When Multitasking Pays Off

There’s a lot of research out there disparaging multitasking. Scientists say it’s inefficient. They say ideal productivity and efficiency requires focus. But often horse handling requires a certain lack of focus and an ability to take in, understand, and react to multiple developments all at […]

Another Core Insight from Katrin Silva

Katrin Silva grew up riding dressage in Germany before moving to the United States at age 19 to learn to ride Western. She’s been riding both disciplines for the last twenty years. Read her article on Contact here. Silva has competed successfully through fourth level […]

“Fit” is More than Skin-Deep: Confessions of a Sugar-holic

Last year, in the pages of NickerNews and BestHorsePractices, we focused on rider fitness and weight. That’s because there is mounting evidence showing we do our horses and our horsemanship a sizeable favor by being fit and on weight. As it happens, I know a […]

Core Strength Requires Understanding

Beth Watson is a physiotherapist living in Perth, Australia. Here, she lends yet another excellent point of view to our focus on Rider Fitness, especially core fitness. Clinician Wendy Murdoch suggested in a recent article that “core strength is counterproductive to good riding.” We disagree. […]

A Nod of Thanks and A Look to 2017

We want to take this moment to thank you, our readers, for another great year of support. Thank you! Thanks to you, we defined ourselves as a premier purveyor of top quality articles concerning horse science and good horsemanship. Our features reached readers of all […]

Favorite Reads of 2016

We asked a few contributors for their favorite reads of 2016. Here’s what they picked: Emily Luciano, occasional guest columnist and director of Lucky Dee Communications Less is More Feel Defined Amy Skinner on Self Carriage Amy Skinner on Guiding WiseAssWallace on Gear Amy Skinner, […]

Snow is NOT Water when it comes to equine hydration

Snow is not water. Sure, it is the frozen equivalent. But when it comes to proper hydration for your equines, snow does not come close to fulfilling their needs. “Absolutely true,” said Dr. Janelle Tirrell, of Third Coast Equine, when I mentioned that eating snow […]

Students talk about EBH Seminar

We talked with several students after the recent Evidence-Based Horsemanship Seminar in Mancos, Colorado. Here are their thoughts on how things went and what they came away with. West Taylor, TIP trainer and owner of Wild West Mustang Ranch It was very rewarding to put […]

Introducing the Horse-unculus!

In the world of neuroscience, researchers and instructors have developed the “homunculus” to show through exaggerated size those areas of the human body which we know to have a greater representation of neurons in the somatosensory cortex in the brain, the main sensory receptive area […]

Greed in Full View. Shameful Saddlebred Stuff

Emily Thomas Luciano is an accomplished rider as well as our talented marketing director. Read more. In this guest column, she discusses her observations at a host of showing events around the southeastern U.S. Thanks, Emily! She writes: Over the past year, I’ve traveled to […]