Baby oil to the rescue!

Wash legs then spray baby oil on legs to keep mud from sticking and absorbing moisture from your horse’s skin causing cracking and swelling along with discomfort. Its a long term moisturizer and only needs to be applied once or twice a week! It’s also great for the hooves too!

After selling a horse we all hope to be sent updates on the horse but that’s not always reality.

The biggest issue I come across with selling horses is the new buyers option to keep the seller updated. Usually the first few months after the sale you get updates of the horse settling in well and the “I love my horse thank you!” Then contact tends to fade but as a seller that’s ok it means they are spending their time enjoying their horse.

Then there’s the controversy of the trainer selling a horse on consignment for the seller. The trainer finds an appropriate home and if updates are sent to the trainer they are related to the seller. The issue here is there’s almost always an attachment to the horse from the seller and they tend to get demanding towards the trainer to get updates on the horse. It’s not the trainers fault if the new buyer doesn’t wish to be in contact with the seller of the horse. Some of my buyers prefer it that way so they aren’t bothered to have visitors or people driving by checking on the horse and in some cases stalking the buyers and harassing them.

Moral of the story if you sell a horse you relinquish all rights to that horse. Including staying in touch. It’s nice to get a buyer who updates you but it’s rare to find one. Most buy the horse, inform you they love them and they are a happy team then that’s that. Just remember to keep in mind others privacy and their wishes to not be harassed. Once you sell your horse it’s their horse and their decision on who they update or even if they choose to do so. Just know in your mind you did your best to help them find their match in a horse partner and the silence means they are happy.

Selling horses isn’t for the faint of heart we all fall in love with these animals but we also have to respect their new homes and their privacy.

First trail ride for my 2.5 year old Charlie!

Set them up to succeed! We went on a 2 hour ride at a horse park an hour and a half away! She settled in perfectly! Big brother Leonard my 3.5 year old gelding and her pasture buddy and role model kept a close eye on her and gave her confidence as well as keeping her in line. We all enjoyed our ride it was a success 🙂

Inside look at how the horse sees his world.

First off horse’s aren’t humans. Too many people humanize the horse to make it look as if it understands English so we better relate to them. That couldn’t be more incorrect. Horses are animals and at any point can revert to instinct and cause harm to us we don’t emphasize on that enough. That being said, they are flight animals and if they can’t escape they will fight. “Run now, look later” has kept them alive for hundreds of years but it was our bright idea to change that. They are “designed” to graze all day and move constantly. But again we decided that’s not convenient for us so we feed them twice a day, the same times everyday then wonder why they colic or have ulcers. We work them for 1-2 hours a day most of the time to a sweat, walk them out to cool off then they stand in stalls 22 hours until you arrive again and we wonder why they have arthritis. The horse is a well oiled machine it does best with ample room, constant forage and companions. Humans like routine and convenience. Horses are opposite in more ways than one.

Horses don’t have depth perception, they don’t need it to survive only hunters need depth to survive. This makes the horse spooky and weary of shades that differ on the ground. They want to be part of a herd and you are considered their herd. It’s up to you to establish where your place is in there world. Just because you bought this animal does not mean he doesn’t think he owns you. The farther you get from thinking like a human and closer you get to understanding the horse, the closer your bond will be.

If you’re horse is stalled let him out as much as you can. Not only to be worked but to go for walks, explore, graze, find their itchy spot, let them cruise around and you walk with them to keep them safe but to understand it’s a partnership he can sometimes wonder at the end of the lead and show you places he’s interested in or grass he thinks needs to be tasted. These simple acts will mean so much to him. Just make sure he’s respectful not dragging you around.

Step back, think about what makes him happy not what makes you happy. That’s the first step to partnership. He does his best to try to make you happy. They deserve the same from us in return.

When you do your groundwork the under saddle results are AMAZING!

Here is my 2.5 year old filly as of currently. I started her last spring and she’s ridden once a month for 15-20 minutes. She’s only walk trot at this time I don’t introduce the canter until they are very confident at lower gaits. Low, slow, no hands, this girl already knows her job because she’s confident in her ground work! Don’t skip steps you’ll see it’s all worth it in the end.