Our Care

Our horses are family

We take care of them first..

We focus on taking in horses with histories and conditions that too often lead to them being passed around or displaced. Some have been through neglect, poor handling, or have health issues that make them hard to place and even harder for many people to realistically care for long-term. We take time to understand what they may have been through, what hurts, and what helps.

From there, we provide the care they need, along with consistent, gentle daily interaction and love(from YOU). ❤ Staying active and involved supports both their body and their mind.

We care deeply about every horse here and make their health and comfort our priority. They’re part of our family, and we’re here for them until the end, no matter how long or short that may be. ❤

Mind ✦ Body ✦ Comfort ✦ Purpose

Read more below about the care we provide our gentle giant family! ☺︎

Lifelong Conditions are a Lifelong Commitment

Horses need more than just love to feel their best..although wouldn't it be nice if that's all they needed 😉. They need dietary structure, someone willing to manage their conditions every day and show up again tomorrow.

What does this look like?

Daily meds and supplements, measured by hand
Many of our horses rely on daily meds and supplements to stay comfortable.
Special diets and tailored nutrition plans
Managing chronic conditions often require specific diets, like low-sugar feeds for Cushing’s horses or added nutritional support for muscle and nerve health for EPM.
Allergy, respiratory, and mobility support
Some horses need controlled environments, joint support, or work considerations to stay comfortable.
Adjusting nutrition based on comfort and behavior
Changes in posture, appetite, or attitude can often tell us more than a single test result. Our plans stay flexible so we can respond to what the horse is communicating in real time. Chronic care is won in the details.

We keep notes on how each horse is doing, especially after bodywork, changes in diet, changes in workload, or changes in behavior. Small changes tell big stories.

Long-term success, not quick results 🐢 progress is meant to be steady!

🚫 SWEET FEED

🚫 CORN
🚫 COMPLETE FEEDS

Some horses can take time to come back and that’s okay! Especially with older horses and horses with PPID, diet changes should be slow and gradual. They know you're there for them everyday regardless. ❤︎

Easy-going rides are a beautiful thing

Just like people, horses do better when they engage in activities within their abilities. For many horses, gentle riding can support healthy mobility and emotional wellbeing when it’s done thoughtfully and respectfully.

Why we believe gentle work matters 💪

Think about how your own body feels when you sit still for too long. Joints get stiff, muscles tighten, and everything feels harder to start moving.. For those with arthritis, light activities like walking or stretching are encouraged because complete rest often leads to more discomfort, not less!

It’s similar for horses. Under our specialist's guidance, calm, low-impact movement helps support joint comfort and function. The goal isn’t to push through pain, but to keep their bodies moving rather than letting stiffness take over.

How we keep it kind ❤︎

Walk-only rides and low-stress expectations

Our rides are intentionally easy-going. No pressure or demands for performance. Just a nice little walk in the woods with happy riders like you!

Small and private groups

Smaller groups keep everything quieter and more predictable, which is simply easier on the horses. With fewer voices and less movement around them, they can stay settled and present on the trail.

Careful rotation and built-in rest days

Keeping our spaces small and times limited helps us manage each horse’s schedule thoughtfully. They’re never overworked. Rest is planned just as intentionally as movement.

Thoughtful rider matching

Rider size/balance and experience are matched to the right horse. We also cap the weights of each horse much lower than what many would consider within their abilities. Why ask horses to always carry the maximum weight? 🤷‍♀️ We are VERY picky about this for horses of all sizes! (yes, even the drafts)

When the heart feels safe, the body can do better

How YOU help with their care

Rescues often have a history of trauma and abandonment and it is critical for them to have positive human connection on a daily basis, making you a part of their story! With renewed trust, we watch horses open up and start to show their true selves through play and curiosity.♥️

Energy is information

How do you think a human and horse communicate without any spoken language? With our energies!! The heart produces an electrical signal that changes with emotion and focus. Horses are incredibly sensitive to subtle changes in tension, intention, and emotional state. We can often tell the mood/energy of riders just by how our horse communicate to us. 😉 One of the reasons why horse therapy is so effective!

Connection is paired with training

Connection is not just affection, it is safety too. We do groundwork and natural horsemanship so horses have clear boundaries and a predictable system. If a horse gets pushy or unsafe, we pause and reset. That structure helps protect the sweet moments, so the horse stays confident and the rider stays safe.

No Hoof, No Horse - We work from the Ground Up!

The MOST important part of our horses' recovery is their feet! The condition of a horses hooves can effect everything about that horse. Not to mention the hooves of a horse cannot lie.

Farrier Care
If you have ever tried on a pair of shoes that made you walk like you were stepping on a secret pebble, then you already understand something important about hooves and why they need to be regularly maintained. (every 4-6 weeks, year round)

Our barefoot specialist, MO Trimming, knows our herd and trims with the whole horse in mind, shaping each hoof to support that horse’s movement and help improve specific walking habits over time.

A hoof can be a little storybook, if you know how to read it..

When we notice that one part of a hoof is wearing faster than the rest, we don’t shrug and move on. We grow curious.

Sometimes uneven wear is the horse protecting a sore muscle. Sometimes it’s stiffness that comes and goes with the weather. Sometimes it’s an old habit that began long ago, back when something hurt more than it does now.

Catching these details matter, as it shows what the body has been trying to manage in "secret". We can't help what we don't know!

Farrier and nutrition

Our farrier also helps us spot possible nutrition gaps that can show up in hoof quality over time. Hoof quality starts in the feed tub. For horses with metabolic concerns, founder history, or thrush risk, nutrition can be the difference between constantly chasing symptoms vs. building long-term resilience.

Did you know you can read a hoof like the rings of a tree?

Tree rings can show what kind of year a tree had. Thicker rings in strong growth years, tighter rings when conditions were rough (weather, drought, stress). Hooves can leave clues too 🔍

Ideally, a hoof wall should be smooth, but sometimes grooves or “rings” show up on the wall. Those grooves can help us connect the dots between:

When something changed for that horse to cause stress
What their body might have been responding to (sickness, laminitis, etc)
Do we need to take a look below the surface (x-ray exam)
How we adjust care moving forward (trim plan, comfort support, workload, nutrition conversations, etc.)

Shoe Alternatives

Traditional shoes can decrease the natural flexibility of the hoof and prevent the frog from fully contacting the ground, which is needed for proper blood flow. If a horse needs extra support, instead of using metal shoes, we will use shoe alternatives like ScootBoots or Cavallo Boots.

They are a soft boot that protect the horses' feet while also allowing the hoof to expand and frog to make contact with the ground to pump blood back into the horses leg. This circulation is important in keeping hooves, muscles and tendons healthy and strong!

Restore their Bodies

Horses are gracious enough to allow us to ride them, the least we can do is take care of their bodies in return.

Our horses follow a routine body care plan through massage and chiropractic support, plus the stretches and therapy homework we do between visits.

We partner with professionals and we take their guidance seriously. Our massage therapist (True Balance Equine Therapies) and chiropractor (Naturally in Balance Chiropractic) come out monthly to treat our horses. When they give us “homework,” we follow through between appointments so the horse can keep building balance and healthier movement over time.

What our homework looks like

Guided stretches tailored to what that horse needs. We like to call this "horse yoga" 🧘‍♀️
Red light therapy and support such as PEMF when appropriate
In hand movement and gentle strengthening like pole work, obstacles, and backing up (horse squats)
Workload and tack adjustments when a horse tells us something is not comfortable
Rest days and rotations that respect recovery and prevent overdoing it

Interested in helping? 🙂

We’re always looking for volunteers to help with these gentle exercises, especially during our slower seasons.

Visit our Volunteer page to learn more! ⬇️

Volunteering

Why we do the “homework”

Muscles, fascia, and joints respond best to consistent, corrected movement. Bodywork appointments soften tight patterns and improve how a horse uses their body, but doing our "homework" is what helps those changes stick.

That is why we pair hands on care with smart strengthening and plenty of recovery in between. We keep it thoughtful, case by case, and let the horse’s response lead the plan.

Our Vets are Our Partners in Long-Term Comfort

We work closely with our vet to keep our high-needs horses supported with the right medications, monitoring, and decision-making.

Staying UTD is not optional

Vaccinations & Prevention

Seasonal vaccines based on risk, lifestyle, and age. Plus parasite strategy guided by veterinary best practices (not guesswork).

Annual Exams & Wellness Checks

A full-body look at how the horse is doing overall: weight, body condition, movement, heart/lung sounds, skin/coat changes, and any subtle shifts that might signal “something’s brewing.”

Dental Care

Teeth matter more than most people realize. A horse can’t tell you “my mouth hurts,” but they will show it in weight loss, slow eating, dropping feed, fussiness, or changes in attitude. Regular dental checks keep nutrition working the way it should.

Emergency Care

If a horse shows signs of severe colic, choke, sudden lameness, or injury, we respond quickly, involve our vet, and make decisions based on urgency.

How we dig a little deeper

Sometimes we need to investigate further before we can plan. Our vets help us see what's going on underneath the surface.

Depending on the horse, this can include:

Bloodwork and metabolic testing
X-rays for joints, feet, or old injuries
Evaluations for conditions like PPID (Cushing’s), Lyme, EPM, and more
Treatment plans that evolve over time as we learn what helps that specific horse most.

Quality of Life (QOL) — the kindest responsibility 🌈

One of the hardest parts of working with chronically ill or geriatric horses is knowing when “more treatment” isn’t the kindest path anymore. We do our best to notice early changes and seek expert guidance, always aiming for what is kindest for the horse in front of us.

That’s why we do regular quality of life check-ins, including annual exams and additional evaluations when a horse’s comfort changes. We look at things like pain levels, appetite, mobility, brightness, and willingness. Maintaining a log helps us and our experts make clearer, kinder decisions without relying on one single “bad day.” Comfort first, dignity always ❤︎

Our Care

Our horses are family

We take care of them first..

Mind ✦ Body ✦ Comfort ✦ Purpose

Easy-going rides are a beautiful thing

Stay Connected 🐴