Griffin Hollow Stables

12/26/2025

Here’s a little horse science to kick off your Boxing Day, folks 🧠🐴

I know a lot of people spend what feels like a million bucks on gadgets, gear, and the next best thing, but none of that really matters if you don’t understand that your horse is engaging with you through the emotional and survival part of the brain.

It’s not about equipment, training, or techniques. It’s about understanding that your horse is meeting you through the limbic system, the part of the brain that governs connection, emotion, and safety.

This is called Limbic Resonance.

Limbic resonance is the deep, non verbal emotional and physiological syncing that happens between individuals through the brain’s limbic system. In humans, this is how empathy, bonding, and emotional understanding develop. It’s that feeling of being on the same wavelength, where one person’s inner state naturally influences another’s.

We see this everywhere. A calm person can settle someone who feels anxious. A baby relaxes in the arms of someone who feels safe. Dogs will often choose to sit near certain people or lean into them, while reacting nervously around others. None of this relies on words or deliberate behaviour. It’s about how that person feels on the inside.

This is limbic resonance at work.

So what does limbic resonance actually look like in the body?

Inside the brain is a group of structures called the limbic system. This system is responsible for emotions, memory, bonding, and survival responses. It is constantly scanning the environment for information about safety, danger, and connection.

The limbic system does not work on its own. It is directly linked to the central nervous system, which carries electrical impulses throughout the body. These impulses influence breathing, heart rate, muscle tone, posture, facial expression, and subtle movement. Together, they create your internal state.

And that internal state is not private.

We are constantly broadcasting it outward in several ways at once. Through our body signals like posture, tension, breath, and rhythm. Through chemical signals such as scent and pheromones. And through electrical impulses moving through the nervous system. Other mammals pick this up automatically, without thinking about it.

This is limbic resonance in action. It is nervous system to nervous system communication. No words needed.

Horses excel at this.

As prey animals that have survived for over 55 million years, horses have developed this system to an extraordinary level. Their survival has always depended on being able to sense and respond to subtle changes in others. They are masters of limbic resonance.

Within a herd, horses are constantly reading each other’s emotional and physical states. This silent communication keeps them safe. It is their primary language.

When we spend time with horses, we step into that system.

Horses do not tune into our words first. They sense how we feel, how present we are, and what we are carrying inside. Long before we act or speak, they already know whether we feel calm, unsure, confident, or unsettled.

Your internal dialogue plays a big role here.

And to be fair, it is completely understandable that you might feel uneasy when you see something worrying ahead, especially when you are out riding. A flapping tarp, a banging gate, or something unfamiliar in the distance can easily trigger a moment of tension. That does not make you a bad rider or handler. It makes you human.

If you are standing there thinking, oh no, he’s going to freak out, your nervous system is already broadcasting tension. Your horse feels that immediately, often before anything actually happens, and that is very often the moment that actually sets him off and makes him freak out.

If instead you can gently train yourself to pause, breathe, and think, it’s fine, nothing to worry about, I’ve got this and I’ve got you, that provides him with a sense of reassurance and safety that often keeps him calm.

You do not need to say it out loud. When your thoughts, breathing, and body line up, your horse can feel that steadiness and borrow it. If you see something as just a thing, your horse is far more likely to see it the same way.

This is why breathing matters so much.

Slow, steady breathing slows the heart rate and settles the nervous system. When your nervous system settles, you are not pretending to be calm, you actually are calm. That genuine calmness then flows naturally through your body, your chemistry, and your nervous system.

Horses pick this up instantly.

When a horse feels that real steadiness, they feel safer. And when a horse feels safe, they are more likely to want to be near you, connect with you, and stay relaxed. Not because you asked them to, but because your presence feels good to be around.

And no, you do not need to be a Tibetan monk sitting on a mountain to do this.

Simply slowing your breathing, softening your body, and being present is enough. Even a few conscious breaths can change what you are broadcasting.

Horses do not need perfection. They just need you to be real.

In humans, limbic resonance builds connection and understanding. In horses, it is about safety and survival.

When you understand this, working with horses becomes less about trying harder and more about slowing down, breathing, and being present.

And honestly, that probably is the most valuable Boxing Day gift you can give your horse.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas, y'all! Santa was good to us this year! 🎄🎁🎅🏻
N looks to be some fantastic improvements (big & small) going on in 2026😉 We have so much to be grateful for, thanks y'all!❤️

12/18/2025

We have daytime openings for makeups and holiday rescheduling available! Please get ahold of Melissa for open times!

12/10/2025

💓

“Confessions of a Riding School Saint”

Hello, human.
Yes, you — the one still trying to find the correct diagonal.

I’m the riding-school horse you meet once a week. You call me “steady,” “safe,” or, when I don’t immediately burst into extended trot, “lazy.” I’ve carried hundreds like you — some with bouncing enthusiasm, others with a death-grip on the reins and a look that says, “Please, not canter.”

Every rider brings their own style. Some kick like they’re starting a lawnmower. Some perch like a baby giraffe learning ballet. One even tried “natural horsemanship” by whispering at me for twenty minutes. (I admired the effort, but grass would have been more persuasive.)

I do my best to translate. But it’s tricky when one person wants me to go forward, the next to collect, and the next to “just feel the rhythm” while clamping both legs and pulling on my face. You’d be confused too.

Sometimes, when the messages get too loud or too mixed, I tune out. You call it “lazy.” I call it “self-preservation.” You see, my job isn’t easy — I must keep everyone safe while pretending your seat bones aren’t trying to send Morse code in three languages at once.

I’ve met every training philosophy going: “forward fixes everything,” “never use the leg,” “ride from the seat,” and my favorite — “just sit deeper!” (Usually shouted as the rider performs a mid-arena levitation.)

But I’ve also met kindness. The quiet rider who remembers to breathe, softens their hand, and says “good” when I try. That’s when I lift my back, stretch my neck, and remember what partnership feels like.

I don’t care about levels or ribbons. I care that you try to understand me. That you see me not as a piece of gym equipment but as a partner — one who has to process your nerves, your posture, and your Spotify playlist of contradictory aids.

So before you call a horse lazy, ask yourself: am I clear? Calm? Consistent?
Because the truth is, I’m not stubborn — I’m exhausted from reading mixed signals.

If you listen, I’ll listen. If you work on you, I’ll meet you halfway — maybe even with a flying change if I’m feeling fancy.

After all, I’m not just your ride. I’m your mirror, your teacher, and occasionally, your unpaid therapist.
Now, pat me. I’ve earned it.

Author: Gary A Diploma

12/06/2025

Hey y'all!! If any of my students have makeup lessons please get with me on times!
I have opened up 2-6pm tomorrow (12/7) for makeups but am also looking at Holiday Break time for the kiddos!🏇🏻
Let's take advantage of the "warm" days!!🥶
UPDATE: We now have 4 pm or 5pm open for our cold weather makeups from these past few weeks 😉

12/03/2025

❄️AS A REMINDER TO ALL OUR LESSON CLIENTS🐴:

We are a bit more "understanding" about our rescheduling policies during the winter weather months. If it's freezing temperatures🥶(under 20° is questionable but under 15° is a NO GO), treacherous road conditions❄️, or your child has the start of a bug🤧 PLEASE LET US KNOW SO WE CAN RESCHEDULE!
We would much rather reschedule than have anyone getting hurt or sick for a riding lesson😉
That being said, be prepared for riding in the cold and please don't abuse the lax in our general "24 hour cancellation policy"
Thanks n Happy Holidays 🤠🤙🏻

12/01/2025

Interesting 🤔

I have addressed this problem so many times in the field and in my group that I still don’t quite know why it has taken so long to actually do a short article on F***l Water Syndrome aka “FWS”.

FWS typically presents in horses as an excessive amount of thin brown liquid being ejected from a horse’s a**s. This is different from diarrhea because it doesn’t have any f***l matter contained in the liquid. The horse’s manure may be on the soft side or may be perfectly formed.

In most cases FWS isn’t debilitating to the horse but it is messy and can coat their butts and legs with nasty smelling and irritating liquid. It is especially difficult during the cold winter months as you can see from the photo I used. The fluid clumps on fur and freezes while the cold temperatures make it difficult if not impossible to clean.

Obviously FWS is a gastro-intestinal issue but most owners miss the mark when treating FWS. Owners will throw expensive supplements at the problem and the symptoms will persist. I know this from personal experience with my mare, Flair. That poor mare had about 32 different supplements thrown at her and nothing worked.

Probiotics, prebiotics, biosponge, ulcer treatments, gut supplements and anything else I tried wouldn’t clear it up. Nothing ever even slowed it down.

Then while attending an equine nutrition clinic I was having a cocktail with one of the more well known equine nutrition PhDs and I mentioned my frustration to her. Of course she had the answer!

Just so everyone knows, it’s not that I’m really smart but I hang out with really smart people!

In the overwhelming majority of cases FWS is being caused by a mild case of a condition known as Right Dorsal Colitis. I got the full monty clinical explanation, and as I would do in any conversation with an extremely bright, lovely woman who is twenty years younger I sat at the edge of my chair in rapt attention while understanding none of it but all I needed to know was that it is a condition similar to Irritable Bowel Syndrome in humans.

IBS is something that most people in my age range (somewhere between classic and Jurassic) are familiar with. The cure for both conditions is simple: add easily digestible fiber. I began taking a tablespoon of psyllium each day and my IBS cleared up almost immediately.

Right Dorsal Colitis can become very serious and require clinical intervention in some cases. In severe cases FWS is accompanied by lethargy, weight loss, lack of appetite and colic. I am NOT a vet so you should discuss any concerns that you have with your vet and follow their treatment advice.

Many times RDC is caused by coarse hay. Mature, coarse hay is very high in fiber and can be difficult to process in the gut causing some inflammation resulting in the watery fountain of stench emanating from your horse’s butt.

My own experience with FWS is very much like what I hear from others. The FWS shows up in the fall when the horses are off grass and on hay. Whenever I get different hay. My horses are both easy keepers and metabolic so I feed mostly very mature low NSC grass hay ensuring that I am dealing with FWS for most of the year. Quite often you will find that it is worse during the winter and the simple explanation is that they are eating more hay which attenuates the problem.

The dietary treatment for both conditions is to replace some (or all) of the forage with a complete feed enabling the gut to recover by offering some easily digestible fiber.

You can also try using some psyllium but it’s expensive and it typically requires a large dose.

My personal go to and the advice that I have offered to hundreds of people as a first treatment is to simply add a pound of hay stretcher pellets per day to the horse’s normal diet and this usually clears it up. If the FWS doesn’t clear up in a few days I increase it to two pounds per day.

Any genuine complete feed will work as long as the crude fiber is over 20% and the fat level is low. I typically choose to use hay stretcher because it is very high in fiber, usually over 25% and it is not heavily fortified nor high in calories so I don’t really need to make huge adjustments in their diets. I simply toss a cup or two on top of their normal ration and call it a day.

For a 1,000 pound horse two pounds per day should offer relief of the symptoms but if two pounds of hay stretcher doesn’t change things it’s probably time to try something else and at this point all bets are off. Psyllium would be my next step along with a gut supplement.

It is almost never a lack of probiotics unless the horse had recently been on a course of antibiotics.

The long term solution is to feed better hay. If you can find some nice, soft second cutting grass hay it would go a long way towards drying things up.

There are a number of downsides to feeding better hay. Cost and availability are at the top of the list. Then there’s the horse. Second cutting hay isn’t the best choice for easy keepers or insulin resistant horses so this option has its limits.

Many times FWS is linked to insulin resistant horses as a sure sign that they are insulin resistant. The conditions are not related except that most IR horses are on j***y, low starch, low calorie hay.

Please allow me to head off the naysayers and negative comments. This is not by any means a sure fire cure for FWS. It is, however, a very inexpensive treatment as a first go to attempt and it does work in most cases. If not, then try all the whiz bang supplements that probably won’t work either.

In short, if you have a horse with a squirty butt go buy a bag of cheap hay stretcher pellets and run some through the horse. If it works, you got off cheap, if not at least you know something that isn’t going to work.

As a final reminder and a more serious tone, if the FWS persists and the hay stretcher doesn’t work I would strongly encourage you to please consult your veterinarian and have all the appropriate diagnostics done.

Thank you for reading this article.

I am retired and write blog articles to try to make horse owner's lives easier and horse's lives better.

If you found this article to be helpful my horses would be very grateful if you would consider buying some hay for them by going to:

https://buymeacoffee.com/jimthefeedguy

Of course your contributions are not required, nor expected but all are very much appreciated.

Cheers!