Heaven Sent Farm, LLC

06/19/2026

Field "Rental"/Board Available 🐴

Heaven Sent Farm is excited to announce a brand new and rare opening for private field board!

Field holds up to 2 horses and is located away from the main herd & fields, while still in direct sight of the other horses.

Inquire about both full boarding and self care options for this field 🌾

Space Available: a field with a 2 horse size run-in shed & easy water access. The field is roughly 3.5 acres, with a run in shed and close access to the barn for water. Field does share a fence line with very friendly goats.
Open to two geldings, two mares or a mare& gelding duo, moved in at the same time🐴🐴

We are a small-group barn located in Sparks, MD conveniently located 5 minutes from I-83, 7 minutes from The Mill of Hereford and roughly 10 minutes from Maryland Saddlery.
We do not have a ring but do have lots of space to ride, including a flat space (130x130 square) inside this field we can keep mowed short for riding. Retired horses and unridden horses also welcome!

This field is currently resting and growing, about to be mowed again ready for new horses to come graze 🐴 🌾

Message me for more info and pricing & to take a tour!

06/16/2026

Toe leverage is basic physics

There’s a trend going around that seems to ignore basic hoof mechanics, so let’s talk about leverage and breakover.

Breakover is the point where the foot leaves the ground and rolls forward into the next step.

When the toe is shorter and well connected, the horse can break over more easily.

When the toe is long, stretched or poorly connected, the horse has to lever over a longer piece of hoof with every step.

A long toe isn’t just “more hoof.” It changes the forces going through the foot.

Think about a long fingernail.

If your nail is short and healthy, pressure on it usually isn’t a problem. But if that nail is long, cracked, lifted or partly separated, and it catches on something, the force pulls back into the nail bed.

The longer the nail, the bigger the lever.

The same basic idea applies to a hoof.

In a healthy foot, the toe wall has a stronger connection. In a laminitic or distorted foot, the white line may be stretched, the laminae may be damaged, and there may be lamellar wedge, separation or abnormal horn through the toe.

That toe may look like support because it’s extra material, but if it’s stretched, detached or poorly connected, it’s not functioning like healthy wall.

It’s functioning like a lever.

Every time the horse breaks over, that long toe can keep pulling on tissue that is already compromised.

I’ve also seen claims that a long toe is needed because when the wall hits the ground, it stimulates the coronary band to grow tighter, healthier hoof.

That’s not how I understand hoof growth or mechanics.

Yes, the coronary band produces hoof wall. Yes, appropriate loading matters for hoof health. But loading a long, stretched, poorly connected toe is not the same as healthy stimulation.

If the toe wall is detached or distorted, the force does not magically turn into better growth at the coronary band. It travels through compromised tissue and increases strain through the stretched laminae.

Healthy hoof growth needs appropriate movement, blood supply, nutrition, metabolic control, good mechanics and time. A long toe dragging through breakover is not a shortcut to a better connection.

Long toes increase leverage.

Stretched laminae are vulnerable to leverage.

Poorly connected wall does not become useful support just because there is more of it.

Hoof care should be based on the horse in front of you, the tissue quality, the sole depth, the comfort level, the history and the mechanics of that foot.

Physics still applies to hooves.

A long lever is still a long lever.

06/16/2026

I am pi**ed off! Are we really this insecure?

Are we really so desperate to control another living being that we can witness something extraordinary happening in front of us and still choose this?

Don't want to read my rant. Look at the photo and tell me how it makes you feel...

The brideless competition in the UK felt like a genuine step forward. Not because everyone should throw their bridles away tomorrow, but because it challenged a belief many people hold about what is possible.

We saw horses organising their own bodies.

We saw horses understanding their position.

We saw horses carrying their riders with a degree of autonomy that should make every one of us stop and think.

Whether you ride brideless or not is beside the point.

The point is that it invites a question.

How much of what we believe is necessary actually is?

And then, almost in the same breath, I see this s**t!

A leather collar fitted with spikes around a horse's neck.

A ring of spurs for the neck.

And the justifications?

"It's only harmful if your hands are harsh."

No.

The question is not whether it can be used softly.

The question is why somebody looked at a horse and thought this was needed at all.

What problem are we trying to solve?

What understanding are we avoiding?

What conversation are we replacing with pressure, force and cruelty?

One explanation offered was:

"Should the bridle ever break, I can still control my horse with the rein around their neck."

If your bridle breaks, get off.

Use the reins to make a temporary halter.

Don't know how?

Learn.

The answer to an equipment failure is not strapping a ring of spikes around a horse's neck just in case.

Another comment they offered was:

"Is it required? No."

Then don't use it.

If it isn't required, don't use it.

The fact that somebody can openly admit it is unnecessary and then defend it anyway is exactly what I struggle to understand.

And then she came to the idea of lightness, the soundbite that is so often misunderstood.

"I want my horse to feel light."

Force does not create lightness.

Punishment does not create lightness.

Pain does not create lightness.

A horse becoming increasingly responsive because the consequences of ignoring a cue is pain is not lightness.

Lightness is understanding.

Lightness is balance.

Lightness is a horse seeking the answer because they understand the conversation.

The fact that people still confuse compliance with lightness is one of the saddest things about our industry.

I am angry.

Not because I expect everyone to do things the way I do.

Not because I think there is only one right way.

I am angry because we seem capable of incredible compassion and incredible cruelty at exactly the same time.

We can watch horses show us what becomes possible through understanding, preparation, balance and trust, and still someone decides the answer is to add spikes.

How is that progress?

How is that where our creativity goes?

At what point do we stop inventing new ways to control horses and start becoming better at listening to them?

The saddest part is that every piece of equipment like this reveals something.

Not about the horse.

About us.

One path asks, "How little do I need?"

The other asks, "How much more pressure can I add?"

Those paths do not lead to the same place.

NB: not sharing the video as she is openly making money on all the shares etc. I am not interesting in funding her next torture piece!

06/15/2026

06/13/2026

Bits and Safety: What Does the Research Actually Say?

There’s a very common belief in the horse world that bits make riding safer. Most of us were taught this from our earliest lessons, and it gets repeated so often that it starts to feel like an established fact.

That belief showed up again and again this week. When I previously wrote this post I had attended an R+ summit a space full of thoughtful, well respected people in our industry, and the idea that bits are a safety feature and provide more control, was mentioned in a way that suggested it was supported by research.

Now we are seeing it everywhere on social media right now, due to the bridleless competition, In a wide variety of spaces.

And I think it’s important to recognize that this isn’t just a “traditional” belief. It shows up even in modern, evidence-based circles.

Because of that, I wanted to look at this from all angles. I went searching specifically for peer reviewed studies that support the claim that bits increase rider safety or reduce safety risks compared to bitless equipment.

I wasn’t able to find ANY.

There are studies on bridles, rein tension, rider perceptions and pressure distribution. Some of these papers get referenced to defend bit use. But none of them demonstrate increased safety because of the bit.

The only study that directly compared rider safety between bitted and bitless horses found no difference in safety outcomes at all. Horses ridden without a bit did not create more safety concerns, did not show more risk, and did not demonstrate a disadvantage.

So before we keep repeating the belief that “bits equal safety,” especially in spaces that value evidence, I think it’s worth acknowledging that this claim doesn’t appear in the scientific literature. It seems to come more from tradition and habit than from data.

The peer reviewed evidence available right now simply doesn’t show a safety advantage to using a bit. Grounding our safety conversations in evidence matters, especially in a field that values welfare and clarity. If you’d like to explore the topic further, World Bitless Association has excellent educational resources.

06/11/2026

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Message me to tour!

06/08/2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has provided an important update on New World Screwworm which has been detected in a bovine in Zavala County, Texas. Read the full press release here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/usda-confirms-presence-new-world-screwworm-united-states

General information about New World Screwworm (NWS) can be found in the text below and in the attached infographic.

The adult screwworm fly is about the size of a common housefly (or slightly larger), with orange eyes, a metallic blue or green body, and three dark stripes along its back. It gets its name from the behavior of its larvae (maggots) as they burrow (screw) into the wound, feeding as they go. The maggots (larvae) cause extensive damage by tearing at the hosts’ tissue with sharp mouth hooks. The wound can quickly become enlarged and deeper as more maggots hatch and feed on living tissue.

Because they feed on live flesh, NWS maggots may burrow deep into wounds or openings, while other species of maggots may appear around the outer surface of the wound. In addition, even the smallest wounds have the potential to attract flies, so it is imperative that you keep a close eye on your animals for any signs of wounds.

Lastly, NWS infestations are a reportable disease! Immediately report any suspicious wounds, maggots, or infestations to a local accredited veterinarian, your State Animal Health Official, or a USDA veterinarian.

For more information, reference this resource from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animals/animal-health/livestock-and-poultry-disease/stop-screwworm