Virtual Brush Box

What Makes You [Horse] Happy?

Work: PM1 heat therapy & middle-distance handwalk/PM2 groom. Evaluation: warm weather = happy, pleasant horse = happy, pleasant me. Bodes well for summer. Ramblings for the day: Everything from philosophers to Hallmark cards tell us that happiness is within our own heads. But where? How? Anuscha Rees, on a post in her blog into-mind.com, talksContinue reading “What Makes You [Horse] Happy?”

Guest Blogger: Linda Benson, writer of The Girl Who Remembered Horses

Work: day off For fourteen years, I had a bimonthly book column in the USCTA News/Eventing USA. It was one of those gigs for which you can’t believe you are getting paid. Editors and attitudes changed but apparently my fixation with books I hasn’t, which is why my second guest spot is Linda Benson talkingContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Linda Benson, writer of The Girl Who Remembered Horses“

Life As a First Draft

Work: AM heat & short walk/PM groom Evaluation: Easy day. Although I was proud of him for holding it together yesterday until we finished, his fit means that he found the work taxing. It is beyond me why he finds wandering around his own pasture to be difficult, but that’s not my call to make.Continue reading “Life As a First Draft”

Baby Steps

Work: AM heat therapy & handwalk/PM groom & groundwork – weave cones, reverse, 360o turn, and crossrail. Evaluation: The long walk from yesterday but by ourselves. He led me up the hill but didn’t charge and was almost dogging it on the easy sections. In the ring, he did 90%, including the walk back toContinue reading “Baby Steps”

What is going on inside that pretty head of yours?

Horse Work: AM heat therapy, “extended” walk in company/PM short liberty session. Evaluation: On our group walk, Greg led Mathilda, I led Rodney. At her time of life, Mathilda doesn’t do anything without a steady stream of carrots. Rodney spent most of the walk mooching his share. I don’t think he noticed how far weContinue reading “What is going on inside that pretty head of yours?”

Crosstacking

Work: PM heat therapy & short grooming Evaluation: Cold weather puts him in a mood. Some days it’s better to just walk and come back tomorrow. Went to a Western used tack sale and bought two wool saddlepads: A Navajo-style plaid and a inch-thick felt. Rodney appears to enjoy warm over cold. He loves hisContinue reading “Crosstacking”

Head Games

Work: early PM – heat therapy, long-for us-walk to the top of the hill/late PM – 2 grooming sessions in an attempt to deferalize. Evaluation: Dawdled up the hill with his head down & yawned twice halfway up. Since he used to pull me up the hill, I’m counting this as a solid win. RodneyContinue reading “Head Games”