Licking and Chewing: The Process Illuminated

Say what you will about Facebook. Occasionally, a productive conversation on the social media platform can illuminate and educate. That’s what happened when Cayuse Communications contributor Amy Skinner posted this video of a horse in training. She asked several professionals, including Warwick Schiller and Dr. […]

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When it comes to “problem” horses, take the challenge

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 […]

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Is Stress Good or Bad?

Recent research on stress and learning in horses, conducted by a group of French scientists, has made a splash in horse media. The study, titled “Stress Affects Instrumental Learning Based on Positive or Negative Reinforcement in Interaction with Personality in Domestic Horses” involved work with […]

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Horses Want Fewer Gifts, Better Care

Editor’s Note: Dr. Sheryl King is professor emeritus of Southern Illinois University, a Fellow of the Equine Science Society, a Best Horse Practices Summit board member, and lifelong horsewoman. In this guest column, she writes about the range of benefits from working and owning horses. […]

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Introducing the Dopamine Counter

No one’s doing a better job of connecting brain science with horsemanship in an innovative, easy-to-grasp, fashion than West Taylor. Recently, Taylor released this video of his work with a challenging horse from Colorado. Even by horsemanship video standards, “Flagging on the Fence: Downregulating a […]

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6 Roadblocks to Lightness, Part II

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 has studied at the Royal Andalusian School […]

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6 Roadblocks to Lightness

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 has studied at the Royal Andalusian School […]

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Death of Natural Horsemanship

Natural horsemanship is dead. Long live natural horsemanship. Natural horsemanship is a trending phrase that got attached to a style of work and a way of connecting with horses that Bill and Tom Dorrance offered up a few generations ago. It involved working with the […]

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Amy Skinner on Freeloading, II

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 […]

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Who’s the Freeloader in Your Horse-Rider Partnership?

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 […]

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