Bordeaux Equestrian

11/11/2025

We love getting updates on past horses that came through our program! 😍

Here is one of our favorite matches on their recent 2’6 move up, Bruno and his kid Ava! Bruno was a favorite of ours, and we almost kept him for our lesson program until he met Ava last fall. They were a perfect match from the first ride and there was no denying that it was love at first sight for both of them 💕

11/03/2025

We are currently accepting new students for our lesson program, and we also currently have 2 stalls available for new clients (training/lessons required) At least 12 hours of small group daily turnout (weather permitting), forage first feed program, consistent quality care and a no drama, positive atmosphere. Small but active lesson program for dedicated individuals in our hunter/jumper program, local and rated show options year round!

Training and consignment options available as well, specializing in restarting OTTB’s with a solid foundation

10/19/2025

Our dear sweetest Delilah is also going to be finishing up her current lease Dec 1

Delilah is a medium pony that is actually a unicorn 🦄She has done every job from leadline to 2’3 derbies, she most recently took her current lease from a timid xrail rider to sailing around in her first derbies in the ribbons and will be attending WEC next week to finish out their season together. Has a change that is mostly auto. Absolute easiest pony to live and travel with. Never needs a lunge or prep. Not mareish. Only the best homes need apply. Borrow only, low fives for the year. Currently located near Pittsburg.

10/17/2025

Before I post her publicly, my favorite mare in the whole world miss Nellie will be coming off of lease Dec 1st and available to her next rider for borrow only and to the most perfect home only.

15.2 TB mare, moves a 10. Suitable xrails-2’6. She brought her current lease from single xrails to coursing 2’-2’3. Total confidence builder over fences. Has a change both ways, currently tuning it up to get it back to auto. (Is auto right/left, working on left/right) Definitely is a hunter but has also played in the jumpers with her current kid and had fun if someone wants to be able to dabble. She’s the queen of the castle and I would be motivated to keep her in the barn. Lowest fives for the year.

10/02/2025

🏡Congratulations to Conoly and Eremos Farm on their new addition of Jayla! Can’t wait to see what you do with this sweet girl 💕

Jayla is a 5 year old 16.1 TB mare retiring sound with clean legs after 31 starts. She is one of the sweetest yet most athletic mares I think I’ve had come through the barn. She is an elegant but impressive mover at all gaits, and shows a nice balanced canter with effortless changes in her free movement. Well bred on both sides, I see this one thriving in an eventing home with a soft handed but experienced rider. She is not yet restarted, she has been enjoying some let down time and had her feet done. No vices. Free movement video available.

09/19/2025

There’s no point in trying to make a horse do a job they don’t enjoy, so when Rusty let us know that he just wasn’t enjoying life as a hunter pony we sent him out to Sam Smucker to try some different jobs and get back to work… so now we are offering him as a cow pony or maybe a fox hunting pony as he did great on the trails as well and it’s not the jumping he didn’t enjoy, it’s working in the ring. Please share because I do not have connections for this type 😂

8 years old, 14h gelding. Doesn’t want to be a little kids pony but an older kid that can work him would be fine. No vices other than that. Open to all offers to find his new home/job ASAP

09/15/2025

Excited to be adding another adorable paint pony to our Bordeaux Equestrian family later this week 🦄

09/09/2025

The ring is set for fall and has been Clyde and Remy approved 🍂 🎃👻

09/03/2025

Congratulations to Stellar and his new mom on a perfect match 🥰

Next up on our list we are sadly offering our boy Stellar to the perfect fitting home only

“Tempesta” aka Stellar is an 8 year old 15.3/16h gelding that has been in and out of my program for the last few years. Recently he has been doing the lesson job for me a couple of days a week with advanced beginner/intermediate riders, which he does tolerate but definitely doesn’t love. Show experience in the hunters to 2’ and I think could make a nice 2’6 type horse. In a perfect world he would have an adult ammy intermediate or better rider that wants an enjoyable leg ride to do a variety of things with. He gets BORED doing ring work all the time. He wants to dabble in some training, hacking out/trail riding and can still go out and happily horse show. Heck he would probably be a fantastic fox hunter. Not a spooky guy at all. Now here are his downfalls- he will crib if he doesn’t have his collar on in his stall, and he’s not a horse that wants to be booped in the nose and hugged and brushed for hours. I’ll happily send him with the brushes that he likes/tolerates and his crib collar that works well for him. Mid fours to keep, open to lease options as well. Best fitting home is most important

09/02/2025

Found his forever home 🏡 💕

Pictures don’t do this guy any justice I swear 😅

“What’s Up Brother” aka Brody is just 3 years old and already stands a solid 16.2h. Minimal starts on the track, and when you see the lope this guy has you’ll understand why. Wonderful brain, super friendly and goofy personality. Under saddle he is naturally well balanced, a leg ride, and starting to learn how to use himself a bit better just within a couple of rides. He would be awesome for someone that wants an RRP horse for hunters or dressage for next year. Clean legs, no vices. Listing for just above mid fours. DM for more info and video

07/17/2025

This is an excellent explanation

Training Is Not a Democracy: Your Horse Doesn’t Get a Vote

One of the biggest shifts I’ve seen in the horse world over the years is how much people have softened in the wrong direction. Now don’t get me wrong — I’m all for kindness, for patience, and for empathy. But those things mean very little if they aren’t wrapped in clear leadership. Somewhere along the line, too many people started confusing kindness with permissiveness and leadership with cruelty. That’s where the wheels fall off. Because here’s the truth:

Training is not a democracy. Your horse doesn’t get a vote.

We are the leaders. And we have to act like it.

Confusing Emotion with Permission
A horse isn’t a dog, and even dogs need structure. But horses? Horses are flight animals. Horses are herd animals. They’re hardwired to look for leadership. And if they don’t find it in you, they’ll either fill that role themselves — which never ends well — or they’ll become anxious, reactive, or even dangerous. Either way, they’re not thriving, they’re surviving.

Somewhere out there, people got this idea that a horse “expressing itself” was the same thing as “being empowered.” But when that expression looks like pushing into your space, refusing to move forward, slamming on the brakes at the gate, or throwing a fit about being caught, that’s not empowerment — that’s insecurity and disrespect. That’s a lack of clear expectations. That’s a horse operating in chaos.

And a chaotic horse is a dangerous horse.

The Illusion of Fairness
I know some people mean well. They want to be “fair.” They want their horse to feel “heard.” But horses aren’t people. They don’t negotiate. They don’t take turns. They live in a world of black and white — safe or unsafe, leader or follower, respect or no respect.

If you try to run your training like a democracy — where every cue is a polite request and every command is up for discussion — you’re setting that horse up for failure. Because out in the pasture, that’s not how it works. The lead mare doesn’t ask twice. The alpha doesn’t negotiate. Leadership in the horse world is clear, consistent, and sometimes firm — but it’s always fair.

Being fair doesn’t mean weak. It doesn’t mean permissive. It means you set a boundary and you keep it.

Confidence Comes from Clarity
One of the things I say often is this: a horse is never more confident than when it knows who’s in charge and what the rules are. Period.

A horse that’s allowed to “opt out” of work when it doesn’t feel like it isn’t a happy horse. It’s a confused horse. A horse that’s allowed to drag its handler, rush the gate, balk at obstacles, or call the shots under saddle isn’t empowered — it’s insecure. It’s operating without a plan, without leadership, and without trust in its rider.

And let me tell you something — trust isn’t earned through wishy-washy “maybe-if-you-want-to” training. It’s earned through consistency, repetition, and follow-through. That’s what gives a horse confidence. That’s what earns respect. That’s what makes a horse feel safe — and therefore willing.

Manners Are Not Optional
When people send their horses to me for training, one of the first things I work on is manners. I don’t care how broke that horse is, how many blue ribbons it has, or how fancy the bloodlines are. If the horse walks through me, pulls away, crowds my space, or refuses to stand quietly, we’re not moving on until that’s fixed.

Because manners aren’t cosmetic. They’re the foundation of everything.

If your horse doesn’t respect your space on the ground, what makes you think it’ll respect your leg cues under saddle? If your horse doesn’t wait for a cue to walk off at the mounting block, what makes you think it’ll wait for your cue to lope off on the correct lead?

We don’t give horses the option to decide whether or not to be respectful. That’s not up for debate. That’s the bare minimum of the contract.

Leadership Isn’t Force — It’s Direction
Now before somebody takes this and twists it into something it’s not, let me be clear. I’m not talking about bullying. I’m not talking about fear-based training. I don’t train with anger, and I don’t train with cruelty.

But I also don’t ask twice.

When I give a cue, I expect a response. If I don’t get it, I don’t stand there and beg — I escalate until I get the response I asked for. And then I drop right back down to lightness. That’s how you teach a horse to respond to softness. Not by starting soft and staying soft no matter what. You teach softness through clarity, consistency, and fair correction when needed.

That’s leadership.

Horses Crave It — So Give It
Some of the best horses I’ve ever trained came in hot, pushy, or insecure. And some of those same horses left my place calm, willing, and confident — not because I over-handled them, but because I gave them structure. I told them where the boundaries were, and I held those boundaries every single time. I wasn’t their friend. I wasn’t their therapist. I was their leader.

And in the end, that’s what they wanted all along.

They didn’t want to vote. They wanted to be led.

Final Thought
If your horse is calling the shots — whether that’s dragging you out to the pasture, refusing to go in the trailer, tossing its head, or dictating when and how you ride — then your barn doesn’t have a training problem. It has a leadership problem.

Stop running your horse life like a town hall meeting. Training isn’t a democracy. Your horse doesn’t get a say in whether or not it respects you. That part’s not optional. Your job — your responsibility — is to show up, be consistent, and take the lead. Every time.

Because if you don’t? That horse will. And I promise you, that’s not the direction you want to go.

04/23/2025

Turnout is a huge part of our horses routine, we try to get as close to 12 hours per day as possible. And when weather is especially nice like right now, normally spring and fall, we will bring them inside for meals twice and day and give them some time to relax, and then turn them back out. They absolutely love it!

Turnout is one of the most polarizing topics in modern horse keeping. So, let’s skip the debate. We’ve gathered some results from veterinary science, peer-reviewed journals, and international welfare assessments. These are real numbers, from real studies, so you can make strategic decisions rooted in evidence, not tradition.

-A 25% reduction in soft tissue injuries was found in adult horses turned out for at least 12 hours daily, compared to those kept in stalls greater than 12 hours daily. (Reilly & Bryk-Lucy, 2021)

-Comparing turnout duration, a study found that horses with only 2 hours of turnout exhibited significantly higher energy levels, anxiety, and behaviors such as rearing, bucking, and fence running, whereas horses receiving over 12 hours of turnout were more likely to walk, graze, and remain calm. (Hockenhull & Creighton, 2010)

-Foals receiving inconsistent turnout (9 to 23 hours per day) had 4.6 times more musculoskeletal injuries than those with 24/7 access to turnout. Furthermore, for every extra acre of turnout, there was a 24% reduction in injury risk. (Brown-Douglas et al., 2022)

-A study on 2-year-old horses found that those kept in individual stalls required more time to get used to training activities and showed more unwanted behaviors, like resistance or agitation, than horses kept on pasture. The stalled horses needed an average of 26 minutes of training time, while the pastured horses needed only 19 minutes, to complete the same task. Additionally, the stalled horses were more likely to show unwanted behaviors during training (8 instances on average compared to just 2 for pastured horses). (Rivera et al., 2002)

-Stall-kept livestock experience a higher incidence of hoof-related issues, including uneven hoof growth and lameness, while those with access to turnout demonstrated healthier, more balanced hoof development. (Black, R.A. et al., 2017)

-A European welfare study using the AWIN protocol assessed 315 horses in group-housing turnout systems. Only 2.3% of these horses exhibited signs of lameness, compared to lameness rates as high as 33% in stalled horses across various studies. (AWIN Welfare Assessment, 2023)

-Within just one day of moving from group turnout to individual stalling, equine cortisol levels spike, and their white blood cell count shows significant changes, including a 25% increase in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) and a decrease in infection-fighting cells like monocytes and T cells. Additionally, behaviors indicative of stress, such as oral manipulation, neighing, pawing, and apathy, became evident in most horses within a week. (Schmucker et al., 2022)

-Horses with regular turnout showed higher heart rate variability, indicating improved balance in their autonomic nervous system and greater stress resilience. (Rietmann et al., 2004)

-Welsh ponies who received daily pasture turnout in a herd exhibited fewer stress-related behaviors, were significantly calmer, less fearful, less reactive, more interactive with humans, and more adaptable in learning tasks compared to ponies housed in impoverished environments (stalls with limited turnout). Even three months after the study, ponies in the enriched group retained these positive behaviors and demonstrated higher curiosity and superior learning performance. (Lansade et al., 2014)

Can you find a single peer-reviewed study that shows horses kept stabled 24/7 are sounder, healthier, or happier than those with regular turnout? Even the most finely tuned, performance-focused horses are still horses. Just like any other, they require room to roam, stretch their legs, and engage in natural behaviors such as grazing and socializing.

It’s important to recognize that no horse truly dislikes turnout. If a horse resists going outside, it’s due to improper conditioning, previous negative experiences, or being overwhelmed by a sudden change in environment: what’s known as "flooding." Horses who’ve been confined for extended periods or who’ve never had proper exposure to outdoor spaces may react with anxiety or reluctance. These reactions stem from fear, not from an inherent dislike of turnout. With patience and gradual exposure, every horse can be reconditioned to embrace the outdoors. After all, instincts tell them to roam, graze, and move, it's in their nature.

Of course, there are times when limiting a horse's movement is necessary, such as during health issues or transportation. In these instances, it’s crucial to understand the physiological and psychological changes that occur so we can minimize stress and discomfort.

Turnout is a biological necessity. To support our horses’ overall health and well-being, we must prioritize their freedom to move. After all, a healthy, happy horse is one that has the opportunity to be just that: a horse.