Creating a more natural horse boarding experience using lessons from wild horses.
By creating a track system for the horses instead of traditional pastures and paddocks, horses instinctually travel the track, adding miles of exercise each day.
06/04/2024
More from our clinic host:
You love your horse so much…
…but...
…on trail rides she has to stick close to another horse to get all the emotional support she can get. And even so, she spooks at the tiniest wind gust. At her reflection in the water. At a wooden post (🙄).
You don’t want to fall.
You don’t want to get hurt.
AND…this doesn’t feel good. Your horse is not enjoying anything.
You dream of a meditation in motion…together…while you are riding a ball of nerves.
You have tried to desensitize your horse through pressure and release. Still spooky.
You have tried to introduce all possible objects through positive reinforcement. No change.
No, it’s not time to turn your horse into a pasture ornament. Instead, try Hatha Equus’s Co-Creational Horsemanship Clinic first. Come to Wild Meadows Equestrian Center on May 4th-6th!
This clinic will help your horse:
-Chill out, even in chaos
-Build muscles AND confidence
-Gravitate to you even in fear
Hey everyone!
Here's a note from our upcoming clinic instructor Giorgia Ghizzoni:
Not sure if this new-fangled stuff works? Let’s hear it from a human whose horse life was changed by Co-Creational Horsemanship!
“My Arabian gelding has transformed. Once dangerous and distrustful of humans, he now trusts me and relies on me. He is my incredible companion for adventures, a friend who feels empowered to voice his thoughts (safely!) in any situation, and now, even trail-blazing in a halter, with a child on his back!
Hatha Equus taught me to look beyond the surface. Behind his initial rejections and aggression was merely a horse who felt overwhelmed for far too long, in need of empathy.
That's how we unlocked his fullest potential!"
Miriana - Equestrian, Trainer and Horsemanship Instructor
That's the power of Hatha Equus and their Co-Creational Horsemanship Clinic.
Date: May 4th - 6th, 2024
Clinic on Sat, 4th and Sun, 5th; Private Lessons on Mon, 6th
Location: Wild Meadows Equestrian Center
Using Athena’s vet visit to demonstrate the tight bonds horses create with each other.
25/03/2024
We've entered our Lily into the Athens Area Horse Community calendar contest! Votes cost $1, with all proceeds going to the organization. Please vote and help our Lily secure a spot in their upcoming calendar!
Show your support for Athens Area Horse Community by voting for Lily Lou Gray in Athens Area Horse Community Photo Calendar Contest
22/03/2024
22/03/2024
Challenged by friend and fellow trainer. 😊
20/03/2024
Early Bird tickets are now available for the Co-Creational Horsemanship Clinic that I am hosting on May 4th-6th! 😍
Your horse might be a “good boy”, but…does he authentically WANT to do the things you ask him to? (guilt trip starting now).
🧘🏽♀️Imagine empowering him to feel great in his body.
🏋🏻♂️To love to move, and to feel prepared and confident about lifting human weights in all sorts of athletic contexts.
🩺To look forward to veterinary care and husbandry
🐎Imagine a horse who has all of her needs met…yet she leaves food and equine company to run to you when she hears your car pull in.
This is the start of your guilt-free horse owning life.
Spots are hotter than an August Georgia afternoon! Go get your Early Bird Ticket right now!
Thanks to the communication learned with Hatha Equus, I'm able to better understand when Ofelia doesn't want to be ridden, and that leads to the fact that when I do ride her, she gives me everything, because she participated in that choice".
15/03/2024
Hey all! I am thrilled to officially announce that we’ll be hosting our first Co-Creational Horsemanship Clinic this May 4th-6th!
If you haven’t heard of “Co-Creational Horsemanship”, it feels like:
❤️ your horse WANTS it as much as you do
🕺🏻 serious FUN for both of you
🧘🏽♀️ meditation in motion.
Whether you are re-starting your rescue, preparing your equine better half for incredible trail adventures or getting ready for Prix St Georges, come and discover how it feels to co-create magic with your horse…even if your starting point is icky bracing, dangerous objections and disconnect.
Early bird tickets open next week. Mark your calendar! I expect seats will be flying faster than a horse who's being chased by a murderous plastic bag!
I've been speaking with Giorgia Ghizzoni of Hatha Equus regarding hosting a client at Wild Meadows. We are looking at the first weekend in May with the ability to have 8 working spots. The clinic will be 2-days long with the option of a third day for private lessons. Please take a look at their video and website and let me know if you might be interested in a working or auditing spot. We are gauging interest at this point but hope to nail down all the plans soon.
We have such a growing community here in and around Athens that share their training and horse ownership methods and mindset, that I think this would be a great clinic to compliment the already great work happening in our area.
Their website is Hathaequus.com.
Hello, welcome!If you’re a beginner or if you have previous horsemanship experience, it can be overwhelming to choose a path in this big world of horses.So h...
24/10/2023
Halloween fun at Serenity Creek’s scary obstacles day! Great learning experience for the kids and the horses.
23/10/2023
Horse and rider dressing up for Halloween!
23/10/2023
Just for fun. Explain this picture. Heavy, fast-incoming storm. There is enough shelter nearby for all horses to comfortably be without having to vie for space. Yet, they quickly moved into this configuration, all facing the same way, standing beside each other. There are 7 horses total in this picture. I know why, but what do you say?
(Fyi: mattress was there at the time as an enrichment object.)
14/08/2023
Ken-Mac Saddle Club is hosting James King at our barn this Tuesday. He will be doing a demonstration of mounted archery. Anyone is welcomed to attend. Please come out.
3959 Mt. Carmel Church Rd. Monroe
This Tuesday 15th 7pm-9pm.
13/08/2023
Come join us to learn about mounted archery!
30/06/2023
Wild Meadows Equestrian Center is an Athens, Georgia-based Boarding Farm for Horse-Lovers Looking for an Ideal Place for Their Dear Companions for Extended Periods of Time.
20/06/2023
This was originally set up for the horses, but, hey, goats need enrichment too!
18/06/2023
We have the most beautiful sunsets at Wild Meadows! This cool picture was taken by Erin, Rosie’s owner.
17/06/2023
Nothing is safe with this mischievous girl around.
14/06/2023
“Excuse me, can I help you?”
13/06/2023
Funny Toni
13/06/2023
21/04/2023
Our goal for all the horses at Wild Meadows Equestrian Center:
Freedom - Forage - Friends
Happy to have 2 new horses coming next week. Two sweet geldings. We like all of our newcomers to have time to acclimate into the herd. This means our next opening will be available late May.
Jaime Jackson's Paddock Paradise method of boarding horses focuses on 3 main areas: having dry forage available, not being stalled and having plenty of room,...
22/03/2023
04/03/2023
Trying out our new and improved feed runs. Since our herd’s main diet is forage, and have hay always available, we only do one feeding a day for any supplements or special food individual horses may need. They all know which run is theirs and walk right in.
14/12/2022
A drizzly morning at Wild Meadows.
16/07/2022
We welcomed new guests yesterday! Happy to have Bobby and Secret with us
27/06/2022
They love our new misting hose. Anything to help during this hot weather!
26/06/2022
Applejack would like to remind you that not everybody likes sprinkler time.
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Videos
More from our clinic host:
You love your horse so much…
…but...
…on trail rides she has to stick close to another horse to get all the emotional support she can get. And even so, she spooks at the tiniest wind gust. At her reflection in the water. At a wooden post (🙄).
You don’t want to fall.
You don’t want to get hurt.
AND…this doesn’t feel good. Your horse is not enjoying anything.
You dream of a meditation in motion…together…while you are riding a ball of nerves.
You have tried to desensitize your horse through pressure and release. Still spooky.
You have tried to introduce all possible objects through positive reinforcement. No change.
No, it’s not time to turn your horse into a pasture ornament. Instead, try Hatha Equus’s Co-Creational Horsemanship Clinic first. Come to Wild Meadows Equestrian Center on May 4th-6th!
This clinic will help your horse:
-Chill out, even in chaos
-Build muscles AND confidence
-Gravitate to you even in fear
Check out the details and snag your spot here (today is the last day to get in at an Early Bird Price!) https://www.hathaequus.com/athens-clinic
Challenged by friend and fellow trainer. 😊 #halterfromachair #positivereinforement
Beating the heat! #wildmeadowsequestrian
This was originally set up for the horses, but, hey, goats need enrichment too!
Nothing is safe with this mischievous girl around.
“Excuse me, can I help you?”
Athena tells Grayson, “yes, I would like a treat”.
Applejack would like to remind you that not everybody likes sprinkler time. #paddockparadise
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Why “normal” didn’t work for me
It all started with horse camp. My oldest daughter Evelyn, 6 years old at the time, attended a horse camp at a local barn. What was suppose to be a quick drop-off in the morning turned into me standing in the middle of a group of campers, learning right along with them. Each morning, I waited until it became awkward being the oldest one in camp by 30 years before leaving each day.
I had typical kid dreams of owning a horse. In my “All About Me” book from when I was 7, I listed that I wanted to be a “horse trainer” when I grew up. Having a horse hobby wasn’t in the budget for our family. That dreamed passed as I moved on to my next hobby...dog training (we all know how that story ends...Pawtropolis).
After another summer, and another horse camp for Evelyn, I decided to take lessons myself. I was to “catch” my horse from the paddock, bring straight in to groom and saddle, then head to the arena for a 45 minute lesson. Next, un-tack, brush, and then walk the horse back to the paddock. I definitely needed to learn how to ride, but I wanted more. I wanted to spend time with the horse. I wanted to teach it, to have it excited when I came to the paddock. I wanted to build a relationship. This was a novel idea at a barn whose focus was on competitive horseback riding. As I watched my daughter take lessons and as I took lessons, I realized that I didn’t want us to become horse “riders”, I wanted us to become “horsemen”, and I knew that couldn’t be done in a 1-hour riding lesson. Finally having the time and the financial resources to own a horse, we went on the search. That’s when Athena joined our family.
The plan? For us to pay to have Athena board at a local barn. There are so many wonderful options in and near Athens. We visited many, looked a web pages, got recommendations, etc. I decided to go with the barn that was the closest to our home. My relationship with Athena began.
As I did with dogs (hence Pawtropolis and my dog training philosophy), I began to learn as much as I could to help Athena become a “well-balanced” horse. The idea with dogs is that you have to address all areas of their lives in order for them to well-balanced: mental stimulation, physical activity, and emotional awareness (how to react in varying environments with a variety of people). This is true for all animals. These areas are naturally provided in a wild horse environment. Could we learn to better care for our domesticated horses by looking to the wild?
Fortunately, there was someone already looking for that answer, Jaime Jackson. He studied wild horses for years, where they walk, how much they walk, what they eat, how much they eat, how healthy they are, what their hooves look like, etc. How could they travel miles over a variety of terrain without metal shoes? How can their hooves be so healthy without regular visits from a farrier? How can they meet their nutritional needs living in an arid mid-western environment? The biggest question of all? How can we replicate the positives of the wild horse environment while keeping our horses safe and close to us? The answer...using a track system.
One of the main behaviors a horse needs to be well-balanced is movement. Movement is probably the #1 behavior that gets the most limited in the domestic horse environment. The intro to Jaime Jackson’s book “Paddock Paradise” starts with the sentence, “To all horses everywhere who suffer the injustices of unnatural confinement...please enter Paddock Paradise.” Read the quote below from his book and then join me as I create a paddock paradise for Athena and any horse lucky enough to be part of her herd.
