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.