[sanddancingwithanxiety]

Which of my cute faces gets me the carrot??

[suspiciousmammal]

Thoroughbreds and dandelions! I couldn’t decide whether to do a chestnut or a bay so I did both.

[arsanatomica]

You know those weird horizontal pupils that goats have?…. they get a lot weirder.   Other places to see my posts: INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / ETSY / KICKSTARTER

[chaosacres]

Also because they evolved to roam plains instead of, like, forests with a lot of shadows, horses’ eyes can take MINUTES to adjust from light to dark. So when you’re trail riding, or leading your horse in or out of a stable or horse trailer, etc., forgive a little spookiness if you’ve just gone from shadow into direct lighting, or the other way around. We tend to really take our horses’ good behavior for granted in these situations, knowing that they can’t really see well and are just trusting our direction until their eyes adjust.

[finnthehanoverian]

Awkward face but cute

[theclassicalhorse]

Snoot (part 2)

[trailpony]

country rooaaaads, take me hoooome

[darlingtonbubbles]

“mother, i demand you make the snow melt. i refuse to be kept in these conditions.” - molly 100% of the time

[ilovelaica]

Pretty girl. ❤️

[ilovelaica]

Love the weather. ❄️♥️

[howaboutanothercupofcoffee]

Random question of they day:

What’s the handset or most convenient thing you’ve taught your horse?

Can be anything, ground work, under saddle at liberty, etc..

I’m genuinely curious!

[friendly-neigh-bor]

Okay, so this is maybe not the most convenient thing on a day to day basis but you must understand how competitive I am.

I focus a lot on densensitizing my animals. I want to feel comfortable around them and when I have people over who don’t have much interaction with large animals, I want to feel safe with them being around them. I work on this by introducing as many bizarre things as possible at any given opportunity until every time we run across something weird I see the “not this again, mom” look instead of the “OH MY GOD ITS GOING TO EAT ME” look.

We were at a fun show and one of the classes was musical sacks. Just like musical chairs, except it’s feed sacks on the ground. When the music stops you OR your horse must be touching a feed sack. (Note: this was in the middle of a woods with a bunch of hilljacks (lovingly) who don’t always abide by the strictest rules of horsemanship) well, the first round, music stops, and my lovely boy walks to the closest bag and plants his feet directly in the middle like he has played this game before. I was like, huh okay.

I look around and the arena is CHAOS. loose horses, horses stepping in circles around bags, refusing to touch them, people baling off to get their sacks and losing their horses. Absolute unsafe reign of terror.

And we are just standing there - center of the circus, on our sack, not moving a muscle, waiting for the music to start again.

I’ve never been more proud.

[whywishesarehorses]

I love the above story!

Mine is still probably teaching Thea to bridle + halter herself. I hold it up, she puts her head in and stays. Not super exciting, but it has been useful over and over again, and everyone who goes to catch her is delighted

[grumpy-mare]

[ghoul-industries]

[howaboutanothercupofcoffee]

Random question of they day:

What’s the handset or most convenient thing you’ve taught your horse?

Can be anything, ground work, under saddle at liberty, etc..

I’m genuinely curious!

[au-golden-girl]

I taught my horse to drop her head to her knees while standing still. Its hard to act stupid and be anxious with your head down in a "relaxed position." Calmness follows calming signals. Horses grazing in a pasture or hanging their heads low sleeping are calm. I call it her "breathing exercises" because I liken it to alternate nostril breathing for people.

[howaboutanothercupofcoffee]

@au-golden-girl

This is something that is definitely handy,

Teaching your horse tools to remain calm in different situations is such a huge deal.

You never know what the next “spooky” or “stressful” thing will be for your equine.

Having a go to positive and safe action to help change or redirect the reaction to whatever situations you might come across!

My main mare (reign) knows to touch her side (or where my foot would be if I was riding her) when things start to make her anxious.

Almost as if she’s checking in with me, but the concept is the same. It’s a go to behaviour that also gives you a bit more control if for some reason something goes south!

This is definitely something handy, thank you for sharing!!

[thehackneypony]

yoyo has never been one to squeal, but for some reason she likes to squeal at chalk... might be flirting. might be a martial spat. might be the enemies to lovers trope.

[not-a-grumpy-fjord-deactivated2]

Enjoy your blanket while it lasts Wes, next year you’ll have to grow your own coat.

[the-barn-rat]

First trim ever!! She has some fun event lines on all four feet from a likely bit of laminitis 8-12 months ago, which is right around when she shipped across the country SUPER skinny and had a sudden change in nutrient availability lmaoooo

Anyway looking A+ for a mustang gathered in 2018 and with no hoof care available before or since. Abscess looks all drained and cleared out, they’re a work in progress overall but that’s normal. One step closer to being a rideable mare!

[ilovelaica]

Walking in the winter wonderland ♥️