True Blue Equine

07/09/2024

www.trueblueequine.com

07/09/2024

Great ride tonight Mary Moga!

06/26/2024

For those of your traveling to the barn from the south for lessons and/or the Boss Mares Women's Leadership Retreat!

06/25/2024

The Przewalski Horse is a major piece of equine evolution and it's so exciting to know that research is being done right here in Minnesota to preserve this species!

There's new hope for the last endangered wild horse species in the world due to research at the University of Minnesota.

06/25/2024

To lead a horse is harder than it looks. Effective leading requires having an intentional and focused direction, communicating that direction clearly, trusting your partner or team, taking care of and setting solid boundaries for yourself, and knowing when to make compromises.

1. While leading, look up and ahead, not at your horse. A herd follows the one who knows where they are going. A leader in a herd doesn't ask the herd where the nearest water or food source is, she just starts walking towards it. If she doesn't know where it is, she looks to a different horse to lead the way.

2. Horse listen to natural aids (hands, legs, body, and voice) first. Artifical aids (halter, lead rope, crop, etc) can help to clarify if the message is not clear, but should only be used as a supplement to natural aids that are already in use. Communication is key.

3. The amount of rope between your right hand and the halter represents the amount of trust that your horse has earned. If the leader does not require the horse to earn the trust, the horse will find the leader unfit to lead and take on the role himself.

4. It is always easier to turn a horse towards you than to turn them away from you, but turning away is safer. It is also an opportunity to set or reinforce a spatial boundary for the horse to respect. It is NOT selfish or pushy for a leader to take care of themselves or insist on their own personal safety.

5. Leadership also means considering the needs of the members of your team. A horse's natural stride is 4 mph while the average human"s pace is 3 mph.. That's not to say that horses are incapable of walking slowly beside us, but that walking at a human pace can sometimes feel unnatural to them. A leader meets their team where it's at and they move forward together.

Every one of these concepts can be applied to leadership in our every day lives. To learn more about unlocking your leadership skills, register for our upcoming Boss Mares Women's Leadership Retreat!

06/24/2024

Check out this great offering from Therese Naber and hosted by Molly Deprekel!

Hey Twin City folks, an upcoming opportunity to learn some Eden Energy techniques to help you navigate stress and anxiety. Incredible tools that are easy to use!
This coming Monday, July 1st in Eden Prairie, 6-7:30pm. $35.
Hosted by the wonderful Molly DePrekel.
You must pre-register, so let me know if you want to join. Would love to see you there!

06/22/2024

We're thrilled to share our recent discoveries from the barn! To combat the relentless rain and vicious flies, we ditched Ami's fly boots and mask and opted for innovative alternatives. With fly spray being only temporarily effective and full of chemicals, we turned to coconut oil for a natural solution. Mary generously massaged coconut oil into Ami's legs, face, and underline, and the results have been astounding! Four days in, and this approach has been a game-changer for fly control.

Edit to Add:
Apparently there's been actual research on this by the USDA. How come horse people were not made aware of this?! Check out the article published in 2018! https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2018/coconut-oil-compounds-repel-insects-better-than-deet/

06/21/2024

Registration is now OPEN for the Boss Mares Women's Leadership Retreat

Mares are notorious in the horse world for being moody, unpredictable, and just plain difficult. This narrative has painted them as the bossy and overbearing leader of a herd of horses. Recent research, however, has the equine industry questioning everything that we think we know about herd dynamics.

Here are 3 main things to know about Boss Mares and what they have to teach us about leadership:

1. There is not a singular alpha "boss mare" to lead a herd of horses, as previously assumed by horse people all over the world. Rather, the leadership consists of several mares that each take the lead at different times depending on the task at hand. Instead of competing for highest rank or fighting for dominance or "pecking order", they recognize and acknowledge each others' strengths and suitability for various roles.

2. Boss Mares do not "herd" in the same way that stallions do. While stallions push the herd away from danger or predators, a Boss Mare moves forward with purpose and naturally pulls the herd towards resources - safety, food, shelter, etc.

3. As nurturing and compassionate as Boss Mares can be to their foals and other members of the herd, they know that they cannot pour from an empty cup. The herd's survival depends on A Boss Mare's own ability to stay mentally and physically safe and healthy. Without claiming time, space, and resources for herself, she may become depleted and useless to the herd. Many Boss Mare behaviors that were once perceived as selfish or demanding can easily be re-framed as setting boundaries with clear communication.

Do any of those previous misconceptions about Boss Mares sound familiar to you? We live in a world where a woman is often taught to compete against others instead of recognize her own strength and support other women with different strengths. She is expected to do it all, all at once, all the time - juggling her job, kids, partner, house, dinner, laundry, carpool, PTA, church, boosters, etc. She is so busy running around in circles, trying to manage it all, that she stopped moving towards her goals and may have lost herself altogether. She is you and she is me.

Ditch the misconceptions that you've been saddled with and let loose your inner Boss Mare. Join our herd and rebuild, rediscover, and rejuvenate yourself! Connect with other women and horses, learning-by-doing hands-on horsemanship initiatives and leadership skill-building activities. Horse experience is not required. This is a non-riding retreat.

06/18/2024

06/17/2024

Through the ears...

There is no beauty as that which you see through the ears of a horse. The images give new perspective on the things that matter most to us.

As I sat astride R***r today I captured this moment between Mary and Ami and felt a moment of such fulfillment. R***r always seems to give me a new and helpful perspective in one way or another. He shows up for me and is exactly the partner that I didnt know I needed when starting True Blue Equine. He helps me see things that I may not otherwise see.

I looked at the image before me through R***r's ears and saw connection and coherence between Mary and Ami. I got a flashback of all of the changes and growth I've witnessed in the last year and a half from Mary. I was reminded that it was a year ago yesterday that her and I met Ami for the first time and decided to add him to our herd. Since then he has become an invaluable family member to us both and we have grown to be close friends as well.

As I captured this snapshot and processed all of this meaning in a split second, I felt incredibly full. I was reminded of a coaching session I had with Lynn Baskfield years ago. I sat in a hay feeder surrounded by horses as they munched. She asked me what fed my passion for this work. This is it. Seeing Mary and Ami and their progress together today, through R***r's ears.🐴❤️ Thank you Lynn, Mary, Ami, R***r, and all of the True Blue crew. You fill me up.

06/16/2024

Stay cool today and don't forget that the heat and humidity is really affecting the horses. When the heat+humidity is over 150 (currently 153), horses ability to regulate their body temp significantly decreases. Take it easy today!

06/16/2024

Mary and Ami have been eagerly awaiting trail riding season and are now making the most of it, savoring every moment on the trails.

06/15/2024

Today it was scientifically proven that R***r prefers grass birthday cakes to sand birthday cakes. 🎂

06/14/2024

I have some last minute 10am-1pm openings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next week. Current clients may choose to use this as an alternative or additional time for their lessons next week! Message Kari to get on the schedule if you'd like!

06/11/2024

"Grooming is not just to polish and preen, but a chance to connect - to see and be seen."

06/09/2024

Sunday Snackin'

06/08/2024

Come join us!

💥Still time to sign up!💥 Join us for Canine CPR and First Aid Class. Held on June 23rd @ Blackberry Community Center. Sign up on line @ www.petemergencyeducation.com

06/05/2024

These boys are best buds ❤️ Ami was R***r's shadow during our ride tonight.

06/01/2024

Congratulations to this group of pet professionals from Camp K9 & K9 Cuts on their Pet CPR and First Aid Certification with Pet Emergency Education! Thanks for having me out to teach today! I love teaching re-certify classes and catching up with folks!

05/28/2024

Alignment - as important to horsemanship as it is to life.

In horsemanship we align our ear, shoulder, hip, and heel. Meredith does a great job of exhibiting this in the photo. She found out last week that this position feels odd at first because we often imagine sitting on a horse like we sit in a chair. If a chair disappears while you sit on it, you fall to the ground. If a horse disappears while you sit on him, you land on your feet if you are aligned. If he moves quickly, you move with him because you are centered and balanced.

Similarly to life, we must always stay aligned with and centered on our values, even if its uncomfortable at first. Life frequently throws us off balance and we have no choice but to move with it and adapt. However, if we can stay aligned with what we know to be true about ourselves during the bucks, bolts, and blunders of life - we can find confidence and balance despite a bumpy road, and build resilience and strength because of it.

Move, yes, because balance requires movement and adpatation...and always come back to centered alignment.

05/28/2024

Today is a day to honor those who have served and fallen. I always post this photo on Memorial Day, as it speaks volumes and has personal significance. It was taken at the funeral of Officer Tom Decker in 2012.

Buttercup and Butterbiscuit, my dad's belgians had the honor of being part of the New Ulm Battery. Memorial Day weekend was the one holiday we never took jobs because our horses always pulled the cannon through the Memorial Day parade for the Battery. The day this photo was taken, however, they were leading the caisson, which is a four horse hitch that pulls the casket of a fallen serviceman. The caparisoned or riderless horse follows behind with backwards boots in the stirrups to symbolize a serviceman who will never ride again, but continues to watch over the ones he left behind. It is a very high honor to have a caisson and caparison horse at a funeral. Of all the people these horses hauled through the 30 years of my family's business, this was by far the most meaningful. And it still holds meaning to me.

🐴🇺🇸Today we are remembering and celebrating all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country and communities. Land of the free because of the brave. 🇺🇸🐴


Photo Credit: Pioneer Press

05/24/2024

Mary and Ami had their first trail ride yesterday! They are well suited to each other and Ami was definitely in his happy place.

05/24/2024

Ashok Gupta posted this 4 years ago during COVID, my sister shared it then and again today as a memory. The funny part is that someone had JUST shared this with me yesterday in relation to holding the horse's reins. I believe that important messages have a tendency to repeat themselves. 💕🐴

05/15/2024

Beautiful day for a ride!