Squirrel's Tale

19/02/2025

🤓

This article explores how the normal business model for horse training does not always offer the best care for the horse. Karen Rohlf discusses the problems and offers a way to find a solution. This is a must-read for any professional riding instructor or horse trainer.

19/01/2025

Our horses are always showing us- through relational lenses, through subtle awareness, and many other pathways- who we “be” right now.
…they also have some incredible insights into helping us shift our frequency, what we effectively put out into the world, helping us to manifest differently 🐴🌸

17/01/2025

2 months later 🐴

The photo on the left was taken before the trim today.
The photo on the right was after the shoes were pulled 2 months ago.

🔸back part of the foot is coming into function
🔹contraction has opened up a fair amount
🔸frog has therefore widened and toughened up with use
🔹P3 is better connected, distal descent is reversing
🔸heel purchase is moving further back
🔹white line is on route to a good connection
🔸viable sole is thickening up and building concavity

So far so good 😃

15/01/2025

After the morning swim 🦆🐴

06/01/2025

🫏 Donkey Hooves & Health Academy 🫏www.donkeyhooves.com

The myth of donkeys as guardians is outdated and harmful. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. Let’s honor donkeys for who they truly are—remarkable, sentient beings deserving of respect, compassionate care, and environments that prioritize their well-being above all else.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗱
The idea of donkeys as "guardian animals" is a harmful myth that compromises their well-being. While donkeys may stand their ground or chase smaller predators, this behavior stems from self-preservation, not protection. Here’s why this practice must stop:

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
Donkeys are prey animals whose natural response to threats is shaped by survival instincts. Unlike horses, they may stand their ground or drive off predators, but this behavior is about territoriality and self-defense, not safeguarding others. It’s a reactive behavior, not a deliberate act of protection.

Exposing donkeys to predatory threats as guardians puts them in harm’s way, often leading to injuries, chronic stress, and even death. They are not equipped—physically or emotionally—to handle the dangers of predator attacks.

𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱: 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀
Donkeys are desert-adapted animals whose low-sugar, high-fiber diets are critical to their health. Guardian setups often force them to share calorie-dense feeds like grains and rich pasture grasses meant for livestock, which their bodies cannot process. This dietary mismanagement leads to severe, life-threatening health issues:

𝗢𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: Donkeys gain weight rapidly on inappropriate diets, leading to large fat pockets of adipose tissue along their back, buttocks, and neck. 𝗔𝗱𝗶𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, making obesity difficult to reverse. In severe cases, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠, resulting in a permanently crested neck and chronic discomfort. Obesity also puts undue strain on joints and overall health.

𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀: This painful and often fatal condition, triggered by high sugar intake, results in inflammation and damage to the sensitive structures of the hoof, leaving donkeys lame and in constant pain.

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: Rich feeds and inconsistent access to appropriate forage disrupt the donkey's delicate digestive system, leading to colic and conditions like Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS), which exacerbate their risk of laminitis.

A guardian setup makes it nearly impossible to meet a donkey’s specialized dietary needs, setting them up for a lifetime of preventable health problems. Donkeys deserve environments that respect their biological requirements—not setups that jeopardize their well-being.

𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀
Donkeys are highly social and thrive with other donkeys. Guardian setups often isolate them with livestock like sheep, cattle or goats, depriving them of the companionship and social interaction they need to live fulfilling lives. This isolation, coupled with exposure to stress and danger, compromises their mental and emotional well-being.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘆𝘀
Using donkeys as guardians treats them as tools. While donkeys are intelligent and capable of forming bonds, they are not bred or suited for the role of a livestock protector. Expecting them to act as guardians disregards their natural behaviors, compromises their health, and exposes them to avoidable harm.
True guardianship requires intention and capability—traits seen in livestock guardian dogs, not prey animals like donkeys.

𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆
Donkeys deserve care that prioritizes their welfare, not practices rooted in myths or convenience. Instead of placing them in roles that harm them, let’s focus on their unique needs as desert-adapted, highly intelligent, and social beings. Providing donkeys with proper diets, companionship, and environments that align with their natural behaviors ensures they live healthy, happy, and meaningful lives.

Holistic Hooves LLC / Donkey Hooves & Health Academy

14/12/2024

Good weekend read 🤓🗞️📖

THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN PERFORMANCE

Is it possible for a horse to put in maximum physical effort and still be emotionally comfortable and relaxed?

This is a question that is often asked in various horse forums. People are often critical of the tension carried by high-performance horses across all disciplines.

But think about it. Can an Olympic runner run their fastest time while being maximally chilled and relaxed?

From my experience, I have never seen a horse or a human perform at a high level while still being very relaxed. It may be possible, but I don’t think I have witnessed it. Look at how athletes, from high jumpers to high divers, deal with tension before an event. They don’t try to eliminate their tension but instead, try to control it.

As a horse trainer committed to horsemanship, I focus on the emotional comfort of a horse. Performance is a secondary consideration to me. It’s not that performance is unimportant. It’s just that performance is not the most important aspect of my approach to training. I am more excited by a horse offering a nice trot with close to zero anxiety than by a horse presenting high-level movement but with a lot of tension. The trainer who can teach a horse to perform a relaxed trot is the trainer I want to talk to more than the trainer who taught a horse to perform a canter to the rear while the horse barely holds it together.

But that’s just me. You may have different priorities and that’s okay.

I used to think that performance can only benefit from a horse being relaxed. But I don’t think this is strictly true anymore. Some degree of tension is needed to prepare the horse for the physical effort that will be required.

I now believe that as we work towards training movements that require greater physical effort we will create greater mental and emotional tension. It is the emotional tension that drives the physical effort. I think they probably go hand-in-hand. However, “tension” does not necessarily mean “trouble” (I’ll leave that discussion for another time).

A horse that is very relaxed and chilled won’t run its fastest times around a set of barrels. Without some tension, a cutting horse won’t be super quick to keep up with a super quick cow. A 3-day event horse won’t give its best times around a course if it is feeling laid back. A levade would look pretty ordinary from a horse that carries almost no emotional and mental tension.

So, when it comes to performance that requires a lot of physical effort, I have come to the view that it also requires a degree of mental and emotional tension.

But here is the kicker.

While I accept that high-performance movements require varying degrees of emotional and mental tension in a horse, movements that don’t require a lot of physical effort should not.

Let’s consider a couple of examples.

I had a client several years ago who competed in dressage at the Prix St George level. Yet, her horse carried a lot of anxiety regarding trailer loading and travel. It was getting worse and interfering with being able to travel to events. Finally, she succumbed and sent the horse to me for help.

In another example, there is a video floating around on the net of the dressage master, Nuno Oliveira. I understand the reason for the tension the horse carried for some of the work it was asked to perform when Nuno rode it. However, the horse also carried a lot of anxiety just to be mounted. Nuno required a groom to hold the horse and prevent it from walking away when he mounted. Why is this considered to be okay? How many times had this horse been mounted in its life, yet could not stand quietly relaxed? The tension the horse exhibited when performing lateral movements was the same tension it displayed when doing something as basic as being mounted or led.

I definitely could not do a good job of riding a Prix St George test or train a piaffe like Nuno Oliveira. But I sure could teach a horse to feel okay about loading into a trailer and I sure could have helped Nuno’s horse feel okay to stand quietly and with minimum anxiety while being mounted.

We often too easily dismiss the tension in a horse with excuses that it is highly trained to perform at an advanced level. I can accept that it is emotionally challenging to perform at a high level. But why then don’t we put in as much effort to help our horses relax when performing everyday tasks as we might do for the difficult training jobs?

Most horses should not exhibit any more elevation of emotional tension when standing to be mounted (assuming they are sound) than they do standing under a tree on a sunny day. When performing canter lead changes or jumping 1m fences, it may require a little more emotional tension to make the physical effort required for those movements. When performing a canter pirouette or jumping 2m fences even more emotional tension may be required. And when asked to canter to the rear, a lot of emotional tension may be required.

Nevertheless, the tension a horse feels when asked to chase a fast-moving cow should not exist when it is asked to stand still to be mounted or to perform a trot on a circle with a loose rein.

Photo: This is a first time experience with a saddle and I am trying to lower the emotional tension the horse feels about the experience.

29/11/2024

🤣 epic…I mention this to clients regarding the flaxseed oil and rats!

The rats chew into plastic buckets to get to the cold pressed flaxseed oil… but they don’t touch the regular processed stuff!

22/11/2024

We can do better by our horses 🐴🌾

Having pulled the shoe off this front foot- I gently exposed the wall to show what the tissue actually looks like. ☹️
Manky white line.
Very contracted heel bulbs, narrow frog that was totally overgrown trying to reach the ground for some contact.
Inner wall severely lacking.
Those are the most obvious things to spot on this solar view.

Let’s see how a shift in diet, healthy movement and release of tension resulting from a more species appropriate lifestyle show up in this foot in a couple of months 💫

08/10/2024

One of the hazards 🤣 when a horse needs boots, but we also insists they go out with the herd into the very large and wild day camps…

🔍🕵️
Horse in question gets the best replacement we can find, while the humans comb the veld for the missing boot…

27/09/2024

09/09/2024

“The idea that long and low helps to stretch the horse’s spine and build muscle is misleading.”

Indeed it is- you can also see it without a dissection from how the horses move and what muscles they are using to do so… it does take some schooling of the eyes 👀