positive reinforcement
She asks the question most of us never think to ask: if the only reward on offer is the removal of something annoying, where is the horse's reason to actually enjoy the work?
Episodes
The deaths, she says, are the easiest thing to see and, oddly, among the easier things to fix; fewer runners, lower fences, a better start. What is harder, and far more common, is the ordinary life of a racehorse when no camera is pointed at it.
This week Anna sat down with Theresa Demarest and Katherine Gregory to talk about Throw Away Horses, a new documentary on Amazon Prime and on Vimeo worldwide. Theresa is the filmmaker (she made Keiko: The Untold Story before this); Katherine runs Colorado Horse Rescue, a roughly two-million-dollar-a-
One arrived with a microchip logging 13 registered owners. Billy contacted every single one. Not one was interested.
Episodes
What Chloe has built is not a charity. It is a third economic model. The content funds the sessions; the sessions generate more content; the community grows and the riding school fills with paying clients who found her through the algorithm.
Episodes
The hay in your horse's net tonight may have crossed three borders. Someone lost sleep making sure it got here.
Communication in this tradition is less about training methods that produce compliance and more about building the kind of trust and mutual understanding where the horse can actually choose to participate.
When Bonny Mealand first started working with wild horses, everything she thought she knew fell apart. Anna Louise asked how that felt. Bonny paused. "It was devastating, actually." She'd grown up like most of us, believing horses existed for our purposes. To ride, to compete, to
But Claire’s advice was practical. She calls it the "Overlap Strategy." It means keeping just three or four bales of the old batch back, specifically to mix in when the new load arrives. It is a tiny logistical change that protects the gastric health we spend a fortune trying to fix.
I've always known track systems were about movement and forage and hoof health. I hadn't properly understood they were about giving horses back their choices.
"The more you do it, the more you discover that you can develop this beautiful two-way communication with the horse." - Sandra Poppema on the evolving nature of positive reinforcement training
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
The conversation covers horse massage as a practical tool for owners, not just professionals. Three checks you can do every week (grooming reactions, carrot stretches in both directions, a tight circle on both reins) that build up a picture of what's normal, so you notice when something changes.
The Woman Rewriting Equine Rehabilitation 30 Years, 26 Countries, & Rolls of Tape.
When Bonny Mealand first started working with wild horses, everything she thought she knew fell apart. Anna Louise asked how that felt. Bonny paused. "It was devastating, actually." She'd grown up like most of us, believing horses existed for our purposes. To ride, to compete, to
But Claire’s advice was practical. She calls it the "Overlap Strategy." It means keeping just three or four bales of the old batch back, specifically to mix in when the new load arrives. It is a tiny logistical change that protects the gastric health we spend a fortune trying to fix.
The rare breed ponies Britain is losing — and what disappears with them
There is more than one way up a mountain with horses, and doggedly sticking to one method is not always in your horse's best interests. Doing what works for your horse in a given moment of its life can help create an unbreakable bond
I've always known track systems were about movement and forage and hoof health. I hadn't properly understood they were about giving horses back their choices.
This week’s episode is perhaps one of the most important safety conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast. Anna Louise is joined by Mike Elkins from the South Central Ambulance Service to discuss the reality of horse riding accidents and, crucially, how to prepare for them. Mike is
This covers the practical and emotional realities of horse loss, including euthanasia. Challenging content, but essential preparation.
interview with Johnny Browne, Professional Horseman & Former Royal Armouries Rider Interpreter
Why the art of horsemanship is reclaiming its soul—and what it means for every rider
Why traditional cooling methods fail when temperatures soar and what actually works when every minute counts.