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Horse Show Non-Starter
Confession: after all the anticipation of the horse show weekend, I didn’t even ride. It’s true. There were a few factors, but it wasn’t meant to be. I told my trainer I wanted to ride in one of the fall schooling shows this year, and we talked about it and jumped some courses to prepare. When it came down to the last one, I mentioned via text that I intended to ride in the crossrails class, just for practice even though I can jump higher. Then a few days before the show she asked if my twins were riding in leadline. They both jumped at the chance because they…
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Anticipation is My Achilles Heel
Confession: I’m panicking at the thought of competition this weekend. This summer I spent two weeks with Allan Horn, one of the 2018 Gobi Desert Cup riders in Mongolia. On the first leg of our journey home, he said something which resonated, “It seems to me that anticipation is the hardest part for you.” Truer words were never spoken. Allan was referring of course to the near panic I had before the Official Race on the last day of the Gobi Desert Cup. Although I wanted nothing more than to race across the desert, when given the slightest opportunity to bow out of the race, I tried to…
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Dancing with Dressage
Today’s BLOGTOBER topic is, “What discipline would I like to try?” This is a fantastic question. Each discipline has something so special. This year I was introduced to endurance riding through my work with The Gobi Desert Cup. I’ll admit I knew nothing about it prior to preparing for the August event. While I was at the race, I was incredibly impressed by the physical and mental strength of horses and riders. I was also under no delusion that I could do this without major training and dedication. So endurance riding is out for now. However, I have always wanted to try dressage. Again, I’m not looking to become a…
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Hacking with Huufe: New Technology for Equestrians
Technology for equestrians and only equestrians. My husband works in the Cyber industry and as a blogger myself, technology is a huge part of my life. I have always been somewhat technically-inclined as a result of my nerd’s brain. So when I learned of a new technology for equestrians through the immense power of social media and my equestrian blogging community, I was intrigued. I believe I first heard of Huufe on Twitter, and then happened upon an article in Horse Nation. The article intrigued me enough to become a beta user and try it on my own. What is Huufe? Huufe is an equestrian social media network and ride-tracking…
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Pretty vs. Effective Riding
Leave the Pretty for the Show Ring. It is a universal truth that an equestrian must struggle with motivation from time to time. We all have busy schedules, vacations, or general ennui. Occasionally horse lovers hit a plateau. Some, choose to make excuses while others reset. Today I was looking forward to a riding lesson with Ferrous. We’re preparing him for an Interscholastic Equestrian Association horse show at our barn at the end of October. The truth is, he has had the summer off because of his anhidrosis and the intense heat, which caused my own lack of motivation. As a result, he hasn’t jumped a full course since May.…
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Relieve Your Dog’s Itchy Skin Naturally
The temperature is dropping and with it the humidity. The end result is dry, itchy skin for both you and your dogs. Prevent dry skin and relieve the itch. Does your dog have dandruff when you go to pet him or her? Is your pet licking their pets and biting at itchy, irritated skin? You are not alone. Many animals suffer from allergies or environmental dermatitis. The good news is there are many natural relief options available. The first step naturally treating your dog’s itchy skin is to focus on the cause. Allergy, Environmental, or Parasitic? Pruritus, the excessive scratching related to itching, is the second most common cause for…
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Keep Your Hands, and Clothes, Clean with Hands-On Gloves
Working with horses is a blessing every day. Except during spring and fall when the shedding hair is absolutely everywhere. Performing sports massage on clients means I get dirty, it’s part of the job. But when I am spitting out hair and running to the bathroom to wash out my eyes, it’s a problem. There are a number of shedding tools on the market. It is hard to know what is best to use. I carry a shedding blaze with me in my grooming bag, but it never seemed to be perfect. More, I was always afraid of accidentally cutting the horses. My friend, Susan Friedland-Smith of Saddle Seeks…
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My First Horse Experience
My first horse experience is one of my favorite stories to tell. In fact, I have a whole chapter about it in my book, Confessions of a Timid Rider. So as a special treat for my readers during Blogtober, I will be sharing the ENTIRE chapter. Enjoy! The Grey Pony Incident My first time independently on a horse was…interesting. I was what you would call a horse-obsessed child. Shocking, I know. Instead of imaginary friends, I had an imaginary barn full of horses in my backyard. I dreamed of owning a barn one day and breeding Arabians because they were the most beautiful horses I could dream of at the…
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Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Timid Rider
You know me as The Timid Rider, but there is a lot more to me than my experiences as an equestrian. While my love of horses is extremely important to me, it does not represent all aspects of my life. Nor should it. During a recent book tour, the publicist asked for 10 Fun Facts about me. I thought this was a fun way to share with a wider audience more information about me. And what better audience than my own readers? So, thank you for reading my blog and for wanting to learn a little more about me. Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me 1. While I’m…
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The Riding Habit
Practice makes perfect in anything you do, but then why do equestrians push themselves so hard and give themselves little credit? Practice makes habits, some of them good and some of them we need to work on improving. So many women come up to me at events and tell me how they rode horses as a child. Many of them grew out of it, did not want to pursue competition, or became fearful. Often I hear comments about how they love horses, but… The truth is, I encourage those women to give it another go. While it isn’t for everyone I faced my fears and rekindled my passion.…
Equestrian Author and Podcast Host
