There is something completely timeless about a fat hairy pony, scheming to, in some way, take advantage of its naive young rider. It is a concept so familiar in size, shape, and flavor that all it takes is one word—“Thelwell“—to instantly register as an image and a memory for many.
“My father bought her from a dealer near Lucan, a village to the west of Dublin,” remembers renowned trainer and coach Eric Smiley, author of TWO BRAINS, ONE AIM. “She was 12.2 hands, dark brown, and she was called Lucky Lucy. I think the ‘lucky’ bit was only to fool my father into thinking she was a good pony. But, she was very nice…until she wasn’t! She was also very good…until she wasn’t!
“Lucy had to wear a crupper to keep the saddle from sliding forward, otherwise all that could be seen in front of you was this Black Forest of mane with two tiny black tips for ears. When she put her head down to eat you were as likely as not to end up on the grass beside her.
“This was my first pony and what I learned on.
“I had to avoid her teeth when I fed her and her heels when mucking out, although she was pretty good-humored standing all day at a show. My brother used to get on her and end up facing her tail; she didn’t seem to mind.
“This sort of learning you got from ‘doing.’ The only help we got was ‘Kick!’ ‘Pull!’ ‘Hang on!’ ‘Oh dear!’ This was a process totally uninhabited by technology or political correctness and one captured so wonderfully by that master of understatement: THELWELL. His cartoons captured the essence of ‘having a go’ and enjoying the process. A whole generation grew up enthralled by his insight.”
Did you grow up enjoying Thelwell’s on-point ridicule of the curious state we call equestrianism? Or perhaps you have discovered his work more recently but love its potent mix of nostalgia and irreverence just the same? Share your Thelwell Memories with us…we’d love to hear them!
THELWELL’S PONY PANORAMA, a collection including Gymkhana, Thelwell Goes West, and Penelope, is now available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
CLICK HERE for more information and watch the book trailer below:
Also available, THELWELL’S PONY CAVALCADE, which features Angels on Horseback, A Leg in Each Corner, and Thelwell’s Riding Academy.
CLICK HERE for more information and watch the book trailer below:
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and videos, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont.
Switching trainers, moving from one barn to another, trying a new hairdresser…isn’t it amazing how all these things make us feel a sharp pang of guilt, like we are somehow being unfaithful? I mean, rarely is there a contract involved or even promises of fidelity, and yet…
Susan Conley’s new memoir MANY BRAVE FOOLS chronicles her discovery of riding and horses at the age of 42, and how her new passion helped her recover from years living in a codependent relationship with an addict. (Of course, horses introduced her to an addiction of her own.) In this excerpt, Conley shares the story of the first time she had a lesson barn affair and how ultimately, just like in her human relationships, her horse-life relationships were all about chemistry.
***
I had been riding exclusively at my first barn for one year and seven months when I decided to try a different stable, one that was on my side of town, for a private lesson.
I felt like I was having an affair.
Hermes was a strong, well-built cob. He had been brought in from the field just before my lesson, and he took a moment at the open door of the covered arena, every time we passed, to call for the friends he’d left behind. He was not in the least bit interested in me, and I wasn’t managing to engage his attention. He grudgingly trotted when I asked him to, and he refused to listen to my request for the canter at all, so the instructor waved a longe whip at him.
I got distracted by her whip. Hermes leaped to the left. I slid off to the right.
“You fell?” The instructor was incredulous.
You lashed the fucking whip at him, I thought. “Yeah, well,” I said.
I had landed in a damp patch on the ground. Let’s just say it was an aromatic bus ride home.
A couple of weeks later: same (new) barn, same horse, a group lesson this time, outside riding ring. A different instructor was busily chatting with some of her colleagues, leaving the riders to make their own decisions regarding rein changes and whatnot. I was once again trying to get Hermes to canter for me. The line of riders had halted at the M marker and would individually pick up canter between C and M before heading toward the fence, which was set up at B. (I could change barns but that crazy riding alphabet seemed to be following me.) We came around the corner and Hermes was motorbiking it, cutting it sharp/sharper/ sharpest. I leaned on the outside stirrup, off-effing-balance, and started to feel the saddle slip and slip…I went down. I fell softly onto the sand, and stood right back up.
No biggie. Except that the instructor came over, shaking her head, gesturing at the saddle, now completely over on Hermes’s offside.
“See that?” She put her hands on her hips and gestured at my horse and his gear, all askew. Everyone else, waiting for their turn to jump, stared.
Yes, I saw it. Cow. “Yeah,” I said.
She proceeded to lecture me on proper lesson preparation as she released the girth and righted the saddle. I was so pissed off my anger practically vaulted me off the ground and back in the tack. I was beneath her notice until we started to jump. She raised the rails on the fence to over two feet.
“Hermes—” She hadn’t even bothered to ask my name. “—you don’t have to do this.”
“I can do it,” I responded.
We trotted. Hermes still wouldn’t canter, not until we were a few strides away from the jump, anyway, but we took it perfectly.
Showed you, I thought. I certainly wouldn’t be coming back to this place anymore. Falls three and four were the height of ignominy; though the new barn was nominally closer to home, the affair was over. I went back to where I’d started.
I didn’t fall for Kilternan, my initial lesson barn, at first sight. Sure, I liked it right away, primarily because the place was laid back, the staff didn’t mind me hanging around (sometimes for a full hour before my lesson), and nobody passed comment, even though I was dressed like a complete fool for the first few weeks, wearing jeans and those silly boots and a borrowed helmet. I did strive to get my look increasingly right: jodhpurs, paddock boots, new headgear. I toughened up, abandoned the myriad layers and woolly scarf I initially swathed myself in, riding in just a T-shirt.
Horse owners asked me to do things like mind their mounts while they ran to get a hoof pick or hold their offside stirrup while they got on. I was becoming known, even if it was for being the crazy woman who took two busses all the way from the other side of town, a million miles away.
In the case of this love affair, distance was not an issue. I was learning that if a place gave off the right vibe, then I should be careful not to muck it up. There was a world of chemistry between horse and rider, rider and instructor, between the riders within a group lesson, and indeed, between the horses and the instructors. I wouldn’t ride Maverick when Angela was teaching the lesson. He adored her and always tried to show off, bucking more than usual, pelting for the perimeter after a jump, desperate to go fast, to show his favorite person what he was made of. When Emily was instructing us, Dancer would do everything in his power to stand by her. Once, we were waiting in the middle of the arena watching others take their turns over a jump, and when he heard Emily’s voice behind him, he turned a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to face her.
That kind of chemistry took time to build, and I knew you didn’t just throw it away.
***
MANY BRAVE FOOLS is available now from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
“Being coached” and “being a coach” are two of the topics examined in Eric Smiley’s new book TWO BRAINS, ONE AIM. “The aim of this book is twofold,” Eric says. “Firstly, to improve the relationship between coach (in all its guises) and rider and horse; in other words, help the rider learn how to learn, as well as guide those who help others in an instructional capacity make the way they communicate clearer. Secondly, to give those who do not have regular tutelage techniques and practical exercises to help develop riding and training skills.”
We at TSB know Eric best as a riding coach, clinician, instructor, and mentor, but we got to wondering about Eric’s own experiences as a student. Did he have a coach who influenced him in profound ways? How had he learned his craft through the years? Who did he credit for his equestrian successes? Eric was kind enough to share answers to these questions and more:
Being asked to share the story of my “best coach” has ended up becoming a reflection on who I have become and why. Trying to separate horse from person has become impossible. Surely in true horsemen and women the two become inseparable as we live our lives for and because of “the horse.”
Some of our greatest experiences in life are horse-related. Some of our moral dilemmas that have shaped us as people have their origins in equine situations. So for me to separate horse from person or to identify an individual coach is impossible. Sport coaches are defined as follows:
Sport coaches assist athletes in developing to their full potential. They are responsible for training athletes in a sport by analyzing their performances, instructing in relevant skills, and by providing encouragement. But they are also responsible for the guidance of the athlete in life and their chosen sport. As a child I used to watch my father come home from a stressful and exhausting day as a consultant thoracic surgeon. None of his surgeries were normal—all were life-threatening and in the midst of the Northern Ireland troubles. I would watch him go to the stables on his way from the car to our house. He would spend some time in the company of his beloved hunter “Bob.” By the time he arrived in the house and joined our family, a semblance of peace had returned to his overstressed mind. Non-commissioned officers in the army have a tendency to be direct and explicit when getting things done. There is little ambiguity or doubt in the minds of those who are at the receiving end of the order. I used to watch Ben Jones ride his army remount horse “Custer.” At the time he had been promoted from Sergeant to Captain to Chief Instructor at Melton Mowbray. He had previously been an Olympic Rider. I was doing a six-week riding course there. Ben Jones was direct with us and his horses. Always fair, but clear what was required. I watched him school Custer on the flat and over jumps, the clarity of where responsibility lay was clear for all to see. I was left with a certainty of “be clear and fair, but make it happen.” “Now, Eric , what’s your question?” Mrs. Sivewright would ask at the beginning of every riding lesson. After an embarrassing first lesson (no one had told me to be prepared), I made sure I had a question ready to ask at subsequent sessions. This sparked my curiosity forevermore. This was at the beginning of my formative nine months at the Talland School of Equitation as I embarked on my chosen career with horses. My curiosity has continued to make me look and listen to any coaching of any sport that I can and then think about how they are going about fulfilling the definition I shared above and what I can learn about about their method and delivery. “Enterprise” was not an easy horse. Maybe that was why he was cheap and not really wanted by his previous owner! He was, however, very talented but very misunderstood. I was asked if I would like a lesson with Dr. Reiner Klimke on one of his rare visits to Ireland. What a revelation that turned out to be. Day One was disastrous. Enterprise was SO spooky as to not go anywhere near corners , doors, mirrors, spectators, or Dr. Klimke. Day Two was unbelievably wonderful. With quiet, skillful instruction, Dr. Klimke got into the mind of Enterprise and assured him that it was okay. The work was beyond the expectation of anyone present, especially me. I learned to seek excellence and to be creative in doing so. The joy of living in Ireland is the people one meets and gets to know. While being part of a team setting up a coaching structure in Ireland, I got to know someone called Liam Moggan. At the time he was one of the lecturers at the Sport Coach Development Department of Limerick University. I listened, watched, and was in awe of his unerring positivity and communication skills, and his humanity. It was impossible not to come away from every encounter enriched as a person. As you read this you will begin to see that I have not talked much about many riding instructors that have influenced me. At the ripe old age of (??) I believe that most people today will have had more lessons by the age of twenty than I have had in my whole life. Yes, I have been in clinics, and I have learned from those instructors. But my interest has been largely self-taught. I loved the book The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. It poses the “nature/nurture” question of talent, but it also gives a method of achievement. Much resonated with how I saw coaching and had been plying my trade for many years. It gives one huge encouragement in what your doing when you read such a well accepted book, saying much the same. However, none of all this really has much meaning or practical use unless we are inspired in some way to make it happen. Inspiration comes from many sources. I would implore you to watch a TED talk given by Dame Ellen MacArthur in 2015 (CLICK HERE).
I’m not making any political statement by recommending it, but listening to her it is impossible not to be inspired.
Eric Smiley’s book TWO BRAINS, ONE AIM is available now from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
In his newest book KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER, horseman, Tevis-Cup-Buckle-winner, and gold medalist in eventing Denny Emerson examines the question of whether or not you keep the horse that is the love of your life…but is completely wrong for you. Read on:
Hesnogoodbutilovehimsoicantgetridofhim
If your mental machete is sharp enough to hack through the verbiage of this heading, you can probably also understand and maybe even empathize with the dilemma it implies. Most of us have found ourselves possessed of or possessed by the wrong horse. Wrong for any of a thousand valid and invalid reasons: too hot to ride, too unsound, too poor a mover, too limited over a fence, too unpleasant in the barn, too old, too young, too big, too small—too unsuitable for what we actually need to have.
The Unsuitability Game
Sometimes the unsuitability has come in the flash of an eye. He hobbles in from the field one morning with a non-life-threatening but athletic-career-ending injury. Or, as with incipient navicular disease, it has been sneaking up, month by month. Or we’ve had one too many spin-and-fall-off episodes. Or too many refusals at too many events or shows. Whatever and however the cause or reason, deep down we know that this is not the horse that can take us to places we want to go.
Now What?
If the horse is a pet, and you don’t care if you actually ride or not, and if the unsuitability only renders the horse unfit for riding, you can just keep on keeping on. Or if you are rich enough to turn him into a pasture ornament and still get one or more other horses that you can ride, you are also just fine. You aren’t the person I’m addressing.
But what if you do love to ride, don’t have extra cash under your mattress, can’t successfully ride this one, but can’t bear to part with him? This is a real dilemma that thousands of riders face every day and there’s no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. In the case of long-term unsoundness, there’s the euthanasia issue. In the “old days,” when horses were utilitarian and there was little cash for luxuries, this was done all the time out of sheer economic necessity.
Hard Answers
I know lots of people who basically look at the issue like this: This horse is lame. It’s not a question of whether he will be put down, but when. If I can’t give him away, and can’t afford to keep him and another, then now is better than later since it’s unavoidable anyway, and just a matter of when. For those who aren’t able to face this, I guess they just have to stop riding while they wait for the horse to get old enough to die.
There are plenty of sound horses, though, but wrong for other reasons, like some I mentioned. Just because a horse might be a bad jumper or not have a fancy enough trot to make it in dressage might not mean he can’t make a nice trail or pleasure horse. The rider has to choose. “Do I want a horse that’s a round peg that I’m trying to force into the square hole, or would he be happier in a more fitting job, and would I be happier with one that seems suited to my ambitions?”
The One Key
There is one key in all of this. The right choice has to be your choice. You are not a bad person if you put down a lame horse now rather than four years from now, unless you think you are. You don’t have to be well mounted, but you probably should be if your main aim is to get ahead in your riding.
So, look at the horse you have. Look at your real goals. Then decide a best course of action. Or not. (Since putting this off is what you’ve been doing anyway!)
KNOW BETTER TO DO BETTER by Denny Emerson is available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
It always hits as a touch unbelievable. And yet here we are, a few days from 2019. It’s cold outside, with enough white stuff to validate the Vermont address. The Prosecco is chilling in anticipation of the celebration ahead. We have some truly exciting projects in the works with wonderful and inspiring movers and shakers from the equestrian world. This means the New Year promises to be incredibly busy, so before we get caught up in what lies ahead, we want to take this moment to cast a glance back at what we published this year.
We studied the art of taping for equine wellness, and found new ways to provide visual video tools in educational books. We told the stories of regular girls who got the big break and young men who traveled the world, looking for one. We got tricky on the ground and balanced in the saddle. We tried to ride better, know better, and do better.
Thank you to all of those who supported us and our authors in 2018. We hope you come back for more in the New Year.
Kinesiology taping on human athletes is all the rage: widely used by physical therapists, chiropractors, and personal trainers, we see it on Olympians, runners, basketball players—on amateurs and professionals. Our equine athletes can benefit hugely from taping techniques, too, and this terrific guidebook provides the ultimate reference for understanding both the uses of kinesiology tape and its numerous applications.
Christoph Hess, a Fédération Equestre International (FEI) “I” Judge in both dressage and eventing, is highly respected around the world as a teacher of riding and the development of the horse according to classical principles. Here he collects some of his very best riding and training tips along with well-honed insight related to the topics that he finds most often challenge equestrians and their equine partners.
Charlotte Dujardin and her charismatic horse Valegro burst onto the international sports scene with their record–breaking performance at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Dujardin began riding horses at the age of two, but dressage was the domain of the rich–not the life a girl from a middleclass family was born into. Her parents sacrificed to give her as many opportunities as they could, and she left school at 16 to focus on equestrian competition. It was at 22, when she was invited to be a groom for British Olympian Carl Hester, that she met the equine partner that would change her fortune. This is Dujardin’s autobiography: the story of an outsider, an unconventional horse, and the incredible bond that took them to the top.
Dr. Bob Grisel has created a book unlike any other. With color illustrations, dozens of charts, and hundreds of links to online videos of explanatory case studies that you can scan with a touch of your smartphone, readers are given a complete course in observing, identifying, and decoding equine lameness. Dr. Grisel helps you interpret what is seen, plain and simple (no need for medical knowledge of equine anatomy and pathology).
In the much anticipated follow-up to her international bestseller HORSE SPEAK, Sharon Wilsie uses true stories to relate examples of “problems” and how they were solved using Horse Speak. Her engaging narrative introduces readers to dozens of real life scenarios from different barns, various disciplines, and riders and handlers with contrasting experiences and backgrounds. Wilsie highlights her Horse Speak process, the clues that point to the best course of action, and the steps she takes to connect with horses that have shut down, grown confused, or become sulky or aggressive for any number of reasons.
In this collection of mounted and unmounted corrective exercises, Jec Aristotle Ballou demonstrates how we can actively work to improve the horse’s posture and movement, whether he is an active performance or pleasure mount, an aging or older horse that benefits from gentle exercise, or one being rehabilitated following injury, illness, or lack of conditioning. Ballou’s positive cross-training techniques are free of shortcuts, and her guidelines for analyzing the horse’s posture and way of going help readers gain a new awareness of the equine body.
The founder of Cowboy Dressage®, Eitan Beth-Halachmy, explains the development of the Western dressage horse using his methods. Beginning with the basics of body language, use of the aids, and a discussion of the Training Pyramid, Beth-Halachmy then provides guidelines for foundational groundwork and progressive dressage schooling under saddle, such as developing cadence and consistency in the gaits, understanding and requesting correct bend, choosing and using lateral maneuvers, and advancing self-carriage and collection.
In 2008, 26-year-old Tik Maynard faced a crossroads not unlike that of other young adults. A university graduate and modern pentathlete, he suffered both a career-ending injury and a painful breakup, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a “working student.” Here Maynard chronicles his experiences–good and bad–and we follow along as one year becomes three, what began as a casual adventure gradually transforms, and a life’s purpose comes sharply into focus.
Over several years Dominique Barbier had the unique opportunity to form an intimate relationship with the revered Portuguese equestrian Nuno Oliveira. In this deeply personal book Barbier chronicles their time together. Beginning in a tiny, dimly lit riding hall in Póvoa de Santo Adrião, Portugal, where seminal moments of Barbier’s riding education dawned under the watchful eyes of many luminaries of the European riding elite, the book then explores what came later when Barbier studied with the Mestre in Avessada and traveled with him to Belgium. Barbier’s recollections are complemented by those of three other equestrians who learned from the Mestre: Dany Lahaye, Bettina Drummond, and Luis Valença.
A paperback edition of Dr. Gerd Heuschmann’s international bestseller: an intelligent and thought-provoking exploration of both classical and “modern” training methods, including “ hyperflexion” (also known as Rollkur), against a practical backdrop of the horse’s basic anatomy and physiology.
Fergus, the world’s most popular cartoon horse, shares an epic holiday adventure inspired by the classic tale ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. With colorful, light-hearted comedy on every page, Fergus and his motley group of equine teammates bravely take to the skies to give St. Nick the sleigh ride of his life. Can Santa manage his ungainly hitch and deliver the perfect gift on the most magical night of the year? Fasten your seatbelt! Recommended for ages 5 to 95.
In this fully updated edition of the book that Thoroughbred and horse training experts have called “breakthrough racehorse literature,” “superior,” “a winner,” and “the ultimate in training manuals,” readers learn everything they need to transition an OTTB from life at the track to life out back. Author Anna Ford, Thoroughbred Program Director at New Vocations Racehorse Adoption, begins by discussing the typical Thoroughbred’s early years, then explains reasons for retirement, common injuries and health issues, basic feeding and nutrition, and safe handling. She goes on to provide step-by-step instructions for building the solid educational foundation the OTTB needs to excel in a new career, whether as a highly trained competitor or a pleasure mount.
Kathrin Roida details her in-hand training methods, sharing the stories of a number of horses of different ages, breeds, and training backgrounds, and demonstrating the steps to teaching them: shoulder-in, travers, renvers, pirouettes, half-pass, piaffe, passage, canter work, the Spanish walk, and much more. Throughout her conscientious attention to what is best for the horse ensures that not only do the lessons result in a horse that is healthy in body but also one that is healthy in mind and happy in his work.
Sylvia Loch provides an image-driven visual guide that shows how each tiny shift of the rider’s weight affects the horse’s balance. With the help of dozens of illustrations and fabulous color photographs, she demonstrates the minute changes in rider position that determine a horse’s comprehension of instruction as well as his physical ability to perform.
Each horse, no matter the riding discipline, benefits from working with cavalletti. Dressage and eventing rider extraordinaire Ingrid Klimke explains how training with ground poles and cavalletti is one of her secrets of success. This newly revised editionshows cavalletti work on the longe, provides valuable new ideas specifically for dressage work, and numerous updated diagrams for jumping gymnastics, along with all new color photographs.
In this DVD or streaming video, learn an easy, practical system for “listening” and “talking” to horses in their language instead of expecting them to comprehend ours. Horse Speak can be used by any individual who works with horses, whether riding instructor, colt starter, recreational rider, or avid competitor. It promises improved understanding of what a horse is telling you, as well as providing simple replies you can use to tell him that you “hear” him, you “get it,” and you have ideas you want to share with him, too. The perfect complement to HORSE SPEAK the book and HORSES IN TRANSLATION.
Groundwork and trick training specialist Sigrid Schöpe has found great success teaching her own horses tricks, which they enjoy doing as part of their regular groundwork and under-saddle schooling routines. Here she shares her techniques, using positive, conscientious methods that are easy to follow–and a whole lot of fun! By following the simple steps and clear color photos, readers will find their horses will learn over 20 of the world’s most popular tricks in no time, including: bowing, kneeling, lying down, sitting, rearing on command, performing the Spanish walk, standing on a pedestal, taking a blanket off, crossing their legs, carrying a lead rope, stacking cones, playing soccer, and more!
In this smart, honest book chock full of valuable takeaways, gold medalist and renowned rider and coach Denny Emerson uses stories of the standout horses from his own riding career, which spans almost 70 years, to detail some of the things he wishes he’d known “then” that he knows now. With a candid willingness to share mistakes he’s made over the years and clearly articulated ideas on how others can avoid them, he commits himself and those reading to finding more conscientious ways to ride, train, and work with horses.
In this updated edition of the bestselling reference, readers discover the what, the how, and–most importantly–the why of more than 100 dressage movements. Color photographs of riders of various levels and on different breeds of horse show how each movement should look when ridden correctly. Not only is each movement clearly defined, but explanations include common mistakes and how to avoid them, as well as the benefits of each exercise and how it contributes to the “bigger picture” of the dressage training scale.
Our very best wishes for a safe, peaceful, and very happy New Year.
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small company based on a farm in rural Vermont.
Jean Abernethy, creator of Fergus the Horse, spies her hero at the reins!
“Santa delivered a real pony to our small family farm when I was seven,” remembers equine artist Jean Abernethy. “Her name was Dusty. She was three and very green. My brother Glen, with grit, determination, and encouragement from Dad, got Dusty going nicely. She was not an easy pony. Slight, skittish, and fast, she’d had a few frightening escapades before Santa delivered her to us.”
With her own happiest of holiday stories in mind, this Christmas Abernethy has made it easier for Santa to deliver ponies to all those horse-crazy kids out there: she wrote FERGUS AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, starring her own Fergus the Horse—the world’s most popular cartoon horse—and Santa, of course. The colorfully illustrated book features a hilarious retelling of the classic poem (and it fits neatly under the tree—no barn required!)
Perfect for under the tree!
“FERGUS AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS brought a tear to my eye and refreshed the magic of the holidays in my heart,” says Horse Nation. “For the young and the young at heart, [it] would be the perfect holiday gift for horse lovers and budding equestrians in your family.”
“An adventure that will make any horse lover’s heart swell!” agrees Equine Journal.
FERGUS AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is Abernethy’s fourth Fergus book, and her Fergus the Horse social media pages and merchandise keep her very busy throughout the year, not just during the holidays.
“I wonder if Santa knew when he delivered that first pony that he had initiated careers for my brother and me,” she muses. “Glen is now a skilled horseman in his own right!”
Order by midnight tonight (Friday, December 14) to get free shipping and receive your book by Christmas Eve. (Orders after midnight will require expedited shipping to arrive by December 24—see our website or call 800.523.4525 for details.)
Sharon Wilsie, founder of Horse Speak™ and author of the books Horse Speak: An Equine-Human Translation Guide (with Gretchen Vogel) and Horses in Translation, provides a guest post this week. Her books are available from the TSB online bookstore (click HERE) and watch for her new DVD, coming in November 2018.
I like coffee. Strong coffee. The kind of coffee that sends an aroma out, wafting through the house and creeping under the bedroom door around 6:00 a.m. when the automatic coffee maker has brewed the liquid gold. More often than not, the urge to get just “one more minute” is corralled by the opposite urge to get my first cup of that delicious stuff.
I am one of those “animal people” who finds themselves living amidst a slew of furry friends. Slumping toward the kitchen, I have to be careful to step around a sleeping dog and not to trip over the purring kitty convinced that the best thing to go with coffee is a can of cat food.
It’s late summer here in Vermont, and from our patio I can still enjoy the early morning sunrise through the deep mists of the forest surrounding our home. There are mountains to the south and a “good hill” to the north, where we can currently spy ducks and geese practicing their flight patterns.
The horses shift and snort down below in the little valley they call home. They live in total turnout, with run-in shelters to go into when the sun is high or the bugs are too intense. We have one intrepid escape artist, so the herd has to be locked behind a gate at night where the shelters are. But the “old man” is left loose, and he usually saunters up to enjoy my morning coffee with me.
Zeke stares at me now, as though he would like to fill me in on all the goings-on that took place during his night watch. Seems a raccoon got into the garbage bin again. Zeke let’s me know by staring toward the mess, which I had not noticed yet. I lift my cup to him, and nod my head, certain he chased the varmint away. He nods his head and lets out a prolonged snort. Zeke likes things to stay tidy around here. I have seen him pin his ears at a moose when it had the audacity to wander into the back acres.
The newest member of our family, a one-year-old lab mix named Willow, has been digging, bouncing, and sniffing around, and now sneaks up toward Zeke’s nose. He sniffs her, too, then for good measure pins his ears and looks away. She takes this as a signal to run at top speed around and around him for a few minutes while he stands still, looking very annoyed—but I suspect he secretly enjoys it, because they do this every day. She loves to go trail riding with us, and even though due to his advanced age Zeke is restricted to a 20-minute walk down a very level trail, he seems to prefer it if she comes along.
Because of his senior status, I had chosen not to ride him this summer, but he got steadily depressed. One day, when I was tacking up another horse in the riding ring, he sauntered up to the saddle, which was placed on the split-rail fence, and stood alongside it, perfectly still. I smiled at him but went ahead with riding the other horse. When we were done, he lay down in front of the riding ring gate. Immediately, I assumed he was sick and went to him. Upon standing up, he walked over to the saddle again, and put his nose on it.
Well! What was I to do?
I put the other horse away, and saddled Zeke. He marched me over to the trail head and insisted on trotting every chance he got.
Since then, I take him out once or twice a week. He has even opted to go up the dirt road near our home a few times. I try not to ride him more than 20 minutes at a time, but it is always my choice to dismount, he seems to be perfectly happy to keep going.
Sharon and Zeke. Photo by Rich Neally
Our property has different levels of fencing on it for various turnout, but Zeke has the run of it most days. Sometimes in the early morning, he will walk up to the bedroom window and get the dog barking. When we look out the window and see his enquiring nose, we know he wants something, and its time to get up. This was the case one morning when the trash men came a little earlier than usual. Our driveway is more like a short road, and Zeke came to our window to wake us, then stood in the yard, facing the sound of the oncoming trash truck. We jumped up just in time to get the barrels up the driveway, and he even sauntered halfway up the lane to watch us transport the barrels out of the back of our pickup truck and into the garbagemen’s hands. We thanked Zeke for the wake-up call and scratched his belly—his favorite spot. Then he received his morning rations of soaked senior grain and hay stretcher, right next to the back patio where we typically have our morning coffee and enjoy the first light of the day.
I have known of many people who have a senior “lawn horse.” Zeke’s records are lost, so we don’t know exactly how old he is—but there are many years under his belt. I feel that his long career as a circus vaulting horse, a carriage horse, and a therapeutic riding horse have earned him the right to live a life of liberty and the pursuit of his own happiness. Each time I invite him to go riding, it starts with simply placing the saddle on the rails. If he wants to go, he walks over and puts his nose on it. If he is not in the mood, he doesn’t.
Zeke has had a series of mouth tumors over the past two years. He has lost two teeth and regularly deals with having the vet remove the bulk of a tumor when it interferes with his chewing. However, he barely even needs sedation for any of this and appears grateful to receive the aid. He suffered a serious hind-end injury somewhere in his past, because he has scars up and down his hind legs, and his rear ankles are quite enlarged. Despite this, he loves his life. He loves Dakota, the half-blind mare he lives with when we put him in a paddock when we need to leave the house. He whinnies and even canters around if I take her out for a ride. When Zeke first came here, he was in a lot of pain, and had become a serious biter. He was going to be put down, and I offered to adopt him instead. Dakota claimed him and became his “alpha mare” in about two minutes, and they have been together ever since. She even taught me how to work with and around him safely.
Even though I am the author of two books, Horse Speak (with Gretchen Vogel) and Horses in Translation, I am still learning the intricateness of the language of equines. Having an elder wiseman such as Zeke gives me much to think about. He challenges me to communicate directly with him (like drawing my attention to the garbagemen, or the raccoon), and he makes me dig deeper to find connection with a horse that many people would have written off.
I like to ride my horses, but I love to sit and learn from them even more. Each time I am around them doing chores, brushing them, or just sitting with them as they graze, I seek to allow myself to go into what I call “Zero”—the inner state of stillness. From there, I can watch and observe their communications. There is a rhythm to Horse Speak; it’s like a timeless dance, moving to the music of “crunch-munch-munch” as the horses swish at a fly or chew their food. Step, chew, swish, step—lift the head, lower the head—chew, step swish. I am reminded of bees doing their “flower dance” and communicating to the rest of the hive where the best pollen is. Or fish, moving in tandem under the dock at Woods Hole, Cape Cod, at my friend’s house. Sitting on the dock, witnessing the movements of cormorants diving or seals swimming out of the harbor, I am reminded that life does this natural thing, this rhythm of movement, sound, feel, and breath. The waves crash into shore, the waves recede out.
Horse Speak is a gift. It is as old as the hills and as new as the message today from Zeke, saying, “Hey, don’t just sit there, come with me into the woods…. Sit on my back and feel my rhythm.”
And I will.
Sharon Wilsie’s books HORSE SPEAK and HORSES IN TRANSLATION are available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
TSB has been honored to publish artist Jean Abernethy’s brilliant comic horse books. Her delightful equine character Fergus—Equus Hilarious—has become the world’s most popular cartoon horse, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and a devoted international fan club.
FERGUS AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is an epic holiday adventure inspired by the classic tale ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. With colorful, light-hearted comedy on every page, Fergus and his motley group of equine teammates bravely take to the skies to give St. Nick the sleigh ride of his life. Can Santa manage his ungainly hitch and deliver the perfect gift on the most magical night of the year? Fasten your seatbelt!
At WEG this week? You can enjoy Fergus books and free coloring sheets in the BrookeUSA activity center, plus books are available for sale at the BrookeUSA Shop, with 50% of proceeds going to support BrookeUSA and its sister charity, Brooke, the official charity of the WEG. Brooke is the world’s largest international working equine welfare charity dedicated to improving the lives of horses, donkeys, mules and the people who depend on those animals in the developing world.
Trafalgar Square Books, the leading publisher of equestrian books and DVDs, is a small business based on a farm in rural Vermont.
It’s been a pretty big year for TSB author Tik Maynard. In June we released his hit memoir IN THE MIDDLE ARE THE HORSEMEN, and we are very excited to now congratulate Tik and his wife eventer Sinead Halpin on the birth of their son, Brooks Tobin Maynard, born September 4, 2018.
We caught up with Tik and Sinead BEFORE the baby arrived and asked if they would share a little about Tik’s typical day at Copperline Farm in Citra, Florida. (Note: The way it was BEFORE the new addition…we promise to follow up in a few months and see how it all rolls with BTM in tow!) With plenty of change surely in store, this is Sinead’s take on “A Day in the Life of Tik,” pre-fatherhood…
Our days here at Copperline are a little different right now, considering we are expecting our first child in about four days! With that being said, Tik is doing the work of two while I am stuck at home on “stall rest.” I saw this “Day in the Life” assignment on Tik’s to-do list and figured I was up to the task…AND I would tell the truth, while Tik might insert visions of some superhero or the Lone Ranger in your head. While Tik might be a mix of both these characters, they do not show up until he gets into the groove of his day. He is more like Eeyore before mid-morning!
5:45 am We live in Florida all year round, so the mornings in the summer start before dawn. Tik is on his first horse by 6:30, which is a little before the sun comes up. The alarm goes off around 5:45 am, which is normally followed by me getting up, turning on the kettle, the puppy attacking Tik, and then a lot of groans from the not-morning-person. The phrases “you don’t understand” and “it’s the middle of the night” tend to whine out from the bedroom. He eventually manages to scuffle into his britches, pour some coffee from the French Press into his Yeti, and sloppily apply sunscreen to his face (not-at-all-rubbed-in, for dramatic effect), then out the door he goes, with a very happy pup scampering behind him.
We have a Ride Board that has every horse (23 currently) listed and all the days of the week. We try and fill this out at the beginning of the week so gallops, cross-country schools, and lessons can be scheduled and everyone knows the plan. When Tik pulls up to the barn, tack is already on the first horses. The girls in the barn often set the order in which the horses are worked so it collaborates with turnout, farriers, vets, and any other goings-on that they manage. Tik has anywhere from 8 to 14 horses on his list a day.
Tik and Sinead at Copperline.
10:00 am The more schooled horses and horses requiring a bit more time tend to go first thing, also those that don’t have owners coming to watch their training. Normally 4 to 5 horses are schooled by around 10:00 am, and by that point it is also necessary for Tik to have another Yeti full of coffee or a snack! Around this time Tik is also becoming able to carry on conversations with humans as well as horses, and the one-liners and puns start rolling in. (To Lauren, grooming a pony: “Are you sick? Cause it looks like you’re feeling a little hoarse.” To Rain, as she brushes a tail: “That tail looks rough. Oh well, might make a good tale.” And when Abby tells Tik about the stray pregnant cat that has set up shop amongst our winter blankets: “Oh my cat, you have got to be kitten me.”)
After the coffee break, Tik carries on with the list. The working students start hopping on horses once morning chores are wrapping up. Often the next group of horses are slightly greener, and it’s good for them to stand in the tack while Tik teaches, or he schools while keeping an eye on the others.
The Copperline Crew.
1:00 pm Around now, if Tik doesn’t get some food, the language and focus skills start waning, so he makes a quick run back to our house for a sandwich and often a wardrobe change. He gets really sweaty here in the summer! The afternoon is often filled with horses that need to be worked on the ground and lessons that need to be taught, so it’s normally to everyone’s relief that a full-stomached, re-motivated, freshly clothed Tik returns to the farm. Tik is probably one of the happiest and most laid-back people I have met … as long as he is fed and has coffee 😊.
3:00 pm Hopefully horses and riders and lessons are wrapping up around 3:00 or 4:00 pm, at which point Tik tends to hop on the zero-turn mower for a few hours to make sure the farm is looking good. We have some part-time maintenance help a few days of the week at the farm, but Tik loves his mower, and to be honest, we have had some arguments over who he prefers spending more time with… John Deere or me!
6:00 pm When the door opens at home the end of the day, I have to carefully guide Tik toward the bathroom as he starts filling me in. He is like a five-year-old and starts stripping off layers of dirty clothes before the door shuts. If I am not careful, he ends up stripped to his boxers before he has reached the kitchen, with a trail of clothes, dirt, and horse and dog treats falling from his pockets marking his progression. (Enjoy Yums are the horse treat of choice!)
Next, I normally hear a yell from the bathroom because he has forgotten to grab a towel and is conflicted about what to do, ask for help or scoot to the bedroom. I usually come to his aid, as I get equally upset when he leaves pools of water across our bedroom floor….
One day he will be trained.
7:00 pm Tik usually spends the next few hours answering emails, writing for Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, or working on his next book, but first the question that must be answered is normally brought up at lunch, and that is: “What are we doing for dinner?” We tend to cook something easy at home and catch up on the day, or Tik heads to play basketball at the local YMCA a couple days a week with his friend Zach Brandt.
10:00 pm Depending on the scope of the day, the lights normally get turned off after vegging a bit or reading a Jack Reacher novel. On lighter days he will read maybe a horsemanship book, like one by Mark Rashid, or sometimes a book he picked up at the airport—he just finished The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. He is also working his way through Animal Training 101, which was written by Jenifer Zeligs, a lady from California that trains sea lions!
With owning a farm and running a horse business, there is never a dull moment. But Tik and I often joke that even if we won the lottery tomorrow, we would still do the same thing…with a few improvements to the property, and—you guessed right—a live-in chef!
Tik, Sinead, and Brooks (Selfie by Tik)
Thank you to Sinead Halpin for her willingness to share a glimpse of her life with Tik, and congratulations to them both on the birth of Brooks. We’re guessing they’ll need twice as many snacks in the house, now!
Thank you to Lauren DeLalla for the use of her photographs.
Tik’s memoir about his life as a working student turned professional horse person IN THE MIDDLE ARE THE HORSEMEN is available from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
CLICK HERE to download a free chapter or to order.
Be sure to read the other installments of TSB’s “Horseworld By the Hour” blog series:
“Softness” is about having the sensitivity we need in order to feel when and if the horse tries to “give.” It is about developing the kind of awareness and feel it takes to know when we are working against our horses, rather than with them.
In his book JOURNEY TO SOFTNESS, renowned horseman and storyteller Mark Rashid shares methods and techniques he has gleaned from decades of work with horses, horse people, and martial artists. In addition, he asked friends, all with different backgrounds, from different walks of life, and from different parts of the country, if they would be willing to contribute thoughts on how the practice of softness has helped them in their respective occupations, as well as with their horsemanship. In this piece by Lee Cranney, an airplane and helicopter pilot of 47 years, we discover how—surprisingly!—horses are like helicopters:
I fly the Sikorsky Firehawk helicopter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. We fight wildland fires; rescue lost hikers, climbers, and the occasional horse; and fly patients from accident scenes to hospitals.
Even after almost five decades, I continue to enjoy every minute of it. As we fortunate few who get to do what we love are fond of saying, “It sure beats working for a living.”
I have been hanging out with horses for less than a quarter of the time I’ve been flying, and most of that has been with my buddy, Dude, but I have loved every single second of it. If you had suggested to me ten years ago that I would fall in love with a horse, let alone horses plural, I likely would have said you were nuts. When Dude was offered to me free of charge as a two-year-old, I was told that he had “issues.” My first question was, “What’s an issue?” Today, I would take a bullet for him, and I think he knows it.
A lot of what I have spent my life learning does actually apply in many ways to getting along with horses. I would like to share some of that with you.
In my opinion, really good helicopter pilots spend their flying time secure in the knowledge that they can handle whatever is about to go wrong. I believe the same can be said of really good horsemen (not that I am or likely ever will be one). Constantly feeling the whole horse, constantly aware of what holds his attention, intention, and thoughts, his movements, feet, weight, and balance, secure in the knowledge they can handle whatever is about to go wrong.
The similarities between flying helicopters and working with horses are both more basic and much more complex. Helicopters, like all aircraft, have a design gross operating weight that depends on several flight weather conditions, including altitude, temperature, and wind.
From day one of flight school, helicopter pilots have instilled in them the concepts of control touch and pilot technique. These two concepts are, in practice, identical to softness and feel; if I move the cyclic control (the “joy stick” or simply the “stick”) a minutely small amount, the commensurate effect on the main rotor is significantly more. This gives the helicopter amazing maneuverability and versatility but makes it extremely touchy (“squirrelly,” if you will). Experienced pilots will typically rest their right hands on their right thighs and make small, almost imperceptible inputs to the cyclic to achieve desired changes (sounds somewhat like horsemanship, don’t you think?). And, just to make it a little more interesting, any input in any one of the five controls requires a compensating corrective or offsetting control input in all of the others: “Rub your belly, pat your head.”
To illustrate: an average pilot can take off from a hover with the aircraft at the design gross weight for that altitude, temperature, and wind condition. If he ham-fists or over-controls during the maneuver, the aircraft will actually settle back to the ground rather than take off. Normally (and if the pilot in command has ensured that the aircraft is loaded for the conditions), there is a built-in “fudge factor” of power available to compensate and still allow an average pilot to make the takeoff. A pilot who cultivates control touch (softness) and pilot technique (feel) can, in fact, get the same aircraft off the ground smoothly and with less power. Inevitably, in the life of a working helicopter pilot, there will come a time when he needs that control touch and pilot technique to save the aircraft and all on board. Consequently, softness and feel are drummed into us as the way to get the most from our machines in the worst conditions.
Imagine my astonishment when much, much later, I began to experience, on a horse, the effortless beauty of asking for a soft feel, or change of gait, or turn with no touch at all; simply thought, connection, and breath and then we do it. Together. As one. Doesn’t happen all the time, of course, but when it does, it is truly amazing. And almost enough to make a grown man bawl. So, softness and feel equate to pilot technique and control touch. Okay. Makes some sense.
Then there’s this: One day when I was on Dude at a Mark Rashid clinic, he said that I should “ride the whole horse.” I got the concept immediately. We learn to use all five senses to fly an aircraft. (If you wonder about using taste and smell to fly, I’d be happy to explain it to you, but it gets a little overlong.) I was able to translate that awareness of the whole aircraft to a slowly blossoming awareness of the whole horse. Each foot, which way his thoughts, energy, and weight are inclined to go next. To the degree that I can stay aware of it all, I am able to stay ahead of the horse/aircraft. Pilots whose attention stays inside the cockpit tend to be unaware of situations developing around them—weather, other aircraft, fire patterns, and so forth—which sometimes results in disaster. We refer to this as situational awareness (being aware of all around us, both near and far), and it is certainly applicable to horsemanship.
One last thought: Federal aviation regulations require pilots to perform a thorough preflight inspection. This is a fine habit we all strive to cultivate and, it seems to me, a good one for horsemen and -women as well.
JOURNEY TO SOFTNESS by Mark Rashid is available to order from the TSB online bookstore, where shipping in the US is FREE.
CLICK HERE to download a free chapter or to order.
Trafalgar Square Books' first horse book was CENTERED RIDING, which we published in 1985 and remains one of the bestselling horse books of all time. Author Sally Swift went on to found the now worldwide organization and form of learning and teaching riding known as "Centered Riding."
check out this great equestrian resource
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learn how to tell when your horse is lame on stall and stable podcast
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tsb author sean patrick on fairness in training
Click the image to read the rules to train your horse fairly.
review of charlotte dujardin’s autobiography
Click image to read the review on HorseNation.com!
Click image to learn the "jumping without looking" exercise.
how to quiet your mind before entering the barn
Click image to read this great piece from Equestrian Ontario!
did you know? equestrian trivia
Did you know that before she was three, Olympic Show Jumper Beezie Madden was riding a saddle on a saddle rack, pretending it was a horse? Find out what else made her good in Denny Emerson's bestseller.
famous horse trainers read fergus
So fun! Three top horse trainers read Fergus: A Horse to Be Reckoned With :) Click image above to watch!
Click the image to read Melinda Folse's "Sally Swift's Visionary Connections: Now 30 Years Strong" on Equisearch.com.
great review of george morris autobiography
Click the image to read the review of UNRELENTING at MyHorsePowerApp!
great book review!
Click the image above to read the fab review of WORLD-CLASS GROOMING FOR HORSES on Eventing Nation.
how george morris wrote his autobiography
Click image above to read the great piece in SIDELINES MAGAZINE about George Morris's blockbuster autobiography and the woman who helped write it.
mark rashid’s novel is now a movie!
Click the image above to watch the trailer for the new feature film OUT OF THE WILD, based on the novel by Mark Rashid and available from www.HorseandRiderBooks.com.
see fergus on horsechannel.com
Click the image to read about Fergus the Horse and artist Jean Abernethy on HorseChannel.com.
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are you guilty of a deadly sin of dressage?
Click the image above to find out if you are guilty of one of the Seven Deadly Sins of Dressage!
doug payne feature article!
Check out the feature about Doug Payne and his new book THE RIDING HORSE REPAIR MANUAL by Nancy Jaffer on NJ.com! Click the image of Doug and his horsey family above to read the article.
american cowboy editor’s pick
"Being able to watch Sean employ his training methods is incredibly beneficial—you'll see how your cues should look and how to identify and read your horse's response...The four-disc DVD set, with nearly seven hours of footage, is a must for do-it-yourself horse trainers." --Lauren Feldman American Cowboy, Associate Editor
great review!
"Authors Dominique Barbier and Dr. Maria Katsamanis combine riding theory with scientific principles to explore, explain, and enrich a rider's ability to communicate with a horse." --Practical Horseman Magazine
george morris says:
"You must get inspired by reading books about riding. I read books about dressage every day. You must always work on being a better rider."
we love this author video!
Author Laura Chester introduces her new book, RIDING BARRANCA---click the image above to watch the video!
equus editor’s pick
"This book delivers a comprehensive regime for mental and physical fitness at any riding level." --EQUUS Magazine
eventing nation book review
"A great read and a handy tool...Doug does a wonderful job of speaking objectively about varying problems that can arise...we definitely recommend this book for riders of all levels and disciplines."
great story about centered riding!
Click the image to read "Timeless Ride--Better Tips (Thank You, Sally!) by Jennifer Forsberg Meyer on HorseandRider.com.
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check out this radio interview
TSB author Dr. Renee Tucker talks about easy Body Checkups YOU can do from her book WHERE DOES MY HORSE HURT? Click the image above to listen!
best book for kids
"This ode to the range emphasizes the enduring allure of the American West." —Kirkus Reviews
get started in western dressage
Great exercises from Lynn Palm to get your horse forward, straight, and balanced as you pursue this hot new sport!
george morris says:
“I’ve spent time with this book and find it very correct. Author Susan Tinder did an excellent job putting together a useful collection of courses.”
featured equine art
Click image to check out Jennifer Brandon's custom horse and pet portraits.
tsb bestseller
Click to order the 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman DVD series.
book review
"This book will help you unravel your equine athlete's personality and needs, so you can evaluate your horse's 'emotional conformation,' which the author Kerry Thomas calls the real indicator of a horse's ability...no question as to why his work has been called 'groundbreaking.'" -John Strassburger, Performance Editor, Horse Journal
"With a myriad of horse facts written into the story, adolescent readers will find this book not only entertaining but educational as well." -Equine Journal
author spotlight
Click to read about renowned horse trainer and behaviorist Linda Tellington-Jones and her newest book!
reader review
"This book has changed the way I will communicate with horses for the rest of my life. The fact that I got IMMEDIATE results means so much to me and the horses. I don't think I will ever ride in fear again. Amen!" --Carla from Florida
author trivia
Sgt. Rick Pelicano, author of the bestselling books BOMBPROOF YOUR HORSE and BETTER THAN BOMBPROOF, enjoys participating in the sport of mounted jousting in his spare time.
anne kursinski on unbridled tv
Click the image to see Anne Kursinski, author of ANNE KURSINSKI'S RIDING & JUMPING CLINIC, talk about some of her career highlights and favorite moments competing for the US Equestrian Team.
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We all reinvent ourselves from time to time. In my case, this usually involves hair color and heavy eyeliner. In the case of the Padlock Ranch, all it took was a fab new website to make what was really good look utterly amazing. That’s right…the other day I clicked on over to see what was […]
The Bradford Brinton Memorial & Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, is celebrating founder Bradford Brinton’s 132nd birthday on June 26, 2012, with free admission all day, and cake and ice cream on the grounds from 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m. “Just as Bradford Brinton dreamed of his ranch in the West and made that dream […]
“This was my first pony and what I learned on.
She proceeded to lecture me on proper lesson preparation as she released the girth and righted the saddle. I was so pissed off my anger practically vaulted me off the ground and back in the tack. I was beneath her notice until we started to jump. She raised the rails on the fence to over two feet. 
As a child I used to watch my father come home from a stressful and exhausting day as a consultant thoracic surgeon. None of his surgeries were normal—all were life-threatening and in the midst of the Northern Ireland troubles. I would watch him go to the stables on his way from the car to our house. He would spend some time in the company of his beloved hunter “Bob.” By the time he arrived in the house and joined our family, a semblance of peace had returned to his overstressed mind. 
But what if you do love to ride, don’t have extra cash under your mattress, can’t successfully ride this one, but can’t bear to part with him? This is a real dilemma that thousands of riders face every day and there’s no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. In the case of long-term unsoundness, there’s the euthanasia issue. In the “old days,” when horses were utilitarian and there was little cash for luxuries, this was done all the time out of sheer economic necessity.
Sharon Wilsie’s books 
TSB has been honored to publish artist Jean Abernethy’s brilliant comic horse books. Her delightful equine character Fergus—Equus Hilarious—has become the world’s most popular cartoon horse, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and a devoted international fan club.
In his first three books, Fergus shared his life story (
JOURNEY TO SOFTNESS
