Halter and Lead Rope Factors

Amy Skinner is the owner of Essence Horsemanship and a frequent BestHorsePractices contributor. She teaches and trains from her base in Boyne City, Michigan. Skinner reviewed the 4-knot halter with lead rope from Knotty Girlz. Read more about Knotty Girlz here. Read additional halter post […]

Feel Matters: Knotty Girlz rope halter review

Years ago, I worked for a high-end furniture maker whose tables were beautiful. Thanks to repeated sandings and buffings, their feel was extraordinary: like polished granite but soft and warm. When it comes to furniture, he explained, people – especially women – prioritize touch. “When […]

When Knotty Girlz are Nice

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 […]

7 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 […]

Learning 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 […]

Research enlightens your horse work

Knowing and controlling how your movements, behavior, and thoughts impact your equine partner is the absolute key to your good horsemanship. While BestHorsePractices is dedicated to reviewing equine science, some new human research is immensely relevant to our horsemanship. Let’s consider confidence, fear, power, and […]

A word about Remuda Readers

Whether you’ve subscribed to the Remuda Reader program or not, here’s something you should know: Beginning next year, Remuda Reader – the program of exclusive, password protected content – will increase from $10 to $20 per year. Still pretty darn affordable considering what we deliver: […]

Dorrances added to the Remuda Reader lineup

This week, scores of Remuda Readers read about Bill and Tom Dorrance, thanks to an extensive interview with Bill’s son, Steve Dorrance and his wife, Leslie. Many consider the brothers the forefathers of what many now call Natural Horsemanship. I call it the only horsemanship […]

ISES: Iffy Science from Ivory Towers

The International Society of Equitation Science considers itself a do-good organization. Its mission statement includes improving horse welfare. Indeed, the group has used science to successfully lobby against hyperflexion and nose band tightness, and for that, it should be applauded. But some ISES member research […]

An Evidence-Based Entrepreneur: Meet Monique and Hay Pillow

NickerNews’ & BestHorsePractices’ Emily Thomas Luciano spoke with our new partner, Hay Pillow’s Monique Warren, from her California-based operations. What inspired you to develop this product? MW: Hay Pillow™ Inc. was born when I had attempted several variations of homemade slow feeders over a 2 […]