Heaven Sent Farm, LLC

07/05/2025

07/04/2025

07/04/2025

"People think that training with a behavioural science informed lens is “reading too far into horse behaviour” because so many of us have been trained to view horse behaviour through a very limited and shallow lens.

Horses deserve better."

If you read nothing else about horses today, read this post by Shelby from Milestone Equestrian

It’s incredibly alarming to see the number of horse people who want to insist that behavioural problems are not caused by pain, even in the case of horses they’ve never handled.

This attitude leads to horses being worked through pain or, worse, punished for their reaction to pain because people refuse to consider the idea that there could be a physical problem.

I’m seeing this in droves on the short I posted or my work with Magic, a very reactive OTTB gelding.

Despite the fact that the short shows a massive change in behaviour, many people are still insisting things like the following:

“He’s not in pain, he’s just a brat.”

“He needs an attitude adjustment”

“That is a disrespectful horse”

“That horse belongs in a dog food can.”

“Sore feet don’t cause rearing.”

People are making these assessments from a 75 second video despite the fact that the video states pain was a factor.

All of this on a video that shows substantial behavioural change, too.

Imagine how these people look at horses in their day-to-day life that they haven’t seen the “after” of.

It does horses such a disservice to view all unwanted behaviour through the lens of the horse being disrespectful.

It’s also incredibly dismissive to assume that pain isn’t a factor when people involved with the horse have done diagnostic processes to determine underlying pain and work to resolve it.

It becomes pretty clear how much pain influences behaviour when you start to make changes that result in substantial behavioural change, as what happened when we started to address his hoof pain.

If anything, a lot MORE horses are reacting to underlying pain that is then blamed as a training issue — not less.

Horses are very stoic animals and will hide discomfort where they can because the lame horse is the one that gets eaten by predators.

Chronic pain can create reactivity and hyper vigilance that can manifest in a number of different ways.

It saddens me to see how many people in a community that claims to love horses are willing to give the horse the benefit of the doubt and look deeper.

The people in the comments section of that short responding with anger and animosity towards the horse or a dismissiveness to an informed perspective on what led to his behaviour speak for a greater issue within the horse world.

People think that training with a behavioural science informed lens is “reading too far into horse behaviour” because so many of us have been trained to view horse behaviour through a very limited and shallow lens.

Horses deserve better.

Times are changing.

This information is becoming more and more accessible.

This makes it far less justifiable for people to continue burying their heads in the sand and going out of their way to directly or indirectly blame the horse.

The studies that have been conducted on horse pain, if anything, show that lameness and underlying pain are a rampant issue in the horse world. Even with horses who are perceived as sound.

This begs the question:

“Why are people so averse to considering that pain and discomfort can create the behavioural problems they face?”

Lastly, what does giving the horse the benefit of the doubt take away from you?

07/01/2025

: Total Saddle Fit recalls Shoulder Relief Saddle Cinches due to fall and injury hazards. The cinch can come apart and cause the saddle to fall off, posing fall and injury hazards to the rider. Get a free replacement. CONTACT: email [email protected] or at www.totalsaddlefit.com/recall

This recall only includes cinches sold prior to August 2021, which can be identified by a Shoulder Relief Cinch with a round buckle and no center elastic on the cinch.

More: https://cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Total-Saddle-Fit-Recalls-Western-Saddle-Cinches-Due-to-Fall-and-Injury-Hazards

06/29/2025

06/26/2025

It's ANOTHER hot day out 🥵

💦 We've been staying on top of refilling water tubs with cool, fresh water
⚡️We also have an electrolyte water on the right
🚿 The horses get hosed down, especially our older horses (particularly my PPID 40yr old and mini with anhidrosis)
🌳 There is plenty of shade available for all the animals
🍽️ Salt and electrolytes have been added to all of the horses soaked feed today
🪰 The horses get fly sprayed 1-2x a day

What are you doing to keep your horses 🆒?

06/26/2025

There’s a post doing the rounds that is referring to bitless riding as a “fad” and expressing concern about the prevalence of it.

It questions the value of bitless riding and even makes some claims that bitless riding doesn’t allow for horses to move as correctly.

Before we jump into this discussion — I am not “anti-bit” but I am anti-misinformation.

There is currently no evidence to suggest that bits are in some way more capable of creating correct movement under saddle.

Because of this, I think it is dangerous and gimmicky for trainers to suggest that they do and word it as if it is a fact.

Proper carriage of the body does not come from the mouth.

With a well trained horse, the reins should be the least used of the aids, ideally.

Furthermore, current studies on horse welfare under saddle pretty much unanimously question the ethicality of bits.

There is a lot more empirical research that supports the idea of reconsidering the compulsory use of bits than not.

Our industry is very tradition based and many people ride in bits due to it just being what is done.

There isn’t often much emphasis on the other options.

Riders becoming more aware of other alternatives to bits and choosing to ride bitless may make it feel like a fad but in reality, it’s just an indicator of people finally being able to exit the echo chamber that the horse world has built and realize there’s more options than the mainstream ones.

I think it’s important to maintain an unbiased perspective when it comes to horse welfare.

Currently, based on modern research, there is substantially more reason to question the use of bits in comparison to bitless.

“But bitless can break noses!”

A lot of the cases where people claim this has happened are anecdotal but that aside, if you’re riding with a hard enough hand to break a nose in a bitless bridle, you definitely should not be riding in a bit because you’ll also do damage.

Any damage caused by a bitless bridle is going to be a lot more visible.

Damage from bits can be hidden and many people, even those causing the damage, aren’t aware that it’s even occurred.

So, let me leave you with this:

There needs to be A LOT more research done on equine biomechanics before anyone can make the claim that bits result in a more biomechanically correct horse.

Current research, if anything, supports the idea of more people moving to Bitless because there is reason for concern about the ethicality of bits.

Can bits be ridden in ethically? Yes.

Are they massively misused? Also, yes.

Do they provide any proven benefit for equine biomechanics? No.

Can anyone actually describe by what biomechanical process a bit would result in a horse carrying themselves more correctly? Not that I’ve seen.

Even if they could, it isn’t yet supported by empirical evidence.

So, ride in what you want but be cautious of trainers that discount modern research that criticizes the equipment that they want to use.

Having as much information as possible to make an informed decision for you and your horse is a good thing.

Leaving the evidence of how prevalent oral damage is in horses out of any discussion that tries to discourage people from using bitless options is dishonest, in my opinion.

In order to use a bit correctly, people should be aware of the risk factors and the facts related to welfare studies on their use.

Signed,

Someone who exclusively used bits for years and now rides bitless more often due to both the empirical evidence and my own experience of many horses being more relaxed bitless.

06/26/2025

It’s sad to think about how many horses lack the space to pick up a canter, or in some cases, a trot in their turnout situations.

For many horses, the only time they get to move faster than a trot is under saddle, at the instruction of a rider.

Then, people wonder why horses are explosive and difficult sometimes.

One of the biggest contributors to behavioural problems under saddle is unmet needs.

The abundance of pent up energy created by a lack of ability to move.

Horses would be much sounder, calmer and sure footed if they all had the space to practice free movement at all gaits.

06/24/2025

I didn't take any pictures because I was sweating so much all day I literally couldn't use my phone outside 😆🥵

But on days like today, we start with cold water to drink, electrolyte water options, salt in their feed, and fly spray.

By the end of the day we've refreshed water 3x, given more salt and electrolytes, and ended the afternoon with a cold hose down for the horses to help them cool off 🐴🚿

Tomorrow is going to be another day like today, so hopefully everyone will have a good rest overnight as the temperature drops to... 80°f 😅

I'm not sure who enjoyed playing in the hose more, me or the horses 😆

06/23/2025

“Ugh, she’s such a mare! So moody.”

Such a mare.

So, she’s communicative.

She’s emotionally intelligent.

She’s equipped with the evolutionary purpose and ability of teaching younger generations of horses how to be a horse.

Of course she doesn’t hide her feelings, she is supposed to be clear in her communication for a reason.

Of course she has times where she may be a little more sensitive, she has hormonal cycles and can likely have cramps and discomfort just like many of us may experience.

If your perspective on mares is that they’re difficult, moody and unpleasant, maybe you should ask yourself why you’re bringing out the worst of her communication.

Did you ignore her earlier attempts to communicate? Probably.

Are your demands unfair? Possibly.

Are you expecting her to work through pain without batting an eye? Possibly.

Mares are some of the most balanced and kind horses that I have ever worked with.

The stereotypes against them are created by impatient people who get frustrated when their horse tells them no.

The problem is the people, not mares.

So, if you’ve found yourself consistently getting “terrible” mares, the common denominator is you.

06/23/2025

We had an excellent time today at our HSF Equine Nutrition table at Tranquillity Manor Farms first show of The Mill Series 🏇🏻☀️

It was hot, but there was plenty of shade and water, all the riders did a great job and we met some great people!

I love traveling and getting to see familiar and new faces in the community🐴
I'll be at Full Moon Farm next weekend for their Aloha event, don't miss it!