Hope's Legacy Equestrian

Hope's Legacy Equestrian Hi, My name is Mikayla DeFlorian, John and Josh Lyons certified horse trainer, and Equissage certifi If we give patience the horse will give patience.

My love for horses started at the young age of two when my dad put me on a horse for the first time and I didn't like it one bit. With much perserverence on dads part I grew to love horses and the grace and forgiveness they bring. After being a horse trainer for the past 5 years I believe horses match the energy we give. If we give stress the horse will give stress. With this understanding I choose to further my knowledge and become a certified ESMT through Equissage.

Very much my new favorite photo of Squish.
11/13/2025

Very much my new favorite photo of Squish.

Finally living proof that the 4 horses aren’t identical. Now can anyone guess who is who?
11/08/2025

Finally living proof that the 4 horses aren’t identical. Now can anyone guess who is who?

Finally got to ride little miss princess and wow! We connected on a deeper level, but let's just say she still needs wor...
10/27/2025

Finally got to ride little miss princess and wow! We connected on a deeper level, but let's just say she still needs work on not anticipating the canter.

Look at my favorite little pumpkin with her miss match shoes. 🥰
10/20/2025

Look at my favorite little pumpkin with her miss match shoes. 🥰

Still figuring things out, so bear with me. Major breakthrough - Princess had a nasty hematoma on her lower back, and wo...
10/14/2025

Still figuring things out, so bear with me. Major breakthrough - Princess had a nasty hematoma on her lower back, and wouldn't you know it? I just learned about decompression technique! Now she's my test subject. Cin's also getting some TLC for an old injury flare-up on her lower limb. And Hope decided to remove one of her glue-on shoes, so she's rocking a shoe and a hoof boot. No surprise, really - we do have a herd of misfits.

Let’s get real for a second. When you’re given the chance to ride someone’s horse, don’t just do whatever you want. List...
10/13/2025

Let’s get real for a second. When you’re given the chance to ride someone’s horse, don’t just do whatever you want. Listen to the owner’s expertise and guidance. My horses, Princess, Hope, and Cin, all have unique quirks and needs. Princess has trauma triggers that can make her explosive, Hope has scar tissue that hurts when her saddle is tightened, and Cin’s learning style changes daily.

I train each horse differently because what works for one won’t work for another. If you’re riding someone else’s horse, please listen to their advice and take it seriously. It’s not about being controlling; it’s about protecting the horse’s safety and well-being. So, take a deep breath, be respectful, and listen to the owner’s guidance. Your ride - and the horse - will thank you.

That’s a wrap on the 2025 lesson season!!! I’m so proud of how far everyone has come. The kids showed remarkable improve...
10/09/2025

That’s a wrap on the 2025 lesson season!!! I’m so proud of how far everyone has come. The kids showed remarkable improvement in confidence, heel position, seat, hands, and general riding skills. Princess blossomed into a confident lesson horse, overcoming her shy nature. Cin excelled as a training horse, helping riders master the canter. Hope was our happy emotional support horse, loving every moment with Princess. Looking forward to next year, when Hope can take on more roles now that her foot issues are manageable. It’s been a fantastic season, and I’m eager to start again next spring.

Going off of yesterday’s post about squish. I feel like an educational post is needed and please if there’s any farriers...
10/02/2025

Going off of yesterday’s post about squish. I feel like an educational post is needed and please if there’s any farriers that know much more about this than I do debate is more than welcome.

There’s a saying I once heard and some may probably believe this I’m not sure but it goes along the lines of the angles of a horses hoof not changing unless the coffin bone rotates due to a number of reasons.

Here is my thought process in this. That one means one big massive thing and that’s simply that the horse is designed with absolutely perfect feet and well if you’ve been in the horse industry long enough you know that is not the case. They get abscesses, stone bruises, founder, laminitis they get it all. Therefore we can knock that thought process right out of the ball park.

Thought process number 2: think of those foam cheep dollar fifty flip flops from Walmart and that is all someone wears for an entire summer. Come end of summer and you get a new pair you compare to the gross worn down pair are they that same? No the old worn down pair has an imprint of your foot, this imprint shows on what part of your foot (almost said hoof there) shows in just what part of your foot you walk on more. For me it’s the outside of the foot for some it’s the inside or more on the toes. It’s different for everyone. This shows the “angles” of your foot and how you walk. For horses you if severe enough (hope) you can tell what part they tend to walk on more. For hope it’s her heels, she takes a heel to tie step but they proceeds to walk more on her heel to keep that’s pressure off her bone spur putting strain on her pasterns and more. Her hind feet she tends to walk more in the outside of her foot. So by the time it’s time for her paws to be trimmed the inside of her hind feet are noticeably longer than the outside. Hope is also a bit pigeon toed in the front making her my spare parts pony as I call her.

Does that all make sense?

I am happy to say that we are finally FINALLY making some progress on getting Hope back to feeling like a million bucks....
09/20/2025

I am happy to say that we are finally FINALLY making some progress on getting Hope back to feeling like a million bucks. After many trial and error moments we’ve found that Hope loves soft ground and that she’s best when in a bit of a wedged shoe. However steel shoes seem to no be cozy comfy enough (and I hate the sound of metal shoes on pavement) so today we threw glue on shoes with a bit if a wedge on her and let me just say night and day difference! I feel like I can start to day I have my horse back from before bone spur discovery. She was also so much more tolerant of putting these on.

I share all of this to simply say know your horse. If you feel like steel shoes aren’t helping try something else. If you feel like angles need to be played with or changed try that. Consult your vet ask questions us as horse owners need to advocate for our horses. Beginning of this year I second guessed everything and anything I was doing for Hope. Honestly I was in fact simply loosing Hope for my horse. This entire journey right here just shows not to. Don’t loose hope. Try anything and everything you can think of! I almost didn’t and let’s just say I’m so incredibly glad that I found a farrier that is willing to work with Hope and I instead of just give me crap answers like many others that I have reached out to have previously. And no I’m not trying to single anyone out. I’ve talked to many farriers and vets about this horse, I’ve researched asked advice and opinions. I was this horses advocate and this is the result of just that.

Address

Bedford, IN

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16087697261

Website

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