As we age, horsemanship can involve facing fear after illness or injury. It's about honouring old dreams and being open to new realities. My mantra is living well and riding better. Hi, I'm Lee... I invite you to saddle up and ride!
Last week, we went for a ride down memory lane. I blew the dust off my forty-year-old riding journals and have been reading, remembering, soaking it all in, ever since. Join me for a few lessons from my late riding mentor, E.M. Boerschmann… and be prepared to change how you ride. April 20, 1980. …
In my hands is an old-fashioned black notebook, hardbound and very businesslike. It is the first of my riding diaries… part homework… part punishment… part work of reference… and while it is now beloved, I detested this book as a girl. For as long as I can remember being able to read, I have …
Spooky horses! There must be a lot of them, as more people write in about shying and general jumpiness, than just about anything else. The biggest problem with these guys is that they are very good at undermining our confidence, chipping away at it, bit by bit…. Human nature has us wanting to protect …
Fit to be tied! We’re coming across an increasing number of horses and ponies that flatly refuse to tie. An annoying habit, halter pulling is a costly one… not to mention, it’s dangerous. The best way to avoid making a halter puller is to start him young, bringing the weanling into the tie stall …
In a world ruled by competition, few folks haul to parades anymore. No matter where my horse is eventually headed, I consider parades a gold mine of good training. For an all-around saddle horse, I make a point of hauling in to whatever local festivities I can find. If my horse can hold it together …
If I could name the biggest problem with owning and riding horses, this would be it. Plainly put, a herdbound horse or pony is more interested in his friends, than he is in you. It’s an especially shadowy thing to nail down because the degree to which he acts out will often depend on the …
We either get it or we don’t. Turnout is that indefinable thing that lets you know you are in the presence of somebody’s passion. If you’re headed to the show ring this summer, why not vow to improve your turnout? This state of perfection has surprisingly little to do with dollars. It does, however, have …
You may be familiar with the term ‘warming up’ but when it comes right down to it, are you comfortable with the how, why, where, what and when of it? Let’s combine lessons learnt from decades spent in the worlds of western horses, driving and dressage. Once we have a warm up goal, we …
Last week, we talked about the nuts ‘n’ bolts of riding sidesaddle… what the art represents… how to find a correct saddle… what makes a good sidesaddle horse? This time, we’ve got our saddle, our trusty steed and our boots are on. We’re ready to ride. So, I’m riding sidesaddle. Now what? One of …
I began riding sidesaddle because of Mr. Paterson. An elderly man and a good friend of our family’s, he observed my sister and I chuffing around on our ponies with little enthusiasm. We were squarely-built girls with pig-tails, ragged fingernails and filthy jeans. Worse, Mr. Paterson was concerned about the practice of letting us ride …