Crystal's Equine Etiquette

02/09/2025

This is the outline of a fuzzy horse who gave me a scare yesterday. She was *again* colicky yesterday morning. It was very mild but still worrisome with her history.
I gave her some Banamine and walked her around until she seemed better.
This was her when I came back after the Banamine wore off. She was happily eating and pushing Gabe around. ❤️
This is why it's so important to either be very knowledgeable about horses or keep them at a place that has very knowledgeable staff. Colic can be easy to miss when it's mild. But it's easier to treat when caught early.

02/07/2025

Flora and Gabe are bundled up in their heavy blankets. Today was cold and windy, so the blankets help shield them from the cold.

02/04/2025

-10 windchill out there today, and this wooly mammoth is doing just fine without a blanket! 🤣

02/02/2025

Fitness February means it's time to start getting in shape for spring riding! We've taken it easy with our riding these past couple of months as the cold weather slows us all down a bit. This month, it's time to start getting into shape for optimal riding come spring!

Are you in?? Sign up for lessons at CrystalsEquineEtiquette.com and get into riding shape.

01/31/2025

Flora's much calmer today as she's beginning to get used to her new home for a while. Gabe is a good, calm companion for her.

01/30/2025

Flora's suspensory injury is forcing me to take more time for my horses. I get so busy with life and helping other people and animals with Reiki that I don't focus on myself or my animals enough.

Flora LOVES Reiki. When she was a baby, she used to try and bite my hands when the energy would come. 😁 Now she settles into it pretty easily..

She's been pacing in the pen. Which is normal for her. Reiki calms her as well as helps her leg heal. The energy always goes to where it's needed.

01/30/2025

It was a cotton candy sky during sunset tonight. Remember to take time to appreciate the beauty of these magnificent creatures. I am so grateful I get to be around them every day. What a beautiful evening.

01/28/2025

Flora had her ultrasound appointment today to look at the suspensory ligament injury further. Dr. Markow did see abnormalities in the left suspensory, indicating it is a moderate injury.
So, Flora and Gabe get to hang out in a small pen together to limit Flora's movement and help this heal. Send your good energy her way!
It's not fun having an injury, but I'm sure thankful for wonderful vets and having a diagnosis and plan to help this heal.

01/26/2025

Colic doesn't always look like colic. This is why it's so important to know your horses' baseline normal behaviors.

Friday morning, I went to the barn and saw Flora standing by the feeder. It's not totally abnormal for a horse to be taking a break from eating. It peaked my interest when my student mentioned Flora laying down when she drove up. We went out to catch her horse, and Flora was standing.

After her lesson, we turned out the horse, and I knew something was off when Flora was lying down again. So I walked up to her and got her up and brought her to another pen. Instead of eating the hay I had brought into the pen, she laid down on it. This was not normal behavior for my hot horse.

I put her halter back on and began walking her. She wasn't biting at her stomach, nor was she trying to go down when we stopped. But she would hang her head low, and her belly was bigger than normal. So I called the vet.

He came out and checked her and found out her colon was displaced. He was really surprised by the amount of displacement because of the lack of pain she was showing.

This is why it's so important to know your horses normal. Every horse has a different normal, and they're not all the same. When you know their normal, you can trust their communication when something is off. If I had waited longer or left her, who knows what would have happened.

It ended up progressing more severely overnight and into the next day. After a long night and morning of walking, some miled pain relief and sedative and lots of Reiki, her colic signs lessened.

Today is Sunday, and we're still keeping an eye on her, but all is seemingly well. I am just thankful that I know her enough and trust her communication enough to tell me when she's not feeling well.

01/23/2025

Flora had her lameness exam today. Looks like she's got a suspensory ligament injury in her hind leg. Who knows what she did goofing around outside.
So she's going to have to be in a small pen for a while while she heals so she doesn't run around and make it worse. Thanks to our vet, Dr. Markow and students from West Metro U of M.

01/20/2025

Brisk mornings make for beautiful photos.

01/18/2025

New classes begin next week!

Intro to Horsemanship Wednesdays 1/22 - 1/5 from 6pm-7pm $77 for the whole course
Learn how to lead a horse through an obstacle course, SEND them through one and over obstacles, lunge a horse and other ways to work with them on the ground.

Homeschool Horse Class Fridays 1/24 - 2/7 from 11-12
$100 for the whole course
Students learn horse safety, body language, grooming, riding disciplines and tack, breeds, colors and markings, our energy and the horses and more. Dive into the world of horses.

Winter Warm up Fridays 1/24 on
$25 per time
Bundle up and get outside. Come out and play games, go for a meditative nature walk, sit with the horses and more. Each week is a different game and topic. This is meant to get kids outside in the fresh air and get moving!

Find out more and sign up at CrystalsEquineEtiquette.com/book-online

01/17/2025

It's important to learn the horsekeeping part of horses, too. I like to set my students up to be able to know what to do when they have their own horse someday.

The cold weather is coming back tonight, which means some of the horses get blanketed again. But it depends on the horse, their living arrangements, and how they handle the cold.

Gabe is 24, so he doesn't hold his body heat as well as some of the younger horses. So, when it's going to be below 20 he gets a blanket. Heavier blankets for colder days, lighter for "warmer". Gotta keep these guys happy!

01/16/2025

A great reminder for the cold air headed our way.

🌬️❄️ Cold Weather Alert! ❄️🌬️

Arctic air is heading our way this weekend! Make sure your horses are ready and have:

🏡 Shelter from the wind
🌾 Extra forage for energy
🐴 Blankets if needed

For more info, visit: z.umn.edu/winterhorsecare

01/16/2025

My newest blog post about my Reiki journey. Enjoy.

Thirteen years ago I began my Reiki journey. I didn't even know what Reiki was back then. I learned about it in a hospital room while visiting my mom back in 2011. I had no idea how that day would change my path in life. My mom was in a motorcycle accident back in 2007 that left her quadriplegic. On...

01/15/2025

Raven does so well when Aurthur trims her hooves. She stands so well (most of the time) and explores his hat with her muzzle. It's crazy to look back to a year ago and think I could hardly touch her!

01/11/2025

I got to the barn early this morning to give Flora a spa day with her heated blanket. She's feeling pretty sore lately. I'm hoping this relaxes her sore muscles.

01/10/2025

Work with what you've got, not what you want.

You might go out to the barn today expecting to work your horse and have a bunch of goals in mind you want to accomplish. However, your horse might have other plans! Horses, just like us, have off days. Or they're a lot more excitable for whatever reason. Or maybe they're lame. Whatever it is, your plans don't always go as planned.

That's because we're working with another living being. It's OK to realize things won't always go as planned. The horse doesn't know your end plans. For all he knows, you were just going to work on going halfway around the field, not the entire way. Or you were only doing ground poles and not jumping today.

So, instead of being frustrated at what you're unable to control, work with what you've got. Maybe that means ending sooner than originally planned, so it can be on a good note. Or maybe it's only completing X and Y and leaving Z for another day.

It's okay to let it go and take little wins. In the long run, that's what will get you further than pushing yourself and your horse past what you can do that day.