Heart Horse Training & Sales

13/04/2025

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11/04/2025

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Facts. Full of facts.

29/03/2025

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27/03/2025

There are some pretty amazing benefits to glue on composite shoes!

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How are EasyShoes different from traditional shoes?

A urethane horseshoe is more flexible than a steel shoe, which allows the hoof to flex with each footfall as nature intended. As the horse travels across uneven surfaces and rough terrain, the foot can flex naturally. Here is an example of the EasyShoe One Glue allowing the heels to flex.

The design also promotes better blood flow, reduces concussion, and minimizes stress on joints and tendons, leading to healthier hooves and improved comfort for the horse.

27/03/2025

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Yep.

23/03/2025

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This past weekend, I declined a request to take a 3yo on my farm to start under saddle this summer.

The owner of the horse was kind, understanding and appreciative of my reasoning why, and I'm grateful for that. It gives me hope that the tides are changing.

But I also recognize that this person isn't the norm. In most cases, the youngster would get started one way or another, by whomever was willing to take it in the timeline the owner wanted.

I have personally owned more than my fair share of broken horses, and with decent regularity I work with horses owned by others that I suspect have some significant physical issue contributing to the reason I was called out in the first place. A focus on the foundational aspects of horsemanship tends to highlight problems a horse has, and my personal ethics dictate that I not move past, gloss over or otherwise ignore something I see as problematic. I used to do this all the time because when you train for the public, the pressure to do so is enormous.

The reality is that we KNOW that horses do not skeletally mature until the age of six, at the earliest. And yet horses "on the payroll" well before that is still common and accepted.

We KNOW study after study is showing that kissing spine, pelvic fractures, boney degeneration and arthritis is occuring earlier and more often in working horses. And yet the industry continues to push the idea that stressing young, growing joints early on is a positive, beneficial thing.

I think a lot of us still struggle with that space between what has been so acceptable for so long, and all the new understanding we have, and the wide availability of this information. I certainly do. I am grateful I don't train full time, because I'd probably be disappointing a lot of people.

But from my standpoint, seeing what I see, most people would benefit from spending more time on the ground with their young horses, getting a lot of things working a lot better, in preparation for when the horse is ready to start being ridden. There are so. many. things that happen in the saddle that can be well-prepared from the ground. There are so. many. accidents that happen while sitting on a horse that could be avoided with better preparation that doesn't require being astride. There are so. many. injuries that occur that could be avoided by taking the time to develop the animal properly before adding weight to their back.

I'm willing to die on this hill. We don't see enough strong, solid, sound twenty-something year old horses, still fit and being ridden and ridden well. It seems that there has never been a point in history for the horse where living has been so easy, and yet it also seems like living does not equal truly thriving.

20/03/2025

Here is a fantastic video showing how and why we see the "hunters bump". Wonderfully explained with visuals. The movement difference is incredible. This is yet another reason why it is so important to NOT start horses training so early.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1TRNczKx9F/?mibextid=D5vuiz

16/03/2025

Absolutely!!!

* Ponies are n̶a̶u̶g̶h̶t̶y̶,̶ ̶c̶h̶e̶e̶k̶y̶,̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶b̶b̶o̶r̶n̶,̶ ̶ misunderstood *

Ponies are so misunderstood in the equestrian world. It's so easy to missusse physical strengh with the ponies because they're much smaller than horses and often significantly smaller than the human.

They're easier to tug on and pull.

Because of the ignorance towards their emotional states such as fear or frustration, related to it defensive behaviours are often labelled as "stubbornness", "naughtiness" or "viciousness".

Ponies are often in a danger of not being taught the basic handling and behavioral responses, so where humans think ponies are being "stubborn" or "cheeky" what we actually can observe is the lack of understanding of cues that allow for safe handling.

Their attempts at self defense are often met with instant punishment which doesn't teach them what to do but further strengthenes their fear towards what the human is going to do to them.

Ponies deserve training and interactions that are based on empathy, understanding of the spiecies specific needs, setting up for success and tuning in to their emotions.

Just like any other type of an equine, ponies should be trained with application of the sciencific approach that is based on LIMA (least intrusive , minimally aversive ) and the Humane Hierarchy principles which contributes to their emotional well being.

09/03/2025

After a mentally and physically exhausting day of getting spayed, Sage was all for her PEMF session. Everything looks normal and no bleeding, so she's able to have sessions as long as she is comfortable. She prefers 10-15 minutes on level 1 which is pretty normal for dogs and cats. Smaller animals usually like to stay around 1-2 level where as horse like to stay around 3-5 depending on the attachment and section of the body. Sage is not back to her self yet, I'm sure she's still a little uncomfortable, which is why she's more than happy to set herself right inside the loop and wait for me to get everything set up. With PEMF she'll likely be back to her crazy "off the wall" self in a couple days.

🌟 🐴 🐈‍⬛️ 🐕 🐈 🐶 🌟
PEMF is a powerful non-invasive alternative & companion modality, showing powerful results in managing postoperative pain and swelling after surgery. PEMF can also be utilized in conjunction with other modalities. Why use just one pain and swelling relief option when you can combine them and achieve better results, even potentially reducing your recovery time.

MagnaWave uses PEMF that emits a pulsating electromagnetic field that stimulates cell metabolism. Some of the benefits of PEMF are:

*A reduction in pain
*A reduction in swelling
*Potentially reduced recovery time
*Oxygen uptake
*It is non-invasive
*There is no risk of addiction or nasty side-effects

20/02/2025

Wonderful read on weaning foals and the impacts of high stress weaning.

https://www.lynnacton.com/MiniPosts/Weaning-When-and-How-has-Lifelong-Implications?fbclid=IwY2xjawIkT89leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTz_O2YDN-pFd4khGGliDUSVz_yxYnxZegfpf_i3jKKxstKvXCuv6ytaUw_aem_IoGcDAER3B8YvbLe5mU_TA

14/02/2025

Staying on the topic of hooves!

This is a testimonial from a fellow Equine PEMF Practitioner in NJ named Stacy Bajza. All credit for information and pictures is Stacy's.

Stacy's personal horse was being treated for Canker. Canker is an equine condition that causes abnormal tissue growth in a horse's hoof, it can be painful.

Stacy used PEMF to do sessions 3 times a week for 30 minutes each time, on the right hoof only and then once a week for the whole body.

The images speak for themselves!

12/02/2025

These images show the importance of proper diet. While these 3 horses didn't have outward symptoms of mineral imbalance or deficiency, it's very clear with these images that they were lacking in thier diet.

The top and bottom left are the same horse. This particular 3 year old Paint, had a wonderfully balanced diet BUT he was diagnosed with IBS & FFWS which both disrupted his ability to properly digest and absorb all the crucial vitamins and minerals. Which stunted this young horses growth, including his feet. After addressing his IBS & FFWS he started to absorb his diet properly! Those two pictures show the dramatic difference with 2 months of new, tight knit growth from his properly absorbed balanced diet.

The bottom middle picture shows a hoof from a 18 year old Paint who's diet was never properly balanced and hooves were always cracked and brittle. After 3 months of a proper balanced diet these feet started to show positive results and begun to grow out with zero cracks!

The last picture shows a hoof from an 8 year old Warmblood who was on the "standard" bagged grain diet, then was switched to a balanced mineral diet. As the picture shows, this horses hoof growth changed with the diet switch. Note the clear line of between the older distorted and stretched hoof wall vs the newer tighter hoof growth.

For anyone interested the mineral balancer I recommend is "Vermont Blend" by Custom Equine Nutrition.

https://customequinenutrition.com/products/vermont-blend?srsltid=AfmBOopkw_707ZMgTHXhhl5m-I2corez9LtprBO3x_IaA6Hqjsn78s_L&variant=27963235659

K.I.S is another good mineral balancer

https://thornebottomfarm.com/product/k-i-s-trace/

08/02/2025

You CAN NOT fully rule out pain without an autopsy

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08/02/2025

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I don’t think people realize just how many horses out there carry trauma with them.

With that, I don’t even mean severely abused horses that have been starved, or beaten heavily. There are plenty of those around, and those usually cause a lot of outrage (as they should).

What I am talking about though, is the horses whose trauma is never really recognized as such. The ones who tolerate humans and their requests, but never learned to trust them. Those who get extremely obsessive about food which are labelled as “bossy” or ”dominant”. Those who deal with severe Separation anxiety, which are said to be “dramatic”. Those who cannot self-regulate, or co-regulate and constantly carry tension. Those who try to express their pain, which get punished for it because “just a mare”.
Those who are “perfect” until they finally get a choice.

Between Unethical weaning practices, unsuitable welfare, constantly moving homes & and ownership, and aversive training/handling approaches, most horses at some point experience trauma. And this trauma can present itself in a variety of ways. Some are more subtle than others.
Trauma doesn’t have to be this huge explosive reaction. Just like people, horses can carry trauma and move on with their lives fairly normally. It can shape their personality just like it can shape ours.
However, that doesn’t mean doing so is healthy.

The horse that has been in 6+ homes before the age of 10, and thus can’t cope with changes. That is Trauma.
The horse that has never had consistent companionship and becomes obsessive with certain herd mates. That is Trauma
The horse that has only known corrections when they tried to express their confusion, fear, or dislike, and turns from “a perfect beginner’s horse” to “Don’t touch me” the moment you stop using corrections. That is Trauma.
The horse that never had a chance to learn from other horses or connect with people and thus can’t trust people to make good choices for them, can’t self-regulate or co-regulate, and can’t think their way through a situation. That is Trauma.
The horse who was only ever fed 2 times a day and was left without food for 6 hours each night, and has thus become food-aggressive. That is Trauma.
The horse who experienced highly aversive training techniques, and thus now gets frustrated, tense and severely stressed out anytime they are handled in a similar manner. That. Is. Trauma.

Sometimes, awareness of this can be a frustration and defeating realization. I think as equestrians we are often blind to this reality, because sadly, it’s just so common to see horses like that.
It’s not until you work with young, untraumatized horses, or rehabilitated horses, that you realize: “Oh! This is how it should be!”

31/01/2025

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Normalised discomfort

When I was training in USA I called into a barn that looked pretty cool, so I went on in, introduced myself and offered to help for the day.
It turned out to be the barn or a Grand Prix dressage rider. At the end of the day she offered for me to ride her GP horse, who she said “I just had to feel” and she “felt like butter” to ride.
But when I got on, there was nothing there - it felt like I was riding a piece of wood. Heavy in my hands, heavy under my legs.
I’d just come from training at a facility where the horses were more than softer than butter, it was more like they went off a thought! Off the slight shift in energy, a pinky finger movement on the rein…
It was a big lesson for me, and I thought ‘if this is considered soft, then what is not soft?!’

It was a lesson in normalised discomfort.

You shouldn’t have to wear gloves to stop your hands hurting.
Your hands shouldn’t be pulling.

You shouldn’t have to have nose bands to keep your horse’s mouth closed, or bigger bits for control.

You shouldn’t have to have legs that feel worn out from keeping your horse going.
Your legs shouldn’t be constantly on or nagging.

They shouldn’t even a start point to achieve softness, we want to begin with the end in mind.
So, let your cue begin the moment you think it, then the moment your energy shifts, then your physical cue, and make sure it’s a subtle as possible…the whole time being aware to notice when your horse notices, as soon as their mind comes to you in the slightest way. That’s when we want to reward them.
This is the way to soft as butter!
Let’s normalise ease - it feels much better for both the horse and rider!

26/01/2025

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