Leslie Desmond
FOAH Co-founder and Author
Hi,
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In 2017, tightening budgets were on the minds of many students. This set me on a search for the best way to remain accessible to people who cannot travel to find help for their horses. After much thought and discussion with students and colleagues, I felt sure that an online alternative to weather-dependent education far from home would be a step in the right direction.
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In addition to the benefit it offers a horse owner, this opportunity also marks a quantum shift in the options that have opened for me. Most importantly, it has transformed the time-devouring trips I used to make by air, truck and train into hours I now devote to the creation of videos and new articles, and completion of two more books, “The Feel of a Horse” and “Riding with Bill”.
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Without a good coach, it is not easy to learn what horses need us to see, to do, and not to do. By this I mean, the self-taught horseman inevitably reaches a plateau. Too many unanswered questions about unexplained wrecks sometimes lead to the emerging realization that more is needed. There is a missing link, a piece of the puzzle that just doesn’t fit, or is altogether missing.
What I share with the individual team members who assembled to create this site for you...is a lifelong passion for horses. We share a love and devotion to their well being and to your enjoyment of them that stems from establishing and expanding successful connections to them.
What do horses really need from us?
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There was a time when I thought I knew. The answer I have now to that fair question, is that am still sorting it out. Most days I manage to learn at least one new and useful things about a horse, even if it is what I won’t ever do, or have done for years and years . . . and realize can done a little differently, and better.
At the end of most days, I post useful information to the pages, groups, and sites I manage. Some videos are destined are destined to be shared on the closed FB discussion group, created in November,1999, to support the the visitors and subscribers to this website.
Every 4-6 weeks, new content for subscribers is uploaded to the video channels in English. Translations and voiceovers of these videos appear regularly in the Portuguese, Swedish, German, and Italian channels. Videos from Antonio Hidalgo also appear on the Spanish channel, and are voiced over into EnglIsh.
I hope you enjoy the site and find meaning for your journey with horses on these pages. Your candid feedback matters to us, as do your questions, predicaments and progress.
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All the best,
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Leslie Desmond