Hi there!
I’ve been a horse lover all my life. My first horse, Albert (you won’t want to miss reading his story), was the realization of the dream of my youth. He even went with me to college at William Woods in Fulton, MO, where I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Equestrian Studies. Albert then accompanied me in my move to Minnesota, where I taught riding at a couple of area stables until building my own teaching facility, Shadowood, in 1981.
Since opening my own stable, I’ve taught numerous students of all ability levels the essential skills necessary for successful and enjoyable equine ownership. I’ve designed and taught a series of hands-on classes covering various aspects of horse care and keeping, have taught a lecture-format version of these classes over interactive TV, and have designed and taught a class on horse/human relations for very young children.
I am also a freelance writer and have had articles published in a number of national equestrian magazines, as well as in smaller regional equestrian periodicals. Among the magazines in which my work has appeared are Equus, Horse Illustrated, HorsePlay, The Western Horse, Western Horseman, and The Quarter Horse Journal. I will occasionally post some of my articles on these pages. You will find pieces written strictly to entertain the horse lover as well as articles written to teach and inform. I am also publishing new horse-related articles at Associated Content which can be accessed through my member page or by subscription to my RSS feed.
In addition to these other horse-related enterprises, I’ve spent many years teaching riding, primarily hunt seats, to aspiring equestrians young and old. Unfortunately, due to the advanced ages and health concerns of my primary school horses, I have been temporarily put out of the riding instruction business unless and until I decide to add more equines to the family. You see, I am not a typical professional equestrian. I don’t buy and sell animals to benefit the financial prospects of my stable. These animals are my family, and when one gets too old to be utilized in the riding program, (s)he simply retires. Often the work involved in keeping the geriatrics happy and healthy exceeds the work necessary to keep the younger, more productive animals in comparable condition, but it’s all a labor of love.
This makes me, at present, a riding instructor with no students, so I am more than happy to help out those cyber-equestrians with horse-related questions and concerns. To that end, I invite you to send any questions you may have regarding the riding, handling, care, or behavior of your equine companions to me via email. I will do my best to provide you with prompt and helpful answers (or at least refer you to appropriate resources for further information). You can also find very useful riding, training, and horse care advice which was previously posted to my message board in the Equine Answer Board Archives.
And for those who think they know all the answers already, I’ve put together a challenging list of Horse Quizzes. These quizzes are intentionally tough to offer an educational opportunity for those interested in learning more about horses. If you enjoy testing your equestrian knowledge, don’t miss it. Special awards are sent to anyone earning a perfect score on any of my quizzes. Curious as to who these exceptionally well-informed quiz-takers may be? You can view the current list of award winners.
In my attempt to offer as many opportunities as possible to fellow equestrians wishing to achieve the grand goal of enlightened horsemanship, I have created a page of equestrian education links. The universities, colleges, and technical schools listed on this page offer horse-related degrees for those seeking a scholastic learning environment. I encourage you to email me with information on any school that offers a relevant degree program but is not yet listed on this page.
Along the same educational lines, I have developed (and am constantly making additions to) the Horseman’s Bookstore in association with Amazon.com to offer only the best of the best horse-related publications compiled at a single location for your convenience and available at Amazon’s great discount prices. There are currently two pages: one of horse care and stable management books and another of horse training and riding books. Before you move on, though, you might want to spend a few minutes looking over the many horse-related and other useful links I’ve collected for you.
I wish you all the best in your equestrian pursuits.
Happy Horsing Around!
