Traveling in the Best Circles

WAVERLY, WV--Before either horses or riders master the sequential stages of their respective learning trees, they will travel in endless circles. The circle is the basic school figure we use to develop the essentials of rhythm and relaxation in either horse or rider. As they school their horses, riders should strive to make every circle the best they possibly can.

Horseback  Riding

There was an urgent knock on the back door. A desperate voice wanted to know: Could I come and have a look at David? He fell of Duke during the hunt that morning at a 6 ft fence and landed head first. David, not Duke. David was all for jumping the fence, Duke was not. Now David was asking the same question over and over again, and can't quite remember what had happened.

How to Buy a Horse at an Auction

In these situations where a prepurchase exam cannot be done, you can only hope to pick up a "Red Flag" suggestive of some problem the horse may have. Unfortunately these flags may be subtle. As the horse may have been rested prior to your exam or he may have received some type of medication that would make him appear better than he really is.
 

Break in or Educate a Horse 

When you hear someone say they are breaking-in a horse what comes to mind? Do you think of cowboys bucking a horse around a yard until it stops? If you hear someone say they are educating their horse what comes to mind? Do you think of someone working quietly with a horse?

It is perhaps unfortunate that breaking-in contains the word break, when we hear that we think of breaking the horses spirit, making the horse yield to us. This is not what it should be about. Go back not so many years and that is what it was about but this is 2006 not 1896. I like to think we understand our relationship, and appreciate it more than they did then.