Living outside 24/7 in all seasons on supportive ground

Living outside … all year round? Most people don’t have a problem with that and claim to do it, except when it’s too cold, or too hot, too many bugs, too windy, too wet, too dry, too humid … or “we just bring them in at night”.

I have had the pleasure to live all over Canada. The winters here are long, cold and either very wet or extremely dry depending on location . Lots of snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, slushy rain, slushy snow, with extreme...

                                       INTRODUCTION to the natural horse. 

The word Natural is so often misused and over used in our society that some of the true meaning has been lost. The dictionary says:

'Natural: is in accordance to what is found in nature; produced or existing in nature; not artificial or manufactured; in a state provided by nature; wild; uncultivated; free from affectation or artificiality; not altered,...

Grazing /Foraging or at the very least mimicking the grazing /foraging action is the most natural act a horse can perform. His survival depends on it. By grazing we mean: the act of eating and traveling at the same time. Covering ground while using those prehensile lips to full capacity. Actually, foraging is more natural for the horse. To forage means to search for what one wants or needs. So by placing hay all over the EQ system the horses stay busy foraging for food and continually ‘grazing’ in the process … and by...

... living in a herd environment with enough space to move freely and maintaining an interest in their living space.

Well, that’s a mouthful. To break that down a bit … the first part says living in a herd situation. To be in a herd means to be with others of his own kind, to socialize and interact. Here at the EQ Awakenings Centre we have horses coming and going on a somewhat regular basis. We have one main herd to hold a constant ‘order’. Horses are very social animals and need the company of others to live...

Freedom from continual human mandate

Simply what we mean is in the times when we are not riding or training the horses are given the liberty to live their life as much as we can give as intended for a horse. They live in a specifically designed and designated area we refer to as our EQ-System (ecosystem) – balanced to meet the horses natural biological needs as well as managed for the health and benefit of the land they live on. 

All EQ Awakenings horses (past, present and future) are happy, well adjusted confident individuals with...

WHAT DOES "I DON'T KNOW" SOUND LIKE?  

Have you ever wondered why so many horse people avoid saying "I don't know?" 

I like to ask questions. Always have. My parents encouraged it, but I'm sure I drove some teachers crazy in my youth. Before the World Wide Web, there were less opportunity and options for knowledge. I had to find answers from books or the people around me who seemed to have lots of experience. Problem was, my intuition often sensed the answer wasn't complete or didn't match the reality in front of me.

Have...

1.   Contraction refers to an excessively narrow foot, with heels and bulbs pinched together. This is one of the most common pathologies afflicting domestic horses today. Contracted feet can be linked to a host of behavioral problems such as bucking, rearing, teeth grinding, tripping, head-shaking, rushing or balking.  Jumping horses with contracted hooves will be “dirty stoppers” – refusing to jump fences with the shock-absorbing system in their feet compromised.  These are often horses who will...

Are you able to be at home with your horses?  Now's an excellent time to learn about and care more for the health of their feet.  

Can you believe it??  

Studies claim over 90% of domestic horses have an active infection in the pads of their feet, also called a frog pad. That may seem high but at least 90% of new horses we meet,  present a frog pad health crisis in the form of thrush – some mild and more topical and some deep burrowing and severe.  

Some people think it's normal for the...

Did you know that you can feed organic Apple Cider Vinegar to your horse?  Infusing it in the water supply is an easy method of delivery with so many benefits for the horse and the water supply...some mentioned on the photo below.

Feeding  your horses Organic Active ACV with the mother can get expensive but there is a way to save $$   You can BREW your own! 

NOW you have a lot of organic ACV... Make some Magik Spray!! 

Unless your horse is in a functional living...

Your work is not to drag the world kicking and screaming into a new awareness. Your job is to simply do your work...Sacredly, Secretly and Silently...
and those with 'eyes to see and ears to hear' will respond.

I have been doing my work.

I tried the kicking and screaming approach in my early ‘barefoot’ days.  Now I silently move forward ... doing my work.

I realized the gravity and the depths of the belief systems passed on from one manly generation to another and it put me in a bit of depression.  Sad for the horses, I...