Three little letters
When we moved from a Salt Lake City suburb to a farm in western Washington, we knew our lives would change. Things that had been within a few minutes’ drive were now located down a miles-long access road. The closest big city is over an hour away - and the...
Taking a step to the side to take a step forward
Boogie has never particularly liked loading on the trailer. He’s nervous about it, hesitant to get in. We’ve always been able to get him to go in eventually, but it’s rarely smooth. I asked around at lessons, and among the horse owners I knew. Most people recommended...
Trust starts within ourselves
Working with horses boils down to trust. Of course, we have to trust the horses themselves: they’re bigger, faster, and stronger than us. They have thousands of years of instincts baked into their DNA, alerting them to everything from minute shifts in scent to faraway...
Being in charge without having to be in control
The other day, my daughter Olivia and I walked out to the pasture to get Dublin into the trailer for lessons. Dublin’s a sweet little mare, friendly and always up for a snuggle. She loves Olivia and Olivia loves her right back, with the special understanding that...
Finding my feet, and finding my voice
At the moment it happened, time slowed and became like looking at old-fashioned film, one subtly different image at a time. Boogie reared, his front hooves leaving the ground in an upward arc. For a long moment, he balanced at the apex of the movement. And then,...
Cutting through the digital noise
“Yeah, I checked Asana for your message. I mean, Slack, I checked Slack,” said one of the Kinship team at our biweekly Monday meeting. A few minutes later, another teammate chimed in: “Hey, can you check the TeamUp Calendar for tasks? No, I mean check Asana for...