Thunder Mountain Ranch, LLC

12/09/2024

We had such a big hit with our 50% off rides so let’s fill up our 25% off rides!!!

These are $15 each and won’t be scheduled till after Christmas. We are so blessed to make these rides available for our community and able to welcome everyone into our TMR family!!!!

12/08/2024

Hey y’all it’s Delaynee, I had a fall on a horse last night and broke my leg. I for sure won’t be doing lessons for the next few weeks but do have someone to cover my trail rides on the 15th!
Please keep me in your prayers 🙏

12/07/2024

MINI TRAIL RIDES NEXT WEEKEND!!!

Kennedy’s made some more times available 💙

Get in before they sell out fast, so far the weather looks great!

Fill out this form and you will be contacted if booked!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFrzgas_vCn3aowpz_yOKawu5eHWZ_9-nUx_EmLpqkNZI0cA/viewform

12/07/2024

This has been a process for me the last few years

"The best way to create calmness is to intentionally be SLOW!!!
SLOW EVERYTHING you do down.
SLOW your movement down.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your walking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your horse down.
If you feel too slow, then you're going slow enough.

Calmness is slow, not fast."
-copied from britt n mich sisson

Comparative neurobiology of horse and human.

Horses and humans are both mammals.
Our brains may not be the same size, but they are almost identical in their structure and function.

Why can our brains look so similar but our behaviours and sensitivity to the world look so different?

The area in the picture highlighted is the prefrontal cortex or the (PFC). Its job in humans, horses, dogs, dolphins, elephants, cats, mice, rats, all mammals, and even birds is to carry out "higher executive functions" such as:

🧠 problem solving
🧠 decision making
🧠 reasoning
🧠 risk assessment
🧠 forward planning
🧠 impulse control
🧠 intention

Obviously, these executive functions are more advanced in humans than in other species of mammals, but this part of the brain plays a pivotal role in higher levels of learning beyond primal behaviours and learning survival skills.

So why aren't we seeing these higher executive functioning skills and behaviours in horses as much as what we see them in dogs, dolphins, elephants and even birds?

Ultimately it comes down to safety!

The latest neuroscience research suggests that when the brain feels unsafe it causes the body to produce stress response hormones and these stress response hormones cause the PFC to go "offline".
This means that subcortical regions of the brain (deeper parts of the brain) such as the primal brain (AKA limbic system, survival brain, flight/fight brain) completely take over to increase the chances of survival.

Feeling unsafe causes the feeling of fear and it is fear that gets this party started.

So behaviours come from two areas:

1. The PFC, carrying out problem solving skills, reasoning, impulse control, forward planning etc. that may be interpreted as "obedience" and "partnership".

2. The primal brain, carrying out reactive survival behaviours. This brain does NOT carry out impulse control, forward planning, problem solving, etc. It just reacts to the world. This brain heavily relies on patterns and consistency. This brain will cause freeze/flight/fight behaviours such as shutting down, bolting, biting, rearing, bucking, kicking, barging, etc.

Which brain is the domesticated horse spending most of it's time in?
It's primal brain!

This is why we don't get to see their full intellectual and cognitive potential because most of the time, domesticated horses are perceiving their world in a fearful way to some degree.

We can help our horses with this!

Feeling fearful is the OPPOSITE to feeling calm.
If we want to help our horses access their PFC then we MUST do whatever it takes to help them feel calm.

☝️ ONLY when a brain feels calm can it slow down enough to develop TRUE confidence. Only when the brain feels confident will it access TRUE cognition (PFC).

☝️ We first need to understand that when we get "bad behaviour" from our horses, it's not intentional or naughty or rude. What you are seeing is either a horse that is just reacting to the fear they feel or they are carrying out their "coping mechanism" in response to their anticipation of feeling fear.

☝️ Try to remove expectations that your horse should "know better".
"Knowing better" implies that all behaviours are coming from the PFC and there should be some impulse control and reasoning. Unless your horse feels calm, they can't access the PFC to "know better".

THIS STARTS WITH YOU!!!

You need to be consciously aware if YOU feel calm first. If you feel calm, your horse will have a better chance at feeling calm. Expecting them to feel calm when you don't is unfair.

The best way to create calmness is to intentionally be SLOW!!!
SLOW EVERYTHING you do down.
SLOW your movement down.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your walking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your horse down.
If you feel too slow, then you're going slow enough.

Calmness is slow, not fast.

This will help you and your horse to connect and feel safe together.
When the brain feels stressed, the stress response hormones cause the body to speed up.

Stress = speed

We can reverse engineer this process and create a calm mind through slow intentional movement and a relaxed posture.

The by-product of a calm brain is confidence and cognition (PFC access).

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 😊

Photo: Credit: Adult horse (equine) brain, sagittal section. Michael Frank, Royal Veterinary College. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

12/07/2024

Day 4 of the 12 days of Christmas

Kennedy has done it with these mini ride discounts!!!

$10 /rider
$5 /buddy rider 5yr old or younger (depending on size)
You have till December 7th 11:59pm to purchase as many as you want!
These rides will be scheduled AFTER Christmas, you will receive a link to book!

Message her for any questions!!!
479-430-0725

12/05/2024

Day 3 of 12 days of Christmas!!!

Thought about trying lessons but don’t want a big lesson package? Here you go!

We believe to really get a feel for riding you need to do Atleast 2-3 riding lessons! Then decide if it’s or thing or not!

Must be purchased within the 48 hour period between the 5th and 6th.
Can be used anytime in 2025!!!

These lessons are with Delaynee (owner)

12/03/2024

Day 2 of the 12 days of Christmas
December 3rd & 4th

Kennedy has been working hard to build her client base!!! Let help her add a few more lesson students 💙
✔️She teaches both English and Western disciplines.
✔️1-2 hour private lessons
✔️teaches age 3+

Message (479) 430-0725 or our page to purchase!!!

12/01/2024

Special 1 of our 12 days of Christmas 💙

Mini Trail Rides have been a HUGE hit the past 3 months. They are super affordable and now even more with a 20% off discount!!!
Get a mini trail ride for 4 riders for $60.00!!!
This applies for those that are 6 years old+ and ride on their own. (We can lead them on a horse as well for the ride)

5 year old and younger can be buddy riders and are $5, if they can confidently sit in a stake by themselves though and you want to they can be one of your four riders.

Text me at (479) 841-1730 to claim!

12/01/2024

First time ever 12 days Christmas countdown special, with a twist!!!
We will post 12:00AM the day the special starts and it’ll run for 48 hours!!! It will be a new special each day!!! These will be a mix of the Instructor/owner specials and assistant instructor specials!!!

Message us with any questions!
Our first special will be posted December 1st at 12:00am 💙

11/30/2024

Yall are not ready for our December deal surprise

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thank you lord for the blessings this year and even more this past month💙🙏

We luckily have been able to add 3 new project horses to our program to hopefully be future lesson horses, have added 10 new lesson students this past week, rescued three old horses that needed a soft place to land, purchase breedings to amazing stallions, purchase a foal in utero, and be able to give our community the opportunity to ride horses!!!

11/27/2024

Not just a grain of salt – why is it so important to add salt to your horse’s diet?

By now, I am sure many of you are aware that it is important to provide adequate salt to your horse or herd. But why is this specific nutrient so vital to their health? First, I want to cover the physiological role of salt and what it does in the body, and then we will discuss the best ways to add it to the diet!

When I was teaching Anatomy and Physiology to pre-vet students, we talked a lot about ions in the body including sodium, chloride, calcium, and potassium. These ions are present in bodily fluids and need to be available in appropriate amounts to maintain proper neuronal signaling, muscle contractions, transport, and digestion, among other important physiological processes. Additionally, these ions play a critical role in the fluid balance of the body specifically related to thirst, sweat, and urination. Considering salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride, it provides two of these important ions that allow these functions to take place.

One of the most helpful ways I have found to explain the physiological role of salt is with the saying, “Water follows salt.” Let's simplify the physiological process that accompany this relationship:

💧 Increased salt consumption in the diet increases the thirst response and thus we drink more water and can become more hydrated.

💧 When we sweat, we not only lose water but other electrolytes, with sodium and chloride being the main culprits that contribute to the composition of sweat. This is because sodium is needed to facilitate the loss of water when we sweat and thus needs to be replenished in addition to water during exercise.

💧 Decreased salt intake encourages our bodies to retain the salt we already have. To do this, our kidneys decrease salt in the urine which subsequently decreases the amount of the water in the urine. This is because our body needs to tightly regulate the balance between ions (such as sodium) and the bodily fluids they reside in for many physiological processes to occur The result is a much more concentrated urine which is why you may hear yellow urine (which is more concentrated) is a sign of dehydration while a more clear urine suggests we are more hydrated.

So how is this connected to supplying salt in the diet? Unfortunately, salt will not be found in adequate amounts in most forages or horse feeds. While many commercially manufactured feeds provide adequate vitamins and minerals for horses when fed at the appropriate feeding rate, the exception here is sodium. This decision is intentional as sodium in a feed has been shown to reduce palatability. As a result, we as horse owners must add salt to the diet to ensure our horses meet their requirements.

This is an important feeding habit because when salt is consumed, the water will follow due to an increased thirst response. A hydrated state is critical in maintaining gut motility, which is the movement of feedstuff throughout the GI tract. Gut motility is very important to prevent digestive upset including conditions such as colic. Additionally, salt, water, and other electrolytes, are lost in the sweat of a hot or exercising animal. Providing salt in their diet encourages them to drink and replenish water and electrolytes lost during this process.

So how can we provide adequate salt to the horse? When I am in the field, I most frequently see salt blocks placed in the living areas of the horse. Unfortunately, these blocks were designed for other livestock and horses’ tongues are typically not rough enough to consume adequate amounts of salt from a block on a daily basis. While I still provide these blocks for my horses to allow voluntary intake, I also choose to top dress salt on their daily feed at a rate of 2 tablespoons (~30 grams) per 1,000-lb horse per day. This is often enough to meet sodium requirements of an average horse that is not in intense work.

What about the other forms of salt? I choose to feed my horses a loose iodized salt and you can often get a big bag of livestock salt at your local feed store! I choose iodized salt as iodine is an important nutrient that is not included on common forage analyses and can often be deficient in the diet (for humans as well which is why it was added to salt in the first place). The amount of iodine present in the salt is not enough to cause a toxicity but can help ensure your horse has adequate amounts of the nutrient.

Another common option I get asked about is Himalayan salt. While there may be some great claims on the label, this product is still 98% salt (with a few extra minerals) and often much more expensive. So if your horse is bougie or you want to create a certain ‘vibe’ in their stall, go for it! But it is by no means better or necessary to use Himalayan salts when compared to your average salt product. This is similar to the colored mineral blocks at many feed stores, which are essentially just pretty salt blocks. While they are not harmful, they can be misleading as they will not supply adequate minerals to the horse, such as zinc and copper, and therefore cannot replace certain feeds in the diet.

But while we may have favorites, feeding horses is just as much of an art as it is a science, and the main goal is to ensure the horse is consuming adequate amounts of sodium. As Dr. Rachel Mottet says, “The best kind of salt is the one your horse will eat!” If that means you have to provide Himalayan salt, go for it! But as always, consult with your equine nutritionist or veterinarian if you have any questions about your specific situation.

Happy Holidays!
Dr. DeBoer

11/27/2024

What a wonderful weekend of mini trail rides!!!

Thank you everyone for coming out this weekend 🙏

We are adding dates for December!!!

11/25/2024

It’s that time of year to deworm again!!!

We always deworm after the first frost mainly against Bots and Tapeworms. This is what works in our program to help fight parasites before the fresh spring grass. Zimectrin Gold and Quest Plus are Moxidectin/Praziquantel dewormers that fight against a large variety of parasites. Valley Vet has lots of affordable options! We typically stick to these dewormers a few times a year as well as treat with Ivermectin, typically on a horse to horse basis.

Tapeworms
Small and large strongyles
Ascarids
Bots
Pinworms
Threadworms
Lungworms

We have started deworming around the full moon when parasites are the most active. The next full moon is December 15th!
We also recommend if you have multiple horses in one location to deworm them all at once to avoid cross contamination of parasites!

11/25/2024

Kennedy Cote doing a fun little ground lesson on this windy day 💙