Editor’s Note: Amy Skinner is a regular guest columnist and has been a horse gal since age six. She works with owner/operator Jim Thomas as a trainer at Bar T Horsemanship where she rides and teaches English and Western. She also maintains Essence Horsemanship. Skinner […]
Read moreCategory Archives: Training
His Rearing was the Tip of the Iceberg
Editor’s Note: Amy Skinner is a frequent guest columnist for NickerNews and BestHorsePractices. She works with Jim Thomas at Bar T Horsemanship in Pittsboro, NC, and runs Essence Horsemanship. Here, she writes Part One of an ongoing project with the beautiful horse, Bellus. Skinner writes: […]
Read moreHorse Head Coming Soon!
Next week, we’ll debut an exciting new website for horse owners and riders. Horse Head will provide features on equine brain science and how it relates to our horsemanship and horse-human interactions. The new site is a collaboration between Dr. Steve Peters, a clinical neuropsychologist […]
Read moreHorses flourish when humans get the science
If you’ve ever sought a second medical opinion or gotten more than one estimate for a home repair, you know that each vested party has a different take on things. Working with horses, every trainer has a distinctive manner of looking at the horse, of […]
Read moreMule Notes: Backwards is Forwards
Faithful readers might have wondered about Jolene. The beloved mule, who I’ve come off several times, has gone back to basics with me. Since an incident that traumatized both of us, I’ve only ridden her a few times. Instead, we’ve done a lot of ground […]
Read moreWhat is a Good Seat? Katrin Silva explains
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 […]
Read moreThe Brain’s “Low Road” and “High Road”
Mechanics know that one big problem – smoke under the hood – is often caused by tiny, less visible issues. To solve the big problem, you need to understand finer points and foundational concepts. The more you know, the more effective you can be in […]
Read moreUnderstanding “Deep Practice”
In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle discusses the merits of soccer hotbeds in Brazil and training methods of famous pianists. So, what does all that have to do with horsemanship? Everything. As Coyle explains, it all comes down to one microscopic detail, shared by horses […]
Read moreAnother 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 […]
Read moreCore 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. […]
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