Bella Luna Blu LLC.

28/10/2023

We have a couple openings for stall boarding.

Stall board includes:

💥Oversized 14x14 stalls

💥Twice daily stall cleaning (flax bedding)

💥Arena turn out or pasture turn out based on weather

💥Full hay nets twice a day (unless on a special diet)

💥Automatic waters

💥Himalayan salt blocks

💥Purina grains (once or twice a day)

💥Full use of the HEATED indoor 200x70 with obstacles, barrels, poles, and jumps

💥Wash stall (hot and cold water)

💥Indoor climate controlled tack storage

💥Climate controlled viewing room with full bathroom and client washer and dryer

Very quiet and friendly barn community, no drama allowed.

$550/ month

Text 5072265119, email [email protected] or message the page for more information.

09/10/2023

S***k your baby horse.

I don’t mean beat them. I don’t mean give them a little tug on the lead rope. I mean a rude horse deserves and understands some rudeness right back at them far better than a sweet whisper in their ear.

I mean, when your c**t or filly is running you over or throwing their ass at you or throwing their feet at you or snatching at you with their teeth, S***K THEM. Their mama would never tolerate that behavior from them. The old babysitter gelding in their pasture would not tolerate that behavior. YOU SHOULDNT TOLERATE IT.

They don’t like you because you’re sweet to them. They “like” food, water and safety.
You want your horse to be fed so you bring them food.
You want your horse to have water so you keep water in front of them.

What do you do when you want them to be safe? You discipline them when they are unsafe. You teach them to RESPECT humans and make good choices. When they don’t respect humans and humans get hurt what happens? THEY ARENT SAFE. They can’t be treated when they are sick. They can’t have their feet cared for. If they are hurt you can’t fix them. If something happens to you? What happens to your sweet dream horse? They aren’t going to be safe. No one wants a disrespectful dangerous horse. I don’t care how pretty they are. I don’t care how much money you paid for it. I don’t care what names are on its papers. If it’s a complete s**t, it’s a complete s**t and the good horse owners? They don’t want it! I don’t want it! You know who does want it? The meat man.

If you love that horse, don’t be afraid to give it a s***k when it’s rude.
Credit to the OG author Melissa McPherson White

In my line of work, the most dangerous thing is a horse that doesn't respect people. Letting them get away with bad behaviors will only escalate and get worse each time. Allowing them to make all these decisions will take away your credibility as a leader to them. Once your horse doesn't see you as capable of making decisions they can confidently follow, you have lost their trust and respect.

I personally like my horse to have a voice, an opinion, a say in what we're doing. I want them to question me in questionable situations, that means I taught them to think for themselves. But if I insist, I expect them to follow my lead and not talk back. Horses don't understand a 50/50 relationship, there's no such thing in a herd dynamic. They need a leader or they feel obligated to fill that role themselves.

04/10/2023

The new normal.

What is a normal horse? Think about what that means to you. What do you want a normal horse to be capable of?

Trauma. Someone using excessive force, some type of accident, neglect, ill fitting tack, timid leaders,, rescues, abuse, a bad start, too much time off, inconsistencies, you name it.

Can a horse that has had trauma ever be a normal horse again? What kinds of trauma should a horse be able to handle? Can all horses handle the same amount of trauma and come back from it? Can all people handle the same trauma and come back from it the same? No...

The ideal is to have young, untroubled horses in a typical scenario. You can get a good balance of connection and workability. You can still set things up for a horse to understand without forcing them, and they will be safer in a work horse setting because of it. Starting a clean slate takes less time with connection than when the process is rushed and you have to go back and fix "holes".

Now a horse that has seen trouble... That takes a lot of time. The long processes of rebuilding a horses confidence after trauma. This process goes at the horse's pace because the horse decides how bad the trauma was for them to deal with, not us.

Not the horses I would choose for a working ranch as a standard. Not the horses I would choose to put kiddos on. Not the horses to go on the challenging trails with 10 of your buddies while you've all got drinks in your hands. For these things, we typically want a steady horse that we can trust. One that has maybe shown us they can handle some trauma vs becoming traumatized.

Nothing wrong with a trauma horse that you are willing to put the time and money into. Getting the horse healthy and in a more stable state of mind is an incredible feeling! What needs to be realized with some of these animals is that they have baggage. Some have very little and are willing to let it go with a little help and move on to better things. Some have ALOT of baggage and need consistency, a strong comforting leader, and will eventually settle on a "new normal". That is something that needs to be accepted with any horse that's been through anything that the horse would consider trauma.

Don't forget, we don't get to decide what they consider traumatic or not.

25/09/2023

03/09/2023

Absolutely loved having these yearlings for our kindergarten/baby bootcamp program!!! They had lessons in leading, bathing, standing tied, getting used to being in a box stall, cross ties, going over and through obstacles, socializing, standing for farrier, puddles, ground manners, etc.
Two of them are looking to go to a new 🏡! Contact Rachel K**k if interested

02/09/2023

“How do I stop biting!?”🐴🦷🦷⁣
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Is a natural question to ask when your horse is chompin’ at ya… but not the most *helpful* question to start with.
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A more useful question is: WHY is my horse biting?⁣
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You absolutely must know why before you can prevent it from happening.⁣
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A one size fits all approach—like punishing biting with a smack—is often not super effective. And even if it “works,” the underlying problem remains, and you’ll likely get a different unwanted behavior as your horse tries to communicate his needs to you.⁣
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So… why would a horse bite? There are two common causes:⁣
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1. Appetitive aggression⁣
2. Aversive aggression⁣
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When something is appetitive, it means the horse desires it.⁣
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Appetitive aggression may pop up when food rewards are being used, but he either:⁣
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👉🏼 Doesn’t know how to earn the food⁣
👉🏼 Is afraid of the behavior that would earn the food⁣
👉🏼 The behavior is painful⁣
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Of course, we want to avoid all of these issues with best-practice training. When we avoid causes for appetitive aggression, biting disappears!⁣
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The solution is to use fantastic shaping for clear communication + fear reduction, offering the horse choice, using a high rate of reinforcement (rewarding frequently) and getting regular evaluations done by a vet 👏🏼⁣
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Now, aversive based aggression is when a horse reacts to something he wants to avoid, that he feels he has no control over.⁣
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When we use pressure and release in training, and the horse doesn’t understand *exactly* how to avoid pressure, he may get frustrated or afraid, and go into fight mode.⁣
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We want to use pressure as ethically as possible so our horses feel safe & relaxed.⁣
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That’s why it’s vital to use:⁣
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✅ a sequence of cues, so he knows when pressure is coming, and can actually avoid pressure altogether by responding to a gentle cue⁣
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✅ excellent shaping, to boost understanding of any request⁣
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✅ frequent, substantial, and well-timed releases of pressure so he always finds relief throughout the session⁣
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When you train in an informed way, you can totally prevent biting from happening. Biting is just a clue to dig into a little more learning! 📖⁣
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Ask Q’s in the comments 🩵⁣
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— MM team 💫

01/09/2023

I guess Nora was feeling like she needed a little more daily hands on attention and wanted to join our rehab program *again* 🥴 Nearly the same injury she got 2 years ago! (Old scar about 12" above) Gotta make the most of it with the help from the neighbor kids. She sure is enjoying her extra attention though

14/06/2023

In recent times I’ve been thinking of ways to reduce the amount of people I work with. This is because of me, not anyone else. I am the one who’s been harbouring the messiness, no one else.

I’m endlessly slow to the party, so am grateful to have good friends who will knock me over the head to help me see who I really am. In getting better at recognising this and what I care about, I know I’m going to be less useful. And thank goodness, that feels better.

For years I have said ‘Oh yes please, thank you very much’ to anyone who wanted to learn with me. Even when clearly I was never going to be able to help them, as what I can offer and what they want are diametrically opposed. My need to be useful (in order to get my ‘She was of use’ rosette at the gates of heaven) was completely negated by giving my time to people who I can be of no help to. I am not what they are looking for.

Not their fault - 100% mine.

I know who I am and how I am with horses. I’ve known it for years but have tried to keep it under wraps in order to do the right thing by all the people. Which of course, was the wrong thing. I’m not Coldplay.

I cannot help but care about how the horse feels. I just can’t ignore it even when that opens a huge can of worms that the person really wants to keep closed. Phew, that’s easier to say than to sit on.

I cannot help but see that some combinations are just the wrong match and they’re both miserable as a result. Only honest appraisal will really unpick that, not pretending things are not as they are.

If tack doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit. No matter how much it cost or who fitted it. That’s a relief to be honest about that, even though people will not come back to have lessons with me as a result.

If a horse is lame or in some other way physically uncomfortable then that is as if is and it may well stop the person doing the things they want to do. Honesty about this feels the proverbial fresh air. And again, will mean even fewer people return…

I have to start where I know the horse needs me to start. If this is leading then it’s leading and we can’t pretend it’s not. This makes me a really specialist item and those are not for everyone.

And, there are principles that cannot be mixed. That may mean that people do actually need to stick with this way of learning and foresake other opportunities to ‘do stuff’ with their horses. That’s not about me; it’s about the horse. There’s nothing worse for horses than being confused. Not everyone wants this approach, and that, thank goodness, is also O.k.

What I teach is really quite demanding of a person. It requires discipline and a commitment to learn. This is not something everyone else is interested in doing and we both just need to be honest about that. That actually enables us both to breath, because it’s true! This way of working with and training horses may just be too demanding or too specific or just too plain hard. That is absolutely fine. We each are who we are.

I want my students not to need me. I want to equip them with enough knowledge and confidence to ‘try’ in order that they will book less lessons with me, not more.

I know that this really limits who is ever going to want to work with me, probably to a small handful. It also means I can sleep well at night.

Someone quoted Annie Dillard to me this week ‘How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life’.

I don’t want to waste anyone else’s days anymore than I want to waste mine. Much less our lives….

14/06/2023

When you ask a well rounded horse to do something new, they try for you and usually can handle it well. When you ask a rushed horse something new, who knows how it's going to go?

“A change is coming”

Or maybe it’s already come.

Over my years of horse training, I have worked with many different methods, horses, and people.

I have had success and great fun along the way but I always felt something was missing. I have always been on a journey to look for a better way.

Something Lockie Phillips said when I shared something I struggled with at his clinic this spring has constantly been in the back of my mind. The thing I struggled with he said is most likely my biggest gift. I know he is right.

I have empathy. I care deeply for the horses and clients that I work with and I absolutely love training. However, time limits that come with training for the public using the status quo rules have made my job stressful and un-fun. I hate time limits in both my personal and professional life. However, I do realize time limits are there for a reason otherwise I would be late to everything 🤪

But what I do not want to put on myself anymore is the feeling of knowing a horse needs time and a slower pace paying attention to the details and feeling the push from the status quo horse industry to just get the job done. Push, Push, Push. ”He’s just being bad.” “You just need to show him who’s boss.” “He just needs you to push him through it and it’ll be fine.” Trust me, I’ve done it all. And you know what, I send that horse home with gaping holes. Sure he can canter but he isn’t relaxed. Sure I can get on and ride that mare but she stands like a stiff board during saddling. People say, “ That’s fine. That’s just how it is or who they are.”

NO. IT. IS. NOT!

Your horse is screaming for a connection and a conversation with you but you must quiet yourself and slow the process down to be able to listen. And when we do, absolutely beautiful things happen.

Are the changes small at first? Yes. Does it take more time? A little in the beginning, but once you hit a certain point, that horse is no further behind than any other horse. And I’ll tell you one thing, that horse is way more regulated, soft, connected and complete than the horse that has been pushed to meet the status quo.

So this leads me to what I was trying to say in the beginning.
I absolutely love to train for the public. I love seeing horses and their owners come together. I love seeing the light bulbs come on and both connect with each other.

I will absolutely start horses under saddle and do tune ups, take problem horses, etc.

But….I will not short myself anymore. I will not stress myself out to the point of making myself sick and miserable trying to do something I know in my conscience I shouldn’t do.

When I take a horse in for training, please know I am going to do my absolute best and give my everything to that horse is each session but I am going to go at the horses pace. We are going to spend time leading and connecting. We are going to work on emotional regulation, collision avoidance, and connection all before I ever even think about saddle work. Once I can get those things, then I will absolutely begin saddle work with the horses well-being in mind. We will work on walking in straightness and paying attention to abduction in the circles. We will work on supporting the body and mind in our work.

And through all of this, a soft and beautiful and well-regulated horse will emerge.

Will they be able to go over brides and go on trail rides alone and confident? Not in 90 days only.

Will they spin a hole in the ground, drag a log or neck rein? Not in 90 days.

What will you have in 90 days of training?

A horse that is soft, straight, knows how to listen to your seat, knows how to respond to leg pressure, knows how to have proper contact with the bit, knows how to begin to self regulate with direction from the rider, knows how to connect to the handler and rider, and knows how to quietly walk/trot and canter.

And that is a lot in 90 days!!! And eventually I may make my minimum time even more for the sake of the horse. (Also please know, for the owner, I realize money only goes so far but the longer I have your horse, the more freedom it allows me to not have to cut corners to meet your expectations. And your horse can tell how I feel if things are rushed and they respond accordingly.)

Are they fancy? Absolutely not.

Are they basic? For some people maybe.

But these horses are well started with no holes and are now ready to begin life as a riding horse.

Will all the horses reach all these goals in 90 days? Absolutely not. We must meet each horse where they are at and accept each for what they can offer us at that time.

We must enjoy the journey it takes to get to where we want to be and we must be content with the time it takes to get there.

So if this sounds like something you’d love to be a part of, send me a message and let’s chat. I’d absolutely love to help you and your horse fill in the gaps and begin to fulfill a deeper partnership and understanding between the both of you.