The Devolution of the Pushbutton Horse
About a decade ago, I went to the Scottsdale All Arabian Horse show. I was excited to revisit a place I had happy childhood and early...
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crissimcdonald
Feb 16, 20224 min read
What Sustains You?
We were working in Arizona last month, doing a series of clinics. After the warm day had cooled to a crisp desert evening, my friend Lori...
crissimcdonald
Apr 1, 20212 min read
Quality Vs. Quantity
Where there was once green grass, there’s now snow and the leftovers of what was a lush pasture. It’s March, which means it’s also time...
crissimcdonald
Feb 2, 20214 min read
Truce
When I started learning about horses, it was from a place of deep and abiding love. The way of being with horses that I fell into came...
crissimcdonald
Oct 4, 20204 min read
Sanity in a Wheelbarrow
I confess: cleaning stalls, scrubbing water troughs, and slinging hay have been my lifelines to sanity this year. Add in horsehair in my...
crissimcdonald
Aug 24, 20204 min read
Thinking, Judging, Feeling
Despite several big worries that have been gnawing their way through my psyche today, that hot bath feeling of peace visited me. A part...
crissimcdonald
Jul 21, 20204 min read
Uncovering softness
Top, October 2019 It was October, and Top stood quietly at the trailer while being groomed and saddled. When Mark bridled him and then...
crissimcdonald
Jun 9, 20205 min read
Riding into Relaxation
Photo: Chris Wolf We sometimes forget that horses can perform any movement we need them to do already. They are masters of movement. All...
crissimcdonald
May 5, 20205 min read
Bree Returns
I didn’t know I needed to see Bree until I saw her again. Five years had passed since she and I had the accident that put me in the...
crissimcdonald
Mar 29, 20204 min read
Shedding A heavy coat
Rocky and Crissi. It’s that time of year. Our horse Rocky is so itchy, he’s rubbing up against pine trees to scratch the hair off. I took...
crissimcdonald
Mar 4, 20204 min read
It’s Not a Catching Problem
Our new clinic horse Top is a chocolate bay with a kind eye and a pink spot on his lower lip that makes him look like his tongue is...
crissimcdonald
Feb 14, 20205 min read
Too Much Lateral Flexion
In 1996 I’d been training horses for less than a year. I got a call from a neighbor who wanted help with her horse. When I arrived,...
crissimcdonald
Jan 14, 20205 min read
The Best Tools
There’s an expression currently making its rounds in the horse world. “It’s another tool for my toolbox.” Having answers to our horse’s...
crissimcdonald
Dec 21, 20195 min read
The Season of Acceptance
There are things I like about this time of year. The Christmas lights that festoon the trees lining our downtown main street are magical,...
crissimcdonald
Nov 12, 20194 min read
Excerpt from “Continuing The Ride.”
In the summer, I like to keep a few pots of herbs and vegetables on our south-facing porch. The growing season is short where we live,...
crissimcdonald
Oct 21, 20196 min read
One Rein Thoughts
By the time Shelly came into the arena for her lesson with me, her mare’s bay coat was almost black with sweat. When Shelly bought the...
crissimcdonald
Sep 9, 20194 min read
You Already Have Timing and Feel
As I was brushing our horses yesterday, I noticed that despite the rivulet of sweat running down my back, their short summer coats were...
crissimcdonald
Jul 20, 20194 min read
Your Horse Isn’t Distracted
After learning about the horse’s brain at a recent seminar and getting to hold a horse brain, I felt a thrill much like roller coasters...
crissimcdonald
Jun 29, 20194 min read
Living In The Center
As we stood at the gate to the horse’s paddock on a sunny afternoon, my nephew said: “Aunt Crissi, I want to pet every horse in the pen!”...
crissimcdonald
May 20, 20193 min read
A Gratitude of Horses
Thorny was an old cowboy my parents knew, and the first person who introduced me to horses. I was still in diapers, holding on to the...
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