Ever thought of setting up a treasure hunt for your horse? Apparently clicker horse trainer and author, Hertha James, has! I love it when folks think outside the box when it comes to horses. Sometimes we forget that there can be more to being with horses than grooming them and riding them. Check out her… Continue reading Treasure Hunt For Horses With Hertha James

Please note: This post was unsolicited and uncompensated by Wahl. My long-awaited cordless trimmer finally arrived! Pandemic effects understandably resulted in reduced production at the Wahl factory. The trimmers that I ordered over Black Friday weekend in November arrived mid-February. I am pleased to report the trimmer was definitely worth the wait. The Wahl Arco… Continue reading Product Review: Wahl Arco Cordless Trimmer

This was the view from my window just a few days ago. Outside temperature was about seven degrees. On one hand, the cold and snow make for difficult horse-chores conditions. On the other hand, the beauty of all that powder can't be denied. For more of my thoughts on Winter horse-keeping, read my previous post… Continue reading From Snow to Mud

Like many of you, I watched the news coverage of the power-grid disaster during recent severe weather in the State of Texas. I also subscribe to a variety of equestrian blogs. Many of the blog authors happen to reside in Texas. My email inbox was eerily empty this past week. I assume that all of… Continue reading Texas

Congratulations to Our Winter 2021 Contest Winners! For those of you unaware, The Backyard Horse Blog hosted a Winter 2021 contest in recognition of its own first birthday. Always fun to celebrate those types of firsts. They only come around once. Congratulations to our two winners, Reese and WeAreOnTheLoose! Winners get their choice of one… Continue reading Congratulations to Our Contest Winners!

It has probably happened to every backyard-horse keeper at least once. You obtain a load of hay, only to have your horses turn up their noses at it. Or maybe they were eating the load just fine at the start of Winter but now that it is almost Spring, your horses seem less interested. When… Continue reading Barn Hack- Help For The Reluctant Hay Eater

February is shaping up to be a cold and snowy month in my neck of the woods. Long stretches of below freezing day time temperatures. Sub-zero wind chills at night. It all makes for very limited riding at home. My horses live in my backyard, but I miss them all Winter. Most other seasons, I… Continue reading Snow Days

Photo taken from http://www.horseandriderbooks.com Here is a free, downloadable ebook from Trafalgar Square Publishing! Available, through their horseandriderbooks website, the free book is titled "Eco-Horse Keeping: Over 100 budget-friendly ways you and your horse can help save the planet." I still have not read all the way through it yet, but it looks to contain… Continue reading Free Horse Book for Download!

What is a horse blogger to do when she can't ride much during the Winter? Experiment with making Pinterest pins, of course! For those of you not familiar with the platform, Pinterest is a social curation website where users visually bookmark information that can be shared with others. A Pinterest pin is a picture that… Continue reading Let’s Put a Pin in It!

Bear and me on the left verses Shiloh and me on the right. As I learn more about blogging, I try to experiment with different media. Today, I am tossing in some video clips for the first time. Assuming I am successful at uploading them in some viewable form, I thought it might be interesting… Continue reading Two Gaited Horses- Compare and Contrast

I'll get to the specific topic of this post in a minute, but first, I've got something for you folks who like to win free horse-prizes. Greenguard Muzzle is hosting a contest. The prize is a free grazing muzzle valued at about $99 along with a few other related items. Contest ends March 30th, 2021.… Continue reading Does Your Horse Wear A Grazing Muzzle During Winter?

Are you a member of any equestrian organizations? Maybe a local saddle club? An international show organization or breed registry? What about 4H or pony club? I have been a member of various horse organizations over the years. I never held office in one, but I contributed in other ways. I wrote newsletters articles. I… Continue reading Are You a Card-Carrying Member?

Traffic cone bars! Where have you been all my life? I had no clue until recently that they even existed. I stumbled upon them online and quickly acquired a pair. I mentioned in previous posts my fondness for riding through obstacles. I love incorporating them in both riding and groundwork routines. Unfortunately, the greatest difficulty… Continue reading Obstacle Idea: Using Traffic Cone Bars

The Backyard Horse Blog is now officially one year old! Thank you to each individual who subscribes and takes the time to read. I so appreciate every post "like", every comment and every social media share too. After starting with a readership of zero, the blog now has 64 followers between its email subscribers and… Continue reading Announcing The Backyard Horse Blog Winter 2021 Contest!

My hopes for possessing a new set of cordless clippers are on hold. You may recall that I mourned the death of my Andis cordless clippers in a previous post at https://thebackyardhorseblog.com/2020/09/28/what-are-your-favorite-cordless-clippers/ Last Fall, I anxiously awaited the Cyber Monday shopping sales so I could snag a new clipper set at a discount. After reviewing… Continue reading Horse Clipper Caper

Today I am giving a special shout out to Great British Equinery of Indiana! I initially discovered them online and purchased two of their Harrison Howard Fly Masks in 2019. One of my first product reviews on this blog was of those masks. I had been using the masks for about a year when I… Continue reading Shout Out To Great British Equinery of Indiana!

If you are a horse/pony/mule/donkey owner in the USA, I highly encourage you to fill out the 2021 American Horse Publications Equine Industry Survey at http://www.ahpequineindustrysurvey.com. The information from the annual, anonymous survey is used to further the "understanding of the nationwide trends in the equine industry as well as the most important issues facing… Continue reading 2021 AHP Equine Industry Survey- Get your voice counted

“Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, M.D., Credited with discovering Vitamin C Water is a vital source of life for plants and animals. Our four-legged steeds included. For all the emphasis we place on what to feed our horses, we often pay less attention… Continue reading Don’t Forget About The Water

While surfing the internet, I came across the following online quiz from the Noëllefloyd website: https://www.noellefloyd.com/blogs/sport/quiz-are-you-a-resilient-rider "Horses get hurt and our plans go out the window. We are limited by our bank accounts. We have an off day at a show and feel embarrassed. The ways that this sport and lifestyle challenge are innumerable .… Continue reading Developing Resilience So You Can Enjoy Your Horse Life

If you experience static while grooming your horse, wet the brush. I wish this had occurred to me when I lived in a high desert town in Colorado. One of the area's lovely amenities was extremely low humidity and a short, mild Winter. I've never done as much outdoor riding during Winter as I did… Continue reading Barn Hack- How to Eliminate Winter Grooming Static

While combing through boards on Pinterest, I was reminded about an informative magazine article titled "Your Horse's Lumps and Bumps". Written by the well-known veterinarian, Barb B Crabbe, it is an easy and concise read that contains lots of information for your average horseman. Some lumps and bumps are merely cosmetic while others can indicate… Continue reading Found a Bump or Lump on Your Horse- Now What?

This model horse photo is proof that everything really can live forever on the internet. If you have a minute, let me tell you the story. When I first got internet service at home in the late 90's, I was thrilled to see all the model horse activity taking place online. I participated in the… Continue reading A Blast From The Past

Have you ever fed your horse a flashlight? If not, you may be wondering exactly how does this happen. Let me tell you the tale. I carry a flashlight every morning when I walk from my house to the barn for morning feed. I like to feed before the sun comes up, but there is… Continue reading Tale of A Horse Care Fail

As a backyard horse keeper, I find Winter horse care is the hardest part of the lifestyle. Polar vortex. Blizzard. Ice storm. Mud in both its soft and frozen varieties. No matter the conditions, my horses still want to be fed, watered and otherwise attended to. I can usually cover my body well-enough to stay… Continue reading Winter Barn Hack- Making Those Hand Warmers Last Longer

Are you your horse's limiting factor? Do you find yourself immediately feeling defensive upon thinking about this saucy question? If you can stay with me here, through the uncomfortable feelings raised by this thought, I can show you that there are actually benefits to asking yourself this question. As a backyard horse keeper, I don't… Continue reading Are You Your Horse’s Limiting Factor?

Last Winter season, during February 2020, I sent out a post titled "What is on Your Equestrian Bucket List?". Read the original post at https://thebackyardhorseblog.com/2020/02/10/what-is-on-your-equestrian-bucket-list/ As someone whose life has taken a number of unexpected twists and turns, I am slowly learning to not attach my sense of happiness to particular outcomes. What happens when… Continue reading The Year 2020 Vs. The Bucket List

Some folks might see peppermints as mainly a holiday candy. I see them as fair game for the entire Winter season. Peppermints just look so inviting and outright happy to me. I can't help but crack a smile when I see a peppermint. Not only are they tasty for both horse and human, but their… Continue reading Fun and Festive Horse Craft for Winter!

***Please note today's post will be my only blog post this week. After celebrating the reason for the Christmas season, next week I plan to resume my typical 3X a week posting schedule. *** "Every time a person writes, for the public or not, he or she is connected to all who have ever felt… Continue reading www.thebackyardhorseblog.com

A brief December warm up in my area has come to an end. I am thinking that my at-home riding is pretty much done for Winter, save for the occasional bareback stroll perhaps. In late 2019, I had some footing installed in my roundpen that allows me to get in more rides at home than… Continue reading Further Banter About The Canter

How about some groundwork play with ponies? Last week, I took advantage of a brief warm snap to ride, do some property maintenance and play around with my horses on the ground. In his retirement, Bear mostly likes to spend his time walking between hay piles. Sometimes, though, Bear still likes to show off his… Continue reading What to do on a warm winter day?

My senior backyard horse, Bear, has been prescribed Prascend and Equioxx for over three years now. Prascend addresses the symptoms of PPID (Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction or Cushing's Disease). Equioxx is a pain reliever that helps mitigate discomfort caused by Bear's arthritis symptoms. While both medications seem to work well for him, they are painfully… Continue reading Rebates on PRASCEND, EQUIOXX, GASTROGUARD and ULCERGUARD

If there is something that equestrians face constantly, it is risk. I weigh risk at the barn on a daily basis. Every time I am with my horses on the ground. Every time I put a foot in the stirrup. As horsemen, we assess the risks of interacting with our horses and implement appropriate safety… Continue reading Review- Face Mask Coverlet (Snowflake Horse Winter Holiday Design) by The Painting Pony

Is your riding season winding down? Depending upon where you live, you might be experiencing the start of Winter just like I am. Without an indoor arena to protect from wind, cold and snow, I find it painful to ride at home in Winter. I might enjoy the occasional ride on an unusually warm and… Continue reading Can’t Ride During Winter? Six Ideas For What To Do Instead

When I started this blog in January 2020, I decided to use a WordPress-hosted, free site at https://thebackyardhorseblog.wordpress.com/the-backyard-horse-blog. I wasn't really sure if I'd take to blogging so a free site seemed a harmless way to test the waters. After almost a year of blogging, I recently got an invitation to host an affiliate link… Continue reading Movin’ on Up: The Backyard Horse Blog gets its own website

Do you like to complete puzzles? I'm not a fan of the one-thousand-piece wheat field type of puzzle. A puzzle with horses? Now I like that! I recently stumbled upon the website I'm A Puzzle. It allows you to put together puzzles online. The site provides gallerys of photos, including horse ones, to be made… Continue reading Horsin’ Around with Puzzles

ECLECTIC- Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles Definition from http://www.yourdictionary.com If you have followed this blog for awhile, you may have noticed that I like pulling from different discplines and training styles. I don't stick to one discipline or one training philosophy. I don't object to others who… Continue reading Let’s Talk About An Eclectic Approach to Horses

Yes, I know it is Cyber Monday today, but I wanted to post a reminder about tomorrow's Giving Tuesday. Created in 2012, #Givingtuesday refers to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. Wikipedia defines it as "a global movement that unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world."… Continue reading A SHOUT OUT TO GIVING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1st, 2020

Thank you to photographer Kirsten LaChance via Unsplash for use of this photo. Something I love to see is a horse professional who is willing to actively grow and change. Someone who is already professionally established yet willing to explore new ways of training and being with horses? To me, it sets a great example… Continue reading An Example of Growth and Change in The Horse Industry

Image taken from The Equine Wellness Magazine Website This offer popped into my email inbox yesterday. I am excited to share it with you. For a limited time, Equine Wellness Magazine is offering a FREE one-year digital subscription to their magazine! My USA readers may have seen the glossy, print version of the magazine on… Continue reading Get Your FREE Subscription to Equine Wellness Magazine!

Readers may recall a previous post where I shared my experience in entering my first online horse show (https://thebackyardhorseblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/shiloh-and-i-make-our-virtual-horse-show-debut/). I chose to enter one class (a walk-only dressage test) in the 2020 Gaits Wide Open Championship through North American Western Dressage. The show was sponsored by the gaited-breed advocacy organization Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH).… Continue reading Shiloh’s First Virtual Horse-Show Experience: Results and Conclusions

Do you like to do word searches? What about creating your own? I recently came across a free online program that allows anyone to create their own word searchs (and more) at http://www.worksheetworks.com. I put together a word search featuring words from some of my favorite blog posts. I used words from posts that were… Continue reading The Backyard Horse Blog Word Search

Anybody have a subscription to Horse and Rider On Demand, Dressage On Demand or Equus Prime? Each of these subscription services offers its members access to a select group of videos on riding/horse training/horse care. For many of us going into Winter in colder climates, the change in weather will soon mean less riding time.… Continue reading “On Demand” Equestrian Video Subscriptions

Last week in my area, a period of unusually warm weather was coming to a close. I managed to squeeze in one last ride before the more seasonable weather returned. I decided to take Shiloh out for a little walk in our South pasture with our only agenda to enjoy the weather. I don't often… Continue reading Just Enjoying The Ride

So my horse, Bear, wants to know! Have you visited The Backyard Horse Blog over at Pinterest yet? When I began The Backyard Horse Blog in January 2020, I chose a free WordPress program to host the site. I have nothing to compare it to since this is the only blog I have started so… Continue reading Visited The Backyard Horse Blog over at Pinterest?