Being a woman in the rope industry is a bit like being a woman in rodeo: gals are outnumbered and the ride can be awfully rocky. Yet, Robyn Doloughan, owner of Columbia Basin Knot Company and its retail division, Knotty Girlz, has stayed in the […]
Read moreAuthor Archive: Maddy Butcher
Do you have a bench? Research and Nina recommend one
Nina Fuller, photographer and equine-facilitated mental health practitioner, once asked me during a visit if I’d walk with her to “the bench.” It seemed like an innocuous enough invitation, so I joined her. We walked with her dogs past the horse and sheep pastures, past […]
Read more7 Clinics makes for valuable couch time
Cindy Meehl speaks for many of us when she introduces 7 Clinics, the excellent instructional DVD set featuring Buck Brannaman. After decades in the saddle, she felt she was a good rider and doing right by her horses. “I had always done it in a […]
Read moreWhen ‘Head Down’ cues are wrong
As owners and riders, we have the privilege of teaching our horses lots of nifty movements and exercises. We can do it with force and intimidation, with treats and sweets, or with the concept of partnership in which horses will: appreciate a relationship of trust […]
Read morePerfectly Plump? Say it ain’t so!
I’m guessing you got this same catalog in the mail last month. It pictured three “happy” horses moving towards the camera. My immediate reaction: “Gawdalmighty, they’re so fat!” I shared it with some horse friends who thankfully agreed. I called Dr. Rebecca Gimenez, president of […]
Read moreBacking up to move forward
Last fall, before making the move to Colorado, Jolene and I took several mammoth leaps backwards in our training progress. Read more about the debacle. Since then, we’ve gone back to the very basics: ground work, round pen work, roadside walks, jogs, and hikes on […]
Read moreFor Lent, can you give up being human for a while?
Our piece on the Death of Natural Horsemanship was one of the most circulated pages ever for BestHorsePractices. It invigorated many lengthy online conversations on the state of today’s horsemanship, which brand of horsemanship is best, and what it all means. Absent in the conversation, […]
Read moreLearning to Connect!
Remember the teacher in Peanuts cartoons? She of the trombone voice? Wahwahwahwah. Her lectures left some sleepy and others bewildered. Consider the complexity of the teacher-student connection: the thought in the teacher’s brain, turned into words, then heard and interpreted by students. Is it any […]
Read moreSavitsky and Ballou on rider fitness
As part of our Focus on Fitness, we spoke with accomplished riders and teachers, Christina Savitsky and Jec Aristotle Ballou. When not running a ranch and raising a family, Christina Savitsky is busy with Buckaroo Balance clients. Buckaroo Balance combines good riding with therapy, mindfulness, […]
Read moreBeth Austin weighs in on rider fitness & core strength
As part of our Focus on Fitness, we spoke with accomplished physical therapist, Beth Austin, of Santa Cruz, California. A runner and dancer, Austin rode often as a girl and has an excellent sense of the horse-rider partnership. The therapist and seminar leader works with […]
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