Living Blessings Horses

04/02/2026

Throwback to Jan '24 a training session at home.

30/01/2026

30/01/2026

Jimmy the pony and baby Fly having a great game, Sundance putting up with these pony hijinks! Turned them out into the far paddock we call the 'oats paddock'.

26/01/2026

26/01/2026

Check out the new Youtube video introducing my Living Blessings Horses venture!

Living Blessings Horses is located on our little farm we call 'Misty Glen' near Guyra on the beautiful Northern Tablelands, NSW Australia. My name is Wendy, ...

11/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D8Q3q2xbK/

A shut down horse is often quiet, compliant and obedient, they appear very safe and reliable. While most people like to believe they want a lovely bond with their horse based on trust and communication, the truth is, many people really are drawn to shut down horses. We can get more of what WE want from a horse who is shut down, without having to consider as much what they might want or how they might feel. While we like to pretend that we care, very often, especially in the name of safety, we prefer the quietly broken horse.

People like obedient, easy, compliant horses because it makes the person feel safer, more in control, and they get more of what they want from the horse. Let's not mistake all shut down horses for dead to the leg, hollow inside lesson ponies. Highly competitive sport horses can be shut down too. Horses can learn to disassociate or disconnect in specific settings too, so they may not look broken or shut down out in the field or while they're fighting over X,Y,Z but then the rider gets on and the horse steps out of their mind and allows themself to become a puppet. This is all too common.

We had a carriage horse who worked in downtown cities. He did parades, bagpipes, balloons, people screaming and hovering around him, he was never tied where he worked, he never had food where he worked, he just stood, separated from his body, removed from his mind. When he went home to his pasture he was a sassy, spirited, and very spooky horse! Scared of everything it seemed. He knew when to turn off, because choice and control were gone from his equation.

Why don't we want a shutdown horse if they're so compliant and easy? Is it so bad? Let's remove the ethical impact on the horse for a moment. For US the thing that is so bad about shut down horses is that they have the capacity to wake up at any time. They can quickly become unpredictable and dangerous. We have had horses who were un-shutdown-able and we have had very shut down horses at our rescue. The kids have a much harder time with the shutdown horses, because they can't read them. Because the horse appears fine and appears consenting, until they suddenly aren't and now they're in a dangerous situation. I will take an HONEST horse over a shut down horse for safety any day. An honest horse will tell you long before the problem becomes dangerous, a shut down horse will hide it until they can't anymore.

But let's go back and consider the emotional impact on the horse. What is shutting down? (Next Post)

Thanks for the perfect art as always Fed Up Fred

10/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17YeHhcfJL/

23/11/2025

My first attempt at a video with voice-over 🙂
First ride on our recently acquired 15 yr old appaloosa stockhorse Sundance.
Hope you enjoy viewing my effort!

11/11/2025

15 Fascinating Facts About Horses’ Emotional Memory and Empathy
Horses hold one of the most powerful long-term memories among domestic animals — recalling people, voices, and events for decades.
They read human intent through facial expressions, distinguishing friend from threat long before a hand is raised.
A single act of kindness can echo for years — a horse may seek out the same person even after a long separation.
Trauma carves deep grooves — a horse may forever avoid a place, object, or person tied to fear.
They sense human emotion through voice tone, breath rhythm, and body tension — even from across a field.
They respond not just to fear, but to sadness, joy, or confusion — silently, instinctively.
Mirror neurons in their brains allow them to feel what others feel — true empathy in motion.
When tears fall nearby, a horse may approach softly, lower its head, and offer a gentle touch — comfort without words.
A wounded horse can form the deepest bonds with a patient human — shared pain becomes shared trust.
Horses are proven emotional therapists for PTSD, depression, and anxiety — healing hearts, not just bodies.
They grieve deeply — lingering by a lost companion or withdrawing in quiet mourning.
Once bonded, they memorize your personal rhythms — footsteps, breath, even the silence between.
Their memory isn’t just survival — it’s the foundation for profound connection with those who earn their trust.
With gentle consistency, fear can be rewritten into safety — even shattered trust can be rebuilt.
Horse empathy is biological fact, not folklore — their brains and hearts sync with human emotion in real time.

09/11/2025

Our new boy Sundance has struggled with separation anxiety, bonding very strongly with our old gelding Jester, then bonding strongly with Kalico after Jester went to his new home.

Sundance was not happy when put in a paddock on his own even though the other two horses were in their own paddocks near his. He displayed typical separation anxiety behaviour, unhappy pacing, whinnying, eyes always on the other horse and upset if they disappeared from view.

Today I'm happy to say that we had a little breakthrough. After doing some groundwork in the roundyard today he was turned out into his own paddock and settled down happily grazing, a much more relaxed boy than ever before.

The aim is for him to gradually become accustomed to the other horses being taken further distances away and to be ok about it.

07/09/2025

TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE.......ESPECIALLY THE ONES WHO KNOW THE VALUE OF HORSES.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

As I looked at her I could see the athlete she was, and determined woman she would soon be. I started thinking about some of the girls we knew in our town who were already on the fast track to nowhere, seeking surface identities because they had no inner self-esteem.

The parents of these same girls have asked me why I "waste" the money on horses so my daughter can ride. I'm told she will grow out of it, lose interest, discover boys and all kinds of things that try to pin the current generation's "slacker" label on my child. I don't think it will happen, I think she will love and have horses all her life.
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has compassion. She knows that we must take special care of the very young and the very old. We must make sure those without voices to speak of their pain are still cared for.

Because my daughter grew up with horses, she learned responsibility for others than herself. She learned that regardless of the weather you must still care for those you have the stewardship of. There are no "days off" just because you don't feel like being a horse owner that day. She learned that for every hour of fun you have there are days of hard slogging work you must do first.
Because my daughter grew up with horses, she learned not to be afraid of getting dirty and that appearances don't matter to most of the breathing things in the world we live in. Horses do not care about designer clothes, jewelry, pretty hairdos or anything else we put on our bodies to try to impress others. What a horse cares about are your abilities to work within his natural world, he doesn't care if you're wearing expensive jeans while you do it.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she understands the value of money. Every dollar can be translated into bales of hay, bags of feed or farrier visits. Purchasing non-necessities during lean times can mean the difference between feed and good care, or neglect and starvation. She has learned to judge the level of her care against the care she sees provided by others and to make sure her standards never lower and only increase as her knowledge grows.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to learn on her own. She has had teachers that cannot speak, nor write, nor communicate beyond body language and reactions. She has had to learn to "read" her surroundings for both safe and unsafe objects, to look for hazards where others might only see a pretty meadow. She has learned to judge people as she judges horses. She looks beyond appearances and trappings to see what is within.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned sportsmanship to a high degree. Everyone that competes fairly is a winner. Trophies and ribbons may prove someone a winner, but they do not prove someone is a horseman. She has also learned that some people will do anything to win, regardless of who it hurts. She knows that those who will cheat in the show ring will also cheat in every other aspect of their life and are not to be trusted.
Because my daughter grew up with horses she has self-esteem and an engaging personality. She can talk to anyone she meets with confidence, because she has to express herself to her horse with more than words. She knows the satisfaction of controlling and teaching a 500kg animal that will yield willingly to her gentle touch and ignore the more forceful and inept handling of those stronger than she is. She holds herself with poise and professionalism in the company of those far older than herself.

Because my daughter grew up with horses she has learned to plan ahead. She knows that choices made today can affect what happens five years down the road. She knows that you cannot care for and protect your investments without savings to fall back on. She knows the value of land and buildings. And that caring for your vehicle can mean the difference between easy travel or being stranded on the side of the road with a horse float on a hot day.

When I look at what she has learned and what it will help her become, I can honestly say that I haven't "wasted" a penny on providing her with horses. I only wish that all children had the same opportunities to learn these lessons from horses before setting out on the road to adulthood.