A tail dying how to from Contact
I could never, ever pull this off with Tristan, but I do love the look of a nice black tail.

How not to be an a$$hole boarder from Riding with Scissors
Cosigned, every single one of these.

Austin Hunter Derby from She Moved to Texas
SO PRETTY.

Gaited Horses Can’t Do Dressage from Wait for the Jump
Pfffffft, is what I say. Go here for thoughtful rebuttal.

Do you know how to fall? from Eventing Nation
Before I rode, I vaulted, and one of the first things I was taught as a young vaulter was how to fall. It’s knowledge that has proved invaluable over the years, so I love this program.

Reflecting on Eventing from Equestrian at Hart
Yeah.

A Little Dog Horse Show Recap from Guinness on Tap
BEST. SHOW RECAP. EVER.

Non-horsey read for the week: Literature’s Arctic Obsession.

Waze for Horses from In Omnia Paratus
I laughed pretty hard. This would be a top selling app in minutes.

Review: Kentucky Bridleworks Leather Halter from The $900 Facebook Pony
I’ve been drooling over these halters on Instagram for a while now. Maybe for Christmas next year Tristan can have one.

Too legit to quit from PONY’TUDE
Please go and also drool over the hunt coat of my dreams. I would be wearing that beauty every chance I got!

Really gross, but… from Not So Speedy Dressage
Uncomfortable (on several levels) but important!

How do you choose a bit? from Patently Bay
I am a sucker for these bitting posts,

That time my dog’s junk got stuck from Riding with Scissors
I laughed so hard I cried.

Non-horsey read of the week: Going It Alone, about hiking the Appalachian Trail as a queer black woman alone. Extraordinary read.

The Vaccination Struggle from The Exquisite Equine
Tris doesn’t react badly to vaccines so this isn’t something I usually worry about, but I have friends for whom this is an annual problem.

RWYM – General from Pampered Ponies
Some really good notes on a riding position clinic. Lots to think about here.

Eventers: What’s under your show coat? from PONY’TUDE
I’ve only fairly recently graduated from my old hunter shirt to more technical fabric, so seeing the range of replies in the comments was particularly interesting!

World Cup hangover from Hand Gallop
What a cool way to experience the World Cup!

Couple of links for you on this Saturday.

How to back a trailer from Dr. Mel Newton
To this excellent list – with illustrations – I would add PRACTICE. This is truly a skill that anyone can learn. I am the most spatially challenged person I know, and I learned.

Let’s Discuss: The Retirement Plan from House on a Hill
I love this – I’ve been putting a lot of thought into it myself lately. It’s something every horse owner should think about.

World Equestrian Center Tour from Fly on Over
o.O
O.o
O.O

Rodeo Queen to Dressage Queen from Not So Speedy Dressage
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.

Splat: Finding Commitment and Drive After Discovering That I Don’t Bounce Anymore from PONY’TUDE
Welcome to my life. (but seriously this is thoughtful and well-written)

This week’s non-horsey read: The Trauma of Facing Deportation from The New Yorker. This is an amazing, emotional, compassionate read about the mental health of children who are in precarious situations. It’s from Sweden, but worth considering in light of the things happening in America right now.

Replacement Post Fall from Equestrian at Hart
The day this was posted I’d had a conversation with a coworker about expensive sports equipment, and explained to her that some riding helmets cost upwards of $1,000. She was baffled and horrified, as I have been for years. Why spend that much money on something you’ll have to replace in five years, best case scenario?

Pressure Washing My Trailer from Cob Jockey
I include this because I did the exact same every few years: pressure washed the shit out of my horse trailer and was then astounded at how nice it was. So I highly recommend it to anyone!

Beach Ride from DIY Horsemanship
siiiiiiiigh

Roscoe Gets a Neurectomy from Hand Gallop
This is a bit graphic but soooooooo interesting.

The Kindness of Strangers from The $900 Facebook Pony
If you haven’t been following along – this is a completely heartbreaking story. I’m sharing it here so I can give a signal boost to a crowdsourcing fund that a kind soul has set up to help out Amanda & Presto.

Please consider donating:

Get Well Soon, Presto

What should be practiced? from Incidents of Guidance
An intriguing question: what should we be doing without thinking?

Spooky from A Enter Spooking
Tristan is not a bit spooky, but I’ve definitely dealt with my share of spookers. Where’s the line?

This week’s non-horsey read is not for the faint of heart: Accidental therapists: For insect detectives, the trickiest cases involve the bugs that aren’t really there

Somewhat abbreviated this week; our snowstorm threw off all my normal routines. It did make for a lovely restful & quiet 36 hours, though.

Bling it like you own it: custom sparkle browbands from SprinklerBandit
I will be the first to admit that I do not get sparkly browbands. All I can think about is cleaning them. Still, this is a great overview and a nice outline of the possibilities. (Maybe if I had a plainer horse I’d be more interested, but Tristan’s coloring is so loud I tend to avoid patterns or bling.)

Six things a new OTTB reminded me from Racing to Ride
I liked this – about how we learn and re-learn things all the time in our journeys as riders.

Learn the training scale from Jane Savoie
Nice follow up to the above; I could use all the reminders I can get about the training scale.

Stories of your life and others from Frankly Speaking
Not directly horse-related, but something to read and think about for blogging.

Ground rules from Equestrian at Hart
Crucially important to a good boarding relationship: communication and respect, especially in such a tough business. I try to always be clear and thoughtful when I take or use extra hay or shavings. I’m happy to pay for it, and in return I like to think that I’m trusted.

Say hello to Presto from The $900 Facebook Pony
BABY PICTURES!

I don’t have a non-horsey read this week because I’ve been cramming my brain with books instead of longform articles, so here, have this gorgeous video that I’m listening to on repeat lately.

But no one knows me no one ever will
if I don’t say something, if I just lie still

The very last mach of Round 1 of March Madness 2017, pitting Flame against Ashleigh’s Wonder, is tight and will run until midnight tonight – it’s your last chance to vote and to enter the contest for a Riding Warehouse gift card + saddle pad.

Myths of Horse Hay from Stable Management
Good facts about hay, backed up by science from the University of Kentucky.

12 Days Old from The Reeling
SQUEEEEEEE BABY PICTURES

FEH Clinic Recap from The $900 Facebook Pony
Totally fascinating with lots of useful information.

Squeezing Knowledge into a Turnip from Viva Carlos
I’m thinking a lot about how to get into a lesson frame of mind, and this post was helpful.

The non-horsey read of the week: Welcome to Pleistocene Park, about scientists in Russia working to recreate an Ice Age biome, complete with woolly mammoths.

Round 1, Match 3 of March Madness is open until midnight tonight! VOTE!

Also a PSA: we saw Logan last night, and there was a really terrifying bit with a horse trailer and multiple horses right in the middle of it. Everything turned out ok but if you have any anxiety about possibly awful things happening to horses, be aware. I couldn’t watch it.

Can I/Will You Ride My Horse? from Zen and the Art of Baby Horse Management
Are there any other sports where a request like this is so fraught? I can’t imagine so.

How the backyard barn lifestyle has changed my ideas about footing from PONY’TUDE
Interesting how a change of circumstances opens possibilities.

Forward and down from Cob Jockey
This is basically exactly what I needed to read this week.

With a side of science from The $900 Facebook Pony
Coooooooooool.

No room for bigotry in equestrian sport from Horse Nation
A bit over-written but hard-hitting, makes excellent points, and is something we’re all complicit in.

Your non-horsey read: The Downfall Of YouTube’s Biggest Star Is A Symptom Of A Bigger Illness. An exceptionally well-analyzed read about the ways in which the corners of the internet are testing the limits of socially acceptable speech, and becoming radicalized. It ties together the thrill of being provocative with the echo chambers of the internet, and points out that in any other country we’d call this nascent terrorism, but we don’t yet have a name for it in America.

Bonus non-horsey read because this describe exactly my last month in cooking & eating: How to turn a cupboard cleanout into a great meal plan. I’m having a lot of fun being creative with things that need to get used up, with only one bomb so far.

Jumping in the fray: bits and dressage, a story of development and principle from Guinness on Tap
This is flat-out spectacular. Well-written, well-sourced, and well-argued.

Baseline gaits from A Enter Spooking
Good thinking about how a horse with bad gaits makes upper level work harder.

Endurance Essentials Web-Based Course from Endurance Introspection
This looks COOL.

Tornado from She Moved to Texas
Extraordinary and awful – I’m so glad everyone is ok. Lauren also does a nice job of putting everything in perspective, too.

When should I clip my horse? from If the Saddle Fits
This is something I’ve struggled with and still think about a lot.

Horsepower: Getting Energy Under Saddle, When and Where You Want It from Trafalgar Square Books

Valentine’s Day Contest from DIY Horse Ownership
Go and enter to win cool prizes!

Busy Mind vs Thinking Mind from Zen and the Art of Baby Horse Management
An incredibly thoughtful reflection on the different types of horse brains. Tris is definitely a thinker: slow to react, but committed once he does.

Nevertheless, She Persisted… from A Work in Progress
These are hilarious and I so hope this becomes a thing.

Weekly non-horsey read: Autonomy & Domestic Dogs. My dog, Arya, while wonderful in many ways, may never go off-leash. She is lightning fast, very sensitive, and her recall is mediocre to poor. I’ve never had a dog that couldn’t be off-leash before, and I’m so jealous of all of you who can just count on your dogs to stay with you. The handful of times Arya has slipped her leash, she has sprinted for the hills before I could even blink or draw breath. Reading that article made me think about the ways I’m failing her in letting her control her own environment and life despite her inability to go off-leash. I’m upgrading our planned yard fencing in project for this summer.