Best Horse Practices Podcast

Our show is a space for riders and horse owners of all disciplines to learn best practices and to discover skills, strategies, tools, ideas, and insights for better connecting with their horses, with all horses and for getting work done.

We love to hear from listeners, we think this might be an episode that fosters a lot of conversation, and contacting us is easy through the contact button on best horse practices dot com.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 16 of Season 4 and in it, Jec interviews author Mary Ann Simonds. This is a good one because I am at odds with some of what they talk about, which is a good thing. I love that we can have folks on the show that Jec embraces and I don't. Or vice versa.

Mary Ann has spent years studying horse behavior and horse-human interaction in competitive show barns and has worked with many clinicians. So, I understand that she comes from a very different world than me.

I think it's important to steer clear of language that attempts to give horses human inclinations. She says, for instance, that horses like to create drama and that horses can be on the autism spectrum. Those are anthropomorphic assessments that give me pause.

Mary Ann talks about love and care for our horses as if that were a clear idea. Love and care for someone who keeps her horse in a stall at a boarding facility looks a lot different than how a Wyoming rancher may consider love and care.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Order yours and have it for the spring riding season. You will look sharp!

Considering love and care and how we make progress with our horses. Wow, what a tough subject.

Just like the greater American social world, I can here all kinds of judgment from the recreational or sport community towards the working community or from suburban to rural, from dressage to rodeo on what it means to love, care and make progress with our horses. Years ago, I ran a business taking care of other people's horses in Maine. I was taking care of a woman's horses for a week and she apologized for practicing what she called "affectionate neglect." She felt a bit ashamed that her horse routine was so simple. They had the run of the pasture. They were together. They didn't get blankets or stalls or grain. They basically had space and were kept together. My response was, "this is terrific! what are you ashamed of?"

Temple Grandin, who has come in and out of fashion over her many years, has been extremely helpful to me. Language, she has said, can get in the way. Even the word "humane" means different things to different people. The assessments that Mary Ann is developing for horses' mental health will be interesting to learn more about.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

That's it. Another episode in the can and out of the barn. Thanks for listening, y'all.

Our show is a space for riders and horse owners of all disciplines to learn best practices and to discover skills, strategies, tools, ideas, and insights for better connecting with their horses, with all horses and for getting work done.

We love to hear from listeners and contacting us is easy here.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 15 of Season 4 and in it, Jec interviews Dana Schultz, a therapist at Medicine Horse, a therapeutic facility in Longmont, Colorado. So, yes, this episode is a bit out of our purview. But then again, we have been talking about mental health lately and Medicine Horse in particular seems to be an outfit that connects good science with good horse work. So there ya go.

Also, if this is the season of gratitude, then this episode is perhaps a good reminder of what we owe our horses. With all the busyness of the season, we could, you know, just stop for an extra minute, or maybe even an extra hour, to just BE with them and perhaps connect in a way that says, 'thanks.'

Also, thanks to you, dear listeners, for buying books and donating to our cause. There is still time to order books from us. Visit Jec Ballou and Cayuse Communications for many fun options. At Cayuse, you can get a free book with every order. I'm recording this on December 15 and there is still time to get books to you by Christmas.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Order yours and have it for the spring riding season. You will look sharp!

Sounds like Medicine Horse is doing good work and that their horses have good lives. I've always been interested in the impact therapy sessions have on the horses. We know that cortisol, commonly called the stress hormone, is lowered for humans in horse-human interactions. But what about the horses? It's my understanding, from talking with equine therapy folks as well as canine therapy workers, that the animals can only handle a certain amount of this kind of work each day. My mom trained her dogs for therapy work. When 9/11 happened, she told me about the dogs who were called in to work at the centers set up for families to pick up death certificates of those who died in the towers. She said the dogs could only handle an hour before they needed a break.

Read this article on a WSU study of kids and equine facilitated therapy.

All to say, it's so good to give our animals jobs, but let's be careful.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 14 of Season 4 and it's a short one. Why?

To be blunt and to speak in general terms, I'd say life and death are having their ways with us.

I'm sorry to let you know that Jec lost her mother last month. As you might imagine, that's been pretty trying for her. I lost my mom just over a year ago. While our mother-daughter relationships were very different, we both owe it partly to our mothers for what we do now. Horses would not be so much of our lives or so much of our identity, if it weren't for our moms. That, I think makes the remembering and the grieving process a bit more in-your-face than it might be otherwise.

They say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. You've probably heard of them. Here at the Best Horse Practices podcast, we are dealing with some of them, or maybe none of them, but with feelings that are related. Or mixtures of them.

It's a process. And as one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Del Barber, would say: "there is no straight path."

I think the holidays, the shorter days and longer nights can be challenging, too. It can be harder to get out and ride when it's 15 degrees and dark is just an hour away. A cup of hot cocoa or a glass of wine can seem like a much better idea.

What are your challenges?

How do you make the most of winter riding?

What are some winter hacks you have for dealing with ice, snow, cold, and short days?

We would love to hear from you!

Also, I want to remind you about the mental health initiative that the Best Horse Practices Summit is developing. Thanks in part to a grant from the LOR Foundation, there will be a mental health forum called Buck the Trend taking place here in southwestern Colorado in mid-February, 2024. You can learn more about that here. and help us vote on the logo, too!

This is a bit about Buck the Trend that I shared recently:

Buck the Trend is a forum for working cowboys, trainers, farriers, clinicians and others in the horse community. It is a pilot project to address the mental health challenges specific to our community. It is founded on the idea that a small, peer-focused group, hosted in a safe, relaxed setting, and led by experienced mental health professionals, is an effective way to nurture conversations, build skills, and affect positive change.

A little bit about the why and the how:

Many of us have acknowledged that our work can be isolating and demanding and that there are cultural, logistical, economic, and social impediments to getting help and being well.

Our mental health and wellness impact not just us, but those around us, including family, friends, coworkers, and, of course, the animals.

Horses may be "therapeutic." They can make us feel better. But they can't necessarily help us build skills to navigate interpersonal relationships and feel better about ourselves.

The solution:

This forum is focused on skill-building and elevating the mental health conversation in our community. It's an opportunity to focus on ourselves for a moment, so that we can enhance and improve what's around us (specifically, the well-being of those close to us, humans and non-humans alike, as well as the greater horse community).

If you would like more information or would like to support Buck the Trend, please contact us.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta, and is taking custom orders now.

Hey, just a heads up that Jec and I have some great books for your Christmas shopping. Check out Jec's website and Cayuse Communications. Please consider supporting us with a few book buying clicks.

That's it. Another episode in the can and out of the barn. Thanks for listening, y'all!

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 13 of Season 4 in which Jec and I have an On the Fence segment. We are returning to a little theme that has been running through our shows, in which we ask the question (and take stabs at answering it) how are we doing? How is the horse industry doing? How are the trainers and other horse professionals doing? Our hunch is that burnout is real and financial struggles are real and that any alleviation of these difficulties is elusive.

We're turning to our listeners for answers, too, and everyone who reaches out is in the running for Patagonia WorkWear. Heck, we're also throwing in stickers, Redmond Equine products and a complimentary book from Cayuse Communications. So let us hear from you!

Jec mentions Karen Rohlf and her show interview.

I mention mental health challenges and the mental health forum, taking place here in southwestern Colorado in mid-February, 2024. Learn more about that here and here.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

Also, check out Chill Angel for luxurious superfine merino wool loungewear. We love their stargazer and reverie tops.

We are really looking forward to hearing from you to bolster this conversation with your experiences. Our colleague Katrin Silva is having a related conversation around what's wrong in the dressage world and the show world. We know it's not just the judges. We know it's not just the trainers. Is it a systemic problem? If so, how can we best address it? Do we all need to be a little bit more knowledgeable and accountable? Sometimes the horse industry seems a bit like a freighter. Very hard to correct its course.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. I received a new sage green cowboy hat with a dark green bound edge last month and it's been on my noggin for several rides already. Check out the best horse practices blog post for this show to see pictures.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 12 of Season 4 in which Jec interviews Wendy Murdoch, creator of the Murdoch Method and author of several books. Check out her online Whole Rider course here.

Before this marvelous interview, I thought I'd share a few bits on my work with two young horses. It's a departure of sorts, but I hope you enjoy it. We love to hear from listeners. Contact us here.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

Because writing and talking helps me to better synthesize and appreciate experiences (and progress and hiccups and trepidations and failures and successes), I wanted to share some words on my time starting two youngish horses, Tuesday and Table.

Tuesday is four or five. She came to me as a free-to-a-good-home, dark buckskin, club-footed quarter horse.

Table, who was called Lorenzo until this nickname overpowered me, is a five-year old mustang from the Devil's Garden herd management area in northern California. I acquired him from a gal who seemed afraid to handle him and before that he was with a man who mistreated him, or at least that's what I was told and, based on Table's behavior, I'd say is accurate.

Both had been handled very little, had never been ridden, and were overweight.

That's where the similarities end.

Tuesday had a disrespect for my personal space and was pretty klingy to her herdmates. With work, like creating clear boundaries, testing them, letting her make a mistake and learning from it, those elements of her behavior are improving nicely. She's a sweet horse and I think it can be tempting to invite her in for some rubs and loving. But for now, it's more important for her to learn she can be happy with boundaries. She was unsafe in how she encroached, and it would be easy to make her unsafe again.

Table tends to be wary of everything, from a phone that suddenly plays music to me wearing a cowboy hat instead of a baseball hat. And even after lots of good work around tying, he still has a tendency to set back.

While I am a competent rider and have helped several horses who have come from bad situations, I have never started a horse from the ground up. As luck would have it, my friend, Jessica Munn, came to visit for a month. Jess is a colt starter, with a background in dressage as well as cowboying. It hadn't been our plan to dedicate so much time to Table and Tuesday, but I'm so grateful that we were both able to commit to this focused work. Her help has been fundamental to our progress and I am deeply indebted to Jess for the knowledge and encouragement she brought to the pen. Oh, and she relearned me on the bowline knot, which I learned as a kid but had a hard time tying it as a horse-tying knot. If you have a horse that might set back, a bowline is a better knot to tie than a quick release knot.

Over several weeks, we worked every day to get both of them more comfortable with many aspects of this horse-human thing. Like, for instance, being tied for decent periods of time (20 minutes or more), being hobbled, being led, being tacked up, having feet handled and trimmed, and being away from herdmates.

That's a broad brush and it's tempting to think this checklist was ticked off in an afternoon. Far from it. Getting these horses to be better citizens was a road full of frost heaves and potholes. We worked every day, for one or two hours with each horse. We built on the previous days' work and almost always revisited what we'd done in days past.

There is a great deal of repetition in good horse work. We do this so the horse knows what to expect in the form of boundaries and performance: when I apply pressure, you move away from it. When I tie you, you get to chill. When the other horses go out to pasture, you get to stay here, pay attention, and have fun.

Jess helped me with essential groundwork, which has included lunging and driving, as well as important techniques for riding horses who'd never been ridden, like being able to have them flex when I step up into the saddle. Stepping into the saddle is done from both sides, by the way. There was some learning for me around how to carry the reins more safely and how to sit better on a young horse.

She has encouraged me to take time to do everything well. As I have helped the horses become more patient, she has taught me the value of fence-sitting and taking more time with, well, everything. "It's not time-consuming," Jess reminded me. "It's patience-building."

I have learned some hacks for making progress and being less fearful. Singing, playing ridiculous music, and talking to my horses has helped shake off the brace and elevate my confidence. Taking videos has helped me see my penchant for leaning forward. When it feels like I'm leaning back, I'm actually pretty erect in the saddle. Jess has reminded me to be a confident leader. But what does that look like and how can I relate this to you all, who have different pictures in their heads about what confidence looks like?

I see the best results when I am decisive and clear. But being clear means knowing what you're doing, so I have needed help with technique. Being clear is also wound up in confidence and mental habits, too. It's easy to say, "work with confidence and clarity," but it's harder to do it in a way that is effective for the horses. "Black and white makes light. Be sparingly demanding." says Jess. Whether with groundwork or riding, it is an everyday challenge to be clear, not vague, to ask succinctly, and not to nag.

Our work together, these daily sessions over a month, along with the sitting around, talking about what worked and didn't have helped me a lot in this vein. Now that I'm doing the daily work on my own, I find I have to commit even more diligently: to get out there every day and to stay focused and intentional.

Of course, there has been unintentional nagging. Of course, I can beat myself up over tough afternoons. It's all part of the process.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. You can order one today and have it by the holidays!

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 11 of Season 4 and in it, Jec interviews Dr. Doug Thal, owner of Thal Equine, a veterinary practice and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Doug was tapped to present a great topic at the Best Horse Practices Summit one year ago, but came down with Covid just prior to our event. He and I have had a lot of conversations around what vets need to know, especially around horsemanship, and, what horse owners need to know to be better owners and to be able to communicate best with their vets. I was so looking forward to his presentation but here, in this interview about the vet shortage crisis, Doug gets into this a bit.

Check out his app, Horse Side Vet Guide.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain. Check them out at lucernefarms.com.

Also, thanks to Skratch Labs, makers of hydration drinks and snacks for athletes. I especially like their chocolate milk, which is great after a hard, long ride. Yes, heat it up and make hot cocoa, by all means. Use besthorse25 for 25 percent off your order.

Whenever I see horses on TV, handled by newbies, most in the Netflix show Sex Education, I cringe. But then I think about the enormous learning curve that people have coming to horse work, horsemanship. And there is always more to learn. When I think of how little I knew when I was riding and taking care of horses as a girl, I'm astonished more bad stuff didn't happen. In working with my young horses now, I'm astonished at how much more I need to learn and be confident about.

Do you have stuff in your truck? Have you had moments of steep learning curves? Tips for fellow horse owners? We would love to hear from you.

Here are articles to check out:

Ownership

First Aid Essentials

First Response Tips

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. I am extremely excited to receive a hat I ordered a few months ago. It's sage green, has a three and a half inch brim trimmed out with dark green bound edge. When I get it, I'll post pics. You can order one today and have it by the holidays.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Patagonia just came out with a hemp tool bag that is awesome for tack and barn stuff, from hoof picks to brushes, sprays, and hobbles. It is reversable so the many pockets can live on the inside or outside. The hemp was grown in the US and the bag was sewn in the US. AND...we are giving away two of them! Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 10 of Season 4 and in it, Jec holds a Coaches' Corner with our frequent and friendly guest, Amy Skinner. The two horsewomen discuss body work and as well as other services that can be hired and provided to your horses.

What do you think?

We've had Jim Masterson, founder of the Masterson Method, present at the Best Horse Practices Summit twice. The evidence is certainly strong for this kind of body work helping horses. And Jim is a wonderful, generous presenter who has put hands on thousands of horses and mentored scores of Masterson Method providers. BHPS 2022 presentation. BHPS 2021 Presentation.

But Jec and Amy are on to something when they talk about the possible red flags or, say, caution flags, when it comes to body work, chiropractic work, acupunture, as well as supplements, and other extra-care type elements of horse ownership. Are they worth it? Is there another reason you might be subscribing to it?

I was listening to a podcast about self-care. Actually, it was about the industry of self-care, of all the stuff you can buy to care for yourself, of music to listen to, of essential oils to smell, of chairs and sunglasses, and, well, stuff! When really, though, self-care isn't about stuff at all.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain. Check them out at lucernefarms.com.

Also, thanks to Skratch Labs, makers of hydration drinks and snacks for athletes. I especially like their chocolate milk, which is great after a hard, long ride. Yes, heat it up and make hot cocoa, by all means. Check them out at skratch labs com Use besthorse25 for 25 percent off your order.

Dr. Sherry King, in an article for Best Horse Practices, wrote that horses may not want or need the stuff Amy and Jec mentioned. She said:

When we misinterpret our relationship with our horse, when we move beyond the role of caring steward to treating the horse like an extension of ourselves and our family, we err to the detriment of the horse. We end up loving it badly.

The next time you catch yourself doing "something special" for your horse, stop. Think. Are you really doing this for your horse, or are you doing it for you? If it is really for you, is it also good for the horse?

Beware false prophets of equine welfare – what they preach may actually be bad for horse's health.

This is not a clarion call to stop all the extra stuff you're doing for your horses. But maybe cast a critical eye on it?

Oh, I mentioned the podcast on self-care: The two women kind of dissected the self-care industry as appealing to our consumerist nature, that if we can just buy something that someone assures us is comforting and soothing, then we will be comforted and soothed. But, they pointed out, the ultimate comfort comes from turning inward not outward. It is doing the things that don't cost anything but time and effort. Like maybe meditation or really thinking about life priorities and then consciously shifting your days to better represent what you want and what you need. Like maybe riding more or giving your horses' more exercise since we know that's almost always of great benefit to the horses.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. You can order one today and have it by the holidays.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Patagonia just came out with a hemp tool bag that is awesome for tack and barn stuff, from hoof picks to brushes, sprays, and hobbles. It is reversable so the many pockets can live on the inside or outside. The hemp was grown in the US and the bag was sewn in the US. AND...we are giving away two of them! Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 9 of Season 4 and in it, Jec welcomes back Lee McLean to our show. It's a great interview in which the two horsewomen discuss observations around domestic versus wild horse lives and the possible management practices around them. They get into their observations, which are insightful, as well as weighing in on the sometimes problematic online side-taking around this issue.

This is a compelling topic. At the Best Horse Practices Summit, the board and I talked a lot about how best to cultivate best practices – and by that we mean practices that are in the best interest of the horse -- through Summit presentations. Horsekeeping involves making decisions around space, diet, hoof care, your horse's socialization, riding. As Jec and Lee mention, we can get pretty tribal about what we think is best – that's a shame because in my observation, the tribalism is often distinct from horses' actual experiences.

After listening to Jec and Lee, maybe you can take a critical look at how you keep your horses and what improvements might be made for their sake. We'd love to hear from you.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.

Also, thanks to Chill Angel, a Colorado company that makes luxurious superfine merino wool sleepwear, perfect for these cooler nights.

It's true – horses in the wild can appear to be doing just fine and we should remember that humans have done a great job of wrecking horses' feet, nervous systems, temperments and confirmation as we have domesticated them for our purposes. Of course, we have elevated their lives, too. As Lee mentions, wild horses have tough lives and a lot of the not-so-pretty events are never witnessed. Also, the various governments and agencies charged with managing wild horses have not done a stellar job here, nor have they used science to roll out optimal policy. It's a political mess, also known as, yep, tribalism.

If we zoom out, we see that the swing from wild to domestic can be smooth or startling, depending on what lens we look through, what year, what culture, what eduation, what motivation folks have.

A lot of people, especially on properties with more acreage (especially, on acreage with diverse topography), keep their horses naturally (air quotes here) with great success. People with less space have gotten creative with hacks to improve their horses' mental and physical well-being – I'm thinking of pasture design and footing as well as group housing.

Here are articles:

Wild Horse topics

Dr. King: Horses want fewer gifts, better care

Care

Ownership

Last week, after 15 years and 700 newsletters, I suspended the Cayuse Communications newsletter. It was a good stretch and thanks to all those who subscribed. While a page has turned, you can still find great articles on the Cayuse Communications sites, which include HorseHead, NickerNews, BestHorsePractices, and HighCountryOutsider. And, as ever, we have great books available at the Cayuse Communications library.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works, for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. You can order one today and have it by the holidays.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

That's it. Another episode in the can and out of the barn. Thanks for listening, y'all!

We love to hear from listeners and this week would especially love to hear about your horse work journeys, your comfort zones and stretching of them. Contacting us is easy through the contact button on best horse practices dot com.

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 8 of Season 4. It's an On the Fence show and in it, Jec and I talk about what it means to be an expert, the need for a beginner's mind and the benefits of expanding the aforementioned comfort zones.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. They also make Koop Clean chicken bedding. Check them out at lucernefarms.com.

Also, thanks to Chill Angel, a woman-owned, Colorado company that makes luxurious superfine merino wool sleepwear, perfect for combatting hot flashes.

Jec mentions Kevin Haussler of Colorado State University. A related website is here. She also mentions Adam Till. In a Facebook post, he writes: "So many people just care about how good a horse is to ride and barely make an effort to make sure training holes are filled....Make sure a six year old kid you don't know can handle your horse."

I'm reminded of something Randy Rieman told me years ago:

If you're not expanding your comfort zones, you're shrinking them. That's true for humans and horses alike.

In the newsletter this week, we have a great guest column about the Pony Express Re-Ride, a relay event that covers all 1,800 + miles of the historic trail.

And, as ever, we have great books available at the Cayuse Communications library.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for their generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. You can order one today and have it by the holidays. That's at prairie wind hat works.com

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

That's it. Another episode in the can and out of the barn. Thanks for listening, y'all!

We offer these shows for free. If you think it's worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it.

This is Episode 7 of Season 4, and in it, Jec talks with Trish Lemke, a Colorado horsewoman who leads amazing horse-riding trips across the globe and is a certified Equine Interactional Professional in Education and certified Martha Beck Life Coach. Find her website here and her Facebook page here.

This conversation is a great one to wedge into a series of episodes in which we're talking about, not just mental health, but our comfort zones, expanding our comfort zones, and being aware of our place in horse-rider partnerships. Expanding comfort zones can mean all kinds of things, whether its skills or geography, new horses or new disciplines. Here, as Jec and Trish discuss, it often comes back to the 'why.' What is your intention?

And speaking of horses and mental health...Many of you already know that our horse vets are facing a real crisis. It is a stressful job and there's a vet shortage, especially in rural areas. Vets have high suicide rates. Daniel Dauphin aired a lengthy interview with Dr. Mallory Preston about all this which you can listen to here. And we are teaming with Patagonia WorkWear to show our support. If you know of a vet who could use a lift, contact us here.

Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds. Those bales of alfalfa and timothy and other blends are great for taking with you on comfort-expanding horse camping trips, by the way.

Also, thanks to Chill Angel, a Colorado company that makes luxurious superfine merino wool sleepwear. Use Cayuse20 for a 20 percent discount. And thanks to Skratch Labs, which makes fantastic drinks and snacks for our athletic endeavors. Use BestHorse25 for a 25 percent discount.

We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for their generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Design your perfect hat and place your order to have it on your head before the holidays.

Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe's aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse's feed and Redmond's Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you'll love 'em.

Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you'll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don't forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.

Hey – Fall is in the air here in Colorado. The geese are gathering and setting up, it seems, for their long migrations south. What are your fall plans? We'd love to hear from you.

That's it. Another episode in the can and out of the barn. Thanks for listening, y'all!