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?

Last weekend, I completed another field trip with Shiloh and Bear. We went over to the nearby training/boarding/lesson barn again. I mentioned in previous posts that I have been trying to tick off several items on my riding "to do" list. My goal for this trip? To ride Shiloh with another horse. For most people… Continue reading Another Horse Field-Trip Report

Say it ain't so! Horse Illustrated magazine is going from a 12x a year format to a 10x a year format. This comes after I featured their October issue in a recent post at https://thebackyardhorseblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/read-horse-illustrated-lately/. I mentioned in that post that HI was still one of the few horse magazines that published monthly. Well sadly… Continue reading More About Horse Illustrated and More Contests to Enter!

The windy Fall weather in my neck of the woods must bring out the artist in my horse, Bear. I am not sure if this photo is "life imitating art" or "art imitating life" or "life imitating life"? Hmmm. Whatever the case, I think Bear did a bang up job of getting his tail to… Continue reading Bear as Artist

Last week after three frustrating days of having my riding plans thwarted by a bunch of windy, wet days, I finally managed a ride. It's a different experience riding in the cooler weather. Each year, I forget how much preparation is involved. I track the forecast like a meteorologist to pinpoint the exact time of… Continue reading Banter About The Canter

Found this photo out there on the internet. Anybody know who is the photographer? I would love to give them credit for this clever set-up! I think this is what can happen when we reach an impasse with our horse regarding trailer loading. Someone missed the opportunity to change course or seek help earlier in… Continue reading Waiting TOO Long?

As the start of each Winter season draws close, I try to check off a few things on my riding wish list before the wicked weather arrives. One of those items was riding Shiloh in a bit again. At https://thebackyardhorseblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/bitted-or-bitless/, I wrote about the reason I started riding him in a bitless bridle in 2018.… Continue reading Briefly Back to the Bit Again

Horse Nation is one of my favorite websites. It is a nice mix of informative articles about horse care/riding and op-eds about happenings in the horse world. It also includes some "newspaper comics" material with its "Idea of Order" series and other light-hearted features. Here is a roundup of my recent article favorites: Ashley Francese… Continue reading Checked Out Horse Nation Lately?

Whenever I hear the word "horse" inside a song, it catches my attention. Of course, often the horse mentioned in song is used to represent something else entirely. Even folks who have never touched a horse often find powerful the imagery and emotion that horses conjure. The song isn't really about a horse after all.… Continue reading Horses and Music

Here is a photo of my ponies Pumpkin Spice and Bear when we lived in Colorado. Definitely "two good things". 🙂 Horses are incredible creatures. It is a marvelous thing to be in the presence of a horse. They manage to inspire all kinds of dreams in us without even trying. If you spend enough… Continue reading Focus on Two Good Things- Balancing Your Feelings When The Going Gets Rough With Your Horse

I took the above photo when four horses graced my backyard. From left to right is Pumpkin Spice, Bear, Fate and Blue. If you have been reading The Backyard Horse Blog, you may recognize that my twenty-five year old gelding, Bear, is the only current living-member of that group. I am one of the millions… Continue reading Book Review- Strands of Hope: How to grieve the loss of a horse by Susan Friedland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQs-oEuDzSw I was reminded this week of a funny video clip. It is a one-minute commercial that I linked in a previous blog post (see https://thebackyardhorseblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/20/need-a-laugh-watch/). Of all the tricky things about driving a horse trailer, backing up is pretty high on the list. I took my horses, Bear and Shiloh, on a field-trip this… Continue reading Backing Up The Horse Trailer

Quote From A Poem by Antonio Machado ( In Spanish ) "... caminante, no hay camino,se hace camino al andar.Al andar se hace camino,y al volver la vista atrásse ve la senda que nuncase ha de volver a pisar..." And English Translation (Wikipedia's version)- "... wayfarer, there is no path,you make the path as you… Continue reading There Is No Path . . .

If you are looking for a step by step "how to" for working with horses, this book is not it. Getting Along With Horses is laced with some specific hints and tidbits, but it is mostly a philosophical book. By sharing stories of her own experiences (repurposed in part from her blog), the author encourages… Continue reading BOOK REVIEW- Getting Along With Horses: An Evolution in Understanding by Crissi Mcdonald

Thanks to Rupixen.com for the use of this photo via Unsplash I have to say that I am not much of a shopper. I mean, yes I shop. Having food, clothes, tools and accessories comes in handy for humans and critters alike after all. But I don't usually find particular joy in accumulating stuff (the… Continue reading Master Plan For Cyber Monday: prepping for all that horse shopping 🙂

If you haven't checked out the magazine "Horse Illustrated", you might want to give it a look. As a subscriber for many years, I have generally found it to be a meat and potatoes kind of magazine with solid, basic horse care and riding articles. If you are looking for hyper discipline-specific or detailed "how… Continue reading Read “Horse Illustrated” Lately?

I know I am not the only person out there who likes to write about their horses, especially their senior horses. If you like writing, photography and entering contests, this opportunity might be for you. The magazine Northwest Horse Source recently announced the guidelines for its 2020 Senior Horse Essay Contest. This is an annual… Continue reading Enter The Northwest Horse Source Senior Horse Essay Contest!