Hello, friends! I’m writing today with some really big news for Alta Mira Horsemanship. If you’ve followed Alta Mira for any amount of time, you know my heart for the wellbeing of horse and rider. My vision for the blog from the beginning was to share the lessons I’ve learned from a lifetime with horses. What I found since starting Alta Mira over three years ago is that the horse community is far broader, kinder, and unified than I ever imagined.  I have never met any of my worldwide equestrian blogging friends in person and yet, this is my tribe.  Changing Leads As I got the hang of ..read more

In all my years of riding, I have never met an equestrian who didn’t love to accessorize.  We all have our favorite items to buy in every color and pattern for our horses, be it saddle pads, halters, or browbands.  But each of us also has our own flair for personal riding accessories. Choosing out a fun or inspirational accessory or apparel item not only gives an outlet to express our individuality but also helps us set the tone for the day.   To be completely honest, I am not much of a jewelry fanatic. I have a couple of pieces that my husband got me that I wear religiousl ..read more

Lions, tigers, bears, oh my! What to do when your brain defaults to the worst-case scenario. Guest Post Written by Horse Rookie Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure for more info. As someone who deals with anxiety in the saddle (and out, to be honest), I love connecting with other riders who understand my predicament. Last weekend, I met one such woman during a cow working clinic. She summed up the anxious rider’s state-of-being perfectly:  “Outside, calm as a cucumber. Inside, squirrel in traffic.” We had already ridden together for hours, and s ..read more

Have you ever reached a point in your life when you needed to just start over?  You woke up one day and realized that you had lost the parts of you that were most important and, slowly, the rest of the things that made you “you” had slowly faded away?   This is exactly where Devon Brooke, the leading lady of In the Reins, found herself after waking up one day and not recognizing her life.  Mid-30’s and in a dead-end relationship, she had compromised her love for horses and the open country to make her relationship work with a  man who could not reciprocate. Throwing he ..read more

Thrush is a prevalent occurrence in the equine world.  If you haven’t encountered it yet in your time riding, chances are that you will fairly soon (unless, you know, you live in the Sahara Desert).  Thrush in horses is a disease based in moisture and bacteria.  It attacks one of the horse’s most vital body parts: the hooves. *Disclaimer: The following post contains affiliate links. Any purchase you make through the links in this article will contribute a small commission to Alta Mira Horsemanship at no extra charge to you.  These commissions help support the upkeep of this ..read more

Today we have the pleasure of hearing from Pam, a dear equestrian blogger friend who has admirable passion and wisdom when it comes to wellness for both horse and rider.  Pam and I are doing a blog swap around the topic of Stress & Gastric Ulcers in Horses.  To check out my guest post on her site, Horse and Human Wellness Project, click HERE. Living with Gastric Ulcers in Horses My pony, Stella, is prone to ulcers. We have treated her for gastric ulcers three times in the five years she’s been with us. Ulcers are extremely painful for horses, and until you see the results of an u ..read more

Boundaries, in my opinion, are such an underrated thing.  They can take on a negative connotation because they imply confrontation at times, which can be uncomfortable.  Most people confuse boundaries with abuse or mean-spirited behavior. But boundaries, with humans or with horses, carry a magic to them, a magic that I didn’t discover until my late twenties.   I had to learn the hard way that we teach people how to treat us.  If we want them to be kind to us, we have to teach them that we are not okay with rude comments.  If we want them to respect our privacy, we have ..read more

Weight loss is a sensitive topic that most of us equestrian women want to know more about but are often embarrassed to talk openly about because of the struggles we face.  Today, I want to share my journey with you out of overeating and my top weight loss tips after losing 50 lbs and keeping it off. So let’s get this out of the way: I love food.  Food is fantastic in that it nourishes our life on a daily basis and has incredible healing, strengthening, and energizing properties.  Most of my Instagram feed is filled with people who are really creative with how they pair food in ..read more

Pressure and release training is something that I only recently found language for, but in practice have found to be effective for years now when working with horses.  This article was first featured as a guest post on the Equestrian Blog, Piaffe Style.  I am so grateful for that opportunity and for her permission to re-share my article here on Alta Mira Horsemanship.  I highly recommend checking out Christa’s blog for training and riding tips!   When it comes to working with horses, we all have our preferences of personality.  I think by proxy, some of us are be ..read more

Christmas shopping for the horse lover can be tough.  There are some super cute gifts out there for the fun and classy equestrian if you look in the right places.  But most gifts that you can easily find in a department store are just plain corny.  As a horse lover, most people don’t know what strikes that perfect balance between cute, cool, and totally horse obsessed.  Sometimes it’s just plain difficult to find something original for our horsey BFF.  But believe me, she does not want another horse calendar. So what can you get for that equine aficionado of yours ..read more