September 2023 Horse Report: A Lesson in Letting Go
Many of you have followed along with my plans to breed my AQHA mare, Annie, to a top cow horse stallion, Bet Hesa Cat. At first it seemed highly likely that Annie would conceive, even
Resources for Horse Report
July 2023 Horse Report
As I mentioned last month, my plans to breed Annie didn’t go the way I hoped, and I’m shifting gears with her this fall to my #2 goal—going horse camping! In the meantime, my other
June 2023 Horse Report
My Horse Goals or Bust! plans have taken an unexpected turn. My big horse goals included breeding my mare, Annie, which turned out to be an exercise in patience. It has been a rollercoaster of
May 2023 Horse Report
It was disappointing to find out that my beloved mare Annie did not settle into pregnancy after her second round of breeding and a month at the mare-care facility about 75 miles from here. We
April 2023 Horse Report
I was planning to write a much different report this month, hoping to announce the pregnancy of my sweet mare, Annie. Instead, I am reminded that nothing worthwhile is ever easy. In lieu of a
March 2023 Horse Report
With any luck, my sweet little mare, Annie, will soon be living her dream. If you’ve been following along with Horse Goals or Bust, you already know that I made the decision to breed Annie
February 2023 Horse Report
I am happy to report that my plans for breeding Annie this year are well underway! So far (*knock on wood*) everything is going according to plan. Annie hasn’t figured out what’s in store for
January 2023 Horse Report
This year, my horse life is taking an abrupt turn in a direction that surprised even me—and it all started with a piece of paper. A year ago, when my team first presented me with
December 2022 Horse Report
Around my barn, we shift into a lower gear this time of year, based on surviving winter. Here in the high mountains of Colorado, winter comes early and stays late. We had plenty of sub-zero
October 2022 Horse Report
After two weeks of clinics and tours, I arrived home from Ireland to the peak of fall weather here in the Rocky Mountains. One day I was riding horses on the Wild Atlantic Coast of
September 2022 Horse Report
With heavy hearts, we laid our old friend “Doc” to rest this month. Doc was a talented performance horse, and taught every one of us something special. He finished his days being the faithful mount
August 2022 Horse Report
Here in Colorado, summers are long-awaited, and then over before you know it. As we like to say, there are four seasons here: winter, winter, winter, and road construction. We’ve been blessed with a normal
July 2022 Horse Report
All winter long, we yearn for summer, and by the time it gets here, we start whining about the heat. The horses are no different! Like humans, horses tend to like variety in their food,
June 2022 Horse Report
Annie and I took a road trip earlier this month to present at the Harmony Horse Expo, a fun and educational weekend full of training demos from trainers and other horse professionals, hosted by the
May 2022 Horse Report
In the past four months, I’ve traveled coast-to-coast for many different horse expos and clinics—just like before-times! It was great to be back on the road again, to meet new people and horses, see lots
April 2022 Horse Report
Dear friends, The past month brought some rather profound changes around our barn, leaving a giant hole in my heart. First, we said a sad farewell to our faithful old Labrador, Samantha. She was a
February 2022 Horse Report
Winter got off to a mild start here in the Colorado mountains but has come back with a vengeance lately. With lots of snow and sub-zero temps, our outdoor arena is frozen solid, which has
January 2022 Horse Report
One thing I love about horse sports is that no matter what you achieved last year, there’s always more you can do the next year. No sooner do you accomplish one goal than you’re planning
December 2021 Horse Report
I have to say I was happy to get back into a more normal work schedule this fall—starting with my first few trips to events by airplane since March of 2020. So far, it’s been
November 2021 Horse Report
Watercolor of Dodger & Lucy We’ve had some transitions around our barn in the last month. Recently, we said a final farewell to our old friend, Roger Dodger—possibly the best cow horse I ever rode!
September 2021 Horse Report
Here in the Colorado Rockies, fall comes early, but we have been blessed with exceptionally warm days and normally cool nights, with about a 50-degree difference from the low to high temps. If we ride
August 2021 Horse Report
As the days shorten, I’ve been frantically trying to squeeze in all the activities I wanted to do this summer. The older I get, the shorter the summers are, and it’s hard to get enough
July 2021 Horse Report
I’ll admit, it’s been a bit of a lazy summer for me, and I’ve had lots of time to enjoy my horses in a more casual way. With no clinics, expos or tv projects looming
June 2021 Horse Report
Seems like just yesterday I was complaining about winter lasting too long, and now we are enduring a record-breaking heat wave! But ours is a dry heat, and with a little breeze, we can still
May 2021 Horse Report
After a cold spring, our horses are finally able to graze green grass (and Annie’s svelte figure is soon to be replaced by the Michelin Man look). With Annie and Pepperoni both well set in
March 2021 Horse Report
March has been a snowy month for us, but we are grateful for the moisture that will ease us out of drought conditions and help green up our pastures. It will be the end of
April 2021 Horse Report
Dear Friends, The horses are starting to shed and the outdoor arena has thawed enough to ride in—surely spring is around the corner! The horses are feeling frisky, and adventurous equestrians are planning new excursions.
February 2021 Horse Report
Here in the high mountains of Colorado, we’re still in our deepest part of winter, with sub-zero temperatures and blowing snow. It’s the time of year when we go into a holding pattern with our
January 2021 Horse Report
Winter is long and hard, here in the high mountains of Colorado and although the days are getting longer now, subzero temperatures, wind and ice, make riding outdoors a challenge. Thankfully, our indoor arena has
December 2020 Horse Report
Here in the Colorado mountains, we love snow! The more, the better. And it looks like a white Christmas is in the forecast. Our valley is the headwaters of the Arkansas River; our snowmelt sends
November 2020 Horse Report
It was a fitting end to my travel-year, when my last remaining clinic was cancelled, not due to the pandemic, but because of raging wild fires in northern Colorado. This has certainly been a year
September 2020 Horse Report
Summer came to a screeching halt around our ranch, just two days after record heat on Labor Day, when we were hammered with well over a foot of snow and temps in the low 20s
August 2020 Horse Report
Here we are at the peak of riding season and I’m happy to report that our horses are all healthy and sound, even our foster horse, Doc Gunner. For the last 90 days, Gunner has
July 2020 Horse Report
With more time at home than ever before, you’d think I’d get my horse ridden every day. I guess it’s not surprising that having to totally reinvent the way you do business might take some
June 2020 Horse Report
All the excitement around my barn in the last month was about Doc Gunner, my new “foster horse.” He arrived at our place on June 18th after a long haul from Oklahoma City. Doc Gunner
April 2020 Horse Report
In the four weeks since my last horse report, we have been on lockdown. Most Americans, and indeed people all over the world, are affected by this pandemic but for each of us, the effects
March 2020 Horse Report
Had I written this report a week ago, when I was supposed to, it would have sounded much different. Then, I would’ve been whining about being on the road too much and how little ride-time
February 2020 Horse Report
We are in the midst of a long, hard winter! Typical this time of year, one day might be sunny and warm with highs in the 40s or 50s, and the next is single digits,
January 2020 Horse Report
All of the horses are currently healthy, hairy and happy. And for that, I am grateful. Even old Dually (now 20 years old and retired from active duty) is occasionally spotted running and bucking in
December 2019 Horse Report
I’m happy to report that after several cycles of injury/treatment/rehab and two months of stall rest and hand-walking, the Adventures of Pepperoni are back in full swing! Thankfully, we were able to start turning him
November 2019 Horse Report
Since this time last month, I’ve been away from home for 25 days, in the normal course of my job attending clinics, expos, conferences and teaching at CSU Equine. Fall is a busy time of
October 2019 Horse Report
I rode my horses a lot less than I’d hoped last month, since I was on the road more than home. We were not able to take the horses up to C Lazy U for
June 2019 Horse Report
Dear Friends, With my summer break (from travel) ahead of me, I’m eager to get more time in the saddle! My youngster, Pepperoni, is doing well given the sporadic ride time I’ve had in the
May 2019 Horse Report
It’s my busiest time of year, and most weeks I’m only home a couple nights—which makes owning a colt challenging. Pepperoni is the kind of young horse that needs to be ridden daily and kept
Horse Report April 2019
[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] I’ve spent more time on the road than at home this month, getting less ride time on my horses than I would’ve liked. Fortunately, I have Melissa, my barn manager, to keep the
Horse Report March 2019
[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] This is not a winter we will soon forget. More snow, ice, wind and cold weather than I can remember for some time. Thankfully, we have a nice toasty indoor arena, but after
February 2019 Horse Report
[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] I’ve had a little more time on my horses this month. Pepperoni, now a 3-year-old, is progressing nicely after a small setback from a stifle sprain. After treatment from Dr. Potter (who was
January 2019: Horse Report
At the moment, all my horses are healthy and sound (knock on wood), but we’ve been contending with injuries and various lameness issues rotating through my herd. Dually is looking better than he has in