Daniel Dauphin offers More than a Bit

Recently, I stumbled across the wit and humor of Daniel Dauphin. The Louisiana horseman comes across as an ‘aw shucks’ kind of guy, but it takes only a few minutes to learn that he’s a bright fella with a penchant for eschewing BS and enjoying […]

Sugar Pills and Nonsense

Permit me a few peeves: 1. It’s that time of year. Like clockwork, scheduled with the turning of the leaves, I received two catalogs highlighting horse blankets this week. There were Easy Motion blankets, High Neck blankets, heavy-duty blankets, fleece-y blankets. red, blue, plaid, and […]

Tips for Ranch Women

Here in southwestern Colorado, the Southwest Cowbelles organize and distribute a popular (and complimentary!) calendar every year. It features wonderful archived photos of ranching in the early 1900’s as agriculture was just starting to expand in the region. This feature, written by Cowbelle Julie Carter, […]

Poem to Open New Book

Maddy Butcher writes: My friend, Kent Reeves, has generously shared his poem, The Dink, to open my upcoming book, Horse Head: Brain Science & Other Insights. The book, with input from Dr. Steve Peters on the neuroscience topics, is due out this spring. It also […]

Temple, The Summit, Lessons Learned

Best Horse Practices Summit director Maddy Butcher writes: I’m not a big believer in personality tests. If forced, I’d call myself an introvert: I like to write and be outside. I commune most easily with dogs and horses. While directing the Best Horse Practices Summit […]

Hauling Ass: My first pack burro race

Editor’s Note: This week, we hear from Katrin Silva, an accomplished horsewoman as well as an impressive endurance runner. She writes about the burro races at the Leadville Boom Days celebration in the mountains of Colorado. Colorado’s State Sport? Pack burro racing, of course! By […]

The Perfect Student is Here!

Horsewoman Amy Skinner knows that learning tends to be directly proportional to how engaged and motivated her students are. She shared her tongue-in-cheek list for optimizing learning here: Perfect Student Qualities: Dedicated and hard working Willing to stay open-minded and humble enough to take direction. […]

Finally, great Apps for Riders

Editor’s Note: Guest columnist Katrin Silva grew up riding dressage in Germany before moving to the United States at age 19 to learn to ride Western. She’s been riding both disciplines for the last twenty years. Read her article on Contact here. Based in New […]

Seven Sins of Horsemanship

Maine Reader’s Critique and Review

One of the most rewarding elements of publishing NickerNews and BestHorsePractices is getting to know our readers. I’m extremely fortunate to know reader Debbie Hight, a Mainer who has developed into a dear friend. Hight often emails her comments on articles, letting us know what […]