High Meadow Equine Center

12/04/2024

Great news! Hannah is heading to Georgia! Congratulations to her new owner. She will be a GREAT trail partner!! I'm so happy that Hannah has a wonderful life ahead of her!

12/01/2024

He's growing up! What a c**t!
💛🖤Hawkeye🖤💛

11/26/2024

11/19/2024

Jordan is ready for Christmas 🎄

11/11/2024

Wish there was stuff like this when I was in school!

Equine Blast is Dec. 7th. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/equine/equine-blast

11/10/2024

I had a client say to me once; "I don't lunge horses and I don't want one around that I have to."

I was like, well then you miss out on a lot of great horses that just need a bit of foreplay before you climb on and ride.

Blunt, but I think I made my point. 🤷

Lunging your uncomfortable, defensive or simply 'feeling bitchy horse,' before you ride them has absolutely nothing to do with whether they are a bronc or not. I often call it a systems check, or warming up their want to. And some horses need that extra attention paid to them, that gesture of respect and understanding, to smooth over the rough edges of their worry. To re-awaken their trust in even the most familiar situation or handler. It's kind of the equine version of, "Don't talk to me before I've had my coffee."

I've been training horses for a very long time, and the one thing I've learned is that my fragile human ego is not allowed to lay down any ground rules when it comes to vibing well with a multitude of equine partners. I have learned that it is easier on everyone, both horse and human, if I meet them where they are, not where I expect they should be. If that takes a few minutes of moving their feet around and settling their mind, then no harm, no foul.

Have a good day folks! 😊

Pictured below; Hombre, the horse that has most taught me the benefits of lunging...he really doesn't like to be spoken to before coffee! 😉

11/01/2024

And this is why I resist "pasture boarding" other people's horses. MY mare, presumably living her best life in 50-60 acres of field borders and waterways to munch, with a group of seamingly peaceful mares that she has been with for several months. Happily preparing to be a first time mom (that we worked really hard to get in foal, btw). Found 3 legged on Wednesday morning. Non- weight bearing, a tremendous amount of pain. The only explanation is that she got kicked by another horse. She's had 2 vet visits and due to the location of the injury (shoulder) it's very hard to diagnose on the farm. Hauling her to a hospital isn't an option right now, as she can hardly stand, let alone load in a trailer and travel several hours. I trust my vet entirely! We are going to give her time to heal and manage pain.
So, how would you feel if this was your horse out there in that pasture? I don't want to responsibility, or the someone being pi**ed at me when bad things happen.
Pray for my girl and her unborn. 🙏 We will give her all the time she needs for recovery ❤️

11/01/2024

We're looking for someone.

10/18/2024

I love so much about this. Especially the part about giving your horse excuses for acting bad, instead of taking accountability.

10/14/2024

10/14/2024

Take that times 20 horses that I have in my barns at all times. That's $70,000. That is MY cost.

10/13/2024

https://www.horseclicks.com/trail-partner-unicorn-in-the-making-sound-sensible-/horses/1591262

Check out this amazing Trail partner Unicorn in the making Sound Sensible Standardbred for sale in Maquoketa, Iowa USA!

10/01/2024

Real expectations...
There's no such thing as a "30 day wonder".

🎯 🎯 We live in an instant gratification culture, remember it takes YEARS.