Horse Training – Maeve Birch Home

When Words Help

Why sometimes talking to your horse may make things better… We had an emergency move of two horses recently. Two mares who were known not to enjoy trailer loading needed to get on a trailer with no questions asked. The weather conditions unfortunately made it impossible to work on trailer training with them in the…
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On the Hard Days

On the hard days sometimes I forget why I’m doing this, why I come out here in the cold and the wet and the mud, to fix another fenceline or to try and hand-roll a round bale into place because the fields are impassable to vehicles. “I hate horses” I proclaim, as they throw another…
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What is “Nothing?”

What are we doing when we’re standing around doing nothing while out of the pasture? If I’m stopped with Red on a lead rope in some in-between place where horses don’t normally stand, what exactly is it that’s going on? On the way to the barn: We’re stopped because Red either chose to regulate himself…
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My Author Interview with SkyDance Mountain Audiobooks

Exciting news! My interview with SkyDance Mountain Audiobooks’ “Authors On The Mountain” podcast is up on YouTube. In it I expand on some of the things I mention in the book and talk about everything from the advantages of volunteering at horse rescues to potential future writings. I’m grateful for this opportunity to share with…
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Winter Horse Activity Levels

It’s dark out at 5pm and all I want to do when I get to the barn is stand around with horses under the stars. I don’t want to ride, I don’t want to set up poles for them to step over, I don’t even want to take them out of the field. I just…
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“What are we?!” Questions from Adolescent Horses

I haven’t gotten a chance to work with a four year old horse at the barn in a few weeks. Actually, outside of feeding him and running a hand over him every day to make sure there’s nothing seriously wrong, no one has had the time to work with him in a few weeks. It’s…
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Ruining the Horse

A few years ago, when I was experiencing the things I write about in my memoir, I was always afraid of “doing it wrong” and “ruining the horse” when interacting with equines. Afraid that my gentler way of doing things would lead to places where the horse wouldn’t be able to interact properly with other…
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Right Activity for the Right Day

Have you ever showed up to the barn to work with a horse, brought them out of the pasture, and quickly realized that they were having a bad day? Maybe they walked away from you when you went to halter them, when they normally halter just fine. Maybe they were sticky and hesitant to move,…
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Stress-free Equine Event Planning? Breaking it Down

It’s the day after Independence Day in the US, and a lot of us were sitting with our anxious animals while fireworks went off around our homes and barns. I used to enjoy fireworks a lot more when I didn’t have any worries about a horse running through a fence or stall guard in panic…
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Increasing Understanding

I keep forgetting to update words in the midst of all the things happening in real life. The issue is, the things in real life are still too “everyday grind” to spark any great words. I don’t have any inspiration for you today, but I do have a small moment in time that I found…
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Tag: Horse Training