Episode 12: Trouble Mounting?

In this episode, Jec Ballou invites Amy Skinner to the regular segment, the Coaches’ Corner, to help answer a question from listener Nina in Maine. Listen to Episode 12 Main Podcast page Nina has a lovely, older mare named Casey. It’s often a battle just […]

Episode 11: Stacie Boswell & Heart Rate Variability

Listen to Episode 11. Head to main podcast page. In our 11th episode, Jec Ballou visits with Dr. Stacie Boswell, author of the new book: The Ultimate Guide for Horses in Need, published by Horse & Rider Books. Use the coupon code “BESTHORSE” for a […]

More Crummy Cribbing Research

Once again, Kentucky Equine Research is guilty of misleading the horse-owning public with another “research” article, thinly veiled as a supplement sales pitch. Yes, those quotation marks are intentional. Moreover, we might suggest KER rebrand itself as KERDS, Kentucky Equine Research Dedicated to Sales. Earlier […]

When Science Goes Sideways

If science were a horse, it would be an abused and neglected one. This horse would be taken advantage of and used as a vehicle to get humans where they want to go. It would be promoted as a Super Horse, treated like a Vaudeville […]

Learning Schools and How to Avoid Tribalism

Cayuse Communications has published many articles on horses’ learning processes. We’ve featured pieces on optimal learning and long-term potentiation, the role of attention, dopamine/reward cycles, and negative reinforcement. Our article on the cons of clicker training drew a lot of attention from the training method’s fans and detractors […]

Sun, Snow, Snoozing

I have a pet theory on snow-and-sun-induced snoozing: During a winter storm, horses get a bit stressed. It’s windy. Visibility is poor. Conditions are in flux. Afterwards, the sun comes out and everything is quiet, peaceful, and bright. The sun warms horses’ coats. The birds […]

Cribbing: What’s Good to Know

What is a smile or a handshake? The answer is like a Matryoshka doll with another doll inside it and then another doll inside that one. Sure, they’re gestures of welcome. But neurologically speaking, they are the manifestations of a bundle of voluntary and involuntary […]

Will Evidence-Based go the way of Natural Horsemanship?

When does a term outlive its usefulness? Decades ago, “natural horsemanship” started out as a term to describe what was, for the most part, a more gentle, thoughtful, from-the-horse’s-perspective type of work. The phrase was used prominently by Pat Parelli and it soon became shorthand […]

Dr. Sheryl King: Demand Evidence, Question Traditions

Editor’s Note: We hear this week from Dr. Sheryl King, a returning presenter at the Best Horse Practices Summit. King is professor emeritus of Southern Illinois University and one of the most popular presenters at the inaugural Summit, will present on forage-based nutrition: King writes: “The […]

We talk with NY Times’ David Philipps on Wild Horses, Part I

Editor’s Note: New York Times reporter, David Philipps, is the author of Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustangs. Taking on a topic that is rife with politics, intransigence, and polarizing factions, Philipps manages the near-impossible: an intriguing through-narrative with fair […]