Category: Equine Behavior
What if I suggested that Horse Overpopulation May not be the MAIN Problem Equines Face?
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I’m a bit ashamed that it has taken too many years in rescue to see what should have been obvious to me way before tonight. It is something I’ve always known as “part” of the issue horses face, but I didn’t always consider “IT” the main issue until the last year or […]
Reining horses hardly stand a chance
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“A lot of reining horses eliminate themselves early on, even if they have the ability and the try, because they can’t hold up.“ – Timothy Bartlett, DVM, of Vincennes, Ind., has been actively involved in the sport as a president of NRHA and an NRHA judge. An interesting view that it […]
How One Horse Says Goodbye to Another, and What We Can Learn
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The Trafalgar Square Books offices are located on a Vermont farm. We recognize ourselves as pretty lucky, seeing as in between meetings and calls with authors we can look out the windows and see both horses and Highland Cattle grazing in the green fields that slope up from the barn […]
Calming Signals in Horses
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I first came across this concept in dogs a few years ago, through my sister (who has trained as a dog behaviourist and trainer with Turid Rugaas, who was the first to identify these gestures in dogs) and as I observed my horse and others at our yard, I was coming to feel […]
Magnesium: The Mineral Superhero
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Very few people are aware of the enormous role magnesium plays in a horse’s body. After oxygen, water, and basic food, magnesium may be the most important element needed to maintain health. It is vitally important, yet hardly known. Magnesium is by far the most important mineral, regulating over 325 […]
No Really, Can We Stop Excusing Horse Abuse?
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I swear that Equestrians are experts in making excuses. Don’t get me wrong, I include myself in that observation as well. I’ve been called out more than a few times in the course of my riding (and life in general) to stop making excuses. But I’d like to take a […]
Horse Training or Abuse?
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Learn about some of the abusive practices that can happen in training, and learn how to avoid them for your horse. A 3-year-old stallion stands tied in a small, covered enclosure. His halter is hooked to a chain hanging from a rafter. The tether raises the colt’s head and neck […]
How to Speak Horse
Hawk
Learn to better understand and interact with your horse by speaking his language. In the 1920s, author Hugh Lofting wrote a series of charming children’s books about Doctor Doolittle, whose pet parrot, Polynesia, taught him how to speak with animals in their own language. As a horse owner, you may […]