Best Horse Practices Podcast

When I first heard the word biosecurity being used in horse-related conversations, I thought it applied to strictly vet hospital settings. But even if we are trailering or trail riding with friends, we should be aware of simple biosecurity protocol. I am thankful, too, for Alayne's ideas around working with nature to create better environments for our horses, and, of course, for the wildlife with which we interact – knowingly or not.

A few additional show notes:

We've heard from listeners around a few very interesting topics which we are going to address in upcoming episodes as we round out our second season:

-- Julie wrote in to ask about cross training. In particular, she's wondering how running and riding can get along. So since Jec and I are both runners and since our friend Katrin Silva is an accomplished runner, we're going to talk together as a trio. Just to be clear: Jec and Katrin are quite good. I am a solid walk/run/walk runner who is just happy to be out there on the trails.

-- Ellie asked about the various forms of bitless bridling, including using a rope halter, a hackamore, or a bitless bridle. We're going to visit on that with Ben Longwell, who I interviewed for early in Season Two and who's recently moved from New Zealand back to the States.

So stay tuned!

Watch Alayne Blickle's BHPS presentation on Sustainable Solutions here.

Our title sponsor is Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds. Lucerne is this outstanding little company in northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question here and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

Thanks for listening y'all!

In general, I don't feed treats. I think it can absolutely create a safety problem and I believe there are much better ways to reward a horse. But. I have found that specific, knowable treats are really handy. For instance, I often head out many miles into the backcountry and hobble all four horses to let them graze while I read or cat nap. Hobbles are great but horses can still go pretty fast in them if they want to. What helps, when I am rounding them up to head home, is the crinkle of the familiar green wrapper of granola bars. (The bars, if you must know, are simple oat and honey Nature Valley granola bars.) They hear the crinkle. They see the bar. They stand contented as I get the hobbles off and lead them to my saddle horse. This was also a handy conditioning when, um, three of them got loose early the other morning.

Treating also leads into a conversation about petting and what you do with your horse and what you should do or, more importantly, not do, with other people's horses. But that's another episode, right? Please let us know what you think!

Like you, I've been around friends and other horse owners who feel way different that I do when it comes to treating. Lynn and Jec have great insight. So, in our usual podcast style, we're putting forth some reasonable opinions and look forward to hearing from you.

As a follow up to my episode about Power, Sex, and Best Horse Practices, I want to say that I was really encouraged by the feedback. In particular, I heard from Art, a rider in Michigan and we're looking forward to getting a little male perspective on an upcoming show.

Also, check out the Nicker News page for our Riding Season reviews. There you will not only find reviews of gear from Camelbak, Nomadix, Duckworth, Outdoor Pantry, Patagonia, and others. But also you can get online discounts with special codes for us to Chill Angel, Kate's Real Food Bars and, one of my very favorite guilty pleasure sites, Bronwen Jewelry.

Our title sponsor is Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds. Lucerne is this outstanding little company in northern Maine, founded by his George and Susie James, I have known their son and Lucerne's current owner Rich James and his wife Hannah for years and have sung their praises just as long.

We all know that forage, whether it's grass or hay, is what horses evolved eating. Not too much has changed over thousands of years. What has changed is our horses' access to pasture land which, of course, provides them with the forage they need on any given day. This is where Lucerne Farms comes in. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question here and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

• How do we assemble and nurture good, even great horse-rider partnerships from the inside out?
• How do we build a community of good, even great people within the horse-owning community? How can we be supportive of that goal and supportive of each other?

Ultimately, it is You and Your Horse that Jec and I are interested in connecting with and in helping. This goal, this purpose, we're coming to realize, is a pretty deep and intricate challenge.

Visit sponsors Lucerne Farms and Redmond Equine.

Many of you might have heard about the series of collaborative clinics that I'm producing with Jec, Amy Skinner, and Katrin Silva as clinicians. We had one in Santa Fe in February. We'll have one in North Carolina in October and another in California in December. Next year, we'll have six Cayuse Collaborative Clinics, mostly in western states.

The goal of these clinics, I think, is revolutionary, if revolutionary can be quiet and fun.

First of all, one leader for many students tends to develop an Almighty Trainer mindset for both the teacher and the students. Jec likes to call this Guru Following and it ain't good. Research shows that experts heralded as experts get more and more dogmatic over time. They also get less open minded to other ideas, opinions, and perspectives. It also happens that pragmatically, not enough people get individual help and often the most needy or the most extroverted get the most attention. You know the deal.

Oh, and another thing: the leader is usually a man, which, given the history of male-dominated work settings, teaching settings, everything else settings, makes the guru following worse and by worse I mean more dysfunctional and less empowering to the student (which in the case of our industry is predominantly female).

A note to guys listening – this is NOT a male-bashing deal. We are interested in having men be part of the conversation. Helping women, empowering women, and leveling the playing field doesn't mean tamping down men or silencing their voices. By talking about sexism or power dynamics we want to open up the conversation for everyone. It's not a hen party. It's not a woe-is-me gathering to commiserate. That's not how we're going to tackle the dysfunction. We want to get things out on the table. It's a table to which all are welcome as long as they're decent at listening.

With the clinics, we are interested in how best to connect with our horses. So this is, in fact, all about Best Horse Practices. Creating a healthy, functional, open learning environment is best practices.

I would posit (and hope that you agree) that the best communication and progress comes from someone who knows herself deeply and has a good handle on her emotional states, recognizes good/bad/high/low energy, and pays attention not only to her own inner workings but to the developments, spontaneous or static, around her.

Our podcast will still of course continue to focus on tools we need to be the best owners and riders – knowledge, physical fitness, balance, the responsibilities of ownership, including financial and educational considerations, etc. etc. It's all important stuff and since you're listening to our podcast, I think you think these things are important, too. Yay for us.

But we would like to put forth this theme, that I think is going to overarch the podcast as well as the collaborative clinics: Know yourself. Know your horse. Know your greater circles in order to do your best.

I hope you got a chance to listen to Episode 22 of our second season. It's with Astrid Larsen, a psychology professor and former therapist. And I'm sure you're familiar with Amy Skinner from Jec's Coaches' Corners. In upcoming episodes, I'll be talking with both of them again to discuss power dynamics and gender in our community.

Some of this direction has been spurred by conversations with Amy, Astrid, along with other colleagues and friends. Some has been motivated by reading and research. Recently, I watched a 3-part Netflix documentary, kind of an educational series, called the Principles of Pleasure. I know. How the heck does a Netflix show on sex, specifically women's sexuality, connect with a podcast on best horse practices?

The program talks a lot about the inherent sexism in our society AND the related lack of awareness and lack of empowerment among women when it comes to knowing our own bodies and asserting our needs. For someone like me, of a certain age and with a certain upbringing, discovering and prioritizing what feels good is kind of a new concept, which seems crazy. But there you have it. One of the first things I did (after texting girlfriends and say, hey, watch this) was to email my three sons and say, hey, you owe it to yourselves and the women in your life to watch this. It was received, I'm sure, with multiple eye rolls. But hey, I cop to being a newb and the older I get, the less embarrassed I get about embarrassing things. Plus, I believe in planting seeds and if I'm awkward as I do it, so be it.

As Astrid said in a recent email, an all-important connection can be made here, when considering sexuality with every day living. If we shift, modify our thinking around what we feel/what we need as women, we also make connections to critical thinking and awareness and to being in the moment.

How do I feel in my body? Safe? Happy? Energized? Empowered?

Don't we need to feel things like this when we are working with horses and dealing with a teacher or a student, and with pretty much all the relationships we have with other humans in our horse work and horse ownership?

Every interaction matters. Those interactions also have ramifications with our personal identity, our surroundings, our communities, and the larger cultural mores.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question at besthorsepractices.com/podcast and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

Please follow our sponsors and buy their stuff as they support us and what we're doing. Also, check out Jec Ballou's site and Cayuse Communications to learn more about our educational books. And visit the Riding Season Reviews page for bits and links to new gear and products.

In this episode, Jec visits with Mary Ann Simonds in a discussion around how to keep horses happy in their domestic spaces. It's a wide ranging interview and Mary Ann well versed in a wide range of subjects. While her work is mostly with sport horses and competitive riders, there are a lot of take-aways for us more ordinary riders with our more ordinary horses.

I think you will also dig the Riding Season Reviews page on NickerNews. Every year, we dedicated space and time to review gear – clothing, horse camping and saddle bag must haves. We have products from Camelbak, Patagonia, Nomadix, Outdoor Pantry, Hoka, Duckworth, and more.

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah.

This interview really got me thinking about creative ways to enhance a horse's day. My four horses are in a dry lot most of the time. It is about 80 by 150 feet and has a run-in shed. They get turned out to several acres of pasture, which in the high desert of southwestern Colorado, is mostly dirt, for a few hours every day.

I have panels in the dry lot that they go around and use strategically if they want to get away from another horse. I see that space awareness is definitely an effective language of my social herd.

Just this winter, the geldings started entertaining themselves by playing with small rubber tubs (that I use to put soaked alfalfa cubes in). They have this funny game of picking up the tubs, playing of tug of war and generally being goofy. So I know that sometimes enhancing a space can come about through chance and observation. Anyway, I thought Mary Ann's points around the need for lots of social interaction was spot on.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question here and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

In this episode, Jec visits with Amy Skinner for a Coaches' Corner. Always a good listen!

As listeners may know, I come from a different place than Amy and Jec and, it seems, their students. I rarely ride in an arena. I don't compete. I lack a specific game plan for myself and my horses. BUT. I am starting to go to the fairgrounds once a week, taking my two geldings, and doing stuff (which, by the way, includes tying each of them to the side of the trailer or somewhere in the arena so that he can be chilling regularly while tied. And I am getting them legged up, in better condition for warmer months when we might ride 10-20 miles on any given day.

I'll do the sponsor bits now but I just want to give you one little phrase that I've really taken to heart for myself and my animals. I heard it first from a physical therapist and then a really great body worker: Motion is Lotion.

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah. It's more sustainable and affordable than salt from a Himalayan company 8000 miles away. And factory salt? Bleck.

Lots of great information in this episode. Us humans can get so worried over issues that often work themselves out if we let them and if we ride more often and are in better tune with our horses. As Jec said, horses rarely move better if movement is taken away from them. Ride on, folks!

Also, just a quick note about kissing spine. I was chatting with Kristen Vlietstra, who runs Saddlery Solutions, and was a Season 1 guest. Aside from the therapeutic riding that Jec and Amy discussed, Kristen mentioned that sometimes a back issue, and even a kissing spine diagnosis, might benefit from proper saddle fit.

So there's that.

Have fun and keep an open mind and enjoy the warmer weather and the chance to get you and your horses in great shape.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question at besthorsepractices.com/podcast and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

Humanship. It's an idea that has been tossed around the horse world for a few years now. During the Cayuse Collaborative Clinic, for instance, we added a bit of humanship by having a noontime session with Trish Lemke on how to be the best person for your horse. It was an introduction to thinking about our intentions and peace of mind whenever we're around horses. Now comes Astrid Larsen. Astrid is a college psychology professor in the Seattle area. We connected over the work I sometimes do around brain science, this article and this article in particular. Turns out we're both pretty intrigued by how your past, which may include Big T trauma or little t trauma, can impact how you behave and interact with whoever, your horse, your friend, your partner, your coworker, and strangers. What we came to agree on, as we went back and forth via email and zoom, is that doing the work – which for many of us involves connecting with a therapist – is vital if you want healthy, positive outcomes. As Astrid says, you've got to do the work in order to do the work. This is a far-reaching interview and one that includes discussions of trauma, including intergenerational trauma and the impact it can have -- even on one's DNA. We really really hope this will spur some conversations and feedback from you. So please hit that contact button at besthorsepractices.com

One of the things Jec and I are working on, here on the podcast, in writing, on social media, at at the Cayuse Collaborative Clinics, is humanship. We think that in order to be best for your horses, you have to be best for yourself.

In an oversimplified, generalized way, this means when you interact with your horse, it's best if you come into his or her presence without ego, without agenda, with a keen interest in listening, paying attention, and interacting in that moment. Also, sometimes you've got to recognize that "feeling safe and having fun" (which we advocate right here) sometimes needs to take a backseat to the discomfort you might feel with the very necessary need for growth and stretching our skills. Those skills might be physical, but they can also be mental and emotional.

Jec, along with Amy Skinner, and Katrin Silva weave these ideas into their teaching, which is one reason it's so much fun to work with them.

Running parallel to this development, Karen Rohlf has been her own journey of self-discovery. The former Grand Prix rider has done a fair amount of deconstruction and reconstruction to her thinking around what makes for great riding. She has a vast reach for helping riders online and in person. More recently, she's addressed the struggle of many horse professionals to find balance and boundaries, to make money while being happy as a trainer.

Even if you're not a trainer, I imagine there are many, many take-aways for you. It's a great interview with Karen. Hope you enjoy it!

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah. It's more sustainable and affordable than salt from a Himalayan company 8,000 miles away.

You can find links to Karen's programs here and the 15 Things to Stop Doing Right Now here.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All you got to do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

For this episode, Jec interviews Cathy Woods. Cathy teaches yoga to riders and has a book on this intersection of riding and yoga, called, you guessed it, Yoga for Riders.

Even if you don't dive into horseback yoga movements, the conversation nicely reminds us that it's all about awareness. Awareness is what makes us better riders. And it definitely helps us appreciate our time with horses.

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We also welcome back Redmond Equine to our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah. It's more sustainable and affordable than salt from a Himalayan company 8000 miles away and wwaayy better than factory salt.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question here. You'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.

Buy some rocks from Redmond Equine and check out our favorite flavor, dark chocolate mint, at Kate's. Please follow these brands and buy their stuff as they support us and what we're doing.

In this conversation, Jec and Doug discuss the relationship, the skills, and the communication that must exist between horse, owner, and vet. It is something we have written recently here and here.

Having good rapport with your horse and your vet might be the most important element of your ownership. When a crisis comes along – and that's a when not an if – it's essential that you get along with both your horse and vet. Of course, both vet and owner need to have essential skills around handling and treatment. Doug and Jec talk about that, too.

Hubris, it seems, is the frequent ill of so many interactions. There are so many take-aways from this conversation and it'll be great to visit again with Dr. Thal down the road. But for now, remember to stand up for your horses, make sure you can handle them well in all sorts of situations, and know when to say, 'this isn't working.'

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in Northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

We're also thrilled to welcome back Redmond Equine to our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah. We think it's way more sustainable and affordable than salt from a Himalayan company 8000 miles away.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know that all ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question at besthorsepractices.com/podcast and you'll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway?

Buy some rocks from Redmond Equine and check out our favorite flavor, dark chocolate mint, at Kate's. Please follow these brands and buy their stuff as they support us and what we're doing.

Welcome to episode 18 of season two and thank you so much for listening. As you have probably heard, our show is an enlightened space for riders and horse owners of all disciplines to learn best practices and to discover ways to better connect with their horses. Plus, we like to feel safe and have fun.

And speaking of feeling safe and having fun, we're doing a series of clinics this year with Jec, Amy Skinner, and Katrin Silva. The three Cayuse Collaborative Clinics feature these talented horsewomen helping students of all disciplines. The first one is in Santa Fe next month and then later in the year in North Carolina and California. Hope to see you there!

For this episode, Jec visits with Amy Skinner for a Coaches' Corner. They discuss socialization for horses. This topic includes ideas around taking a horse from his buddies as well as getting along with other horses on a ride or in a clinic, for instance.

Barn sourness is often labelled as a vice, but I like to consider it an opportunity to make some progress and to expand a horse's comfort zone. After all, horses are meant to be in a herd. That is where they have evolved over millennia and that's where they feel safest. Do you have a bunch of strategies for working with a horse who's fussing a bit when leaving the barn? How big is that compartment of your horsemanship toolbox?

We thank Lucerne Farms for their sustaining sponsorship. Lucerne is a forage company based in northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can't have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses' diet.

Got questions? Email us.

Got stories to share? Email us.

We thank Kate's Real Food and Patagonia Workwear for their continued support and we welcome back Redmond Equine. Redmond, based in Utah, has several simple, superior products for your horses, like rock salt and clay for digestion. Buy some rocks on rope from Redmond, check out the new flavors at Kate's and check out the WorkWear sales. Please follow these brands and buy their stuff as they support us and what we're doing.

Thanks for listening y'all!