Open Space Called

Nothing made sense. Moving again after only a year in Iowa? Buying a house in need of much renovation? Living further from, not closer to family? But when the prospect of moving west became real, we weighed those significant financial and logistical burdens against one […]

Pony’s Rep Intact

The darling pony, Peppermint, treats every new enclosure as a formal challenge. Her escape antics and subsequent escapades could make up an entire NickerNews category. Read Pep’s stories. Pep, meet Bryon. Byron Harward is the kind, generous host at West Field’s Ranch in Payson, Utah, […]

First mule ride

Work with the mule was interrupted by cross-country travel, but we still managed several more sessions on the ground this past month. Now, it was time to move beyond just putting the saddle on the back. It was time to put the rider on the […]

First Utah Rides

We’ve explored about 15 miles of Utah by horseback since landing here last month. It’s a paltry sum, eeked out from the horses’ temporary digs in Payson. The biggest difference between here and Iowa and Maine? Space. You have room to see. In every direction, […]

A Ride with Unbranded’s Ben, Dino, and Chief

Last week I headed to Montana for the lovely opportunity to ride with Ben Masters, the team leader of Unbranded. We took two of his mustangs south of Bozeman into the Gallatin National Forest for a beautiful ride through the season’s first several inches of […]

When a skeletal horse is a good thing

We’ve just got to give Big Props to Sandy Cramer and her registered paint, Raven. The two in fantastic costume have been a fixture at the local farmer’s market and flea market in Hocking County, Ohio. Sandy studied equine science for a few years but […]

About our partners and sponsors

As we grow, NickerNews and BestHorsePractices are forming partnerships and sponsorships with like-minded companies and individuals. Like-minded how? Read the BestHorsePractices mission statement. You’ll see that we follow a Nature is Best philosophy. We recognize that sustainability and simplicity are essential to horse care and […]

Darn Tough suits us

I remember our laundry room way back when. On its wall hung sock stretchers, metal frames to stretch out ragg wool socks. One errant toss in the dryer and those socks were goners. Shrunk beyond use. The special care seemed like a big hassle for […]

Breaking Bad and Horse Success. Really.

With open minds and a few decades of experience, we can begin to see patterns, common developments across geographies, species, and time. It happened to me while listening to an interview with Peter Gould, a writer and producer for Breaking Bad, one of the most […]

RTT instructor among nation’s best

Congratulations to Kate Davis McKelvy of Riding To The Top Therapeutic Riding Center in Windham, Maine. The long-time instructor has been named Region 1 Instructor of the Year by PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International). She’s been a certified instructor for 13 years and […]