When we make it about how a horse feels and how we best prepare their thoughts and emotions for the barrels, canter half-pass, or six-bar, we know we have evolved into a person worthy of the title “horse person”.
Why do most show jumpers have to haul on the reins to get their horse to check a stride when approaching a jump? Why do most team-roping horses fidget so much when waiting for the cow to be released?
A friend of mine told me she had been invited to compete in a horse-starting event at the Iowa State Fair. I was initially disappointed that she agreed to it. But my friend is my friend and that means I support her decisions in the best way I can.
Lately, horse abuse by some high-profile horse trainers has been in the news. Public outrage has been loud. It’s hard to imagine the perpetrators are unaware that what they do is animal abuse.
