North Keppel Equine

22/08/2024

Gwen’s gorgeous grandsire. Little Lotus (Lottie) is reminding me a lot of him!

Came across this photo of our stallion Zipper, that was taken at our inaugural CHHAPS Show in 2002 held in Langley. For some reason this got tucked away, and I just unearthed it now. He was such a gorgeous guy!

10/08/2024

This. It's so important in our breeding program that our foals wean gradually and in a low-stress manner. Raising well-rounded, emotionally stable horses will always be priority number 1.

INDUSTRY STANDARD PREMATURE WEANING PRACTICES

Weaning is naturally gradual, whereby the physical and psychological bond between mother and offspring is ended. To date, there are numerous studies, across a wide range of species, showing the physical and mental harm that is done when animals are prematurely and forcibly weaned. The act compromises an animal's welfare and goes against best-practices for raising a physically and behaviourally healthy animal. Therefore, it should be avoided.

Premature weaning of horses (~4-7 months of age) is sadly still a common practice in the horse world. While young horses can physically be kept alive when weaned at this age, the practice is harmful in the short-term. It can also result in the creation of unwanted behaviour problems in the long-term.

While we have selectively bred horses to perform a wide range of activities for us, we have not been able to breed out the basic needs which they still share with their wilder relatives. Studying how horses behave under natural conditions gives us valuable information on how best we can provide for our domestic horses. For example, horses have evolved to need fulltime access to what I call the 3 F's of Friends, Forage, and Freedom: living in direct contact with other horses, having continual access to forage so that they can trickle feed, and having the ability to freely engage in a wide range of normal behaviours in their environment. When horses are denied access to one or more of these three F's, or when we interfere with their ability to engage in normal behaviours it results in stress, decreased welfare, and can result in the creation of unwanted behaviours.

To better understand the effects of weaning practices, researchers in France and Iceland examined how and when foals wean themselves when living under natural conditions. Of the 16 mare-foal pairs they observed, they found that all of the foals spontaneously weaned themselves at around 9-10 months of age. Two weeks prior to self-weaning, the mares and foals remained closer to one another than they did to others in the group, usually within 1-5 horse lengths of one another. Suckling bouts also didn't decrease in the two weeks prior to weaning, and the foals made no attempts to suckle once weaned. This self-directed weaning also caused no signs of stress to either party.

A frequent rationale for premature weaning is to preserve the physical condition of the mare. Interestingly, none of the mares in this study lost physical condition, despite the length of time mares and foals were together.

In summary, to quote the authors:

"Modern breeding practices generally impose strong constraints as compared to the conditions of development of foals in a more natural environment. One major aspect is the early artificial weaning, which is not just a stage of diet transition but also a stage of social separation. There is increasing evidence that such a practice, although carried out on a routine basis by horse breeders, leads to short- and in some cases to long-term severe negative outcomes.

There is therefore a clear need to better understand the factors at stake (e.g., cessation of milk intake, immature digestive system, maternal deprivation, absence of adult models, additional changes in feeding or housing…), to improve the domestic management of weaning and animal welfare."

You can read the full paper, 'Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices?' by accessing it at this link: https://tinyurl.com/PrematureWeaningHorses

Image by Hans Benn from Pixabay

20/06/2024

Despite placentitis (followed by a retained placenta), a foaling dystocia (in which he was curled up like a pretzel), a long & difficult labour after a giant storm that took out hydro, water, most of the cell/phone service and closed roads due to downed trees and power lines… little Léo made his appearance in the wee hours of Friday morning.
There was a moment that night that I thought I was losing them both, but mama and baby are the toughest creatures on the farm and have bounced back so quickly you’d never know we had any difficulties.
Although the night was challenging in *so many* ways, it was also incredibly beautiful: the Milky Way shone bright above, I saw two shooting stars, and Rosie’s stoicism and understanding of us trying to help was incredible.
The icy cold bath in the lake at 4am (because we still had no hydro or water), was a core memory I’ll never forget: filled with relief that the worst was behind us.
I am so grateful to my INCREDIBLE vet team (Miller Vets in Chatsworth) who not only talked me through it over the phone (despite not being on call!!), and drove past closed roads to get to us and help get Léo positioned properly to join us earthside. Neither Rosie nor Léo would be here without my vets. 🤍

Léo - Andalusian x Canadian Horse. Available for sale to only the best home.
More photos to come as he unfolds.

30/03/2024

I was lucky enough to own this boy many years ago and if I could snap him up, I would! The absolute best, a true Little Iron Horse. I love him to pieces. 🤍

08/08/2023

After a rather prolonged silence on here and very sporadic farm updates, I think this is the perfect time to start showing up here again… because I’ve got some super exciting news to share!

My Canadian mare, SharDean Wasco*Dekharma Gwen was recently confirmed in foal to Swallowfield Eno Kelbeck!
With less than 6000 remaining in the breed and fewer than 200 foals registered each year, every foal counts towards preserving this rare & incredible breed of horse.
I’ve owned Gwen’s grandmother, mother, father, and now her. This foal will be a 4th generation of her maternal line to grace this farm.
I’m hopeful for an uncomplicated pregnancy and foaling, with baby expected around June 2024 (but she’s a maiden mare, so they never follow the rules).
Huge thank you to - we definitely wouldn’t be celebrating this success without you. You went above & beyond to make sure this happened and your patience, empathy, and kindness has been so appreciated.
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02/07/2023

I’ve been away from this page for a long time now, but only because I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into my (new-ish) photography business. What started as a small part-time thing has quickly evolved into my full time job, and I couldn’t be happier with my choice to leave the education profession and pursue photography. Now, I get to combine so many of my favourite things 🥰.
Exciting things are happening on the farm, and I’m sure I’ll be back to sharing more here very soon.

01/05/2023

I saw a post recently about gentle parenting, and how there is this assumption that being 'gentle' must be sooo easy, soft even!
"It's not!" They said.
This way of parenting requires a lot of hard work.
It requires introspection, holding ones self accountable, tough conversations, reparenting ourselves, being triggered - taking a deep breath and choosing a different way to respond rather than reacting in the way that we've been programmed, being triggered and reacting, then coming back to own it, apologize and try again...

And I thought, it's just like this movement with horses - gentle training?! Ha!

I know a lot of people judge this way of working with horses, just as they do with gentle parenting.
'Arrghh, you're going to teach them to be a snowflake'
'They'll fall apart when they get out into the real world'
'Gotta teach them to harden up, toughen up... '

But there's been too much of that mentality, and look where that's got us...

So, to all my brave, gentle parents of two legs or four - I see you!
I know this way isn't easy.
It's not the fast way.
There's no ribbons because you said sorry to your horse, or celebrated because they took a deep breath after you did.
And it might feel bloody lonely at times, especially when your friends start going on rides without you while you're standing in the paddock asking for permission to put the halter on while having an internal crisis about why your rejection button is being pushed and where that stemmed from...

But when we arrive at the place where we learn that the discomfort is part of the beauty and that neither of us have to lose any part of ourselves to be in relationship - it is all worth it!

Ellie x

23/04/2023

A dire situation for our national horse.

14/12/2022

Anyone going to Carson’s this weekend?

HELP NEEDED! We know it is Christmas but looks like a Canadian mare is going through Carson's Auction in Listowel, Ontario this Saturday. She is Lot 52; attached is screen grab from the horse catalogue. No photo was provided and this is all the information we have. Will (can) anyone be onsite??? If we get her, do we have foster homes in the area???
See https://www.davidcarson.on.ca/

12/10/2022

If you can’t sit still for the same time you expect your horse to without any enrichment or entertainment, snacks, or anything to do, then your expectations for your horse are higher than the standards you hold yourself to.

Let’s see you stand in one spot, tethered to a post and do so for 20, 30, 45 minutes and not so much as pick your finger nails. No clicking pens. No checking your phone, just stand there and stare blankly, don’t even take a step.

I am guessing you would struggle to do so without getting distracted in one way or another and seeking external stimulation to make the standing around and waiting less boring.

When we’re stuck in “waiting mode” be it in traffic, or in line at the grocery store, we always seek something to keep us busy. We may tap our foot. We may sing. We may run our fingers through our hair. We may get frustrated and yell at cars on the road or food service employees because we let our impatience redirect into frustration.

We are not any more patient than we expect our horses to be. In fact, in most cases we are LESS patient.

So, let this be some food for thought next time anyone suggests you tie your horse to a post for an hour or two so they can “learn patience.”

Because, my guess is, YOU, the human, still have yet to learn the patience you’re demanding from a flight animal in setting those parameters. If we lack the patience to do things the right way, to empathize with the animal we are training, then we are in no position to be teaching what patience is because the lesson in “patience” will actually be a lesson in IMpatience.

Edit: If you took this post as “all tying is bad” then it’s really time to self reflect on why you can’t see any middle ground between developing more patience and not just leaving a horse to figure out something they’ve never been asked to do before or can’t do well yet.

You can teach patience and good tying habits without making it an incredibly unpleasant experience where your horse violently pulls back until they shut down or digs a hole for an hour until they finally give up

There truly is no shortage of better options and if you’re reading this post as an ultimatum against tying, it just speaks for the lack of tools in your tool box if you can’t understand that there’s better and more patient ways to go about teaching FLIGHT ANIMALS what is an unnatural behaviour for them.

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You can support my work for as little as $1 a month by subscribing to my Patreon. You can get free access to behind the scenes, early video uploads, training help, tutorials and more: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

You can also see my website for more about me, my horses & free learning resources: http://milestoneequestrian.ca

18/08/2022

So you’ve gone down the rabbit hole and you’re incapacitated with uncertainty….

You know how harmful or unhelpful your old ways are
But you have no idea what to do, and you’re scared to death to make a mistake

I hear this from students nearly every day. The climate is changing in the horse world, so many people are gravitating toward trying to get along better with their horses. Some folks are becoming interested in posture and movement and maybe feel overwhelmed.

To make matters worse, the average person’s social media feed is chock full of a thousand different programs, each with their own subscription, and all in disagreement with the next one. You have every book and every subscription, but have no idea what to do. What can be done?

Well to start with, I like to think about some advice I got from a drawing teacher. I was staring at an outline I’d made of the model to be drawn, and I was petrified of ruining it. “When you don’t know what to do, do something,” he said. That has stuck with me ever since. Inaction can sometimes be far worse than a mistake, so-

Step 1- just start. Do something, anything. Pick something small and basic and focus on doing that with quality. Even if you end up doing it wrong, you can’t go wrong with becoming more aware of your habits and your horses habits.

Step 2- accept your imperfection. I have a little secret for you- you’ll never be perfect. I’m not perfect, my teachers aren’t perfect. We make mistakes. The biggest difference between a pro and an uncertain amateur is not the mistake making, but the ability to recover, and the confidence to experiment. So quit worrying about making mistakes, because you’re going to anyway.

Step 3- become a master observer of the horse. Even if you don’t know what to do, you can learn a ton from watching the horse. The most important part is changing your muscle memory from old habits to new ones- so if you become a watchful observer of the horse, rather than an auto pilot handler, you’re bound to learn a tremendous amount.

So there you have it. Three simple steps to get the ball rolling- don’t just stand around avoiding your horse forever just because of a little uncertainty. Learning is messy, but, an object in motion stays in motion- so just take one shaky step forward and give it your best.

Photo by Nicole Churilla

08/08/2022

My sweet yearling is ready to go!
5500, firm. Excellent home only.
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1626438778&posted=true&adActivated=true&edited=true

2021 Friesian Sporthorse Gelding (Friesian x Canadian) Born July 21st, 2021. Expected height at maturity: 16hh or above. NKE Innis & Gunn, “Gunner”, is a registrable Friesian Sporthorse by a Star Friesian Stallion (video available), out of a beautifully balanced Canadian mare. Both parents h...

28/07/2022

So happy to see more EAL in the news!

CENTRE WELLINGTON – You just never know when greener pastures will appear and alter your career trajectory. For Leanne Matthews, a reunion between two old college friends introduced her to…

18/07/2022

15/07/2022

✨2021 Friesian Sporthorse Gelding (Friesian x Canadian) ✨
Born July 21st, 2021.
Expected height at maturity: 16hh or above.

NKE Innis & Gunn, “Gunner”, is a registrable Friesian Sporthorse by a Star Friesian Stallion (video available), out of a beautifully balanced Canadian mare. Both parents have excellent conformation. Gunner’s sire scored an “8” on his trot at his Keurig and has striking presence, which Gunner has certainly inherited.
This boy is exceptional in every way, and if any of my plans involved a fancy gelding for the show ring, I would never sell. He is sweet natured, intelligent, expressive, and beautiful – making him the perfect show stopper, and is already a naturally safe horse (he is incredible with my toddler!). He stands for hoof trims loose in the paddock and is happy to come up to the gate to ask for fly spray or just get some scratches. Truly a gentleman at almost a year old.

Available to serious inquiries and the best home only. Mid-High four figures.
Located in Georgian Bluffs, ON.

29/06/2022

Soooo wish this boy could come to Ontario!
Looking forward to being set up again in a couple years to add a stallion to our herd.

PEDIGREE Dam: Hampshire Lane Lawrence SylvieSire: Kecaluku Wilfrid Lamont Height: Expected to mature 15.2 – 15.3hh Stunning 3-year-old Bay stallion (or can be gelded) offered for sale. I …

23/05/2022

03/03/2022

I’m so happy to have been a part of Sadie’s story. 🤍

Check it out . . . we are in the News!😁 Read more here https://chhaps.ca/chhaps-the-canadian-horse-rescue/ As part of the news to CHHAPS members, we shared Sadie's story which followers can read here https://canadianhorserescue.ca/portfolio-item/sadie/

We feel so blessed that the Canadian Horse Heritage and Preservation Society chose to donate proceeds from an amazing event they held last year. They are repeating the event (100 hours in 100 days) this year so we encourage all our followers to consider participating.

26/01/2022

**Still critical in 2022**

This is why this Page exists.
To raise awareness about this wonderful breed and its continued relevance after 350+ years as a versatile, strong and hardy riding, driving and working horse.

https://www.lechevalcanadien.ca/
http://www.equus-survival-trust.org/

17/01/2022

Thought some of you might be interested in one of my bucket list sessions 😉. Take a peak below and contact through my photography page, Skinners Bluff Studio.
Grey-Bruce only.

16/01/2022

There have been some seriously frosty noses out there the last couple of days!
This is Kosie, sporting some whiskicles before I blanketed her. Although I don’t typically blanket my horses (especially the Canadians!), Kosie’s body condition is a little lower than I’d like and as a senior nursing a growing c**t I didn’t want her expending any extra energy to keep warm. She seemed to appreciate the extra layer. 🤍
Also… I know I’ve been awfully quiet. But, the magic is returning, slowly but surely. I’ll be back.

03/01/2022

NKE Innis & Gunn
Friesian x Canadian c**t on a foggy Christmas Day.

26/12/2021

Foggy & quiet Christmas morning. 🤍
I hope everyone's holiday was what they needed, however that looks for you.

✨Moose, 3yr old Canadian Horse.

08/12/2021

It’s been a minute since I’ve been on here… despite the best of intentions!
I realized I should probably update everyone on what’s up, so here goes. Moms, you might find this relatable.

The truth is: I got a little burnt out.
Ok, a lot burnt out.

I had poured so much love and energy (and money) into this project over the last 5 years – my North Keppel Equine space - where I promoted ethical horsemanship, trying to support a devastatingly rare breed, and launch a near-and-dear to my heart EAL program. I wanted to do all the right things. I still believe in these things deeply.

And then… I became a mom, and covid hit. Life changed. Instead of returning to work, I stayed as a stay-at-home mom - which is the absolute best thing ever - but also changed the way I was able to manage the other things in my life. Suddenly, spending time with my horses was extra hard to find time for (or validate to myself), and if my son was with me it never felt like the recharging space that it used to. Suddenly, I had continual intrusive thoughts of terrible things happening to him – one misstep by a horse, or one ear-pin away from a dangerous situation. I couldn’t manage those thoughts in a healthy way, and I would become instantly anxious and react from a fearful/angry space (something I have learned about myself is that when I get scared, I react with anger). I essentially sensitized myself to being fearful again, and instead of moving towards the horses to be my way of grounding myself, I found myself feeling worse after seeing them, and struggling to balance this complete about face to what I felt was true to me. It took me a long time to see what was happening, because I couldn’t understand why I’d spend time with my horses and come home in tears, where in the past I’d go to them when I was in tears, and come home centered.

So, I have taken a step back and started to process all of these feelings and find a way to move forward. I’ve set up some steps that I hope will help me to come back to that part of me that I miss. One of those things is spending time – even just two minutes – every single day with my herd, by myself. Even though I know that I can keep my son safe in the paddock, the intrusive thoughts take over completely, and in order to deal with those properly I need to not combine them.
Another is to get caught up on my herd’s care, so that I can accomplish small things each day (pulling burrs from manes, trimming hooves, etc.). All of these things used to be things I loved doing, but they have become an overwhelming extra task that seemed sometimes insurmountable.
A third is to combine two of the things I love, together. Some of you may not know that a couple of months ago, I actually launched a new business as a Lifestyle Photographer. It’s been wildly exciting and something that has been on my Dream List for over a decade, but I didn’t have the opportunity to properly pursue it until the last few months. So, I’m combining my photography with my horses as a way of re-conditioning myself to something that has an immensely positive force in my life. I want to share the equine images here, but if you’re interested in my other work, you can check out my facebook and Instagram page, Skinners Bluff Studio.

All this to say… I’m not going anywhere. I love this page, this community, and my goals are still the same. I’m just taking a bit of a different route to working on some of the mental health things that have popped up, and making sure that I am putting energy into the right things.

I’d love to hear if any of this resonates with you, and how you’re taking steps to navigate through tough times.
As always, I’m here to chat horses anytime – and it would probably help me out ;)
- Brynne

01/11/2021

Happy November, everyone!
So looking forward to getting the herd back home to put some time into this little guy - and my fillies, too!

29/10/2021

Gunner is getting his winter woollies on!
Friesian Sporthorse c**t.
Searching for his perfect future paddock.
Mid to high 🥕🥕🥕🥕 figures.
Georgian Bluffs, Ontario.

Additional photos and videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-nU2qI2btvrdZjXgfKSNoGJdskpNiuWc?usp=sharing

(repost because it was flagged 🙃 )

01/10/2021

Remember in the spring when I had all kinds of plans and goals for this summer?
Yea, well. It’s October 1st now, and I haven’t gotten to any of them LOL. I guess sometimes that’s the way it goes.

We’ve been busy on the farm, my husband and I (and our son – he’s a good little helper!). Fences are being replaced (slower than we’d planned), pastures are being managed, our cattle pasture farm has had new pastures opened and hay cut, and we had the sawmill out to cut timber for more winter animal shelters. We’ve got a coverall on order (woohoo!) for winter hay storage and a few new systems in place to make our lives easier. Farming is a never ending project, really, but it’s nice to see so many things taking shape.

But… I’ve missed the horses. Between all of our projects, starting a new business, parenting a busy toddler and all of the other components of keeping our heads above water, they’ve ended up on the back burner for the majority of the summer. Until today, anyways.

I was very anxious this morning, and when I explained this to my husband he told me, "go outside and pet a horse." So, I did (he's so smart!). Emerson napped, and I went to bring in Delilah and Gwen for some much needed attention and care. Delilah’s skin is often an issue, so today she had a bath that will hopefully help treat and soothe her skin, and Gwen came along for some experience (and also because she’s getting 3x+ daily eye medication right now, thanks to a nasty ulcer she gave herself earlier this week…because, horses). Even though I don’t ride Delilah often because she’s retired now, it was the complete mental reset that I needed today, even if it was just for 5 minutes.

October is busier than ever, so taking a breather today for myself and my girls was much needed. 🤍

How are you looking after yourself? What do you do to recharge your batteries?