Free Heart Stables

12/10/2025

The boys’ favorite activity

10/03/2024

Rest in Peace Snuffy
He was truly the kind of horse that would do anything just because you asked and one of the most patient teachers. Snuffy touched so many lives and we are all so blessed to have had him in our lives. He loved to jump and loved to do all the things. He had unending patience and a loving heart that just wanted to make those around him happy. He passed away unexpectedly on Monday and our barn has felt empty without him. I truly don’t have the words to express how much we all miss him. We all expected to have him around for years to come and now that he’s gone we see just how big a hole he’s left in our lives.
02/10/2005 - 9/30/2024

05/16/2024

You know how your great aunt can’t be around you without commenting on your weight?
You know how your mother in law can’t stop asking when you’re gonna have a baby because she’s dying for grandchildren?

You know how your mom licks that napkin and squeezes your face while she whipes dirt off your cheek?
You know how, when you were a child, your parents brushed your hair too fast, pulled on your hair, and your feelings were dismissed? “Oh you’re being such a baby!”

You know the way that family dinner is so stressful, but your aunts make amazing food- so you have the draw of the food, and the stress of the discord and passive aggressive comments? You know the pressure to have seconds, to not offend, coupled with a comment on your weight?

You know all those tiny, nitpicky, well meaning things that drive you crazy? You know how horrible the hands that fuss over you feel? You know how terrible the dissonance between what’s said and what’s felt is?

They’re made to sound like they’re for you, but they’re not- they’re for the person doing them.
Don’t be that guy with your horse.

Pinching, picking, constant cleaning, fussing
Nitpicking every little step
Fussing with buckles, forgetting about the horse and wrenching leather over soft, sensitize surfaces
Yelling, smacking, emotional corrections and making up for it with food

Those are not for the horse- they’re for you.

Every touch should be for the horse.
Touch with intention
Focus on the task AND the horse
Guide, with care
Say no when you have to, without judgement or emotion
Say yes when you can, without going off the rails
Bring the horse to center
And be someone they find peace standing next to.

01/23/2024

Love the illustrations!

12/19/2023

This is such a great video that popped up on my feed today. I love the examples which I think are clear and easy for even an unexperienced eye to see. So far I haven’t seen anything change.

In 2008, Luise and Julie went to Warendorf, Germany's "City of Horses" to interview Dr Gerd Heuschmann, a whistleblowing FEI veterinarian of budding notoriet...

05/28/2023

“Ohhh this horse just has a little arthritis in his left hock, it doesn’t seem to bother him too much.”

Horses are prey animals and therefore great compensators; they will create alternative locomotive patterns to continue movement.

So, say this little bit of osteoarthritis causes a reduced range of motion of the tarsal joint. In an attempt to maintain stride length and hide this dysfunction to potential predators (because you never know when a lion could be waiting around the corner... or a flapping plastic bag!) the tarsal (hock) joint is rotated medially (inwards) during the swing phase of the stride. This results in asymmetrical & medial weight bearing through the digit (hoof). This places additional stress through medial hamstring muscles, resulting in muscle tension and trigger points. And this is all something that is potentially going on in the affected hindlimb.

A hip hike/drop can occur at corresponding phases of the stride, placing the sacroiliac joint under stress, resulting in paraspinal and asymmetrical gluteal tone/pain.

Decreased impulsion from the left hindlimb leads to increased weight bearing through the right forelimb diagonal. This can create tension and hypertrophy to the right pectoral muscles and related fascial planes.

The spiral of compensation could continue on further, affecting cervical muscles that become hypertonic as a result of weight shifting, digit shape and size, TMJ pain, head tiling, hyoid dysfunction, asymmetric tail holding...

Check ligaments may strain on the overloaded limb, saddles may slip, mouths may open, head shaking may happen. And that doesn’t mean we have to put on a flash noseband, non-slip saddle pads and wear spurs to get more impulsion from the left hind that is through and through p a t h o l o g i c a l.

Often it can be the case where I see a horse that is a chronic stage of compensation and it can be difficult to find the true cause especially when the horse may appear just overall “stiff”.

I liken the rehabilitation of chronic cases to peeling the layers off an onion; one layer at a time and piece by piece to unravel and rewind the compensation spiral. 🐴

If this sparks a thought in anyone’s mind that actually, their horse may be suffering with this kind of pain presentation — follow your gut, trust that you know what is best for your horse and have your vet, physio, farrier, nutritionist, saddler, trainer all work with you and your horse to improve their comfort 🥰

02/15/2023

I love the vulnerable honesty in this post and the commitment to owning one’s self before throwing everything on our horse. Too many great points to list but overall be kind to yourself, be kind to yourself, and address your own issues before making them your horse’s problem.

01/24/2023

Morning Coffee Thoughts:

Feel and look are two completely different things for a lot of us. It’s why I love getting video to help reconcile what something felt like versus what it looks like. It helps us fine tune our feel and get better results under saddle where we obviously can’t look and do at the same time. It’s especially helpful to watch the video right after your ride while everything you felt is fresh in your mind.

01/23/2023

Morning Coffee Thoughts:

Shedding season has arrived at least in my barn and with it I feel a sense of beginning. For me this is always the season where longer days and warmer weather helps jump start us into a more intense training schedule. And by that I don’t necessarily mean we crack down to work. More that everything is given a little more time and a little more thought as I’m not in as much of a hurry to find the comforts of huddling in a ball drinking coffee. It’s an exciting time and I’m so looking forward to what this year will bring.

01/20/2023

Morning Coffee Thoughts:

One of the things that makes horses so hard for people is the constant need to adjust and reevaluate tactics. There are no hard and fast rules (well maybe some but they are few and far between), but instead an infinite gray area that we swim in. I can’t tell a student “do x and produce y” and have that statement hold true in every situation. To every “rule” there are a thousand requirements and exceptions as to whether it holds true. So how do we navigate this terrain?

I think it all comes down to developing connection. Connection gives you awareness of the situation. It shows you what state your horse is in, where his focus is, what he’s seeking, how he’s feeling in his body and so much more. A strong connection is based in staying present which gives you immediate feedback on how your horse is responding to you in every aspect. This includes your aids, your mental state, and your emotions.

Evaluating these responses can help shape how you continue to interact with your horse. As you adapt your aids to reach your goals all the while staying wholly focused on your horse’s entire state you form a beautiful dance of give and take while navigating this gray area. That’s what makes up the sometimes elusive “feel” we talk about all the time. And while it can be taught it can’t be taught in rules and boundaries. Horses don’t stick in that black and white world. One of those greatest challenges is to draw us back into the present which is full of grey. Embrace it because that’s where all the beauty is.

01/19/2023

Morning Coffee Thoughts:

The sun is always so much sweeter after the storm. Likewise accomplishments are so much more meaningful when you had to work for them. Life is a journey and we just need to stick in the moment and feel all the pieces of it.

01/16/2023

Morning Coffee Thoughts:

A great support system is so important when talking about horse care. I am so thankful for our wonderful barn staff that were able to step up and help with feeding this morning when it took far longer for us to get here than expected. Obviously the horses would have been fine waiting an extra couple of hours for breakfast, but consistency is key with horses and it didn’t seem very fair. To provide that kind of consistency you need contingency plans and people who can step up when the unexpected happens. I am so grateful to have that. Hopefully everyone is staying safe in these crazy rains. Lots to be thankful for today.