If you have children, or were possibly once a child yourself, you've seen a Disney movie. They are next to impossible to avoid, unless you live on a remote rock in the middle of the ocean. But if you're also an equestrian, chances are that you watched these movies while also critiquing the horses, comparing them to real life. For me pers[...]
Quick! What do horses and gigantic stone statues of people and heads have in common? If you answered, "nothing," well, prepare to be surprised. They do have something in common. They both reside on Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui to its native population. Famous mostly for the huge statues, called "Moai", Easter Island is one of[...]
There's a time in every equestrians life where they just want to consume everything horse related, any speck of horse information they can possibly find. For many, this will last your entire life. You will be consumed by the quest for more knowledge, and stop at nothing to obtain it. Think Harry Potter searching for the horcruxes, except[...]
Winter is here, which you have likely noticed, along with the increase in mud. If you are feeling miserable already and dreading your time at the barn, you may be in need of a new winter coat. The perfect winter coat keeps you warm and cozy and totally prepared for the elements. After all, there's no bad weather, just bad clothing. But[...]
Winsor Castle is perched upon a hill overlooking the River Thames, and has been a royal residence for centuries. It's is a magnificent building, but outside those imposing walls lies something that equestrians will really go crazy over - the expansive Windsor Great Park. If you're an American, like me, Windsor is only vaguely known,[...]
One of the things people love to say about horses is how much work they require. I remember hearing it from every non-horse person, before I rode, when people found out I love horses. "Oh horses? They are so much work!" I'm not sure when it was universally decided that everyone whos interested in horses must be told that they are so[...]
The colorful coats of the Chincoteague ponies are well know, made famous by books like Misty of Chincoteague. Being a required reading in school (is it still?) every child in America was familiar with the cheerful little ponies on the beach, if they weren't totally obsessed with them. The story of the Pony Penning is like a legend - Ever[...]
In the desert heat of Aleppo, Thomas Darley was checking out a horse. He was in Syria working as the British Consul, but he knew a beautiful horse when he saw one, and this one was particularly striking. He was a young colt, 1 or 2 years old, a bay Arabian, which was common to the area, but taller than others of his age. This horse held[...]
The first time I ever rode alone was when I was 17 years old. My barn, with my trainer and all my friends, was going to school cross country at another local barn. I didn't have a trailer. I had my own two legs, and Vintage, my green appaloosa. It was way too far for me to walk, it would have taken all day. The only way I could get there[...]
They have lived in isolation from the rest of the horse world for a hundreds of years, possibly a thousand years, separated by a barrier of marshes, lagoons and sandy beaches. While there has been some selective breeding, they are mostly a primitive breed, heavily bodied, with large heads. They are the Camargue horses, bands of semi-fe[...]