Relaxed & Forward: Relationship Advice from Your Horse

Do you still watch those old horse movies that you've seen a dozen times, just for the scenes of the horse galloping in slow motion? Do you hold your breath just a bit?

It's because horses embody so much more than muscle and bone. They evoke a full range of emotions like hope and courage and valor. They can gallop straight to you with neck arched and tail flagged, and then instantly melt to a stop--just to share your breath.

We've been besotted with horses since they had three toes. From the popular Relaxed and Forward blog comes training advice combining the everyday fundamentals of dressage with mutual listening skills. Blake writes with a profound respect for horses and an articulate voice for humans, blending equal parts inspiration and un-common sense. It's serious training communicated with humor and lightness, because horses like cheerful riders.

Most riders want to build a better relationship with their horse. These short essays are geared as much toward encouraging a positive training attitude as useful technique. Blake's writing uses clear descriptions, storytelling, and humor to inspire meaningful, positive communication. Less correction and more direction. Horses are honest; they answer us in kind. If we want a better response, a more fluid conversation and relationship with a horse, riders have to be the ones to change first. The other word for that is leadership.

By the author of Stable Relation, A Memoir of One Woman's Spirited Journey Home, by Way of the Barn.