Why your words matter more than you think - If you’ve been following along with my sport psychology articles, you’ll know that we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the power of our thoughts. One of the core skills in sport psychology is learning to use positive self-talk — challenging unhelpful or negative thoughts and intentionally replacing them with thoughts that support us. It’s a skill that helps athletes build confidence, stay composed, and approach challenges with a problem-solving mindset.

Ron Turcotte, the Canadian jockey whose name is forever linked with Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown victory in 1973, has died at age 84. His family, through longtime business partner and friend Leonard Lusky, said he passed away of natural causes on August 22, 2025 at his home in Drummond, New Brunswick.

When humans first climbed onto horseback, a saddle was devised to keep riders stable and to help horses perform their duties. Early designs were purely practical, tailored to the demands of war, travel, and sport. Social convention also left its mark: since women were expected to remain modestly attired in long skirts, the side-saddle emerged, allowing them to ride without straddling a horse.

How clear communication and great preparation is your best support for an easy transition.

Keeping Circles on Track - The equestrian’s quest for the perfect circle crosses all disciplines. For Western and English riders, geometry matters. Horse show judges expect to see circles of uniform size and curves ridden with the horse’s body shaped to follow the arc. In dressage and reining, riders must show a clear distinction between large and small circles. In working equitation, circles around barrels and figure-eights must be symmetrical. In equitation and horsemanship patterns, judges frown on oval-shaped “circles.” In all classes, judges will deduct marks for circles of inaccurate size and over-arced or counter-flexed body alignment.

While one can’t plan for every form of disaster, it’s important to familiarize yourself with any potential risks that could occur in your area and plan for them accordingly. Planning ahead can allow horse owners the opportunity to stay composed and act quickly in an emergency situation.

It's never too late to start over - A couple of years ago I bought a so-called “pasture puff,” a seven-year-old mare who’d lived most of her life hanging out with sheep and cows. Seven isn’t that old, but Pippin hadn’t had much handling let alone riding — she’d only been saddled a month or so before I got her. Not surprisingly, when she arrived at her new home, a boarding farm with sixty-some horses, she was anxious. Walking her from field to barn became a game of chicken, as she whirled, veering into me, and at the barn door the drama continued — other horses clopped in and out as she steadfastly refused to enter.

Among domestic animals, horses are some of the most naturally wide-ranging. They evolved as nomadic grazers, adapted to constant movement across varied landscapes and climates. Their instinctive response to any potential threat is still flight. Although domestication has shaped them to fit human needs, their fundamental nature remains largely unchanged.

Given the various components of fitness, conditioning plans can vary widely from horse to horse. Some need a program of mostly therapy-based exercises to address coordination, postural, or mechanical deficits before moving on to aerobic and gymnastic gains. Others need a restructuring of their workouts and plenty of good hard efforts to push past performance plateaus.