The Magic of Horsecraft

08/24/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁.

The steady one.
The tolerant one.
The one who taught us how to steer, how to breathe, how to try again.

The school horse.

I’m naming this year, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲, and going forward I am naming September as the International Month Of The School horse, in honor of the horses who have carried our dreams upon their backs.

I want to hear your stories!

Post a photo.
Tell us their name.
Tell us what they taught you.

Use the hashtag so we can find each other and read them all.
Let’s make the quiet teachers visible.

08/23/2026

𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:

Reins were earned...
Saddles were earned ...
Balance came first...
Horses had rotation built in...

𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

I am proposing ways to make the world a better place for the beloved horses who carry the hopes and dreams of so many ... AND a better place for the over-worked, heart-sick horse pros trying to keep their lovely old schoolies sound and sane, year after year.

If you are a horse pro, what are some of the things you do to manage YOUR school horses? If you have some tips, please share!

If you have questions about how I have helped other riding schools, DM me.

In the mean time, share your thoughts, and love your schoolies!

Take a chance.
Paige XOXO
The Magic of Horsecraft™
Anything is possible (together!).

08/22/2026

08/22/2026

Riders are taught how to steer.

They are rarely taught how to regulate.

Until that changes, nervous system problems will continue to look like horse problems.

They are not.

08/17/2026

When Horse Welfare Comes Full Circle

In 1989, I was 18 years old and travelling on a Young Riders scholarship when I met William Micklem.

William was designing bridles and explaining the thinking behind them: the horse’s face contains delicate, sensitive anatomy, and our equipment should be designed with that anatomy—and the horse’s comfort—in mind.

This was long before horse welfare became the widespread conversation it is today. William was already asking better questions.

Thirty-seven years later, Laura Bishop drove from Collingwood to deliver two gorgeous Micklem bridles and breastplates for Red and Smile, generously provided by William and Horseware Ireland.

Laura and I also had the pleasure of exchanging stories about helping racehorses move into new chapters. Her experience with off-the-track Thoroughbreds and the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society resonates deeply with the work we are doing with our former racehorses through Project New Start.

At The Magic of Horsecraft, we believe equipment should support communication, never replace it. A thoughtfully designed bridle cannot create trust—but it can help us remove unnecessary discomfort and make more room for the quiet conversation between horse and human.

That makes the Micklem bridle a beautiful fit for our work.

And on a purely personal note: after all these years, I finally have a Micklem of my own! I am completely tickled pink to be riding Red into the sunset, in my happy place, wearing a bridle whose story has been woven through so much of my life with horses.

Thank you, Laura, William and Horseware Ireland. Some gifts are useful. Some are meaningful. This one is both.

08/07/2026

FARMYARD FASHIONISTA FRIDAYS HAVE ARRIVED. 💃🐴

What does fashion have to do with HorseCraft?

More than you might think...

How we feel in our bodies matters.

Play matters.

Curiosity matters.

Whimsy matters.

And anything that helps us arrive at the barn feeling a little more alive, comfortable and genuinely ourselves is worth exploring.

The Farmyard Fashionista philosophy is pretty straightforward:

Wear your favourite things.

Choose quality when you can—even if that means buying it gently used.

Let old dresses become barn tunics.

Wear the excellent hat.

Bring colour into ordinary work.

Be practical where practicality matters and gloriously ridiculous everywhere else.

During radiation, I discovered that deliberately wearing the clothes, hats and scarves that gave me delight could change how I experienced a difficult day.

So why save that for radiation?

Or weddings?

Or someday?

Fridays at The Magic of HorseCraft are now Farmyard Fashionista Fridays.

And yes, apparently the horses may participate.

Big Red is modelling my old Canadian Team helmet cover and looking extraordinarily prepared to represent his country. 🇨🇦😂

Come as you are.

Or come in a tiara.

Just come curious.

08/06/2026

**TIME’S A-WASTIN’!**

Recent news about my cancer has clarified something for me:

I do not want to keep postponing the conversations, learning opportunities and experiments that matter most.

This September, I want to launch the International Month of the School Horse—to honour the horses who taught us, carried us and sometimes fought us before we understood what they were trying to communicate.

I want to record conversations with horse people about how their thinking has evolved.

I want to explore the muddy middle between the methods we inherited ... and the understandings we are developing now.

How do we communicate with clarity and compassion?

How do we provide leadership and safety without making obedience the only goal?

How do we encourage curiosity, choice and participation—while still being willing to ask horses to do things that support their health and wellbeing?

There is a great deal happening here at The Magic of HorseCraft and Project New Start.

We are putting learning opportunities on the calendar, both at the farm and online.

We are building useful spaces and obstacles.

We are questioning old assumptions.

And we are remaining willing to be absolutely ridiculous along the way.

I do not know exactly how much time I have.

NO ONE DOES.

But I DO have enough heat on the fire, enough ingredients around me and enough things worth putting on the calendar to keep me inspired and fullfilled.

So here I am, beginning again.

Why not join me?

Take a chance,
Paige
xoxox
ANYTHING is possible (together!)

08/02/2026

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 - 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚.

If you run a lesson program, I’d love to connect.
Let’s talk about how to keep your best assets - your beloved schoolies - saner, sounder, and happier.

07/29/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜’𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁...

I’m not attacking horse sport.
I’m just not centering it anymore.

Equestrian sport is already under scrutiny.

School horses ... 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.

I am focusing my energy where it’s needed and where 𝘐 𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

The school horses of the world could have easier lives with a few simple shifts.

Follow to find out 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 and 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.

07/12/2026

Sometimes the work that appears to be slowing us down is the very work that moves the relationship forward.

Allie spent weeks helping Smile feel differently about being haltered. I quietly wondered whether she was taking too long.

Now, Smile puts her own nose into the halter—and somewhere within that patient, step-by-step process, they found trust, connection, and one another.

Meet Allie and Miss Smile, the pair at the heart of Project New Start. 💜

, , , , .