My wonderful Fire horse temperament mare, Cerise, loves to be praised but she prefers charitable giving to being forced to comply. When I ask her nicely to do something and she is in the mood she will give it her all. On the other hand, if she is not feeling good or is having a … Continue Reading »
Do you ever wonder if your DNA can change as you get exposed to new things? My virtual assistant, Stephanie, has always handled my social media chores but lately I have been learning how to do more things myself. Talk about getting out of my comfort zone! I have now personally tweeted several times and, … Continue Reading »
Bud, my food sensitivity patient, had a flare up of his horse ulcers this weekend but instead of being set back for a week of more he was eating again in less than an hour. What a miracle compared to a few months ago. A little background. Bud has food sensitivities because he was under … Continue Reading »
My Yang Ming(Metal/Earth) horse temperament has lots of skeletons in his closet. He has been doing so well recovering from his traumas as an x roping and barrel horse. He has gotten very comfortable here at the farm and can handle trail rides well. The challenge is taking him to arenas. In his roping and … Continue Reading »
Leafy Greens Reverse Toxic Effects January 25, 2010 This is an article my friend, Trish, sent me when we were discussing chia seeds . Aflatoxins can be found in feeds for horses as well. It looks like the chia plant, which is a type of sage, was used in this study. Not such a bad … Continue Reading »
I have been looking for a perfect fat source as a feed for horses for over 2 years. It seems that almost all sources of fat as a feed for horses also have a down side. I have finally found one that seems to be perfect. Chia seeds! My good friend, Trish, introduced me to … Continue Reading »
Remi, my Yang Ming horse temperament gelding, has finally decided his life here with me is OK. I have had Remi three and a half years and it has taken him this long to trust I am not going to mistreat him. Remi has a checkered past as a roping and barrel racing horse. Although, … Continue Reading »
The spring grass is coming up and it is so tempting to let your laminitis horses out on pasture but you must resist. Sugar is high and magnesium is low in spring grass and this combination is one of the main triggers for laminitis horses. The really sad thing is that spring grass is also … Continue Reading »
My friend, Stephanie, had a horse we all thought was simply a lazy horse but we were wrong. Marcus was a jumper and Stephanie would have to kick him constantly to get him around the course. Even with a good holistic horse health program, Marcus remained a lazy horse who would get slower each day … Continue Reading »
For many people winter is the season of depression, low energy, or what some people euphemistically refer to as “the blue meanies.” In other words, they’ve got that fatigue feeling. Ick! If you feel slow and sluggish this winter, it may be the season but it may also be that your cells are running out … Continue Reading »
The cold winter has been hard on Bud and but he is on the mend again. Chronic horse ulcers like the ones Bud has are tough to heal when stress is ongoing. Between the extreme cold and pain in his TMJ from the original injury Bud has had major stress. Last year Bud broke several … Continue Reading »
I was having a nice ride on Cerise this morning until I asked her to bend and move forward at the same time. As a Fire horse personality, Cerise has her own ideas about how to do things and bending and moving off my leg is something she does not agree with. It is not … Continue Reading »
I have a hen named Squawker and she is without doubt the most annoying chicken I have ever had. She is constantly hiding her eggs so about every 3 days I have to go looking for her stash. She sat on eggs in the middle of the winter and then when the chicks hatched she … Continue Reading »
Laminitis horses that have metabolic issues are such a challenge to diagnose and treat. It is tempting to focus on lab results but this can be a mistake unless you look at multiple tests. My basic tests for metabolic laminitis horses are glucose, insulin and ACTH. I run these tests regularly and look for patterns … Continue Reading »
Do you ever present your horse with a training exercise only to have him rush through it, as if to “get it over with” as soon as possible? Or how about the jumper horse that charges a jump totally out of control? And then there’s the reining horse that spins … but at Mach-1 with … Continue Reading »
Are you able to stay focused when you are around your horse? I have a terrible time with this. I have learned to remain present when I am around people but when I go to the pasture my mind chatter takes over. God has been pointing out to me lately the need to quite my … Continue Reading »
When I say a job I don’t mean go around a course of jumps or do a reining pattern, I mean if you get in a bind can your horse step up and help you. For example, I was riding with a friend that was taking a young Wood horse temperament colt out on the … Continue Reading »
It’s bad enough if your horse develops ulcers, but it is so much worse if your horse develops ulcers and you don’t have a clue until he’s deathly ill. Unfortunately, there are certain horses who are more likely to develop ulcers without showing any outward signs of pain until they are really sick. In terms … Continue Reading »
Some women have a weakness for new shoes but for me it is tack. I could spend all day in a tack shop and never get bored. Touching and smelling leather brings me into a state of euphoria and peace. A new bridle headstall is a treasure. Saddle pads and girths are nice but they … Continue Reading »
For horse lovers, one of the most frustrating experiences is trying to catch a horse who doesn’t want to be caught. Maybe you’ve had a long day at work and are eagerly looking forward to a relaxing trail ride, or perhaps you need to catch your horse to haul him to a horsemanship clinic. Either … Continue Reading »