One Chill Horse

In one slice of a perfect world, it would be true that all horse and rider combos are compatible and that there is a flow between them that takes no work. This is not that slice. In reality, horses are headstrong, opinionated, trained and expressive. Meaning, they have a mind of their own, a way of doing things that they are comfortable with and no idea why all of a sudden you think you're in charge. Personally one of the most daunting relationships I have ever had to build is the one with my horse. There is an insane amount of trust that has to be established, a huge dose of bravery you have to muster and a whole lot of vulnerability on both sides. I wish I had a one size fits all for how to become friends with a horse, but that isn't even possible. I also wish I could tell you that you can be friends with any horse you want, but that too, would be a lie. Your horse is your dance partner, you both know half the steps and you have to come together to make a whole imag...

As horse people, we focus a lot on the people part of that. We talk about all the amazing things that horses bring to us, how they enrich us, how they ground us and make us better. However,  I want to highlight that our interactions with horses is also and more importantly about them. You need to make time to focus on what is good for your horse, what will make their life better, what can you improve about you to be better for them. This is a PARTNERSHIP and a RESPONSIBILITY. Having a horse is a LONG TERM commitment, it is not a puppy a for Christmas that you have to 'deal with' for a decade and move on. Horses live a LONG time and require special things to make their lives positive and whole. I get asked a lot - Isn't having a horse expensive? How can you have a horse on the cheap? Yes it's expensive and you can't do it cheaply. It is either expensive or very expensive. With that said I will tell you that it is still always less expensive than I feared and n...