Horse. Woman. by Anna M Blake

Horse. Woman. by Anna M Blake

It was a tough life if you was useless. -Leafa Numbers Blake

My grandmother proudly claimed she had delivered more foals and calves than any woman in early 1900s North Dakota. Like her, we've found a purpose building our lives, sometimes elbow deep in dirt and blood, but doing whatever work that needed to be done. Horses have always been our north star.

For many of us, the cowboy persona has never been a good fit. Women have earned a narrative about our own lives with horses and the land. We tell a uniquely female account of living and working with horses, coming out of the shadow of cowboy hats and spurs. For us, it was never about fighting for domination. It was always about herd and home.

Anna Blake was born in the North Dakota county of Cavalier in 1954. She lives on Infinity Farm in Colorado's flat, windy, treeless prairie as a writer/blogger, dressage trainer, and horse advocate. Horses, llamas, goats, dogs, cats, and Edgar Rice Burro are among the animals in the herd. Because he's the loudest, he got the job. Over the previous 35 years, I worked as a self-employed goldsmith, exhibiting my one-of-a-kind artwork in galleries across the country.

I boarded and trained two horses at a farm just south of town, and my Denver studio and gallery were shared with generations of good dogs. My successful, yet uncommon blog (www.annablakeblog.com) chronicles life on my farm and horse training from a unique perspective, confirming my hilarious and inspirational approach to animal understanding, training, and love. I'm now putting five years of weekly posts into two books: RELAXED AND FORWARD is a compilation of stories about my family herd here at Infinity Farm, and BARN DANCE is a collection of training information your horse wants you to have. The book will be released in late 2016.