Splinters
Stories from car crashes to gravity water salamanders that don’t fit anywhere else.
16 Animals Are Watching You: Last Day to Bid on Julia’s Pet Food Paintings
Happy Sunday morning! A guinea hen named Freezy would look good on your wall. Today’s your last chance to bid on Julia’s Pet Food paintings, and every dollar goes to a local animal shelter.
Meet Mule Polly and Watch The Lost Sea Expedition at FENCE House in Tryon
Ever squeezed into a 21-square-foot wagon that crossed America?
Come take a wagon voyage across America with mule Polly and me! On Wednesday, September 30, Polly and I are bringing the Lost Sea Expedition program to FENCE House in Tryon, North Carolina.
Come meet Polly. Squeeze into the Lost Sea Expedition wagon. Then settle in and watch The Lost Sea Expedition, the documentary about our 3,500-mile, 395-day wagon voyage across America.
Julia Carpenter on Creative Spirits Unleashed Podcast
Julia Carpenter, my wife, “Equine Seer” and founder of the Two Step Way, was a guest this week on Lynne Carnes’s Creative Spirits Unleashed podcast. If you’re interested in forging stronger bonds with your horse, dog, or yes, even your spouse, family and friends, this is a must-hear interview!
Listen to Julia and Lynne on Episode 94 of the Creative Spirits podcast.
Here is how Lynne… Continue reading
Warwick Schiller Podcast: Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks
This spring, my wife Julia and I towed our sailboat Grit out of the barn, launched her and sailed her to Shackleford Banks, North Carolina, where we spent the next two weeks studying the wild horses that live there. We never imagined that ramble would land us on numerous podcasts, including Warwick Schiller’s Journey On podcast.
Shackleford Banks Wild Horses on Today’s Horsewoman Podcast
Earlier this spring, Julia and I spent two weeks anchored off Shackleford Banks (North Carolina) studying the wild horses that call the 9-mile uninhabited island home.
While we were at Shackleford, we appeared on Rose Cushing’s podcasts Today’s Horsewoman and Today’s Horseman.
Have a listen. You can just hear the crackling energy in our voices. We were alive to everything around us.… Continue reading
Best Long Riding and Horse Travel Books: 8 Picks from a Long Rider with 6,000 Miles in the Saddle
I’ve ridden 6,000 miles in the saddle and spent over 1,000 nights on the road with horses and mules, and people often ask me what I recommend they read about Long Riding and long distance saddle travel. A Long Ride is a continuous, unsupported saddle journey of over 1,000 miles. Here are my eight favorites.
Any of these books would make a great gift for the horse, mule, donkey, travel or adventure lover in your life.
Our Tiny Library Up… Continue reading
What is the Long Riders’ Guild
Twenty years ago, I owned a mule named Woody. Woody was cantankerous. I wanted to ride him across North Carolina – and maybe a whole lot farther. Too bad nobody could tell me how to ride a mule 300 miles. This is the post I wish I’d read all those years ago.
Filipe Masetti Leite Rode a Horse 16,000 Miles. This is What he Learned.
“I’d never ridden more than 3 kilometers.” That’s what author, filmmaker, and Long Rider Filipe Masetti told me, a fellow Long Rider, after riding 16,000 miles across North and South America. That quote will give you hope you can do whatever you’re dreaming of doing.
Update: Filipe and Clara Racing on The Amazing Race Canada
Since this interview, Filipe has taken a break from Long Riding. He and his wife Clara are now racing on… Continue reading
Circles in the Snow: After the Thaw
Drip, drip, drip. Everything is dripping. Dripping off the cabin gutter. Dripping of the chestnut tree. Dripping off the bee hive. Dripping extra fast when the sun comes out. And dripping off the shovel that I forgot in the snow. After two weeks of snow, it’s all melting. This morning Julia and I stepped into the forests and what did we… Continue reading
Join the Horse Partnership Webinar with Julia Carpenter – February 7th
If you’re interested in forging a stronger bond with your horse—really seeing the being inside the animal you’re working with—I’m inviting you to attend my wife Julia’s free webinar this Saturday. It’s called Exploring the Building Blocks of Partnership, and it’s about connecting with horses, mules, and donkeys in ways you may not have imagined possible.
- Date: Saturday, February 7, 2026
- Time: 1 pm EST
- Register here.
- Cost: Free
If you haven’t officially registered yet, make sure you sign… Continue reading
Snow Day Prep: Mules, Blankets, and Last-Minute Runs
Got your bread and milk? The forecast calls for fifteen to eighteen inches of snow this weekend. A proper winter storm. That means, in addition to grocery shopping, we’re scurrying around the property preparing for the white stuff. Mostly, that involves thinking ahead about what the critters will need—extra hay and water for the mules and horses, plus blankets—and making a run to the transfer station with o ur garbage and… Continue reading
Bell Bottoms, Wagons & Travel Grit: My 2025 Year in Review
Whew. Well, that was a barn burner of a year. They say time speeds up the older we get, but it should be mentioned that it gets richer, too, if you’re lucky. By that metric, my wife Julia and I have been bonkers lucky in 2025. From filming a PBS NC documentary and sailing North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound to launching my new website TravelGrit.com, this year delivered adventures that’ll keep us smiling well into the New Year.
Covered Wagon Shadow Puppet Show: A Homemade Christmas Video
You’ve watched plenty of AI-generated Christmas videos this season. Now watch this home made shadow show I made just for you, projected against the side of my covered wagon. Talk about really raising your holiday spirits!
That’s me in the video above riding my mule Cracker and leading my pack mule… Continue reading
See the Being the Two Step Way With Julia Carpenter and Ty Evans Mulemanship
This week my wife, Julia Carpenter, was a guest on Ty Evans’ Mulemanship podcast. Julia is the founder of the Two Step Way— a two step way of how to be with your horse and how to see your horse. Ty is a world renown mule and horse trainer and clinician. In this episode, Julia and Ty explore what it means to truly see the being you’re interacting with, whether that’s a donkey, mule, horse, or… Continue reading
1991 Brenderup Royal Horse Trailer: Specs, Photos, and What It’s Like to Own One
UPDATE: This trailer sold in September 2025. Leaving this post up because so many people have written in asking about Brenderup trailers in general. Details, specs, and photos below for anyone shopping for one.
After eight years of reliably happy ownership, my wife Julia and I sold our 1991 Brenderup two-horse trailer. We originally bought this Brenderup trailer to pull with our 4-cylinder 2006 Toyota Tacoma. It worked perfectly. We upgraded to a bigger truck and stock trailer, so no… Continue reading
