Murder Hollow

11/21/2024

Nothing more exciting than seeing Murder Hollow babies out there doing their thing 🙌🙌🙌

Superstition MHF & Phoenix Fantasy MHF. Both boys are by Pax Asgard af Pegasus 🦄.

11/19/2024

How is it possible that foaling season starts in 3 months 😳😳😳

11/17/2024

Some new Murder Hollow babes are on loan at Kentucky Horse Park Breeds Barn for the public to enjoy! We LOVE our friends over at KHP - we are fortunate to have the opportunity to share our rare breeds with the public through their amazing program. If you’re in the Lexington area, please stop by!

❤️🤗❤️

🐴 💙❓ We've got a couple new friends over in the Breeds Barn! These girls are the same breed... drop your guesses in the comments below! ⬇️

11/16/2024

We had the pleasure of touring Saddlehill in Voorhees, NJ yesterday 😍😍😍.

When our friend Bill told us he and his lovely wife, Amy, bought a 70 acre farm in Voorhees and were going to make it into a world class vineyard, I sorta thought he was crazy 🤣.

But, in traditional Bill & Amy fashion, it’s EXCEPTIONAL!!! The wine is out of this world and *literally* award winning. I need to make a longer post on all the wonderful aspects of this farm as I can’t say enough good things about it. But, in the mean time, check them out!! There is a fantastic restaurant with lots of activities going on from live music to guided winery tours and wine tastings. Plus some heckin’ adorable sheep, horses, alpacas and goats (AND BABY GOATS)!

We are grateful to people like Bill & Amy who are helping preserve open space and allowing the public to enjoy their passions 🥰. Who doesn’t like wine 🍷😆?!

https://saddlehill.com

10/31/2024

My favorite Halloween shoot 😍👻🎃

Happy Halloween!!!!

10/27/2024

Congratulations to Phoenix Fantasy MHF aka Phil who scored 3rd at the ESDCTA Championships 🏆🏆!

Phil is by Pax Asgard af Pegasus and out of a Feiner Stern mare. Well done to owner Maryalice Belluscio and rider/trainer Wendy Garfinkel!

Phil is Pax’s very first son and a wonderful example of a horse that has been started slow and thoughtfully 🥰🥰🥰.

10/25/2024

Resharing this. Apparently it’s making the rounds again. Happy to see people embracing a slower and more thoughtful approach to horses 💓.

After seeing multiple videos posted by various breeders bragging about their 2 ½ year olds/recently turned 3 year olds and sharing videos of them cantering around in the arena, I have decided to once again circulate the below article.

First of all, breeders *should* have the knowledge to understand a horse’s fragile and slow maturing musculoskeletal system. Breeders should not condone their own horses let along anyone’s horses being cantered around under saddle at an incredibly young age. Period. This sets a terrible example and is quite honestly animal abuse. Just because a horse does not object does not mean it is right. And quite frankly, most of the videos posted show animals that are already in pain or developing pain…

As breeders, we should strive to produce healthy and sound animals. We should promote horsemanship that produces long term soundness. No, starting a horse later does not guarantee soundness. But it certainly helps.

I am a firm believer in scientifically backed approaches to horsemanship. You can’t argue with science that has been proven time and time again. Let’s dispel some stupid rumors:

1. There is no such thing as a (skeletally) slow maturing horse or one that is fast maturing. No horse is skeletally mature before the age of 6. And that is on the low estimate for age.

2. Growth plates are not just in the knee. Every bone behind the skull has a growth plate. Not every single one needs to be converted to bone before starting. There is a schedule of when bone fuses…this is the information needed to know when to start a horse. Not their outward appearance. It is a known fact that during growth, proprioceptive awareness can regress, greatly increasing the risk of injury.

3. Starting a horse is not the same thing as riding a horse. Starting a horse does not mean cantering it 3-4 days a week in an arena.

4. Injecting a horse that is in pain does not mean you fixed a problem. You masked it.

5. You can build correct muscle and teach a horse how to move their body from the ground. This creates a solid foundation to work from once your horse is ready to actually be backed. Teach a horse to use its body correctly before backing and you’ll save yourself a lot of vet bills down the line.

Hocks are “late” for maturity. The growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals do not fuse until a horse is 3-3 ½. Ever wonder why so many horses seem to have hocks issues?? Horses need to learn to carry themselves and their own weight well before adding a rider.

The growth plates that are LAST to close are at the base of the neck. This area is where we ask a horse to raise the base of their neck and come round. If under too much stress, the growth plates can fracture or be permanently damaged.

There are DOZENS of activities you can do with a young horse to build healthy muscular development. None of them involve a saddle or your weight on their back. Teaching a horse to carry themselves correctly BEFORE adding a rider is essential and cannot be done in a week. A 2 ½ year old horse is a baby. Mentally and physically. We see far too many injured performance horses at VERY young ages - broken down and/or sour from work. It’s wrong. Period. They need slow and steady work and need time to recover from even the slightest of injuries.

PLEASE, if you are considering when you should start your horse and what that work load should look like, please read the below. There are some wonderful things you can do with your young developing horse. Please don’t rush a year out of greed.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

10/17/2024

10/15/2024

🫣🫣🫣 it’s not us, I swear lol.

10/09/2024

Our thoughts are with Florida tonight 😔.

If anyone is heading North and needs a place to keep their horses, please let me know. We have limited space but will always make room for our fellow horsemen and women.

Keeping everyone in our thoughts 💓💓💓.

10/06/2024

😂😂😂

09/30/2024

Dreaming of less grey & rainy days 😍 although we desperately needed the rain!

This video is from our week at The Devon Horse Show - the horses enjoyed getting to go for a spin down Lancaster Avenue before heading into the Dixon Oval. Whip, Allen Tucci, expertly navigated traffic 👏.

09/25/2024

Dressage at Devon was a massive success for both the Murder Hollow breeding program and the Murder Hollow stallions 🤩

The top horses were either by our boys and/or bred by us 💓!

In order of placing:
🏆 Adalheid (Pax Asgard af Pegasus - San Amour)
🏆 Eros (Sartors Falcetto - Mitril)
🏆 Portofino (Pax Asgard af Pegasus - Hohenstein)

Pictured below is Adalheid 📸

09/22/2024

I can’t believe this year marked the 3rd Philadelphia Polo Classic benefitting Work to Ride!

A huge thanks to Lezlie Hiner for organizing such a special day and for including carriages - there is a long & shared history of polo and carriages and we are so thrilled to be part of the day. Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park was a popular coaching destination for members of Philadelphia’s coaching and driving clubs in the 1800’s. Driving in this section of Philadelphia revives the elegance of the 18th century Belle Époque drives and exposes Philadelphia and its communities to the historic equestrian discipline.

The Murder Hollow team was fabulous as always - thank you Kylie Rae and Amanda Bauver.

The Philadelphia Polo Classic benefits the legendary Work To Ride program at the Chamounix Equestrian Center in Fairmount Park. Founded by Lezlie Hiner, Work to Ride is a 501 c3, nonprofit community-based prevention program that aids under-resourced urban youth through constructive activities centered on horsemanship, equine sports and education. For those that have not met Lezlie she is a bad ass horse woman who has championed for the kids in her program from day 1. She is not just running a barn and a large non profit program but she’s also out there teaching kids, picking them up from school, driving them to polo meets and fundraising 24/7. You might remember the Work to Ride program from the 2020 Ralph Lauren ad campaign that introduced the world to this phenomenal program. Lezlie is a force of nature and has brightened the lives of so many that surround her.

Work to Ride is designed as long-term program for 7 to 18 year-old students who must commit to a minimum of one year of participation. It is, however, expected that participants will choose to remain with the program through high school graduation. Work to Ride graduates receive help with college enrollment, and most also choose to return to mentor new participants.

For those looking to donate, every $1 helps 👇

https://www.worktoridecapitalcampaign.net

09/11/2024

Baby Bobby is now thriving thanks to the talented and loving Dr. Jessica Rexroth!

We decided to name this one Bobby.

A few weeks ago I picked Lydia up from daycare and was notified that Lydia’s friend Bobby had finally started to learn to crawl and apparently Lydia took that as a sign that he was ready to be “ridden” and proceeded to mount his back and ride him like a horse 🫣🙃.

Lydia was a tad jealous of baby goat Bobby and his bottle time. So we named him Bobby and now Lydia is fully supportive of Bobby’s needs. We are working on her “gentle” skills as she still goes for the throat when wanting to pick him up. Baby steps lol. Baby steps.

It’s ain’t easy raising a future president/astronaut/bad ass girl boss 🤣🤣🤣.

09/08/2024

Anyone looking for some gently loved baby goats 😜🤩

We have three bucks that are Pygmy/Nubian crosses. Can be banded and debudded if desired.

Need to come up with names. Mom is Disco Donut. Thinking maybe Goovy Glaze, Funky Fritter and Jammin’ Jelly.

PM for details!

09/07/2024

2024 Westfalen Inspection is a wrap 👏

As always, it is a JOY to see old friends and meet newcomers! The quality of foals being produced in North America is no doubt, top notch. A huge thank you for the judges for their generous time and to the crew that keeps the day chugging along - Kylie, Jordan & Maura get gold 🌟! And Allen too - he gets to handle all of the overly excited babies 🤣🤪.

Sharing a few photos of the day. Our site had a total of 18 horses - both in the Warmblood and Knabstrupper books ❤️.

In order:
Pallido Blu x Winter Willow *AVAILABLE*
Sempatico M x Cholin *SITE CHAMPION*
Lancero x Sartors Lilium
Pax Asgard af Pegasus x Cinderella
Pax Asgard af Pegasus x High Fashion *AVAILABLE*
Qaside MD x Jakira
Carlsson vom Dach x Jakira *AVAILABLE*
Sempatico M x Sabrina *PREMIUM*