Laura Schonberg 
by Laura Schonberg When my mare Poema first came home she had not been bridled, saddled, or ridden. I wanted to build on what I learned from developing working relationships with my first two horses and, in particular, avoid the mistake of going too far too fast. I naturally operate …
A Good Ride Starts with the Halter by Laura Schonberg There is nothing more frustrating than looking forward to horse time after a busy day and discovering it’s difficult to get your horse. Haltering is a basic exercise that is easy to rush through yet critical to establishing the …
by Laura Schonberg One of the challenges in bringing home a young and inexperienced horse (Poema) has been conditioning her mind, body and hooves for riding on the trail. We have had several setbacks, one of them being an abscess that not only took its sweet time rupturing, it …
by Laura Schonberg With a new mare that adores our geldings and hates being separated, we’ve been working on ground manners. After gaining more respectful behavior, we began to practice safely moving through gates. Poema’s inclination was to impulsively rush through, paying no mind to the human beside her. This …
by Laura Schonberg This winter I brought home a new horse. “Poema” is out of a Kiger mustang mare and is young, high spirited and unbroke. One of the training issues needed attention is working on Poema’s ability to leave, and be left by, my geldings (“The Boys”). She …
Making Time to Improve Ground Manners by Laura Schonberg Since bringing home a new mare this winter, I have been astonished at how this extra horse changed our existing herd of geldings. It has afforded new opportunities for better management, one of the big ones being feeding time. My horses were …
by Laura Schonberg March has me thinking about longer days, better weather and conditioning my horses. I am thinking about conditioning the mind, soul and body for dry trails and the competition season and this includes horse, rider and gear. Let’s start with gear. After the wet winter season, all …
by Laura Schonberg Like many mammals, I want to hibernate in the winter: sit in front of the fire, eat pasta, read a book, etc. Dog walks and morning feedings at the barn are in the dark; going to and from work is in the dark; evening chores or …
by Laura Schonberg If you had asked me 5 years ago about adding horses to my life I would have said no way. Too much work, time, money and stress. And too much to manage along with working full time and keeping the family from total chaos. Now, going into …
Insight from an Obstacle Judge by Laura Schonberg Getting involved with Equestrian Trail Sports (ETS) has been one of the most rewarding and interesting things I have done as a horse owner and rider. I am relatively new to competitive trail riding and obstacle courses and the time spent …