StillPoint Equine - Horse Behavior & Herd Managment Consulting

17/01/2024

Check out our new home, within the StillPoint FarmASea site!

Horse behavior, and horse, herd, farm/facility managment consultation, focusing on addressing root causes with holistic and sustainable solutions.

06/01/2024

Pasture management consultation was my most-requested service in 2023.
You can get a jump start on healthier pastures (and horses!) for 2024 by booking a consultion now!

24/11/2023

This is the perfect time to spoil your horse!
❤🐴🥰

08/06/2023

What do your pastures look like? Learning how to avoid overgrazing (the top two pictures) and be a successful grass farmer has immense benefits to your horses, the plants they graze on, the soil, and your farm's ecosystem.
To learn how to maintain healthy pastures for healthier horses contact us. We can share strategies for pasture improvement and responsible grazing practices that fit your unique circumstances.

02/06/2023

Enrichment for equines is an often overlooked yet often beneficial area of equine management to focus on.
Horses that spend significant time in small, unchanging, restrictive areas, and/or horses who have a high level of curiousity, play drive, or easily become bored, may benefit from enrichment.
It's important to consider each horse's needs, personality, and unique response to novelties when choosing the method, timing, and implementation of enrichment opportunities.
For example, pictured here: carrots and celery in a small pool filled with water.
Possible variations to consider based on your horses interest, engagement, and frustration tolerance: different sized containers (think buckets, feed pans, troughs, etc.). Different sized or type of treats (large vs small pieces, variety of fruits/vegetables/treats/forage). Depth and temperature of water. Placement of activity (always allow your horse to approach an enrichment activity at his own pace, do not force engagement by placing enrichment in an area that is unavoidable).

31/05/2023

It doesn't have to be this way!
We can help with your biggest stressors related to your horse.
Contact us for a free initial conversation to find out how we can help.

13/05/2023

I love this article because it includes the human!
We can get so focused looking for signs of tension or relaxation in our horse that we forget to check in with ourselves!
The self awareness and emotional authenticity of the humans around the horse affect the horse and are important pieces to the puzzle when working through novel situations or challenging training sessions.

Deepening our ability to read these signs will help our horse and ourselves

09/05/2023

Great share from Schaeffer BodyWorks!
Receptivity carries a vastly different energy than offended. Being receptive and responding in your horse's best interest makes you a safe space. Horses are prey animals and NEED to feel safe.

29/03/2023

Did you know that horses can learn from watching other horses?
What is done with or to one horse will affect the rest of the herd. This can have an amplifying effect either positive or negative depending on the situation and vibe.
Are you taking these dynamics into consideration as you interact with your horse?
If you need some guidance in this area we can help! Let's discuss your circumstances and put a plan in place.

24/03/2023

Words are important.
Labeling your horse as bossy, a jerk, pushy, or other similar terms because of unwanted behaviors, easily leads to negative or even combative interactions.
Labeling the same behaviors as communication or information instead leads to understanding and reconciliation; likely a win-win outcome!

22/03/2023

An excerpt from my article in Equine Wellness Magazine, "The connection between equine behavior and emotional health"
by Stephanie Sawtelle.
"Caring for and managing horses as individuals and herds can be incredibly nuanced. However, a great place to start when assessing the origin of behavior issues, and whether or not your horse’s needs are being met, is learning about the three F’s of equine wellness. These are Freedom, Friends, and Forage, and are foundational pieces of equine physical and emotional wellness.

Freedom: The opportunity to move and behave naturally constitutes Freedom. Allow space and time for the horse to move at any gait, with access to important resources such as food, water, shelter, and herd mates.

Friends: An established and stable herd where horses can have physical contact and interactions with their friends is vital to their sense of well-being. It allows them to fulfill needs such as socializing, playing, mutual grooming, and sleeping under the watchful eye of a trusted herd mate.

Forage: A horse’s physical and emotional health is dependent on continual access to good quality forage. Besides being crucial to digestive health, continuous foraging can prevent unwanted behaviors that stem from boredom. Be sure your horse does not have to compete with herd mates to access forage."

21/03/2023

Check out these articles I've written for Equine Wellness Magazine! 🐴