Partners

August 16, 2026, Frijole fire, Santa Fe National Forest, Pecos Wilderness, Northern New Mexico. View from my turn-out and from across the road.

Almost 9000 acres now, 12% containment as of this morning, but today the fire was really active, not sure containment held!

The wind is moving this fire away from Partners and everyone is safe, but that doesn't make it less horrifying. Please pray for rain....lots of rain!

I was contacted yesterday by a reporter from a local newspaper asking about the fire's effect on horse business; It's not good.

The heat had slowed everything down considerabley, but we still had early morning and late in the day to ride. But the fire added poor air quality to the mix and those few moments of cool riding time were filled with smoke! No lessons, no trailrides, no restarts, no tune-ups!

Horses suffer in the smoke, same as people. Yes, some have to work regardless, but if you have a choice, avoid work for yourself and your horse, when the air quality is so poor!

Today was a treat. Rain-cooled morning following the brief shower last night, and no smoke! Nickle was very happy to come out for tricks and a quick ride in the arena and trail course! Lucky me.

August 11, 7:30 pm.

I'm standing in the barn, watching it RAIN! Those are RAIN clouds, not smoke clouds!

Thank you for all the prayers! Even a little rain helps firefighters battle the Frijole Fire, Santa Fe National Forest.

This is a terrifying view that I wish no one ever has to see.

We're safe, and not in any immediate danger here.

Please pray for the fire fighters and all those in the path of the Frijole Fire, August 10, 2026, Santa Fe National Forest.

The extreme heat doesn't mean we stay inside and forget about the horses!

We decided to try horse hydration teas today, and I can honestly say Nickles LOVED the teas, and Krishna really liked them!

We bought a sampler pack, six flavors (info in the comments) and created a "tea bar" to see which flavors they liked the best.

I love this idea and the horses really did take big drinks of their chosen favorites!!! I can see this being really helpful when you travel with horses and want to keep them hydrated despite unfamiliar water. Or during stretches of hot weather, LIKE NOW!

Nickle's favorite flavor was "Carrot Cool Down" with "Root Revival" and "Basic Batch" the runners up. Krishna like the "Basic Batch" flavor.

Consistency or Dependability?

Another recent discussion with a student on being consistent with the horse started me thinking about what *consistency* looks like, or is it consistency at all that's important?

Consistency doesn't mean you have to feed at exactly 6:01 am, or ride every day at 10 am. In fact, the definition of consistency is:

~conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness~

"Conformity in application" is a nice way of saying that your horse knows what to expect from you, even when confronted with the unexpected!

For example, teaching the young horse that approaching something scary, because you say it's OK, will result in a positive outcome (a reward and/or not experiencing pain). The difficulty here is that in order to get to the place where consistency is even applicable you must have shown your *dependability* as the handler/rider and earned the trust and respect of the horse! You also must possess and acute awareness of what level of challenge the horse is mentally and physically ready for AND be prepared to keep him safe during the ask.

Dependability is "the quality of being trustworthy and reliable".

I came to the conclusion that the two are inseparable; consistency cannot be as effective without dependability, and vice versa.

Horses' hippocampus and limbic system are well-developed, and support long-term memory as well as emotional bonding. This means they can store and recall not just your look or voice, but also the feelings associated with that person/situation; positive or negative! In fact, studies show that horses separated from their trainers for 8 months reacted positively to reuniting IF THEY WERE TRAINED WITH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT like treats. Horses trained without reward showed 4-6 times more negative behaviors! https://equnews.com/article/transfer-en/research-shows-horses-dont-forget-their-humans.

It's not a matter of consistency OR dependability at all. It's a requirement that BOTH be part of your persona if you plan to be the best horseman or woman that you can be!

(Video of a unicorn grazing)

Today is a long read....

A recent conversation with a friend spawned today's discussion. She wanted to forward me a post from a younger male trainer regarding positive reinforcement. I declined the offer, here's why...

I've been doing what I do for decades. I'm good at what I do. I have earned and deserve my "spot". But there's one problem; I'm FEMALE.

It's not a problem for me, in fact, it's an asset, my super-power! But looking back to when I first started taking outside horses it was an issue for others. STILL IS. With few exceptions.

Decades ago, a man called me about taking a horse to start. He said that he had two geldings but was taking the "nicer" c**t to a local male trainer, who only had room for one horse, so I was the "back-up" plan for the lesser gelding. The other trainer, who I knew well, was not a person I would consider taking a horse to for training. But he had the "look", the hat, some swagger and was, well, MALE.

The man dropped off the buckskin c**t at "Bobby's" and the bay c**t at my place.

Ten days later, I called the man and told him to come see his horse. I let him know he was already riding quiet on the trails in a bosal. He acted surprised and then asked me if he could come by today. I said sure, any time. He then went on to explain that the other trainer doesn't allow owners to come see their horses, not even with notice. I responded by telling the man to get in his truck, and drive over there, now, to check on his horse!

A few hours go by, and a truck and trailer pull up in the drive. It's the man, with the buckskin gelding in the trailer. The man explained that he went to see his horse and he was tied, alone, in a way that he felt was abusive. When he got closer, the horse had rub marks from his halter on his face and bleeding sores on his side. He loaded him up and drove to me. I agreed to take the gelding.

Years later the man called me, wanting to let me know how the horses were doing. The bay horse, he explained, is reliable, steady, calm, anyone can ride him. The buckskin is broke, but he is unreliable and sometimes seems to lose his mind for no reason at all. That early abuse was still there....and when stressful situations occurred, occasionally he just couldn't cope.

I saw this pattern over the years and was happy, I suppose, to be "in-the-shadows" like many good female trainers. My fulfillment came from giving a horse a great start. Watching them move on to the show ring or become a steady trail or dude horses.

I wrote for horse magazines, and I did get invited to do some clinics with mostly male "clinicians". Occasionally great women trainers too, like Julie Goodnight, Mary Metcalf, or others, but reality was/is, horse training elevates men and puts them in the spotlight. Even mediocre men, while stellar women are not celebrated like they should be.

But this leads me to this video and this post. Jim Frank Richardson, long time president, now past president, of the Ranch Horse Association of America, saw my skills and asked me to ride c**ts for him, for Rana Canyon Ranch. A woman. For a good decade I was given an opportunity to start nice c**ts, watch them move on to ranch work, the show ring or trail work.

I am grateful for that chapter in my life. It was the boost I needed at that time. It also helped me to realize that the horse world is the loser when they don't acknowledge the contributions of women. After all, we own 85% of all horses in this country! But we, as women, also tend to follow some pretty awful men "trainers" and act like they are the end-all in the industry, when sadly, they are abusive. Even to the women that follow them! WHY do women fail to acknowledge other women?

That time spent riding working horses, with some local friends (Jim Frank, Farrel Muncy, Leroy Webb, Carlos Ortiz, and others) was a great education. It allowed me to ride for NCHA past president Jimmie Randals and others in the area. And I am so grateful.

So, my point here is two-fold: Women who are good trainers should be recognized, more so than mediocre men! And, seek out good local trainers, stop with all the worship of the male circus acts that come to town once every few years! They are not present to give folks the help they need!!! What sounds/looks good in a video may not work with YOUR horse, at YOUR barn! This is all my opinion today. Take it or leave it.....

NOTES ON THE VIDEO: The first horse I'm riding is a Rana Canyon bred youngster that was loping and stopping big after a couple weeks with me. The next clip is Jim Frank riding another youngster (I think it's "Flash"?) and me starting/riding "Bill", who ultimately became a solid, winning rope horse for Jim Frank. Then, Farrel Muncy riding a young filly bred by Jim Frank. Then lots of pics of horses and riders at my place; Jim Frank Richardson, Leroy Webb, Jory Richardson..... I would have loved to ride with more women, but the only female rider who ever came by to ride was Dr. Bessie Babits, THAT was always a TREAT!!!

Finally, these are old pics and videos. Before phone cameras!