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Cooperative care is training animals to willingly be a part of their own care. It can look like training a horse to voluntarily participate in deworming, injections, putting on a halter, and much more. The possibilities are limited only by the trainer's creativity. It's also the current focus of my research. Why does it matter? Cooperative care and horses' voluntary participation matter for a few reasons: human and animal safety, the welfare of the horse, and ease of care. An

I started as a horse trainer years before I became an equine science student and aspiring equine behaviorist. So it makes sense that over the years, as I’ve gained education and experience, my viewpoints have shifted. Like many trainers, I was applying methods that worked, and I knew to an extent why they worked. I could explain my methods by talking about pressure and release, making the right thing easy, and rewarding the horse for the smallest tries. Those are all great co

There is no shortage of training tools in the horse world. Bits, spurs, gadgets, specialty tack, all of them marketed as solutions to training problems. You could write an entire book on them. But one tool that has come up again and again for me, especially in English disciplines, is the side rein. Side reins are auxiliary reins that connect the bit to the girth or surcingle (you can see some examples in the picture below). They're typically used during lunging with the goal

A practical explanation of the dressage training scale and how it can be used to guide progressive development for any riding horse

A breakdown of the International Society of Equitation Science's Training Principles and how they affect my work with horses.

Why program length matters and how thoughtful timelines lead to calmer, more reliable horses.