"Horses are not merely lumps of clay where strongly squeezing and pressing on them will make them soft" Many people ...
When it comes to horse welfare we all need to play a part, but even though it 'will take a village', personal ...
I’m a weirdo. I’m OK with that. I am sure there are ‘right ways’ of doing things. I’m sure there are efficient ways of ...
Training horses, like most things, does not happen in a straight line. Even if you have one clearly defined goal (to do ...
Prefer to listen? I covered this in my podcast. Horse Training In Harmony, episode 156 Words matter. Often we use words ...
At a clinic a few years ago, at the last moment, I threw away my plan for the first session and did something ...
Why Partnership Is Not Enough Starting in the late 1990s, I changed from control-based training to communication-based ...
I've coached students from multiple disciplines and levels on a variety of breeds of horses, coming from a range of ...
I often get asked about what it means when a horse has foam in their mouth and whether it is good or bad. My answer is: ...
Prefer to listen? Click HERE to go to a podcast on this subject. Have you been told by an instructor that you need to ...
I was given a very lovely young warmblood who I was told (after they gave him to me) was diagnosed with shivers. For ...
Prefer to listen? I did a podcast that includes this subject. You can listen HERE Can you motivate your horse to offer ...
How do you know if your horse is happy? There are 7 interviews in this series (so far)! You can find them all by going ...
Settle in for my thoughts on how to know your horse is happy and how to increase his levels of happiness! (45 min ...
This blog is about how to make The Decision... The decision about how to know if it's time to euthanize your beloved ...
(Prefer to listen? Check out my podcast on this subject) What if… In any moment of tension, there was one question you ...
The key to getting the benefit out of a specific dressage exercise or movement is to know WHY you are doing it. If you ...
There are only three steps to get from where you are to where you want to be: Be aware. Do what you can. Play with what ...
When someone says they do dressage, you can picture them doing specific movements like half pass, pirouettes, and ...
In a previous blog I wrote about how intention is the main aid we use with horses so they know the difference between ...
Prefer to listen? Go HERE to listen to this topic on Karen's Podcast. Finding the right teacher for each stage of your ...
There's a lot of discussion in dressage circles about how tight or loose a noseband should be in order to create the ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast on this subject. When students want to improve their horse's biomechanics ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's Podcast on this subject. The phrase "get your horse on the bit" has caused much ...
In the Q&A calls we do for our online programs, we often get questions about how to handle things when you take ...
'Maybe Today' is a technique that will help you when there is something that you want to do with your horse, that you ...
(Read this even if you are not thinking of buying a new horse) Here's a sentence I hear way too often: "If my horse was ...
It's important to give your horse breaks. A break can mean a day off, or weeks off. In this article, I will talk about ...
"Is this the right bend?" is one of the most common question I get asked during clinics. When riders ask this, they are ...
(5 minute read, plus a video) James Joyce said: "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." That's probably the last thing ...
Note to readers: If you immediately look for how this article is wrong, then you are proving me right. :-) I have a ...
(5 minute read. Includes videos) My first thought for training low energy horses is to not call them lazy. Lazy implies ...
(This was written for the new year of 2019 and it applies to every moment!) New Year: Celebrating another trip around ...
A quick video message from Karen about the exercise in this blog. The following is an excerpt from my book: Dressage ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast on this subject. Many riders aren't enjoying the process of training or ...
Out of all the videos I have made, there is one video that has gotten more attention than all the others. You can see ...
Riders can often fall into one of two categories: Those who want to compete and those who don't. A more extreme version ...
I spend my life creating intangible and fleeting moments: An amazing feeling on a horse, a breakthrough of ...
I’ve seen so many people spend SO much money to suffer through dressage lessons. It does NOT have to be that way. ...
‘When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life’. A lot of people are credited for that quote, from ...
You’ve done everything the ‘right’ way. You bought the fancy horse. You hired the big name trainer in the area and ...
Professionals: How I Created A Business Built FOR Horses In my article about a Fresh Look At The Industry Standard For ...
Not missing the forest for the trees...Keeping the Big Picture in mind when advancing with your horse. It happens all ...
Here's a short story about accepting praise and positivity. I don't know about you, but I am not one for false ...
Dressage Naturally recently sponsored a couple of awards at DunMovin Farms Adult Amateur Dressage Schooling Show in ...
Dangerous Patterns: In Horsemanship & in the World, Harmony or Conflict Begins with Us My reason for writing this ...
Prefer to listen? Click HERE for a podcast on this subject. Don't let limits limit you. Let's face it - Life often ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast episode on all 9 Habits For Excellent Horsemanship. Part 3: Feel, ...
The way a body moves is a result of posture, mental state, openness to suggestion, and whether or not there is pain or ...
"Inside leg!", "Outside rein!", "Shorten your reins!" Ahh ... the sounds of a typical riding lesson! I learned long ago ...
All work and no play makes your horse a dull boy Here is a too-common story: Things are going well with your horse; you ...
"If you're not growing you're going backwards" "Not all movement is progress" Those are the statements that stick in my ...
The picture of dressage in my head is a beautiful one. It is where the horse is a happy Athlete, educated harmoniously. ...
Warning: This might not be only about horsemanship. In developing my horses I focus on finding what I call the Sweet ...
Is Bitless A Viable Option For 'Real' Dressage? NOTE: This is a long read, but totally worth it. If you want to listen ...
My ultimate vision is to progress with my horses gymnastically as far as we can go together in a way that builds our ...
Rehabilitating a horse can be one of the most rewarding experiences. The horses I have returned to wholeness have ...
Self-carriage is one of those qualities that, no matter what discipline you are doing, makes you say: "Wow, this horse ...
Sneaky Disempowerments And The Paradox Of Empowerment Ever since I can remember I have been playing the empowerment ...
Dressage trainers are known for (among other things) their ability to ride straight lines and to stay inside the box. ...
As the author of what I call Dressage, Naturally, I am always trying to reconcile the bodies of knowledge that I have ...
Ordinary horses don't know they're ordinary. Every day, help your horse feel like the champion that he is. A lot of ...
I also could call this post: Hey, this sh*t really works! Many of you already know that I teach what I call Finding The ...
When I first started embracing dressage and natural horsemanship together as a unique system, I felt like a contagious ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast on this subject. On one of our weekly Q & A calls in the Sweet Spot of ...
I often get asked about whether it is harmful to a horse's posture to do freestyle riding (riding without the reins). ...
Q: I have a 6 yr old horse who never was really in front of the leg, but now she gets sticky, refuses to go into trot, ...
Q: Can you explain the difference between an engaged stretch and a horse just going with their head down? A: There is a ...
Q: What are your thoughts about treeless saddles? A: I personally ride in a treeless saddle. It is a very simple one, ...
The Sweet Spot is what Karen calls those magic moments when you are riding around thinking: "Oh wow, this just feels ...
The Object Of Dressage The object of dressage is the development of a happy athlete through harmonious education ...
I get many questions about how to get your horse on the bit, how to get the horse 'rounder' or softer in the contact. ...
Q: In dressage we have to do so many circles… Won't my horse become bored and dull? A: I have seen a lot of ...
When it comes to caring for our horses we are often faced with conflicting information. This is especially true if you ...
(This article was originally written for, and published in Equine Wellness Magazine.) Why do some students progress ...
"You have freedom when you are easy in your harness" ~Robert Frost What an interesting way to define freedom. If asked ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast episode on all 9 Habits For Excellent Horsemanship. Part 2: Curiosity, ...
Prefer listening? Click here for a podcast on this subject. "A prudent question is one half of wisdom." ~Francis Bacon ...
Perhaps you know the childhood game: “Mother, May I?” In this game the players line up, and the ‘mother’ calls to one ...
A new year and a new chance to choose to be happy, to choose love, to choose to be the best you you can be... And to ...
OK, here are just some informal, semi-rambling thoughts on something I consciously seek and often achieve in the ...
This article was originally published in Equine Wellness Magazine. Precision & Play: Here’s how they can work ...
The health of your horse’s back is vital to his performance. Achieving healthy back movement requires a holistic ...
Prefer to listen? Check out Karen's podcast episode on all 9 Habits For Excellent Horsemanship. Part 1: Partnership, ...
How to be open to instruction, yet true to yourself. Being an excellent student is an art. There are a lot of factors ...
As a dressage professional and 're-naturalized horseman', I understand the importance of building complex maneuvers ...
Competition test riding can bring up a lot of emotions. Being judged and tested can trigger all kinds of anxiety, but ...
I am a dreamer and am very comfortable 'living in the mystery'... But I also have a science brain. My dad is a ...
