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"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? Do you get something in your eye?
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 us when we laugh.
Most riders want to build a better relationship with their horse. These short essays are geared as much toward attitude as technique, and include topics ranging from reading calming signals from your horse to using breath as your best communication tool. 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, we 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.
"Excitement and delight surge through me every time I see Anna Blake's name as an author. Her writing is filled with deep understanding and heart connection, seasoned with a lively dash of humor. Reading her work is like giving myself a gift...one I can open again and again." --Kim Walnes, winning USET Three Day Eventer, Riding Instructor/Trainer, and Life Coach.
About the author
Anna Blake was born in Cavalier County, North Dakota, in 1954. She is a writer/blogger, dressage trainer, and horse advocate, residing on Infinity Farm on the flat, windy, treeless prairie of Colorado. The herd also includes horses, llamas, goats, dogs, cats, and Edgar Rice Burro. He got the job because he's the loudest.
Previously, I was a self-employed goldsmith for thirty-five years, showing my one-of-a-kind artwork in galleries from coast to coast. My Denver studio and gallery was shared with generations of good dogs, and I boarded and trained two horses at a farm just south of town.
I post a successful, yet unconventional blog (www.annablakeblog.com) about life on my farm and horse training from a unique perspective that affirms my humorous and inspirational approach to understanding, training and loving animals. I am currently in the process of compiling five years of weekly posts into two books: RELAXED AND FORWARD is the training information your horse wants you to have, and BARN DANCE is a collection of stories about my family herd here at Infinity Farm. To be published in late 2016.
