Stan, the man and the donkey

One of our favorite rescue agencies is the Save Your Ass Rescue Long Ear Rescue in South Acworth, New Hampshire. Executive director Ann Firestone relayed this heart-warming story of a recent new addition. We especially liked the dedication to Stan’s brethren during World War II. […]

New book charts compelling course of horse

I have two peeves with the otherwise marvelous new book, “The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion” by author Wendy Williams: the title and the cover. Neither represents what Williams warmly and intelligently covers over 305 pages (with a midsection of 19 color […]

Equine Affaire Highlights

We had a great time at the Equine Affaire in West Springfield, Massachusetts earlier this month. With over 100,000 attendees, you see and hear a lot, including news from a brilliant, 92-year old trail rider! We note here some Best of the Equine Affaire and […]

Welcome new subscribers!

Welcome to NickerNews and BestHorsePractices! If you’re still trying to get a handle on who we are and what we do, let me help: For starters, I’m Maddy Butcher, a former newspaper reporter and founder of NickerNews and BestHorsePractices. These two websites are online horse […]

From farm to fashion: Meet Cheri Sanguinetti

Excuse the stereotypes for this one, please: Lots of girls grow up wanting to design clothes. Like boys and their dreams of becoming professional athletes, most of those girls end up doing something more humble and ordinary. Of those who do enter the fashion industry, […]

No Goose-a in the Kusa!

The Perfect Barn Coat just found its perfect layer, now making it a four-season jacket to love and adore. The perfect layer? The new, ultra thin Kusa jacket from Cotopaxi. The reversible Kusa weighs just 15 ounces and has an attractive quilted stitching pattern on […]

Check out the Horseman’s Calendar

The horse world just got a little less confusing and overwhelming thanks to a new website developed by Jim Thomas, his daughter, Emily Luciano, and Steve Bell of Eclectic Horseman. The Horseman’s Calendar, a new online listing service which went live last week, was the […]

Trail Necessities for Free

Signing up for our free newsletter will not only give you entertaining and enlightening content, it’ll help get you out the door with some fabulous items for your saddle bag or backpack. This week, sign up for a chance to win: SunRidge Power Chews. Little […]

SPOT to the rescue! (And for serious fun)

The move to Colorado means a few things change: I’m in unfamiliar territory. I’m mostly alone while exploring on foot and horseback. Just in time, the folks at SPOT have sent their Gen3 device with satellite service for messaging and tracking. This summer, SPOT is […]

A New Go-To Jacket

As cold days come to Colorado and Utah, I’ve got a new Go-To jacket. It’s the Alpha Air from LL Bean. As comfortable as your favorite high school hoodie and as warm as a ski jacket, it’s better than either because it stretches and […]