Brooke Powell with Independently Equine

02/01/2025

😂😂😂

01/31/2025

Have to find fun sometimes 😂

01/30/2025

A throwback to an attempted advertising video 😂

01/29/2025

Well. Wishing doesn’t hurt anyone 😂

01/28/2025

The life of barn cats 😂

01/27/2025

This is one of my favorite showgrounds

01/27/2025

At least when I’m headed to the barn 😂

01/22/2025

Betsy’s always taking advantage of the local cuisine

01/22/2025

I’ll save a giant for sale post here, but if you need any blankets, I have a BUNCH available for sale. Cleaned out the lesson barn storage 😂

01/20/2025

I basically always feel like this 😂

01/19/2025

Buckets of water. Aka are my stirrups even?

It’s really important to keep your ears open and listening. When I was teaching today at Rumple Ranch Lessons, a very new, very young student was trying to figure out if her stirrups felt even. She said, “it feels like this stirrup has a bucket of water on it and this stirrup has half a bucket of water.” For her, that meant the half a bucket was too short. I’d never considered it feeling like that. What a thoughtful comparison.

Now, how do we interpret it? As an instructor (or as a rider) I had to figure out which one needed to change. As we know, nothing in horses is simple 😂, so how do we figure out what to adjust? This little rider is doing a great job learning to go with the horse. Being small, a full bucket of water is probably what a foot in a stirrup should feel like. So we adjusted, she decided it felt even and we continued with a nice lesson. What if she were a more tense rider or more adult sized? Perhaps we’d try adjusting to the half full bucket. When I’m riding, I think I’ll try shooting for a quarter full bucket. Regardless, a great comparison from a hopefully soon to be great rider. And the picture? From warmer and very missed weather. Cheers to compassionate horsemanship! 💜

01/18/2025

As I migrate videos over here from my TikTok, be prepared. It may be random! They may be kind of old! It’ll be a good time regardless 😂💜. Cheers to compassionate horsemanship! 💜

01/17/2025

Quick tip:

Does your horse wear their blanket crooked? No matter what you do, how straight and correctly you pit it on, that blanket is always crooked when you look later? Consider saying something to your body worker. A personal experience, Betsy has always worn her blankets crooked. She’s been getting regular (at least monthly) from A L Equine for over a year and she doesn’t wear her blankets crooked anymore. I can also say that in the semi retirement riding we do, she also feels more even.
When you’re troubleshooting making your horse better, consider their history and how to help them move better. In Betsy’s case, a bone spur and a suspensory tear make her less even, but she’s always happy to work. My experience has been that the body work has helped her move more comfortably. The other note is that she doesn’t wear her blanket crooked anymore. In fact, if it’s a little crooked and she moves around, it straightens (more on that in another post). Noticing the details makes our horses more comfortable. Cheers to compassionate horsemanship! 💜

12/24/2024

Throwback to this picture of Betsy 💜. She’s wonderful 😂💜 Cheers to compassionate horsemanship!

10/27/2024

A fabulous day with Meeting Place Equine at the Illinois Horse and Pony Breeders and Exhibitors Assoc Equine Clinic! Got to talk to some up and coming riders as well as some seasoned pros. It’s always a good day when I get to team up with Becky and help riders find their balance. Balanced, intentional riders can help horses perform their best. Cheers to compassionate horsemanship! 💜

10/27/2024

Come join us at Rumple Ranch for a trick or treat night on Wednesday!

Don’t forget our Barn Trick or Treat next Wednesday!

10/25/2024

Jolene took it literally when she heard that our horses are our mirror. 😂 Cheers to compassionate horsemanship!

09/30/2024

Having fun with horses on a budget

First off, admittedly, this is partially a shameless plug for two of my favorite fun shows in Illinois. Otter Creek Saddle Club Palmyra IL and Heart of Fun Shows are great places to take your horses. They’re well run shows with experienced staff and general patient, reasonable judges. Both of them have a show or two left this year, see pictures for showbills.

Now, on to the why of this post. Like I said yesterday in my continuing education post, a lot of us are running tight. However, we still want to have fun! If you want to get off the property with your horse, possibly meet some new friends and get to ride, consider going to a fun show. More than likely, there’s one at least once a month within an hour of you. Check on your local horse groups, on feed store community boards, and with your local horse friends for when, where and what kind they are. Make sure you know the rules, if you don’t, just ask 🙂, and go out for a day! It’s a great opportunity to enjoy time with your horse and your horse community. Cheers to compassionate horsemanship! 💜