Kick Zone
Out of Kick Zone Here’s a quick tip for staying safe while doing groundwork with any horse and especially when working around young or green horses. Always keep in mind that a horse can reach
Resources for Free Articles
How The 5-Pound Challenge Works
Good day! Inspired by your comments, and by the response from my friends, I want to extend my five-pound challenge to everyone—at least everyone interested in getting fit and shedding a few pounds (or more).
QuarterFest
Greetings! We had a great time in Murfreesboro last weekend for the inaugural QuarterFest; a fantastic tribute to the American Quarter Horse and the people who own them. There was certainly something for everyone; from
Catch And Hold
Catch and Hold When you approach a horse out in the field to catch him, be prepared with your halter and lead rope ready. Approach toward the horse’s shoulder—not directly in front of the horse,
Clinics
Greetings! Last week, I had a CHA Instructor Certification clinic at Central Wyoming College in Riverton. It was a very easy clinic with qualified and enthusiastic participants, all of whom received a certification at a
South Carolina Horse Master Shoot – Behind The Scenes
My film crew and I all converged in Savannah GA and made the 90 minute trek up to the SC coast, to a small private island called Fripp Island, where our accommodations for the week
Judging the Extreme Cowboy Race
On top of my regular presentations, appearances in sponsor’s booths and visiting with people in my booth, I also judged the Extreme Cowboy Race. I was pleasantly surprised that there were overall higher quality entries
Off-The-Track Thoroughbred Habits
Off-the-track Thoroughbred Habits Many ex-race horses are adopted by recreational riders. While it’s great that these horses have a new lease on life, it helps to know how horses on the track are trained, ridden
My Good Saddle
Good Day! One of the best things about travelling is getting home and sleeping in your own bed. Although, I must admit, that most of the beds I sleep in on my travels are as
Traveling with Turtles (Hats); Julie’s Travel Routine
Although many people may think I lead a glamorous and adventurous life, really my life is pretty routine. I get home on Monday, work in the office and ride Tue-Wed and sometimes Thursday; then I
First Clinic’s Of The Year!
Greetings! I’ve been running all over the country with a horsemanship clinic in Massachusetts last weekend and a lecture in Denver Monday night. Both events were well-attended and very successful! We had a full house
Fellow Clinicians
Greetings! It was very fun for me this weekend to finally meet a person that I have admired from afar for the past couple decades—Juli Thorson, from Horse & Rider magazine. You have no
Trailering Safety With Leg Wraps
Trailering Safety with Leg Wraps Protecting your horse’s leg during trailering or shipping is cheap insurance. As a hose rides in a trailer, there are constant challenges to his balance and on occasion he
A Ride On The Beach
Good day! One of our most popular episodes of Horse Master is an episode that was filmed on a warm and sunny day at the beach of Martha’s Vineyard last summer. It’s about a young event
Regular Riding Routine
Greetings! I am finally getting back on my horse and into a regular riding routine. The time off hasn’t hurt him at all. In fact, he’s put on weight, which is good and he’s gotten
Bad Medicine
Good Day! Recently on Horse Master is an episode featuring a very stubborn little horse who has learned to make a big fuss out of de-worming or any oral medications. He throws his head up in
Extreme Riding
Greetings! I promised to tell you about the Extreme Cowboy Race (ECR) that I judged in California last weekend. Produced by Craig Cameron, my friend and well-known clinician and TV star, this event was not
Bucking and Navicular; McGoodnight, McTraining; All at the Expo!
Equine Affaire provides me the horses I need to ride in my clinics and in this case, I had a really interesting mount for myself. His name was Chance, an 8 y/o QH and champion
Horse Master TV Subjects
Greetings! It’s been a very hectic week or so. I spent three days at the Western & English market show in Denver. It is one of the biggest market shows there is—a show where manufacturers
Stall Kept Horse Care
“Horses are extremely adaptable animals and can manage well in just about any climate—that’s one reason why they’ve managed to adapt to civilization and thrive even after they were no longer needed as beast of
A Well Trained Horse Will Always Remember
Good Day! It seems like forever since we filmed the episodes at Martha’s Vineyard. But I remember filming this episode well, because it involves a horse I used to own. I bought Jackson (known at
Motivation For Riding More
Greetings! I haven’t been riding much lately, have you? Tons of work to do in the office it’s been hard to get motivated. I have ridden one of my geldings for sale a few times,
A Wet and Wild Ride at the Beach
Let’s talk about the episodes filmed at Martha’s Vineyard. Wave Runner is one of my favorites. Partly because I got to do all the riding in this one and partly because we were at the beach.
Winter Tack Care
“Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you should put up with dirty tack. Use a crock pot in your tack room to warm up your tack oil before cleaning time. You’ll have nice warm oil
Birthday Puppy
I spent most of my time and shopping energy this year looking for Rich’s Birthday present. I got him a beautiful puppy for his birthday. I brought her home on Thursday and she is a
Living Aloha
Greetings! I am afraid I have been remiss in writing. Being in Kauai will do that to you. I am starting this post on the last leg of my journey home, after a week spent
Hard To Catch
Greetings! In my Horse Master episode called “Catch Me if You Can!” about a Peruvian Paso, his favorite pastime is to make his owner run around the pen chasing him for an hour or two
Winter Riding Routine
Greetings from Colorado! Tomorrow, we’ll have all our horse’s shoes pulled for the winter and then we’ll be relegated to riding indoors—another sure sign of the changing seasons. We’ll set up the cutting machine
Paralyzed With Self-Doubt
Recently on Horse Master is an episode called “Master and Commander.” It’s about a woman who did all the right things when looking for a horse—she bought a mature, push-button reiner from which she could learn
Desensitizing
Good Day! Recently on Horse Master is an episode filmed in LA about a driving pony who was deathly afraid of anything plastic—bags, tarps and the like. Her owner, a very competent horsewoman who I
An Incredible Weekend
Hello! Here I sit, 32,000 feet above sea level on a jumbo jet, on my way home from a really fantastic weekend. As I may have mentioned, I was in Springfield MA for Equine Affaire—one
Bit Release
Greetings! Recently on Horse Master, Featuring my friend Tedi Tate and her off-the-track-Thoroughbred (OTTB) gelding, Hunter. I thought this was a really good episode and Tedi was so dynamic on TV—as was Hunter, who seemed to act
A Helmet on Your Head
I had a strange and thought-provoking moment as I was getting ready for one of my demos at a horse expo last weekend. Kindly, someone brought me a horse to ride because I was doing
Don’t Spoil Colts
Good day! Recently on Horse Master, we were replaying episode 5, “Missed Manners.” It’s about a two year old Andalusian filly who is pushy, rude and disrespectful to her handlers. The barn workers at her boarding
Mustangs On The Move
Greetings! Seems like I struck a chord with my post on Mustangs, the slaughter issue and unwanted horses, which is exactly what I was hoping to do—stimulate discussion and provoke thought. I appreciate all of
A Horse With A Human Problem
Good Day! It’s great to be home again, even if only for a day. By the time I have unpacked, it’s time to start repacking again. But I am excited to be headed to Lexington
Unwanted Horses
Good Day! It’s another travel day for me and as my friend Polly says, on Sundays, I am like a trail horse headed home. As much as I love to travel, heading home is always
Reconditioning After Surgery
Greetings! On Horse Master episode 3, “The Next Level” It stars Sharon and her big gallant horse Manassis, a 4th level school master and a blast to ride. Sharon is recovering from abdominal surgery and
The Right Bit In The Right Hands
Good Day! Last night I dreamt all night about bits. It was a pleasant journey through my subconscious. After exploring all the different Myler bits this week and talking more about new ones to try
Transitions
Set Up For Success: set up cones to help you plan transitions There’s an old saying in horsemanship: “All of training occurs in transitions.” A transition occurs any time you ask your horse to speed
The Herd Bound Horse
Good Day! Seems like I struck a chord in my newsletter Q&A column this month with my answer to Beverly about her hopelessly herd-bound horse. I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people with similar
The First Season Of Horse Master
Greetings! I am remembering the first season of Horse Master episodes . We shot the first five episodes in three days and frankly we were amazed at how well it went. Now that we have five
Bit Release
Good Day! I’m very proud of the Bit Basic’s DVD. As I mentioned earlier, the horses for the video were awesome. I used a little 2 y/o palomino filly who was barely halter broke. A
Subjects for Horse Master
Greetings! Recently I had my nose buried to the grindstone for several days, filming one of my newest videos, “Bit Basics.” It took three long days, working with two different horses—an unstarted 2 year old filly and a
Connecting Reins To The Bit
A Bit of Comfort “When connecting reins to the bit, I prefer to use a leather to leather connection for softness and a better feel. While having metal snaps in the ends of your reins
Blanketing Horses
Good Day! Another glorious day and I am getting a much-dreaded and put-off-to-the-last-minute chore done—washing horse blankets! The truck bed’s loaded with blankets, I’ve got five rolls of quarters in my pocket and my special horse
Exercising With Bareback Riding
Greetings! After weeks of still days we finally had a blustery morning when I went for my daily two mile walk. Naturally it was the first day of fall. I walked uphill with the wind
Selling Horses
Good morning! Every morning I walk a couple miles. I used to walk indoors on the treadmill watching CNN (I’m a news junkie) but for the last month, I’ve actually been walking outside in the
Working Dawn To Dusk/7 Days Per Week
Greetings! That’s a favorite line from our theme song, Cowgirl Creed, written and performed by Templeton Thompson. The song has many favorite lines of mine, like “I’ll always saddle my own horse,” “Don’t call me
Ranch Horse Clinic
Greetings! Well, I had a busy weekend and there may be too much to say to get it all on one posting. On Thursday, Rich and I headed to T Cross Ranch, between Colorado Springs