Before I jump right in, let me apologize for my extended blogging absence. I’ve been in the process of moving into my first house, on top of a bunch of other new things in my fall schedule, so it’s been a little nuts. I’m starting to settle back into a routine, so blogging needs to move back up in my priority list!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming …
Learning Through Blogging
Through nearly two years of running Regarding Horses, I have learned in leaps and bounds about the equestrian industry, horse …

Deanna Castro over at Professional Horse Blogazine wrote an interesting post today questioning if it’s possible to get rich with horses as your profession.
My initial thought was, nope, definitely not.
Then it occured to me, not unless your name is Parelli.
And that got me thinking, why is it that so many horse people complain about the money the Parellis make off their program?
What you think about their training system aside (that’s another discussion for another day), you have to give them credit for being able to turn such a major profit …

I’ve been to the Equine Affaire at the Ohio State Expo Center twice in the last three years, and was generally pretty good for one day of clinics and shopping. Now that I’ve got a horse, however, everything’s changed. I’m interested in a whole different set of clinics, not to mention a lot of equipment I wasn’t looking to buy pre-horse ownership.
And to top it off, 2008 Olympic dressage team member Steffen Peters is one of this year’s clinicians. He has a full schedule of sessions on Thursday and Friday …

Four years ago I had never heard of “natural horsemanship.” I hadn’t heard of Pat Parelli or Clinton Anderson or John Lyons. I’d never seen a rope halter and other than basic leading, grooming, bathing, and trailering etiquette, I didn’t know much about groundwork either.
But I did know a lot of horses. Horses had taught me to work hard, to overcome my fears, to believe in myself, to work in partnerships, to compete with grace, to fall with dignity, and to calmly handle difficult (sometimes dangerous) situations. I didn’t believe …