PiepDream Farm

07/12/2024

"...we must never forget, every time we sit on a horse, what an extraordinary privilege it is: to be able to unite one's body with that of another sentient being, one that is stronger, faster and more agile by far than we are, and at the same time, brave, generous, and uncommonly forgiving." --William Steinkraus, Olympic Equestrian

10/12/2023

Do you ever feel like there isn’t a place for you? 🥺⁣
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It’s interesting that horses are these incredibly sensitive creatures (physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually)…⁣
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And yet, the industry as a whole is brutal ⛓️⁣
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The culture of intensity that’s been developed around horses can make sensitive people feel as though there’s no room for them here.⁣
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Like they don’t belong.⁣
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The lore of “asserting dominance” and being a “strong leader” (by using excessive pressure and punishment) alienates the people who are 📢 perhaps the MOST equipped to connect with horses…📢⁣
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Because of their sensitivity, and willingness to attune to the horse’s voice and needs ♥️⁣
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It’s tragic to think how many people hide or walk away, because they can’t take it anymore.⁣
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The abuse. The overly-critical peers. The cult-like belief systems around being “dominant.”⁣
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But the movement is growing…⁣
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Ethical, science-based, compassionate training is spreading like wildfire, with this message:⁣
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You belong.⁣
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Your sensitivity, empathy, gentleness, and compassion are not only welcome—but necessary.⁣
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We need you.⁣
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Your soft, open heart is essential during these turbulent times.⁣
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Your work with your horse matters. Your inner work sends a ripple effect through the earth in ways you’ll probably never fully know 🦋⁣
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You belong. You matter. You are welcome here. ♥️⁣
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Keep shining bright so we can find each other, and keep changing horse industry—one horse, one person at a time ✨⁣
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— MM team 💫

📸: This Mustang Life

05/25/2023

Summary: breathing, aka oxygen availability, is harder for your horse when they are over bent. Strive for balance and correct body use rather than a ‘frame’, and your horse will develop a beautiful, natural head carriage. ❤️

Twenty high-level dressage horses and 20 high-level showjumpers were used in the study in Portugal.

03/15/2023

💔

The unfixable horse

Born of human greed
Into suffering

To line the pockets of breeders
Willing to go to any length
To satisfy the desire for flash, for showring glory
Eager trainers flock with their wealthy clients
Looking to make a name for themselves on the back of the walking dead

A malformed body
Genetically designed monster built for Extravagant movement
The amateur owner will never be able to ride
His brain and body disconnected, unsuitable for life

No idyllic roaming in fields
With mother and herd
But chain and whip
And isolation, to keep a gleaming coat, smooth muzzle, whisker free
And a dead heart, kept tightly wrapped under the control of man

Breathless cantering
Foam dripping
Teeth grinding
Hooves pounding

Ribbons won
Proud as a peacock, smiling photos on a dead eyed horse
Fed like a king
Kept like a slave

Then come the joint injections
Then come the sidenreins
Then come foreign clinicians,
Who, in a thick accent, demand
More forward
More leg
Stronger hand

Until there is no more to give
The unfixable horse stands up
A formidable sight
The proud men scatter
No match for his power, even in his disunity

And he is retired to pasture

No peaceful grazing, meandering and pleasant life awaits him
Deathly afraid of other horses, of being outside the confines of his stall
He struggles

Unprepared for real life
Unable to read social cues and expression
Fighting
And injuries
And pain is what meets him

His war torn body like a rock,
Stock still, he quivers in the corner
While other horses quietly chew their hay

Every day since he was born there has been pain
The unfixable horse was born into misery
Failed by humans at every turn
A mark of the cruelty and fragility of human ego
Born wrong, trained wrong, and dumped
Like an old car with the window shattered on the side of the highway,
Not running again, and nobody is coming back

The release of death his only hope for relief
He does not fear the end, because he was born dead

02/09/2023

😂

😆

09/06/2022

7”+ rain in 48 hrs? No problem. No Mud. Very thankful.

05/06/2022

I wonder if spring grass is like chocolate cake? 🧐

04/21/2022

Happy Graze Days are here again! ❤️

03/26/2022

Vinnie did great with the loud pops! The amazon box fillers are great to help get the horses more comfortable with fireworks and gun shots. So proud of Vin!

11/13/2021

At The Barn

Horse people and their families are more than familiar with the phrase "at the barn."

This morning as I drove laps on the tractor, working the arena in the still air at the barn, I got to thinking about how much of my life I have spent "at the barn" and what that phrase insinuates for horse "lifers" like us.

"At the barn" means I can run a tractor and a shovel and a pitchfork. I am familiar with PVC and pipe glue and a sundry tools. It means I can wrestle a hay bale, manage a wheelbarrow full of p**p, and drive a water truck.

"At the barn" says I work in the heat without melting, bundle up against the cold without complaint, and invest hours upon hours in the management of an entire world outside of my house.

I take on great responsibility "at the barn" because there are animals there that depend on me and my work ethic and dedication to their well being, health and fitness.

Because I spend so much time "at the barn", I must be tougher than most and more grounded than some because I work in the elements day in and day out taking care of the animals that feed my soul.

I know that regardless of how hard real life can be, there is always refuge "at the barn" where there are the soft sounds of crunching hay, the smell of shavings, the breath of horses, and responsibilities that create sense of peace, stability, and simplicity.

"At the barn" means that my house isn't always clean and that dinner is sometimes comprised of grilled cheese or cereal.

"At the barn" means I might gone 10 minutes or several hours depending on what chores call out to me or how much quiet time I need to myself.

Often times it is dark "at the barn" because the responsibilities that demand my attention happen before the sun comes up or long after it has fallen below the horizon, but that's ok because we wouldn't have it any other way.

The world "at the barn" doesn't stop because I am tired or sick or would rather be on vacation or because the calendar says it is a holiday.

"At the barn" is a priority that cannot be overlooked because living breathing animals await our arrival and attention.

Some days we cuss "at the barn" because we would like to be at the house or at the lake or even just in front of the TV, but despite those days, we know that we could never live without "at the barn."

Those of us who have spent our lives "at the barn" know that the barn and everything that happens there is an irrevocable part of who we are; it is a special kind of DNA that cannot be denied or altered. Undaunted by heat or cold or damp or dirt or fatigue, we know that the one thing that could actually do us in would be the inability to be "at the barn."

📸 Becky Hanson Photography

Pacific Coast Journal November 2015