Winds of Thunder Farm

21/06/2025

🇬🇧 What is empowerment and exploration, really?
Empowerment and exploration align with the horse’s natural need to investigate its surroundings. Not under pressure, but at its own pace, in its own way. When a horse is allowed to explore freely — to look, smell, listen, and feel — something special happens.

The horse begins to develop:
• A personal frame of reference
• Meaning based on his own experience
• Trust in itself and his environment
• Awareness of how he builds tension — and how he can release that tension on his own (which is especially helpful in preventing that sudden leap from 0 to 100 in stress levels)

But are these benefits exclusive to horses? Not at all — humans learn in this way too. Can you think of an example in your own life?

One comes to mind for me: when I’m out in the forest, searching for long, sculptural branches that have been pruned and left behind by forest rangers. These branches will become part of an installation related to a completely different subject — a presentation space for my son’s fashion work.
My son is in the final year of his master’s program at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, studying fashion design. Besides showing his designs on the runway, he also presents them in a carefully curated physical space — where these natural elements find a new form and meaning.

🇳🇱 Wat is empowerment & exploratie eigenlijk?
Empowerment en exploratie sluiten aan bij de natuurlijke behoefte van het paard om zijn omgeving te onderzoeken. Niet onder druk, maar op eigen tempo, in eigen stijl.
Wanneer een paard zélf mag ontdekken — kijken, ruiken, luisteren, voelen — gebeurt er iets bijzonders.

Het paard ontwikkelt:
• Een individueel referentiekader
• Betekenis vanuit eigen ervaring
• Vertrouwen in zichzelf en zijn omgeving
• Hoe hij zelf spanning opbouwt en zelf spanning kan laten afvloeien (heel bruikbaar om te voorkomen dat het paard qua spanning van 0 tot 100 gaat in een milliseconde).

Gelden deze voordelen alleen voor paarden? Nee hoor, ook mensen leren op deze manier. Kun je voor jezelf een voorbeeld bedenken?

Bij mij komt het volgende voorbeeld naar voren. Dat ik in het bos op zoek ben naar lange mooie sculpturale takken die door staatsbosbeheer gesnoeid zijn en her en der liggen. Deze takken worden onderdeel van een stand met betrekking tot een heel ander onderwerp. Mijn zoon die zijn masterjaar doet aan de Koninklijke academie in Antwerpen, afdeling mode-ontwerpen en zijn kleding naast een modeshow, ook laat zien in een ingerichte ruimte.

19/06/2025

Do you know?

June 19, 2025

All you ever wanted to know…..

18/06/2025

14/06/2025

See more: https://mideas.co/hdMcy
There is a difference between male and female sage. Male sage is most commonly used in tradional ways. Female sage is also used but not as much. Sage is becoming Scarce in places it has commonly grown. If you do not need it leave the female sage. It has the seeds to produce next year's crop. If you clean a whole patch of female sage there is no sage for next year in this area. without female sage there will be no male sage to pick.. picking seeded male sage means no more sage also... is sad when they are both being picked because some day... there might be none.

09/06/2025

08/06/2025

Understanding their processes is so important. Maybe we shouldn’t be messing so much with Mother Nature but in their domestication we have. Now understand I get it. We need to do better with putting the horse and their needs first before our wants. Yes I said our wants because we never need to.

07/06/2025

Great info you need to know

Do you know how to check for gut sounds on your ?
director, Gayle Ecker demonstrates.

Check out this and more helpful videos on how to do a 16-point horse health check https://thehorseportal.ca/healthcare-tools/horse-health-check/how-to-video-clips/

07/06/2025

🇬🇧 Have you ever seen a horse slightly turn its head away, blink softly, or briefly pause when you make contact?
*Voor Nederlands - scroll naar beneden*

When a horse blinks several times, turns its head slightly, or slows its pace — it’s rarely random. These kinds of behaviors are often intentional: a way to communicate, regulate tension, offer reassurance to the environment, or connect without pressure.

Calming signals are behaviors horses use to reduce stress — in themselves and in others. They’re used in interactions with fellow horses, people, other animals… and sometimes even in response to non-living stimuli, like an unfamiliar sound or scent.

These signals act as social lubricants, perhaps even invitations to connect — calmly. When we learn to recognize these signals and when needed to respond accordingly — something changes. In our interactions. In the calm. In the trust.

🇳🇱 Heb jij wel eens gezien dat een paard z’n hoofd iets afwendt, zacht knippert of even stilvalt als je contact maakt?

Wanneer je een paard ziet dat verschillende keren met de ogen knippert, zijn hoofd iets afwendt, of een pas vertraagt — dan is dat zelden zomaar. Dit soort gedragingen zijn vaak bewust gekozen: een manier om te communiceren, spanning te reguleren, de omgeving gerust te stellen of contact te maken zonder druk.
Kalmerende signalen zijn gedragingen waarmee paarden spanning proberen te verminderen — bij zichzelf, en bij een ander. Ze worden ingezet in contact met soortgenoten, mensen, andere dieren… maar soms ook als reactie op niet levende stimuli; als bijvoorbeeld een onbekender geluid, of geur.

De signalen vormen een sociaal smeermiddel, een uitnodiging wellicht tot verbinding in rust. Als wij leren deze signalen te herkennen en er indien nodig goed op te reageren, verandert er iets. In onze interactie. In de rust. In het vertrouwen.

07/06/2025

Great time to get some great education!

For everyone who wants to learn to understand the horse’s smallest signals Would you love to not only learn more about calming signals, but also be able to recognize them? Then this is the online course for you! In over 50+ videos you will be able to observe the signals in detail and you will lear...

04/06/2025

🌬️ 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 𝟏𝟎𝟏: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬 🐴

With wildfires already impacting air quality across parts of the U.S., now is not the time to assume the air is safe—especially for our horses. Smoke particles, also called PM2.5 (tiny particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller), can slip deep into equine lungs, causing irritation and inflammation. This makes it harder for oxygen to pass into the bloodstream. Over time, repeated exposure can lead to chronic respiratory problems, decreased performance, and lasting lung damage.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) links daily pollution levels with health risks. It measures pollution from human sources (like vehicle emissions and industry) and natural events (like wildfires). The AQI converts six pollutant measurements into a single number from 0 to 500 to reflect potential health impacts. While originally designed for humans, it’s a valuable tool for horse owners, too—because the same particles that harm us also pose serious risks to equine lungs.

𝐀𝐐𝐈 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 & 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬🐎

🟢 𝟎–𝟓𝟎 (𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝): Air quality is safe. All activities are fine for healthy horses.

🟡 𝟓𝟏–𝟏𝟎𝟎 (𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞): Limit activity for horses with respiratory issues.

🟠 𝟏𝟎𝟏–𝟏𝟓𝟎 (𝐔𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬): No work for horses with respiratory or heart conditions. Healthy horses should reduce intense exercise.

🔴 𝟏𝟓𝟏–𝟐𝟎𝟎 (𝐔𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲): Limit activity to slow walking; cancel events. Avoid work if AQI stays over 150 multiple days.

🟣 𝟐𝟎𝟏–𝟑𝟎𝟎 (𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲): No work for any horses. Keep horses indoors with filtered air if possible; consider nebulizer treatments.

🟤 𝟑𝟎𝟏–𝟓𝟎𝟎 (𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐬): Horses should remain indoors with filtered air. Relocate if AQI stays above 400 for multiple days.

𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 🚨
👃 Monitor respiratory rate. Healthy horses breathe 8–14 breaths per minute.
💧 Control dust by soaking hay or wetting down dry lots.
💨 Use nebulizers
🥤 Provide plenty of fresh water.
🛑 Limit or avoid exercise during poor air quality.
🏠 Keep horses inside in barns with filtered air whenever possible.

Even low levels of smoke can damage horse lungs, especially during work. The AQI is a simple but powerful tool—use it daily to guide turnout and training. Breathing clean air isn’t a luxury; it’s essential.

Cheers,
Dr. DeBoer

31/05/2025

Good to know. But you need to practice this before you need it. Be prepared!!

If your horse has a hoof bruise or abscess, your veterinarian might recommend applying a poultice to draw out infection and inflammation.