Leaders or Bullies? You be the judge

Last month, I camped with horses on Bureau of Land Management land. I wanted to experiment with something Mark Rashid mentioned at his recent clinic. To paraphrase, he said that wild horse herd leaders are true leaders, defending the herd and leading it to food […]

Happy and unplugged: Montana horsepacking at its best

We welcome our very own marketing director, Emily Thomas Luciano, as a guest columnist this week. Here’s her report from a Montana horse pack trip: I wanted to unplug. That is what I was most looking forward to about the four-day back country pack trip. […]

Insight from a Height; Equine Partnership has Many Forms

Clinicians say their clients are focused more than ever on the development of the horse-rider relationship. The personal connection with a particular horse and the development of that connection is what matters most to us. Relationships can certainly grow with studious application. They can also […]

When Moving is like Riding

Moving to a new place where you don’t know a soul, don’t know what the weather will do, and don’t know where to buy stuff is a lot like riding a new, fresh horse. Read more about the move to Colorado. For me, anyway, it’s […]

Goodbye Utah, Hello Colorado

After two years in beautiful Utah, the NickerNews herd has headed to Colorado! The decision was a tough one, mostly having to do with knowing we didn’t want to live out our lives in the Beehive State. Read more about that here. Our ties to […]

Zarzyski’s Wild Rides

I had the excellent opportunity to interview poet and former bronc rider Paul Zarzyski last month. As a young man, Zarzyski headed west from his Wisconsin roots and landed in Montana where he started riding bucking horses and attended the University of Montana. Some 40 […]

July Storm: poet gives us telling image

July Storm Like a tall woman walking across the hayfield the rain came slowly, dressed in crystal and the sun. Rustling along the ground, she stopped at our apple tree only for a whispering minute, then swept darkening skirts over the lake, and so […]

Farm Fit meets Gym Fit

We’re active. Most of us horsemen and women get plenty of exercise just taking care of our barnful. Hay tossing, water lugging, and riding add up to being Farm Fit. Some may be Gym Fit, too, toning and sweating in a more formal setting. Read […]

Dr. Cooper will be missed

The large animal veterinary community lost a beloved and respected figure last week in Dr. E.L. “Coop” Cooper. After suffering a stroke, Dr. Cooper died at the Hospice House in Auburn. He was 87. Read the Sun Journal obituary. Cooper hailed from British Columbia, Canada. […]

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 […]