Recently while having several “ah-ha” moments during my Pilates and More Balance classes I began to think of how many of our TTEAM exercises are core strengtheners for our equine friends. In my classes I learned that if I need to make an exercise a little more difficult I can change leg positions or merely Read more about TTEAM As Pilates for Horses and Ponies[…]

It’s officially winter in the Pacific Northwest, with rain, snow, sleet, hail and wind to drive home that fact.  As a horse owner who keeps her horses at home, I continually work around the weather. In the winter with the shorter days, and variable weather inevitably our horses and we as riders do not stay as fit, flexible and strong as well as we do in the warmer sunnier months. Many of us are forced to give our horses the winter off.  But, that doesn’t mean we have to give ourselves the winter off.

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WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO. EXCELLENCE, THEN, IS NOT AN ACT BUT A HABIT. – ARISTOTLE Teaching children to ride can be rewarding and fun for the instructor as well as the children involved. I especially like it when a child I have started goes on with horses throughout their adult life. Educating kids Read more about Thoughts on Teaching Children to Ride[…]

You may remember Minor Mesa’s journey to come to be my personal riding horse a few years back.  As an OTTB he was raced successfully and retired from racing with many physical and mental challenges.  Over the years with TTouch, lots of TLC and time, he has made amazing progress and is a happy healthy fun horse to be around and he is also our “Official Greeter” at the farm.

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We have all seen the really amazing jump riders on TV and YouTube. Some of my favorites include Peter Leone, George Morris, Eric Lamaze, Jessica Springsteen and Beezy Madden. But have you ever wondered how these people started out? What makes them stand out from the rest of the jumping world? Why are their horses Read more about Riding with Whole Horse Awareness, Introducing Trotting Pole Courses[…]

Part 1 – Choosing the Right Teacher I am often asked what I do for a living. That seems like an easy question with a simple answer. But, alas, nothing worth doing is every really simple or easy. Explaining the multi-faceted way that I help horses and riders reach their short and long term goals seems Read more about Teaching Attainable Goals for Horses and Riders[…]

Are listening and hearing the same thing? I think not. Hearing is perceiving sound vibration through the ear canal onto the ear drum, which conveys external stimuli to the sensory system called the brain. So, hearing is said to be one of the five bodily facilities for transmitting sensation. While the act of listening can Read more about Say What?[…]

This year has been a year of challenges and changes at our farm. My aged thoroughbred gelding, Mouse, has been beset with injuries for a large part of the year. Over the years I have come to realize that Mouse seems to be pretty accident prone and needs special herd dynamics management. Unfortunately Mouse is Read more about Using TTouch As An Evaluation Tool[…]

It started out a perfect mid-June evening. I was on a complete “clinic high” as Mouse and I had just finished having my best riding clinic lessons ever. My partner Mouse is a 21 year old TB gelding, with loads of experience. He has been described as a “school master” and he is a very Read more about Ttouch to the Rescue[…]

It started out as fairly normal Thursday morning in December. I got up at our usual time around 4:30 a.m. and went to the living room to check the fire in the wood stove and turn on the XM radio for our morning classical music. That morning I did not bother to turn on the Read more about Nina With The Broken Nose[…]

We have likely all heard that “the only constant is change”. But have you ever really stopped to think out about what you can actually change or how you can effect change? What are two physical things that you can easily change or give the appearance that change has occurred within your own body? What Read more about Change Happens[…]