Horse Behaviour & Psychology

Is This Hard for My Horse?

Updated:

July 18, 2025

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Miscalculating the effort level of exercises for horses often derails the process of gaining fitness. Whether or not a horse finds any given exercise hard is left to a lot of guesswork. And since many riders form assumptions based on their own perspectives of sport and physical challenges, this guesswork is frequently inaccurate. To gauge this better and to deliver beneficial doses of effort, we need to clarify how and when certain tasks are difficult for the horse.

Rethinking Horse Paddocks: A Natural Setup Changes Everything

Updated:

July 17, 2025

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Fifteen years ago, a friend asked if I’d house- and horse-sit for her at her farm in the Cowichan Valley. The property featured open turnout, natural forage, and the companionship of other horses. I accepted, unsure how it would affect my mare, Diva—who had been struggling. But the results were immediate and profound. We never left. Years later, we still live in the Cowichan Valley, and Diva continues to thrive.

How Horses’ Brains Work

Updated:

July 11, 2025

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Humans have been known to have a superiority complex: a belief that we deserve dominion over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and, well, everything everywhere. Given our capacity for rational thought, not to mention our linguistic and creative abilities, we tend to see ourselves as the big cheese in the universe.

Is Desensitizating Your Horse Helpful?

Updated:

July 4, 2025

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A closer look at the troubling physiology behind this common practice and how to support curiosity and courage in our horses instead.

A Study on Blindfolding in Horse Handling

Updated:

June 25, 2025

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Compliance or Confusion? If you are a Black Beauty fan, you will recall the scene where Beauty is being led from a burning barn and he’s scared. James puts the blindfold on to instantly calm him down, and then he’s able to be rescued. Written in 1877 by Anna Sewell, the novel was based on how horse handling looked back then. Thanks to scientific research, we now know a lot more about horse behaviour and equine welfare.

Creative Techniques for Productive Lunging

Updated:

June 18, 2025

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To lunge or not to lunge? Numerous riders grapple with this question, weighing the potential deleterious physical impacts with the exercise value for non-ridden horses. Whether lunging is good or bad turns out to have a nuanced answer. A more practical inquiry might not be whether to lunge, but how and when to lunge.

Showmanship Skills

Updated:

June 5, 2025

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If you’re looking for a beneficial off-season activity to share with your horse, showmanship skills can be introduced while wearing your winter boots and even in the barn aisle. Just 15 minutes of in-hand training per day will, like planting fall tulip bulbs, bear results in show season.

Is Your Horse Ready To Be Ridden?

Updated:

May 30, 2025

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Recently, I officially retired my mare Diva from riding at age 25. She had started showing signs that riding was no longer a comfortable or enjoyable experience. I noticed her topline dropping and her hind end becoming stiffer (which was confirmed as the early stages of hock arthritis in her left hind). In general, Diva’s body was no longer receiving a benefit from being ridden. I decided I am not comfortable medicating my horse so that I can ride her.

Equine Learning Theory: Why Every Rider Needs to Understand It

Updated:

May 27, 2025

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Every interaction we have with a horse involves principles of learning, whether we are aware of it or not. Problems arise when the wrong technique is chosen, or a correct one is applied incorrectly. In such cases, the horse can become confused and respond with behaviours often labelled as stubborn, unwilling, naughty, or even dangerous.

Resolving Bit Resistance in Your Horse

Updated:

May 12, 2025

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Not long ago, I toured a Western art museum and found myself absorbed in the works of Russell and Remington. Their paintings, alive with movement, depicted the unforgiving life of the cowboy — scenes filled with dust, tension, and the raw energy of untamed horses. These animals, used for transport and survival, stood in stark contrast to the roles horses now occupy in our world — companions in leisure, competitors in sport, and trusted partners in training. But one detail in every piece caught my attention and left me uneasy: riders with rigid hands pulling back, and horses resisting, mouths wide in distress.