Editor’s Note: Julie Kenney is an avid horsewoman, former Best Horse Practices Summit board member, and runs Blackberry Farm in Harpswell, Maine. She shares this multi-part reflection of work with three horses.
Julie writes:
I am an amateur trainer.
I hesitate to even put that in writing. I don’t get paid big bucks, or pretty much any bucks, to train horses. I have no followers or fans, except maybe my husband. I haven’t been training horses since the dawn of time. But I believe that every time we handle our horses, it is a training and teaching moment. Therefore, in that respect, I’m calling myself an amateur trainer.
I’ve had horses for about 25 years now. I taught lessons at my farm for the first 15 of those years. I have changed my philosophy on just about everything, from horse care, to training, to riding, you name it. We should be evolving in our journey with horses. If not, we become stagnant.
Follow me on my training journey with three different horses over the past year. Different ages, different needs, different stories. But all should have the same results of happy and balanced horses, mentally and physically.
Not only will this chronicle my work and keep me accountable for their health, but it might be helpful to you on your own horsemanship journey.