The Compassionate Cowgirl

11/07/2024

It can be interesting as a first evaluation, but then it's always important to consider the whole context too, in order to truly understand each single situation properly 💙

08/15/2024

How does your horse's welfare add up?
Honestly, in real life most horses aren't going to be full hearts with everything, because reality and budgets make it hard. But we should always be working towards improvements and supporting good welfare.
https://www.empoweredequines.com/blog/welfare-assessment

04/14/2024

“My horse can’t be turned out, he’ll hurt himself!”

Well of course they will get hurt if they aren’t accustomed to being outside, filled with anxiety, and completely unprepared for life as a horse.

Can you imagine how sad it must be to be a horse and not have a clue how to “horse”? To go from stall, to arena, and to be brought in any time you run, play, move around?

I frequently get horses in training who aren’t turned out before coming here. I’ve had horses who can’t manage small hills, are afraid of trees, and panic in a light rain.

It’s quite an adjustment for them, but no horse hates turnout- they hate being unprepared and anxious. Slowly but surely they gain confidence, sure footedness , social skills, and a real, healthy, happy life as a horse.

If they aren’t used to being turned out, it’s likely they WILL hurt themselves or another horse. But keeping them locked up is no life. So what to do? The answer lies in why you have a horse: is it to develop a happy, healthy equine partner, and to help them be their best self? Or as a vehicle for competition only, at their expense? In the case of the latter, I reccomend Motorsports, or some sport where competition doesn’t require wasted horse minds and bodies.

The road to competition is often paved with lame, miserable and used up horses.

04/12/2024

Let horses be horses.

They like to get muddy and roll in the dirt.

They like to run around and play with their friends, sometimes resulting in the occasional scratch or abrasion.

They value socialization with other horses far beyond what any human can provide them, whether we want to admit to that or not.

They are well equipped to live outside and wired to cover a lot of ground each day. They get bored being cooped up without enrichment for most of their lives.

They don’t care about aesthetics like people do. They don’t care if they have a fuzzy winter coat or if they aren’t sparkling clean year round.

They don’t care if they’re not wearing a name brand saddle pad with matching brushing boots.

They don’t care how much money you spend on specialized supplements for them if they’re still going without near constant access to forage even with all of that added nutrition.

They don’t care if they have their own personal masseuse if it means they’re deprived of social interaction and space to move.

They care about having their most basic needs met.

It really doesn’t matter how many fancy and expensive add ons you offer to your horse if at their core they’re missing their basic needs.

It doesn’t matter how much money is spent on them if that money isn’t contributing to fulfilment of their basic needs.

Friends.

Freedom.

Forage. (And water, of course)

It is really that simple.

Provide these 3 crucial needs, then add on whatever else your heart desires, but let’s quit pretending care is sufficient when it doesn’t cover these basics, just because there’s a substantial amount of money put into it.

If money guaranteed basic met needs of horses, there wouldn’t be so many high value horses living lives where they’re utterly deprived of core needs.

Let your horse be a horse.

Horses are outdoor herd animals.

No matter how much our industry tries to convince you of otherwise, they absolutely suffer when kept in isolation, small and unenriching spaces and without constant access to forage.

They aren’t dolls for us to dress up and do with as we please.

They’re living beings with species specific needs that it is our duty to meet if we choose to get one.

LET 👏 HORSES 👏 BE 👏 HORSES 👏

“The 3Fs” (Friends, Freedom, Forage) concept originally coined by Canadian Equine Behaviourist Lauren Fraser https://www.equinebehaviorist.ca

04/10/2024

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀

Stereotypic and repetitive behaviours may occur for many reasons. From a behavioural standpoint both stereotypies and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD’s) can be categorised together (Beaver,2019, Borstel et al,2016)Research in other species has found that in the brains of animals showing compulsive behaviours the same brain areas are activated as those in humans with obsessive compulsive disorder (Luescher et al,1998). Some repetitive behaviours such as pawing the ground have a learned component and be attempts on the horse’s part to seek a relationship or meet a need (Lundgren,2019, Jacobson,2018).They can be anticipatory, door kicking at feed time is a good example (McGreevy,2010).Other behaviours such as fence walking or running when a herd member if removed maybe a manifestation of separation anxiety (Beaver,2019).

Stereotypies are defined as repetitive behaviours that become ritualistic overtime, they have no obvious function or goal although they likely serve a purpose for the horse such as stress reduction(Hemmings and McBride, 2009).They are observably abnormal in their frequency, pattern and context. Wild and feral horses do not experience stereotypies, they are very common in domestic horses this likely relates to husbandry and management practices that prevent horses from carrying out natural behaviours diminishing a horse’s capacity to cope and causing stress, boredom or frustration (Wickens and Heleski, 2010). Stereotypic behaviours also release endorphins and other neurotransmitters in the horse’s brain giving a sense of well-being and leading the behaviour to be repeated (Hemmings and McBride,2009).

Stereotypic behaviour can be divided into two categories.

🐴Oral stereotypy🐴

🐴Crib biting and wind sucking (wind sucking is thought to be a more advanced form of crib biting)
🐴Tongue lolling
🐴Lip flapping or lip movement
🐴Tongue chewing
🐴Tooth rubbing / grinding
🐴Self mutilation (this is more common in stallions)
🐴Excessive licking of surfaces
🐴Wood chewing

🐴Locomotor stereotypy🐴

🐴Weaving
🐴Box walking
🐴Fence walking (may be associated with separation distress or anxiety)

Once stereotypic behaviour is established it can be extremely difficult to eradicate and it may also be challenging to identify the exact cause, alleviating these behaviours in not simplistic or straight forward (Beaver,2019). Although diet and management changes may help (Hemmings and McBride,2009). In severe cases a veterinary behaviourist or vet may recommend medication .

Prevention may be stressful for the horse and lead to poor welfare. Stereotypic behaviours may re-emerge at times of stress (McGreevy and Nicol, 1998).

If you are in need of support for your horses stereotypic or repetitive behaviours. Please send me a message

03/22/2024

I’ll be out of the “office” from March 23 to March 25, you can expect all texts, phone calls and messages to be returned on March 26! Emergencies will still be responded to ASAP,
Thanks,
Katie ❤️

03/17/2024

Good horse training is a balance between science & art. 🧬🎨

I talk a lot about science in my training. Learning theory, operant & classical conditioning, biomechanics, etc...I believe it all has a place in horse training.

Yet we can’t get stuck in the science of it all. There must be art within our training as well. We must be willing to move beyond black and white, to be creative, and allow our horses to tell us what they need as individuals.

02/26/2024

02/24/2024

When a horse comes up lame, one of the first instincts is to limit its movement to ensure something catastrophic doesn't happen or more damage isn't done. But is this the right approach?

Dr. Martina Neidhart, a veterinarian in Europe with an interest in soft tissue and lameness rehabilitation, did a great webinar in 2021 with Wendy Murdoch on what happens to a horse's body while its on stall rest.. and it has stuck with me for years! I reached out to Dr. Neidhart to chat with her about when stall rest might be recommended, when we should limit a horse's movement, and in what instances it might not be necessary. We also discuss what can happen to horses who don't move enough while rehabbing.

You can hear the entire conversation on any podcast app under "The Humble Hoof," or directly at this link: https://thehumblehoof.com/2024/02/23/the-pros-and-cons-of-stall-rest/

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

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A special shout out to Grid as New, Mud Control Grids – they are a game changer for any mud issues, big or small! – mudcontrolgrids.com

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02/18/2024

Punishing horses for spooking is like a parent punishing their child for being scared of monsters in their closet. 👹🚪Fear is a VERY real emotional state for both humans and horses that can’t be overcome through force. ⬇️

Punishment may temporarily make the child stop whimpering and waking you up in the middle of the night, but that child is still terrified in their bed... hearing and seeing all kinds of monsters coming to eat them in the dark. Punishment did NOT make the child suddenly feel better or get over their fear, it just make the child stop vocalizing their fear. The fear is still there. And actually, it may increase their fear. Fear of the monsters, fear of the dark, and now fear of the parent.

It’s no different with horses. If you’ve punished your horse for being scared, they may stop bolting or rearing, for now, but they are still scared, and likely now scared of you.

You can’t overcome spookiness and fears in horses by “telling” them to get over it. You can’t MAKE them stop feeling the way they do about any given situation.

You can however be the person that earns your horse’s trust and “respect” by preparing your horse to cope with fear, encouraging self soothing techniques, building confidence, rewarding curiosity, and by showing them you are trustworthy through a long history of positive outcomes. 🤍🐴

01/29/2024

Had such a lovely time teaching a mini clinic at Lucky 7 equestrian center in ballston spa today! Thanks for coming ladies! Pictures taken by Stephanie Scribner ❤️

01/25/2024

12/23/2023

Nothing but good things to say about Grounded Equine, it’s been amazing to watch Emily trim my horses for the past few months and notice the physical changes in my horses as a response. My horse mango has been on and off lame this year with NPA problems and today he was able to be trimmed with no banamine for the first time because of Emily’s great work. If anyone is looking for a kind compassionate and educated barefoot trimmer I cannot reccomend her enough!!