Heart of Tucson Happy Equine Acres Rescue and Therapy

08/25/2024

They come to her. They find her instinctively ... the strays, the abandoned, the traumatized, the lost and the wounded.
It isn't because of the sign on her door, but the love in her heart. She's a rescuer, a friend to animals and people.
It's her calling from above to make it safe and love them whole. And she does.
Jody Doty
©2024
🎨Kat Fedora
Bless the nurturers and fosterers who come to the rescue.
You sent

08/24/2024

It's great to have memories of the rescues we have had at H.E.A.R.T. of Tucson. These were the "Lucky 13" back in 2018. Our rescue took them on and did everything we could to help them out. Many had special medical issues (hooves, legs, etc), others were injured beyond any kind of vet repair, some had mental challenges from their past, many were seniors and all had no training, most had never been haltered, or their feet ans teeth done. all lived in stalls by themselves and never really had buddy time as a heard. We changed all that for them, but we were slow in the process. You see, we can't UNDO everything that has been done to a horse in one day, one week or even one year sometimes. We have to be PATIENT.

Our process in rescue:
When we first bring horses in, we let them relax so they can become accustomed to their new environment. We tend to their immediate physical needs, food, water and, if necessary, address injuries they may have to be seen by a vet and mended. We have a vet check them over and recommend what things need to be addressed immediately and what can wait until they are feeling better. We have a process we maintain as to not shock their system and to make sure we do no further damage to their bodis or minds, they already have been through enough. We do keep them on a month separation from our other horses to ensure they have no lingering illnesses that would be contagious to our current residents. They receive vaccines, deworming AFTER we make sure the sand is clear we from their bellies, so they will not colic or have adverse effects from the shots. Remember, most of our horses, mules and donkeys have come from abused, abandoned and neglected situations. They haven't had a lot of attention, so even though we are providing kindness and attending to their needs, they may be a bit scared to receive so much, so fast. So. Patience and Understanding.

We look at our rescues like people, what would we want done if we had been abused, abandoned or neglected and then rescued? What would we do if we were taken to a new home with strangers that we did not speak their language or understand them and that these new beings started to try to touch, prod and get into our space so fast, how would it feel? Probably it would scare the wits out of us and we would run or try to hide, not wanting to be caught or touched, or roundpenned or whipped into submission. We would want to be left alone, yes, please give us food and water and a safe place to stretch out and rest and to see our buddies, and think this situation out. Please do not rush us into what YOUR objectives for what you think needs to be done in a schedule (we don't know what that really is)but please think of us, and our needs, because we cannot talk and tell you what to do. Instead, listen to how our bodies react to your presence, watch us, learn us and please do not be selfish, but be empathetic to what we rrally need, mostly peace and calm.

We know equine are intelligent, but they have instincts as prey dating back hundreds of thousands of years. Human are predators. So, we as humans need to remember how they look at us when they are scared, in a new place with new faces and remember that the only way these beautiful creatures have survived this long it to flee or fight when cornered and have no way out. So we do not force them into submission, jump on their backs the first hour or day, back them in corners or cause them stress just to make ourselves feel like the winners of the day. It will all come in due time and they will learn to trust and build a partnership like no other if we learn TOGETHER and have respect for one another's needs. We let them rest, relax and take in their observations of us on their time. They need to acclimate to their new environment and it will build trust and confidence in these beaten down souls that need....PATIENCE, UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY...

Rescues and all equine, need this in their new homes. We all need this when getting used to a new environment we were not expecting...

Stay tune for more...SELFLESSNESS

08/23/2024

We have 2024 Jim Click Raffle tickets for sale!!! The drawing is on December 12, 2024! We have until December 6th to sell as many as possible, are you all interested?

Please contact us at 520-445-1510 or message us to meet up and purchase them. We would love to see someone that supports us win!!! 😊

⭐️If you are a local business and would like to help us sell them at your shop, please contact us and we can bring some to you! Then we will advertise your location on our page so our supporters know where to buy them! Community help means so much to us.

PRIZES:

🚙 GRAND PRIZE IS A 2024 JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON 4xe Plug-in Hybrid

✈️🌎 2nd Prize - Two round trip, first class airline tickets to anywhere in the world!!!

💸💰💲 3rd Prize is $5,000.00 Cash

1 ticket is $25.00🎟
5 tickets for $100.00🎟🎟🎟🎟🎟

This fundraiser allows ALL raffle monies to be kept by HEART of Tucson for all the tickets we sell. All that money we get to keep & use for our rescues!!!

YEE-HAW!!!

Please share and support our rescues!

Thank you so very much!

08/23/2024

November 8, 2021

We are so very grateful for all our donors that support us whenever possible!

Donations throughout the year from the following:
🔹️Monthly sponsorships,
🔹️Private Donors,
🔹️$5.00 Fridays,
🔹️Amazon Smiles,
🔹️Matching Employee donations,
🔹️Giving Tuesday,
🔹️Jim Click Raffle Tickets, 🔹️Arizona Gives,
🔹️Birthday Fundraising,
🔹️Facebook Fundraisers,
🔹️Donations of gently used Tack,
🔹️Donations of vehicles,
🔹️Donations of hay & supplies,
🔹️Donations Of Items for our Yard sales,
🔹️Donations from vendors,
🔹️Donations of Time in different services,
🔹️Artwork,
🔹️Photography,
🔹️T-shirts, gifts for raffles,
🔹️Donation for use of facilities,
🔹️Auction items,
🔹️Donations of every single dollar amount,
🔹️Donations of fencing, shades, lumber, feeding/water troughs.

We are so thankful to all our supporters and donors that rally on behalf of our Equine rescues here at HEART of Tucson!

Your thoughtfulness, generosity and kindness are the backbone of our HAPPY EQUINE ACRES & THERAPY, 501(c)(3) non-profit pro-equine organization.

With our donors and supporters we will continue to work together in our Rescue, Rehabilitation and Rehoming of all these wonderful equine!

Thank you!!!

💖ALL YOUR DONATIONS MAKE A DIFFERENCE 🎁

🐴 🥰 🐴

08/21/2024

Stolen June 25, 2024

On the morning of June 25, 2024 at approximately 4:30 a.m. a fence along the railroad tracks at the San Cayantano Ranch was cut and their horse was stolen. They are assuming the thief was headed north. Their additional fear is that without water and food he would be abandoned in the desert. He has been reported stolen to both Livestock and Santa Cruz Sheriff Dept. Please keep your eyes out and let's get this beautiful gelding, "BRAVO"
back home.

He is about 1000 lbs, 5'4" at the withers, strawberry roan with white feet, gelding. If anyone sees him or knows anything please contact Debbie @ 520-344-4482 or
Drena 520-990-3661

Thank you all for sharing, looking and letting people know about this stolen horse!

08/21/2024

Look beyond the exterior and discover the inner beauty of your horse ❤️

08/21/2024

We know we say it all the time, but it's so important: The simple act of putting a collar and tag on your dog can make the difference between them making it home or ending up in the shelter. Pictured are just a few of the 100+ lost dogs who have come into PACC over the last few days without a collar and tag or a properly registered microchip. Had these pets had their ID, they would likely be home now. 🐾

Three ways to help:

💙 If you or someone you know has lost a pet, please remind them to upload their photo to lost.petcolove.org and to keep checking back at PACC! Reclaim fees are WAIVED in most instances; we WANT you to have your pet at home, not in the shelter! 🐶

💙 If you find a healthy, friendly stray pet, PLEASE attempt to reunite them with their owner. These dogs have a much higher chance of getting home, which is better for both them and the hundreds of dogs already in the overcrowded shelter, if kept in their neighborhood. Tools like lost.petcolove.org's image recognition technology, flyers, social media, and just walking the dog around the neighborhood CAN and DO get pets home!

💙 Put a collar and tag on your dog! Don't have one? ANYONE who needs one can get a FREE custom ID tag at PACC any time we're open, and our Central Pet store sells collars for less than $10. This simple step can quite literally save lives.

All animals pictured are on a stray wait. They MAY be available for reservation in the event their owner does not reclaim them. If interested in reserving, please come to PACC. We're open from noon to 7 p.m. today.

08/21/2024

To everyone out in our world that needs to hear this today...

May we all be a friend like Piglet, for friends like Pooh, in both the good times and bad.
And
If you don't have human friends like that, a pet will always be there for you too! 🐶🐱🐴🐦

💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

"Piglet?" said Pooh.
"Yes?" said Piglet.

"I'm scared," said Pooh.
For a moment, there was silence.

"Would you like to talk about it?" asked Piglet, when Pooh didn't appear to be saying anything further.

"I'm just so scared," blurted out Pooh.

"So anxious. Because I don't feel like things are getting any better. If anything, I feel like they might be getting worse. People are angry, because they're so scared, and they're turning on one another, and there seems to be no clear plan out of here, and I worry about my friends and the people I love, and I wish SO much that I could give them all a hug, and oh, Piglet! I am so scared, and I cannot tell you how much I wish it wasn't so."

Piglet was thoughtful, as he looked out at the blue of the skies, peeping between the branches of the trees in the Hundred Acre Wood, and listened to his friend.

"I'm here," he said, simply. "I hear you, Pooh. And I'm here."

For a moment, Pooh was perplexed.

"But... aren't you going to tell me not to be so silly? That I should stop getting myself into a state and pull myself together? That it's hard for everyone right now?"

"No," said Piglet, quite decisively. "No, I am very much not going to do any of those things."

"But-" said Pooh.

"I can't change the world right now," continued Piglet. "And I am not going to patronise you with platitudes about how everything will be okay, because I don't know that.

"What I can do, though, Pooh, is that I can make sure that you know that I am here. And that I will always be here, to listen; and to support you; and for you to know that you are heard.

"I can't make those Anxious Feelings go away, not really.

"But I can promise you that, all the time I have breath left in my body...you won't ever need to feel those Anxious Feelings alone."

And it was a strange thing, because even as Piglet said that, Pooh could feel some of those Anxious Feelings start to loosen their grip on him; could feel one or two of them start to slither away into the forest, cowed by his friend, who sat there stolidly next to him.

Pooh thought he had never been more grateful to have Piglet in his life.

08/21/2024

Please, if you have dogs, cats, horses that are considering "re-homing" really think about their hearts first.

ALL Animals Deserve love, unconditional love ALL their life. Even after we take the best years of their life, we should reward them by keeping them until it's time to say the final goodbye.

Let's all do better and help our world by learning to take care of our animals the way we would like to be taken care of when we get old.

The best way to rescue an animal is to keep yours!

May all the dogs and cats in the Rescues find forever loving families. May more people reconsider giving up theirs.

"It's heartbreaking to see her so sad," the rescue center said after the sweet-natured dog found herself back at the shelter.

08/21/2024

Here is another great tool!

08/21/2024

This is an amazing healing tool. We had a visit from a wonderful woman a few days ago, she worked on a couple of our horses with this method, it was beautiful to watch! They were so happy.

Healing for horses and humans comes in many forms. The more we learn, the more we can help one another!

The Masterson Method® is an innovative form of equine massage that allows the horse to release deep, accumulated pain and tension in muscles and connective t...

08/19/2024

08/16/2024

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

08/12/2024

Please share!

08/10/2024

Charlie says,

Watch FOR incoming fundraising efforts:

Saddles/tack for sale and Jim Click Ford Raffle Tickets available!!!

We need to raise money for hay, supplements, farrier, medical etc!!!

We hope everyone can support us!!!

We HAYZ NEEDS!!!

Ifyou would like to donate today for any of Heart of Tucson equine
Please donate at
1. Heartoftucson.org

2. Zelle @ [email protected]

3. Heart of Tucson
120 S. Houghton
Ste. 138-267
Tucson, Az. 85704

4. Call 520-445-1510 if you have any "In kind" donations

Thank you!

Heart of Tucaon is a current 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we will send you a receipt for any donation for tax purposes.

Thank you all!!!

08/07/2024

I so wish this would stop!

A while ago I shared a fantastic post from Evidence Based Horsemanship here on my FB page.

“Did you know that horses lack a large, developed frontal lobe? That’s the part of the brain responsible for making plans, forming strategies, and reasoning.
Knowing that, horses don’t have it in for us! They don't lie, plot, or laugh at our expense. They literally don't have the brain power to do those things.”

I shared it because this is one of those myths in the horse world that bring the most pain in horse-human relationships.

The belief that the horse is doing things “to” you, to “test you”, to “annoy you” is exactly what leads to a lot of harsh corrections and emotional outbreaks from riders.
It justifies abuse and violence against horses.

Because of this myth, so many horses are misunderstood. Are labeled as “bitch”, “sassy”, “dominant” or even dangerous.

It is this myth that brings people so often into dangerous and frustrating situations with their horses.

And you know what? Within 5 minutes of sharing this post, I had a nasty comment underneath it. I could almost not believe it but confirmed to me how deeply rooted this myth is still today in the horse world.

“Science may say this but I've seen horses calculate and purposefully do things. Seemingly out of spite. They say that a lot of animals lack this ability but yet if you take any length of time and watch their behaviors you start to see that some of them truly are just as****es and do things purposefully.”

This is exactly the attitude that has to stop! Once people start calling horses ***holes, this is where the fun really stops. I mean, come on!

There is a reason as of why the horse feels so triggered that it feels the need to behave like a so called “***hole”!

And it is usually the person on the end of the lead rope or in the saddle that triggered this behavior in the first place.

How about rethinking our own behavior and way of acting around the horse?
Because horses are just doing their best with the information they get from us and their surroundings.

Yes, horses can become resentful and aggressive towards people. But this is never without reason!

What about starting to ask questions in a way that the horse doesn’t feel aggressed, offended, or scared and that it can answer the questions we ask with YES instead of with a big fat NO?

By saying things like “the horse is doing this on purpose to test me” or “he is just trying to get out of work” etc, we are refusing to take responsibility for our own actions.

Facing the truth is humiliating and painful. So, people take the easy way out by blaming the horse.

Once we start to treat the horse according to its cognition, we can make great progress and enjoy a much more peaceful relationship.

Because we won’t take things personally anymore - now we know that the horse isn’t doing things “to” us in order to “test” or “annoy” us, but simply doing the best he can with the information he has.

Then we can set up situations in a way that the horse can say yes with confidence.
Then we can meet the horse with an open heart and with empathy.

But it also means that we have to learn, study, get better and consistently question our approach. And this seems to be uncomfortable for many.

Because we can’t refuse responsibility anymore.

If I had one wish to come true, it would be that every horse person on this planet would abandon dominance theory.

This would bring a huge change in the horse industry. Fewer accidents, less abuse, better horse welfare.

08/07/2024

SYMPTOMS

This is a story I tell from time to time at clinics. But I think it bears relevance to today's topic.

Several years ago I was asked to give a demonstration at a pony club rally. I was surrounded by a group of 20 or more girls between the ages of 7 and 14. I don’t know if my demonstration had any impact, but at the end of the session, I asked if any of them had a question they would like to ask. A cute kid of about 8 or 9 put up her hand.

“Um, sometimes when I ride my pony out on, um, a trail, um, we go about a mile, um down the road, um and she stops and, um bucks me off and, um then runs home.”

I immediately started to think about ways I could help this little girl teach her pony not to buck her off. In my head, I was thinking of telling her about hindquarter yields and trying to keep the pony busy when she knows the buck is coming, etc. But the girl fooled me. I did not expect the question that was most burning in her young mind.

“Um, how do I stop her from running home after she, um bucks me off because it’s a long walk back?”

I laughed. I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help it. I was sure she wanted to know how to prevent the bucking, not how to teach the horse to not run off after it bucked. But the girl had her priorities. The bucking didn’t bother her. She just hated the walk home.

When I think of that story I think of how we all see things differently. We see our horse’s behaviour from our perspective, not our horse’s.

For example, if we have a horse that baulks when loading into a trailer, we practice trailer loading. But because we don’t see poor trailer loading as a leading problem we don’t practice better leading everywhere we go – we just practice better trailer loading. In our eyes, trailer loading is the problem, not leading.

If our horse shies a lot on the trail, we try to desensitize it to different objects and situations because we think the shying is the result of fear of different objects. We don’t always see a lack of focus as the cause of the shying. We practice desensitization and ignore the poor focus.

If we have a horse that lacks straightness and balance when we ride a circle we try to use more inside leg and outside rein to fix it because we are not aware that the horse’s focus is on the outside of the circle rather than the circumference of the circle. We physically try to place the horse straight on the circle instead of getting them to think on the circle.

People are always chasing symptoms because it is the symptom that most bothers us. We view the symptom as the thing that gets in the way of what we want to do. Without the symptoms, there would be no problem, or at least we wouldn’t know we had a problem. I mean, how many of us would know we had a cold if we didn’t have a blocked nose, headache, and cough? We figure that if we cure the symptom we cure the cold.

But that is a very human-like perspective. It is self-centred. Horses exhibit unwanted behaviour because they have a problem with what we want. If we cure the symptom, we may have solved our problem, but we still leave the horse with its problem. For instance, teaching the horse to standstill using hobbles may cure our problem of a fidgety horse, but the horse’s problem of feeling the need to fuss and fidget remains unresolved. Forcing obedience on a horse does nothing to fix its turmoil.

It’s part of being human to make riding, training, and handling all about us. We rug (blanket) horses in warm weather to keep their coat nice. We trim a horse’s whiskers and apply makeup and false tails to enhance their appeal to the judges. We use gadgets to enforce obedience and submission. We start, ride, and compete with horses that are too young to do the job. We choose the instructors, trainers, and clinicians that we do because they make us feel good about ourselves.

The little girl at the pony club did not realize that the solution to her problem of having to trudge the long walk home was not to teach her horse to stand still after she fell off, but to teach it not to buck her off. She was just a kid – I wouldn’t expect her to think about what’s the best thing to do for her horse. But I’d like to believe that she went home that day and had a talk with her parents about how to help her pony feel okay enough that it didn’t have to buck her off.

Photo: I only posted this photo because it made me smile.

08/05/2024

Please checkout Arizona Weather Force for tomorrows (Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024) Tornado watch!
Maricopa, Pinal, Pima County, Prescott & Payson!

Tornado Statement Issued for Maricopa, Pinal, Pima County, with Prescott and Payson for August 6, 2024; Huge Monsoon Event

Arizona Weather Force has issued a Tornado Statement, effective for afternoon, evening, and night of August 6, 2024.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION FORECAST …

Zones affected: All of Maricopa County – All of Pinal County – All of Pima County – Mogollon Rim Prescott, Payson …

Discussion: Evidently the ridge of high pressure is stuck tonight but building up strong energy out of the northeast from the looks of it. This energy will slam from northeast to southwest right into the statement areas. There is no doubt all of you now will see your ‘monsoon’ in Phoenix and San Tan on TUESDAY EVENING AND NIGHT. This is a major push, which looks like the strongest of the season and on par to August 2021, which solidified the rain numbers for Phoenix and San Tan in a single storm.

With this push, will be strong upper-level dynamics. In Arizona, tornadoes are always possible in these patterns when nothing else shows. This reason is because the northeast to southwest flow works to the terrain to create its own convergence zone, that of which will be highly present.

So, in closing, the zones affected will be having damaging winds, large hail, flooding, and tornadoes … and I’ll be here in the morning if needed to give the final Tornado Watch … but for now … as I’ve been saying … it’s solidly happening … good luck … stay safe …

A Tornado Statement with a Severe Weather Statement is only issued 24 hours before the final watch of Tornado Watch or Enhanced Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued for the zoned area and must be taken seriously above any app or service you ascribe to.

Twitter Handle - https://twitter.com/AZWeatherForce

NOTE: This main page posts mainly for a statewide area.
Whenever either the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas are issued an alert, it will be posted on the main page ... otherwise smaller scale areas will be on the AZWF GROUP and here is the link to join. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/arizonaweatherforecasts

- Raiden Storm - Master General Meteorologist - National Weather Force Networks

Tornado Statement Issued for Maricopa, Pinal, Pima County, with Prescott and Payson for August 6, 2024; Huge Monsoon Event

Arizona Weather Force has issued a Tornado Statement, effective for afternoon, evening, and night of August 6, 2024.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION FORECAST …

Zones affected: All of Maricopa County – All of Pinal County – All of Pima County – Mogollon Rim Prescott, Payson …

Discussion: Evidently the ridge of high pressure is stuck tonight but building up strong energy out of the northeast from the looks of it. This energy will slam from northeast to southwest right into the statement areas. There is no doubt all of you now will see your ‘monsoon’ in Phoenix and San Tan on TUESDAY EVENING AND NIGHT. This is a major push, which looks like the strongest of the season and on par to August 2021, which solidified the rain numbers for Phoenix and San Tan in a single storm.

With this push, will be strong upper-level dynamics. In Arizona, tornadoes are always possible in these patterns when nothing else shows. This reason is because the northeast to southwest flow works to the terrain to create its own convergence zone, that of which will be highly present.

So, in closing, the zones affected will be having damaging winds, large hail, flooding, and tornadoes … and I’ll be here in the morning if needed to give the final Tornado Watch … but for now … as I’ve been saying … it’s solidly happening … good luck … stay safe …

A Tornado Statement with a Severe Weather Statement is only issued 24 hours before the final watch of Tornado Watch or Enhanced Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued for the zoned area and must be taken seriously above any app or service you ascribe to.

Twitter Handle - https://twitter.com/AZWeatherForce

NOTE: This main page posts mainly for a statewide area.
Whenever either the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas are issued an alert, it will be posted on the main page ... otherwise smaller scale areas will be on the AZWF GROUP and here is the link to join. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/arizonaweatherforecasts

- Raiden Storm - Master General Meteorologist - National Weather Force Networks

08/05/2024

Good Morning!

Something to think about...

Horses feel safe when life is comfortable. They like predictability and they like familiarity. They hate new things, they hate isolation and they hate surprises. Horses get confidence from a familiar environment, from other horses and from having a routine.

This is life and death stuff to horses. It’s not just about whether a horse is having a good day or a bad day. To a horse, the unfamiliar, the unpredictable and the absence of buddies, create a question in its mind of whether or not this is the day they die.

People don’t see it the same way. We know a new paddock or a change of routine or separation from other horses is not life-threatening to our horse. We see their stress-induced behaviour as a nuisance and not the screams of an animal who fears it is experiencing its last moments.

Imagine waking up in a strange land where nothing is familiar to you - you know nobody, the language is foreign, nothing works as you expect, you don’t know how you got there or why and you don’t know how you will get back or if you will get back to the things that are familiar and made you feel safe. That’s the feeling a horse experiences when it is bought by a new owner or moved to a new boarding facility or is weaned or goes to its first show or sent to stud or comes to a 4-day clinic.

That’s when you can be glad horses can’t cry.

A discussion at last weeks clinic revolved around how hard it can be for a horse to adapt and fit into a new home. When a horse is moved to a new home we just expect it to get used to it. It might take a few days, but by the end of a week, we treat it like it has always lived there. We do nothing to help it adapt. We assume time alone is the answer.

Most of us know it takes time for a horse to settle in. But what if we could make it easier? At the clinic, I suggested that when we buy a horse that we try to invent a strategy that would help the new horse feel less lost when being uprooted from all that it knows. What if we had a reliable and experienced horse (or maybe two of them) that we could take to the home of our newly purchased horse and house them together or in adjacent yards? We could keep them together long enough (a week or more) to form a bond. Then when the time was right, everybody moves back to the new home together. The bond between our horse(s) and the new horse would help make the transition much less traumatic when they come home.

That may not be a strategy that is practical for everybody, but most people can make some effort to normalize life for a newly acquired horse whose life is turned upside down. Perhaps start with ensuring the same feed and feeding schedule from their old life for a while. If they are used to living in a stable, a yard or a paddock you could try to mimic that when they first arrive. Or giving them a couple of weeks or more of rest to settle in before starting the training program. I’m sure you can invent ways to help a new horse adapt with a little less trauma than to suddenly and abruptly throw them into the deep end of the pool.

But how do you know a horse ever settles in and feels good about its new life?

When Michèle and I were training horses full-time our horses lived in a large paddock together. Some of the training horses were also housed in that paddock for various lengths of time. The nature of a training business is that horses come and go. Even though our horses were a stable group, the overall herd was constantly changing. I didn’t realize until we stopped training and stopped bringing new horses into the herd how much stress the coming and going of training horses brought to our horses. I knew the training horses carried stress, but I did not appreciate that their stress and their coming and going upset our horses too. When we stopped bringing in training horses, just keeping our herd stable was like radical therapy. Our horses kept their weight even during winter, seasonal skin diseases were no longer a problem, separation issues fell away and they had a much more chilled attitude to life. Who knew?

I’ve talked before that weaning is one of the most stressful events in a horse’s life. Yet most people don’t give it much thought. If a mare dies or a foal dies we see it as a tragedy and our heart aches for the one left behind. But when it comes to weaning, so many people just rip the mare and foal apart as if there was a death, and give it no thought. They know both baby and mother will be stressed, but most don’t think of it as anything akin to death so we do it without preparing the dam and foal for the weaning that is to come. I believe horses can and do grieve and weaning is often accompanied by a grieving period for the mare and foal.

I have long advocated that weaning should be done gradually over a long period. It begins with very brief sessions (minutes) of separation using adjacent stables or yards. Over time the separation is increased and new friends are introduced to interact with. As both mare and foal adapt, the length of separation is gradually increased until one-day weaning is complete, self-imposed and uneventful. The time this will take will depend on the nature of the horses and the bond between the more and the foal.

Every horse and every situation is different, however, one constant thing is the trauma a horse experiences when they lose everything familiar. We owe it to them to do what we can to make the transition to a new life as easy as possible with a minimum of grief and trauma.

If horses could cry, what could you do so they don’t have to when you remove them from everything that feels safe and familiar?