Smooth Moves Equine

04/12/2025

So true 🦄

28/11/2025

Lucas pondering how close he should get to Santa and his unicorns. 🎄

21/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BgWkPxo55/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/11/2025

I love this picture. Why? Because it shows my unicorn Lucas has a mind of his own in a good way I never want my horse to be a robot.

I sent this photo to my trainer to explain why we were late coming to our lesson.
What Lucas was trying to tell me by uncharacteristically not loading was that he wasn’t feeling good that day. With the extreme weather changes he had some gut stuff happening and the new shoes that were done two days before had improved his hooves but he was learning to walk around on his new shoes.

I love it Lucas did this to say hey mom I’m not 100% today — help please

My trainer and I changed things up to address his needs and he’s back to his normal best friend behavior 🦄

31/10/2025

THE GIVE OR TAKE TRUNK

Due to the upcoming need for food assistance for so many in our country and our community, there will be a waterproof black trunk in front of our fence line on Clear Lake beginning Sunday, November 2nd.

GIVE extra non-perishable food inside if you have been blessed.

TAKE food anytime from the trunk, if you need more for yourself or your family.

John and I will monitor the trunk to make sure things stay fresh and will donate any overflow to JC Local Aid or Food for Lane County.

Feel free to share our post. The goal is to help any who will be affected with the upcoming loss of food assistance.

30/10/2025

I think we all horse people intrinsically knew this, but now scientist proving it.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQR0aPrDzfs/?igsh=MTdkYW1qd3BlcHoyMw==

27/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BiSr6frq8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

😂

27/09/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOA9Z8JDM-r/?igsh=MWx6aGJ2dG15aGpwZA==

17/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BG5ZrQH1W/?mibextid=wwXIfr

BARN OWNER REALITY CHECK 🏚️
Things They Don't Tell You About Running a Barn:

💰 "You will make lots of money from horse boarding"
REALITY: The money comes in, and then it immediately goes out. Hay prices are up. The farrier raised his rates. The vet bill for that one colic scare was astronomical. The tractor needs a new part. The fence line needs repairs again. Your profit margin is thinner than a horse's summer coat in July, and you're mostly just moving money around to keep the place from falling apart. By the time you account for all of the costs of running a farm such as bedding, insurance, workers, feed, hay, electricity, manure removal, pasture seeding, mowing, etc, the question is, is it really worth the little money you make ?! (If any at all!)

🐴 "Horses are easy to care for"
REALITY: They are delicate creatures designed to injure themselves in the most creative and expensive ways possible. One minute they're peacefully grazing; the next, they have a mysterious abscess, a swollen leg from a kick nobody saw, or have somehow lost a shoe in a perfectly padded stall. And that's not even counting the endless cycle of feeding, mucking, blanketing, and checking for new cuts and scrapes.

👥 "Boarders will follow the rules"
REALITY: You have a meticulously crafted 10-page rulebook, but it’s treated more like a suggestion list. Gates are left open. Lights are left on. People park in front of the hay delivery truck's path. They use the "owner's only" equipment and don't clean up after themselves. You spend more time being a friendly-but-firm enforcer than you do enjoying your own horses.

☀️ "Enjoy the peaceful country lifestyle"
REALITY: That peaceful country lifestyle is a fantasy you occasionally glimpse between 16-hour workdays. Your alarm goes off before the sun, and you don't stop until long after it's set. Your weekends are filled with chores, not leisure. That tranquil silence is often broken by the sound of a horse kicking its stall door, a frantic phone call about a loose horse, or the low hum of a broken water pump.

🤝 "Everyone will get along"
REALITY: The barn is a microcosm of society, complete with cliques, gossip, and petty rivalries. One boarder is convinced another is overfeeding their horse. Someone is always complaining about a stall being mucked improperly or a blanket being put on wrong. You're not just a barn owner; you're a therapist, a mediator, and a conflict resolution specialist, all while trying to remember which horse gets a scoop of what grain and a handful of which supplement.

BUT HERE'S THE TRUTH:
When you watch a rescue horse bloom, see a kid find confidence, or catch that perfect sunset over your pastures... you remember why you chose this financially questionable but soul-filling life.

10/08/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16jV6mrUWH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Just came across this—
This is such a great explanation and demonstration of how to sit a saddle while riding for any equestrian discipline.

09/08/2025

Cool and simple memorial piece

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16uJRa9Yw2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

24/07/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/16wHWDcN8i/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I really like this approach to training the younguns like Trek.

: My general, broad strokes rule is that 3️⃣ year old horses work three days a week, 4️⃣ year olds four days, 5️⃣ year olds five, and 6️⃣+ six. What is up to me is what constitutes “work.” If I get on a horse (of any age!) and they feel like melted ice cream, it might be a day to go for a hack, or do mounting block practice, or work on trailer loading. When I have a youngster who is going through a sulky-to-the-leg stage (and yes yes yes I’ve ruled out all physical things), “work” might be me tacking up, mounting, walking off a bit, asking the horse to trot ten strides, giving big pats and dismounting, and then repeating that process a few different times during the day. It teaches him that being willing to work with me means shorter rides and more snacks, without having to drill on and on.

“Work” can be whatever we want it to be. And since developing healthy, happy upper level horses is very much a marathon and not a sprint, it’s less about the work on the day and more about the consistency and clarity of work over time 🙌