This is Episode 14 of Season Three. And in it, we give Wise Ass Wallace the mic again to talk about two juicy topics: helmets and colt starting competitions. Wise Ass got some help from the likes of Mark Rashid and Amy Skinner on the colt starting bit. And around helmets, he had some communication with the board of the Best Horse Practices Summit.

WiseAss is having his day because of what Jec and I see as a troubling trend we are in the horse world.  There seems to be an increased focus on what we’re calling the warm and fuzzies.

We define the warm and fuzzies as strategies, practices, ideas, methods, and proclamations that may indeed serve the human and her need to feel connected and in a relationship, but don’t serve the horse. Or, even worse, they confuse or neglect the horse.

We sometimes see this audience sucked into the belief that they are making real connection and real progress with their horses. The reality looks a whole lot different; the horse is left in the dark and the so-called journey is nefarious at best. The result is a whole lot of sanctimonious feel-good sessions among this population of warm and fuzzy followers. How is the horse helped and what’s getting accomplished? We are not sure.

WiseAssWallace is a long-time, beloved guest columnist for Cayuse Communications. From his pasture in southwestern Colorado, he’s on a quest to improve horse-human connections and make lives better for his fellow equines.

WiseAssWallace has a series of videos and articles which we will link to in the show notes. In this episode, we’re featuring two short pasture monologues. WiseAss has an entire library of recordings, videos, and articles. We’ll link to them in the show notes.

Our title sponsor is Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds.  Forage is chopped, packaged hay. Sometimes it’s alfalfa, sometimes timothy, sometimes blended, and sometimes with a touch of molasses. Always scrumptious. After hay and grass, it’s pretty much the best alternative and a great way to supplement your winter feeding. Check them out at here or at your local feed story.

And thank you, Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe – two sponsors with no-nonsense products for your horses. Check out links to their pages in our show notes.

We thank Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support.

And, hey, we have a Donation Page set up. If you get something of value from our podcast, please drop a tip in the jar for us. We sure would appreciate it.  

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