Heather Wallace's Blog, page 13

Relieve Your Dog’s Itchy Skin Naturally

The temperature is dropping and with it the humidity. The end result is dry, itchy skin for both you and your dogs. Prevent dry skin and relieve the itch. Does your dog have dandruff when you go to pet him or her? Is your pet licking their pets and biting at itchy, irritated skin? You are not alone. Many animals suffer from allergies or environmental dermatitis. The good news is there are many natural relief options available. The first step naturally treating your dog’s itchy skin is to focu...

Keep Your Hands, and Clothes, Clean with Hands-On Gloves

Working with horses is a blessing every day. Except during spring and fall when the shedding hair is absolutely everywhere. Performing sports massage on clients means I get dirty, it’s part of the job. But when I am spitting out hair and running to the bathroom to wash out my eyes, it’s a problem.   There are a number of shedding tools on the market. It is hard to know what is best to use. I carry a shedding blaze with me in my grooming bag, but it never seemed to be perfect. More, I was alwa...

My First Horse Experience

My first horse experience is one of my favorite stories to tell. In fact, I have a whole chapter about it in my book, Confessions of a Timid Rider. So as a special treat for my readers during Blogtober, I will be sharing the ENTIRE chapter.  Enjoy!   The Grey Pony Incident My first time independently on a horse was…interesting. I was what you would call a horse-obsessed child. Shocking, I know. Instead of imaginary friends, I had an imaginary barn full of horses in my backyard. I dreamed of o...

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The Timid Rider

You know me as The Timid Rider, but there is a lot more to me than my experiences as an equestrian. While my love of horses is extremely important to me, it does not represent all aspects of my life. Nor should it. During a recent book tour, the publicist asked for 10 Fun Facts about me. I thought this was a fun way to share with a wider audience more information about me. And what better audience than my own readers? So, thank you for reading my blog and for wanting to learn a little more ab...

The Riding Habit

Practice makes perfect in anything you do, but then why do equestrians push themselves so hard and give themselves little credit?   Practice makes habits, some of them good and some of them we need to work on improving. So many women come up to me at events and tell me how they rode horses as a child. Many of them grew out of it, did not want to pursue competition, or became fearful. Often I hear comments about how they love horses, but…   The truth is, I encourage those women to give it anot...

Changing Your Horse’s Nutrition with the Seasons

It happened! After months of Ferrous not able to sweat sufficiently to cool his body temperature, we had a breakthrough. My Welsh/ Appendix pony has anhidrosis, also known as “no sweat”. The past summer, New Jersey experienced an even more humid climate than normal. While Ferrous was turned out at night, he was primarily in his stall with a fan during the day. The few rides we had were either light hacks or in the early morning or evening when temperatures were cooler.   *Please note this pos...

The Obesity Factor: Balancing Healthy Weight and Spoiling Your Pet

Often we show our love for our pets with the provision of food. Show affection while keeping your pet from being overweight with these tips. Each year I attend pet-friendly events to support non-profit or to promote my equine and canine massage therapy business, Heather Wallace, Animal Massage Therapy. The majority of dogs attending these events are overweight. This is not a judgment but an observation. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize the strain extra weight causes on their dog’s bod...

Therapeutic Riding: Teaching Special Needs Children About Confidence

Confidence can be intrinsic and learned. Some of us are lucky enough to be born with a sense of self-worth that parents foster and grow. Other children need to gain this along the way. Cameron was born with confidence and a stroke. Our job as parents is to support this and perpetuate it, within reason. Therapeutic horse riding has fostered her and nurtured her, all while teaching her to listen to her body and her horse.   Once or twice a year Cameron’s barn, Sunnyside Equestrian Center and he...

Therapeutic Riding: Teaching Special Needs Children and the World About Confidence

Confidence can be intrinsic and learned. Some of us are lucky enough to be born with a sense of self-worth that parents foster and grow. Other children need to gain this along the way. Cameron was born with confidence and a stroke. Our job as parents is to support this and perpetuate it, within reason. Therapeutic horse riding has fostered her and nurtured her, all while teaching her to listen to her body and her horse.   Once or twice a year Cameron’s barn, Sunnyside Equestrian Center and he...

Get Ready for Equestrian Blogtober!

Summer is over and it is my favorite time of year! October! My birthday month, yes but so much more. Warm apple cider, crispy mornings at the barn where fog overlays the fields. Trail rides and hiking amongst colorful foliage before retiring at home in front of a wood-burning fireplace. A perfect month.  My absurd summer schedule gives slight relief and more time for me to focus on The Timid Rider. As such, I’m attempting to join with my fellow equestrian bloggers to do Blogtober, suggested b...