say NO!" I'm not saying that fits are desirable! Of...
Are you training with a jackhammer?
In my Secret Weapon post I talked about how important it is to remain focused on what we want and rewarding that and only that. Read it here if you want to be reminded about it or missed it the first time. In her article in Psychology Today titled, Trainers with...
My secret weapon
Lots of rain and mud means I've only managed to say hello to my girls at feeding time. On nicer days I'll visit, groom and massage. Actual riding is a distant memory. Ha! So posts have been thin at best as I await the inspiration of spring and more riding exploits!...
How to get a horse OK with clippers
Here's the thing about using clicker training for stuff that the horse is afraid of (demonstrated by some escape behavior), like using electric clippers on whiskers, if you try to click 'for' letting you approach with the buzzing thing you are invariably going to get...
If I Knew What I Wanted
Those who have hung around me for some time will know that I'm very fond of saying, "If the horse knew what I wanted and believed he was able to do it, he'd BE doing it." I used to say "...and was able to do it..." but people would just say that they knew a horse...