Weekly Blog Roundup

Here are a few interesting, informative, thoughtful, or fun posts from this past week of blogging. (Actually it's more like two weeks, since I missed last week and have a LOT of catching up to do!)

First things first: though I missed the signup what with being out of town, it's 2pointober! I've been adding in some more two point to my own riding, even though I didn't get to be part officially, and let's just say it's probably good I didn't sign up. My baseline is hideously embarrassing.

LD Packing List from Topaz Dreams
<3 packing lists, you guys. The organization! The precision! This is a particularly good one, thoughtfully written, with lots to think about.

Origin Stories from Boots and Saddles
Love. Love. Love. Lots to think about, here. How do you tell your story? I went through a phase where every new trainer I worked with got the 10 minute story of my history with Tristan. Yeah, we've gone through a lot, but one time too many of telling that story and I started to think harder about how I presented our story. The last time a trainer asked me for my goals I said "I love my horse and I want to enjoy him." That's working for me now.

Am I a Show Home? from Cob Jockey
Really thoughtful exploration of how we interact with horses, and how we define our goals and relationships with individual horses.

(on a side note, check out Jen's series of posts reviewing her recent event with Connor. awesome stuff, good analysis, good reading, and yeah, I'm a smidge jealous!)

Kill Them With Kindness from She Moved to Texas
I'm always amazed at how a little bit of anonymity brings out the asshole in so many people. Lauren's post is a good manifesto for kindness on the internet.

The Evolution of Cavalry Tactics: How Technology Drove Change from Emerging Civil War
Not a horse blog, but still a very good one. This is the first in what promises to be an utterly fascinating series covering the changes in cavalry tactics in the American military during the Civil War. My master's thesis was on the development of cavalry (really, dragoon) logistics prior to the Civil War, so I am anxious to read someone else's discussion of a similar topic and see what comes next. This post starts with Napoleon's tactics, always a good grounding!