R&B Quarter Horses

04/22/2025

https://youtu.be/Hsny7tJK_Vc

2024 Program Video: Research with a Purpose: How Horses Help HumansThis video highlights interviews with a variety of collaborators and supporters within the...

04/16/2025

Someone asked me recently how long it would take me to get a horse "dead broke."

I took a breath, centered myself, and responded honestly:
There is no amount of time I could spend with a horse that would make that happen.
Because dead broke should not be a thing.

Blind obedience in the face of human hands is not partnership—it’s submission. And it comes at the cost of the horse’s voice, their agency, and sometimes, their soul. That isn’t training. That’s trauma.

You could send a horse to me for two years of full training, and when they leave this program, they will still have opinions. They will still communicate. They will still say no.
But they will say it in a way that is safe, regulated, and respectful—because that's what true partnership looks like.

They won’t be “broke.”
They’ll be whole.

But here’s the catch: you have to do the work, too.
You have to check your ego at the door.
You have to learn how to listen as much as you ask.
You have to soften when your horse braces, to be patient when they’re unsure, and to meet resistance with curiosity instead of control.

This isn’t the kind of program where you show up after six months of training expecting your horse to tick off the boxes.

This is the kind of program where you learn to ask better questions—of your horse and of yourself.

Because at the end of the day, you won’t be handed a robotic horse who performs on command.
You’ll be walking beside a sentient, sensitive being—one who knows how to regulate, how to set boundaries, how to trust, and how to dance through life with you – not for you.

And that?
That’s worth more than any timeline, any checklist, or any illusion of control.

That’s what real partnership feels like.
And it’s the only kind of “broke” I’ll ever believe in. 🐴💛

04/16/2025

04/15/2025

When your partner is struggling, do you look to assign blame, free yourself of responsibility, shut down your partners feelings, avoid the situation, panic over your own feelings - or
Do you seek to find a solution? To guide? To find togetherness again?

When our horses are struggling, we often think about ourselves- our comfort, our goals, our safety - what we wanted to happen and how it isn’t happening - and we abandon the horse.

When the horse is spooking, tuned out, calling out for friends, rushing, stumbling, bracing, whatever the case may be - too often we think of ourselves. Much of our descriptions of their behavior makes us out to be the victim of the horse’s behavior -

But a good partner sees a need and seeks to connect. We brought the horse into our lives, and so we are responsible for their wellbeing.

It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. It doesn’t matter what we wanted originally- when the horse is struggling, what are you going to do about it? How will you help?

The only way to have a partnership is to be a partner. This means you need to be a source of reliable guidance and comfort for the horse - and that is an act of constant awareness, guidance and calm.

04/15/2025

This last weekend I taught a clinic at a local equine rescue.

It was a clinic focused on recognizing a healthy hoof, and factors that come into play when we noticed distortion or pathology in the feet.

We took slow motion videos to watch equine distal limb biomechanics to watch for compensation and potential pain points. We evaluated frog health, collateral groove depth, hoof pastern axis, estimated palmar and plantar angles, and checked for things like a healthy white line connection, health of the wall and sole, and more.

We were able to see some interesting cases like possible DSLD, an NPA case with thin soles, club feet and founder cases.

And the things that we kept coming back to were all the factors that affect hoof health that the hoofcare provider has no control over.

For each case, we were able to identify a few things to look into- whether tweaking the diet, mineral balancing, looking at bloodwork, looking at upper body issues, considering soft tissue damage, and so much more- that, if not addressed, make the hoofcare provider’s job more difficult.

My goal is to educate owners on factors that affect hoof health so my job is easy. Or at least easier.

If a metabolic horse is on a high ESC/starch diet, you’ll likely never get ahead of excessive toe growth.

If a horse is living in a stall and getting little movement, you may struggle with a weaker frog and atrophied digital cushion, or upper body issues that affect hoof wear and balance.

If a horse does not receive adequate levels of copper and zinc in the diet, you may have chronic thrush, wall quality issues, and even things like chronic scratches or skin issues.

If the horse has something systemic going on or a diet not suitable for proper hoof quality, the heels may always crush, leading to underrun heels and low angles that the hoofcare provider just can’t fix.

It’s so common to blame the farrier, fire the farrier, or look at the feet and judge the farrier. Now of course, there is such a thing as a crappy hoofcare provider (sorry, had to say it- but just know for all you hoofcare pros, I’ll ALWAYS look for every other reason the feet may suck before ever placing blame on you!). But this post isn’t about crappy farriers so please don’t come at me about that in the comment section.

This post is saying to please consider all the factors that affect hoof health, and do all you can to address those, so you are presenting your hoofcare provider with the best building blocks, the best canvas to start with and work with.

I can’t even begin to tell you of the countless cases I’ve seen over the years where my trim didn’t change whatsoever, but the owner tweaked diet or management or got a diagnosis from bloodwork, and the feet absolutely transformed within the next few months- without my changing a thing.

So instead of blaming the hoofcare provider, start with providing the building blocks for a healthy foot.

You can see some of those building blocks at this webinar we did in 2020 on The Owner’s Role in Hoof Rehab:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RUKjGgoKnyw

And for all the ways that hoofcare pros CAN affect the feet, such as hoof balance, considering conformation and locomotion/biomechanics, and making decisions based on the horse and hoof presented to us, check out the video recording option for our SOLD OUT Humble Hoof Podiatry Clinic this fall with Celeste Lazaris, Ula Krzanowska, Dr. Jenny Hagen, and Pat Reilly:
https://thehumblehoof.com/product/october-25-26-2025-livestream/

04/15/2025

It is not possible to train horses without a relationship to the horse.

Impossible.

The minute you stand next to a horse, or the horse see's you or becomes aware of you, there is a relationship.

The argument of relationship based training versus... something-something-something based training is a straw man argument. Folks will defend their right to be hard, harsh, manipulative, rushed to the end and will employ a variety of sophisticated strategies to gaslight gentle people out of their gentleness.

It is impossible to train a horse without having a relationship to the horse.

The question really is; WHAT TYPE of relationship do you have to the horse.

The quality.
The behaviour.
The feel.
The function.
The patterns.
The tendancies...

OF the relationship to the horse is what we need to be defining.

Define the relationship, precisely. Don't demonise it.

04/14/2025

We are looking for part time barn help from 9am-1/2pm M-F with occasional weekends. New Boston, MI. Must be comfortable around horses and reliable. You will be working alongside our barn manager, caring for horses, cleaning stalls, and general barn maintenance. $15/hr. If this sounds like a perfect fit for you, please call or text Jennifer Taylor at 313-969-9940

04/09/2025

The answer to who that trainer is: Leslie Desmond

By Abby Prather Mullis/Painted Moon Farm:

I met a dog in a medical facility.
He was meant to bring comfort to patients.
Problem is, i think he hated it.
He didnt willingly go up to people, he was commanded to.
He'd lower his head, tuck his tail and slowly go up to people as he was told to do. Patients would rub all over him tell him how good he was and he would tolerate that for a few seconds before quickly trotting away, tail still between his legs.
Must be a burden to be so cute, I thought.
When he was commanded to come to me, I said oh it's OK, he doesn't have to
"You don't like dogs?"
Oh no, I love dogs, but I'm ok.
He came to me as instructed, but I made no move to pet him.
In my mind I said, it's OK buddy. He actually looked up and me and i saw a little life in his eyes. Instead of trotting away, he curled up at my feet and slept the rest of the time i was there.
It's hard not to touch something soft and cute. We are such tactile creatures. We can also be horrible monsters who just take what we want in our own language, on our own terms.
That... isn't connection.
It isn't consent.
That isn't relationship.
Side note, it's the first thing I think of when someone says they don't like cats. They are really telling me they don't understand or respect consent bc cats give no free passes like many other animals will
I heard a really great horse trainer say that yes means nothing when no isn't an option. I'm sure that resonates with many of us for lots of reasons
Just wanted to share this post bc it feels like solid gold.
💛

INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

I'm reading an amazing book called Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster, the Academy award winning documentary film maker of "My Octopus Teacher".

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, it is simply profound.

In the book he says "As a rule, I never touch an animal unless they touch me first".

In my work building relationship with horses, I do this too. Most times a horse will touch you with their nose/muzzle first, and matching that greeting (versus labelling the horse as a biter) is a game changer.

But there's a phenomenon I have noticed going on with people trying to build relationship with their horses that I have labelled "inappropriate touching", and it looks a bit like the photo below.

This picture was taken at a horse expo in Pennsylvania recently, where I worked with a demo horse who has a "biting issue". He would reaching out in a way that his owner was termed as nipping, whereas I interpreted as him saying hello, similar to reaching out to shake hands with someone.

When he reached out I would greet him with a flat hand that he is able to to nuzzle, lick or even scrape his teeth on. After doing this a while his snappy acting motions got less so, and he was no longer needing to say "hey, pay attention" , but was more "hey, how's it going". I was explaining to the audience that I was meeting him in the way that he was meeting me (with his muzzle) and that it's not an invitation to touch other parts (yet).

I then said that it's many people's default to reach up and rub a horse between the eyes, whether that's what they are offering or not, and that if you do, it's inappropriate touching and it gets in the way of connection. It doesn't meet their needs, and is all about yours.

With the horse in the picture, he'd been engaging me with his muzzle, and I said to the audience "watch what happens when I try to rub him between the eyes". As you can see in the photo, he has raised his head up and is clearly indicating "No, not there, on my muzzle".

We had a Connection And Attunement retreat here at the Journey On Ranch a week ago, and I used my wife Robyn to illustrate this point to the participants. I said "imagine I'm at a gathering and meeting Robyn for the first time". We walked up to each other in that way people do when they see someone new and they can tell an introduction is shaping up, Robyn reached out with her hand to say hello and instead of me reaching out to shake her hand, I gently reached up and lightly brushed a wisp of hair from her cheekbone and tucked it behind her ear.

The participants all gasped and the ick factor was high.

Even though it was caring, and gentle, it was inappropriate at that moment.

Now Im not saying you can't rub your horse on the forehead. I'm saying if your horse has a disregulated nervous system around humans because they don't feel seen (and safe), try to meet their needs first, before trying get get yours met.

I recently saw an instagram post from a University in the UK, and the professor was explaining that they were doing studies on horses to determine levels of stress. In the background a horse was standing with his head out over a Dutch door. While he was explaining their investigations on stress, a female student (or maybe another professor, I don't know which) walked up to the horse. The horse reached out with his muzzle to greet her.

She ignored this and reached up to rub the horse between the eyes.

He turned his head 90 degrees to the left to communicate that wasn't what he was offering.

Her hand followed him and kept rubbing.

he then turned his head 180 degrees to the right, saying "No, not like that".

Smiled, gave him another pet between the eyes, and walked of camera.

While the professor was saying that they are doing experiments determining the amounts of stress horses are under, someone in the background was actually creating stress, without either of them even knowing it.

Once you understand how sentient horses are, and how subtle their communication, you can't unsee it.

04/09/2025