Comeback Challenge Beats All

For years, I’ve been reporting on colt-starting events and saying to myself: Amazing stuff, but rescued horses are way more challenging than these untouched two-year olds. They’ve got baggage by the bucketful, troubled pasts, bad habits, and even horsey PTSD sometimes. Why not work with […]

Evidence-Based Horsemanship moves forward

Great news for those interested in Evidence-Based Horsemanship: Horseman Martin Black and neuroscientist Dr. Steve Peters have a DVD in the works and a May seminar planned. The DVD will be an introduction to concepts articulated in the book, Evidence-Based Horsemanship, published in 2012. Producer […]

This Colt Starting recipe has better ingredients

The Road to the Horse has become one of the most popular horse training events in the world. It offers spectators flashy performances along with shopping experiences in the horse-rich community of Lexington, Kentucky. But what does it offer the horse? More and more horsemen […]

Looking back, looking ahead

2013 was a heckuva year for NickerNews and BestHorsePractices. It started last winter with a bang. Two bangs, actually. The first came with NickerNews’ nomination for Best Blog in the Equestrian Social Media Awards. The ESMAs featured an international field with most bloggers commercially backed. […]

First Trail Ride, Part II

The first trail ride with the mule proceeded after she gave me a few bucks and raced towards trees and our fence. (Thank you, trees and fence for stopping us.) Read Part I. Steve and Comet were crucial riding partners. They rode ahead and blocked […]

Firefighters save horses from icy pond

One of the things I learned while being certified in Large Animal Rescue: Us horse owners are often more hindrance than help in a large animal emergency of the technical sort. Take the dramatic rescue of two horses who fell through the ice recently: Had […]

Staying fit for you and your horse

We’re active. Most of us horsemen and women get plenty of exercise just taking care of our barnful. Hay tossing, water lugging, and riding add up to being Farm Fit. Some may be Gym Fit, too, toning and sweating in a more formal setting. Read […]

ESMA voting now open!

NickerNews and BestHorsePractices have been nominated in two categories of this year’s global Equestrian Social Media Awards. NickerNews is up for Best Blog. (We were Best Blog finalists last year!) BestHorsePractices is entered in the social media Newcomer category. Together, the two sites have brought […]

Choosy Horses Choose This Salt

Since we’ve partnered with Redmond Equine, many readers have received complimentary products like Redmond Rock salt. One lucky Mainer used some simple experimentation to find out which one her horses preferred, Redmond Rock or Himalayan salt. She writes: “ I hung the Redmond Rock right […]