Balancing Whispers

12/05/2025

A beautiful, extremely bright full moon reflecting on the snow, and -18 Celsius frigid weather!

My California born Gypsy, Starfire Running Coal is not getting used to our Canadian winters (this is his 4th one) and is out in a 350gr liner with a 400gr winter rug.

This is unusual, but as discussed in previous posts, it is what he wants and needs. He loves to be really toasty and starts parking when he is not warm enough.

Who else has a true cold blooded horse 😉?

12/04/2025

Shelter Isn’t a Luxury for Outdoor Horses — It’s a Biological Need

In (the very frequent) conversations about horses needing good shelter, we will hear, without exception that wild horses don't have shelters. We love to reference wild horses when talking about management… but let’s make sure we reference them accurately.

Wild horses don’t just wander through blizzards and harsh weather. They actively seek natural shelter - stands of trees, canyons, windbreaks, sun pockets, anything - that protects their skin and conserves energy. They move because the environment allows them to, not because they enjoy being pelted in the face by sideways sleet.

And here’s the key difference:
Wild horses can choose.
Domestic horses? They get whatever we give them. Fences don’t care about weather systems.

Science backs this up loudly (in case the horses haven’t shouted it already):

Horses use shelter more when wind, rain, or cold create real discomfort.

Access to shelter supports thermoregulation, reduces stress hormones, and lowers energy expenditure.

Providing shelter decreases the risk of rain scald, mud fever, weight loss, and even behavioral fallout from unmanaged discomfort.

In severe heat, shade reduces core temperature rise and encourages normal grazing patterns.

Shelters don’t stop movement. They just prevent horses from having to choose between being comfortable and being healthy. And when given options, horses do what wild horses do: move as needed, rest as needed, and seek cover when the environment demands it.

A proper shelter — dry footing, good ventilation, safe design, adequate size — isn’t pampering.
It’s aligning our management with their biology.

If we want domestic horses to thrive like their wild cousins, we must give them freedom of choice, not the equine version of “survival mode.”

Let’s build environments that support natural behavior, not challenge it. Your horses (and their digestive tracts, skin, joints, and nervous systems) will thank you.

(stock pictures below)

12/04/2025

At our barn, each horse gets assessed individually for comfort when they are brought in for breakfast. We check several areas to determine their temperature and adjustments are made. This checkup also allows us to flag potential illness, especially when a horse's thermoregulation deviates from its normal.
We have several horses that thrive naked, and we have a cob, traditionally know for its thick coat, in a 2 layer 500gr with hood right now... Shelters and 24/7 forage is not always enough.
Know your horse.

Blanketing is not just about adding warmth. Horses heat themselves very differently than we do and understanding that helps us support them instead of accidentally making them colder.

Horses heat themselves from the inside out. Their digestive system ferments fibre all day which creates steady internal heat. Their winter coat traps this heat when the hair can lift and fluff, a process called piloerection. This creates a layer of warm air close to the skin and acts as the horse’s main insulation system.

A thin blanket can interrupt this system. It presses the coat flat which removes the natural insulation. If the blanket does not provide enough fill to replace what was lost the horse can become COLDER in a light layer than with no blanket at all.

Healthy horses are also built to stay dry where it matters. The outer coat can look wet while the skin stays warm and dry. That dry base is the insulation. When we put a blanket on and flatten the coat, the fill must replace that lost insulation.

Problems begin when moisture reaches the skin. Wetness at the base of the coat flattens the hair and stops the coat from trapping heat. This can happen in freezing rain, heavy wet snow, or when a horse sweats under an inappropriate blanket.

Checking the base of the coat tells you far more than looking at the surface. Slide your fingers down to the skin behind the shoulder and along the ribs. Dry and warm means the horse is coping well. Cool or damp means the horse has lost insulation and needs support.

Horses also show clear body language when they are cold. Look for tension through the neck, shorter and stiffer movement, standing tightly tucked, avoiding resting a hind leg, clustering in sheltered areas, a hunched topline, withdrawn social behaviour, and increased hay intake paired with tension. Shivering is a clear sign but it appears later in the discomfort curve.

Ears can give extra information but they are not reliable on their own. Cold ears with a relaxed body are normal, but cold ears paired with tension, stillness, or a cool or damp base of the coat can suggest the horse is losing heat. Always look at the whole picture instead of using one single check.

If you choose to blanket, pick a fill that REPLACES what you are removing. Sheets and very light layers often make horses colder in winter weather. A blanket that compresses the coat needs enough fill to replace the trapped warm air the coat would have created on its own.

Blanketing is a tool, not a default. Healthy adult horses with full winter coats often regulate extremely well on their own as long as they are dry, sheltered from strong wind, and have consistent access to forage. Horses who are clipped, older, thin, recovering, or living in harsh wind and wet conditions will likely need more support and blanketing. The individual horse always matters.

It would be easier if a single number worked for every horse. But in my own herd I have horses who stay comfortable naked in minus thirty and others who need three hundred and fifty grams (+) in that same weather. That range is normal. It is exactly why no one chart can ever work for every horse, and why watching the individual horse will always be more accurate than any temperature guide.

Thermoregulation is individual. Charts cannot tell you what your horse needs. Your horse can. Watch the body, check the skin, and blanket the individual in front of you.

12/01/2025

Issues with or within geldings' sheaths are too often overlooked.

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING - PTS ⚠️
We attended a horse a while back with the WORST behavioural issues, so bad was he, volatile infact, questions were being asked about what was the kind thing to do - was he just an unhappy horse? Is there such a thing as a perfectly healthy, well looked after horse and it be depressed to the point of dangerous?

The issues had progressed over time, and believe me when I say, everything had been checked - or so they thought..!

Bucking, grumpy, planting in the arena, bolting, biting, just plain old mean - this horse was most certainly not happy, but he used to be, so what could the issue be? What is the kind thing to do at this point If you had checked everything that you thought could have been checked.

It’s the same old story, horse has issues, owner is desperately trying to listen to their horse and work them out, owner is told by number of people sheath cleaning is ridiculous and beans aren’t real. Owner feels silly and considers putting her horse to sleep, before checking for a bean or painful sheath.

Luckily, this horses owner found our page, did some research of her own and decided to get her horse checked and we found a huge bean.

So far so good, horse is back to his normal happy self and not trying to buck off his rider 🐎

These cases happen so often it’s actually heartbreaking, however, please do remember, not every behavioural issue is sheath related BUT if you don’t get them checked, then how do you know it isn’t an issue? Once or twice a year is more than enough to stop such horrid beans from forming.

12/01/2025

Eat hay or use shelter - does it have to be a choice?

A large number of barns still avoid putting hay inside shelters. Some don't do it out of habit - "we never have and the horses are fine", others have space restriction when there is only 1 shelter and only a large round bale. For barns with track systems, food in the shelters is a not accepted because they want to keep horses moving.
Our track system is designed for movement, because it is so vital to a horse's well being. But welfare is not achieved by making horses choose between comfort and food.

Most days our horses will travel the entire 2.5 kms track, browse at our different stations, and move naturally between resources. Well placed hay stations encourage this without any pressure. Movement happens because the environment supports it.

Bad weather changes the equation, especially in the colder regions like ours. When rain, wind, or cold create real discomfort, horses seek shelter. They are not being lazy and they are not avoiding movement. They are using the environment the way a prey animal is designed to. They are conserving heat, avoiding harsh wind, or staying dry to protect their skin and thermoregulation.

If there is no hay in the shelters under these conditions, horses must choose between staying comfortable and eating. Which is a bit of a contradiction because continuous access to forage is essential for horses to stay warm, and to support gut function. Sudden or sustained cold spells can stress horses digestive system.

Offering hay inside shelters during severe weather allows horses to meet both needs at once. They can stay dry and warm while maintaining steady forage intake. When the weather improves they leave the shelter on their own and resume normal movement patterns.

Supporting natural behaviour means adapting to the conditions in front of us. Most days we encourage movement by spacing forage. On the hard days we prioritise comfort and welfare by ensuring hay is available where the horses actually choose to be.
The picture below shows how hay nets for squares can provide forage without taking up too much space.

11/30/2025

Grab a coffee and join TTouch founder for yet another fabulous webinar tomorrow!

“How Animals Evolve Beyond Group Consciousness” with Linda Tellington-Jones
Tellington TTouch Community Webinar
Sunday, November 30 | 11:00 AM Pacific / 2:00 PM Eastern
Free to Join | Replay Available with Community Membership

This Sunday, join Linda Tellington-Jones for an inspiring exploration into the evolving consciousness of animals—how individual animals can transcend group instinct to form extraordinary, personal connections with the humans in their lives.

Drawing on timeless wisdom and modern insight, Linda will share stories and reflections from her decades of experience with horses, dogs, and even kitties, through the lens of inter-species communication and energetic connection.

This thought-provoking session will reference:

Kinship With All Life by J. Allen Boone

Rupert Sheldrake’s Dogs Who Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home

Linda’s personal encounter with Michael J. Roads and his remarkable communication with a kangaroo

You’ll leave with a deeper appreciation for the emotional intelligence, intuitive capacity, and spiritual presence of the animals we love—and the role the Tellington Method plays in awakening that potential.

Free to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MpdO5_vsR6OoMPX8xk61Dg

Not yet a TTouch Community Member?
This webinar is free to attend live. Replays and our extensive webinar archive are available through the TTouch Community Membership - www.ttou.ch

,

11/29/2025

Blanketing is not just about adding warmth. Horses heat themselves very differently than we do and understanding that helps us support them instead of accidentally making them colder.

Horses heat themselves from the inside out. Their digestive system ferments fibre all day which creates steady internal heat. Their winter coat traps this heat when the hair can lift and fluff, a process called piloerection. This creates a layer of warm air close to the skin and acts as the horse’s main insulation system.

A thin blanket can interrupt this system. It presses the coat flat which removes the natural insulation. If the blanket does not provide enough fill to replace what was lost the horse can become COLDER in a light layer than with no blanket at all.

Healthy horses are also built to stay dry where it matters. The outer coat can look wet while the skin stays warm and dry. That dry base is the insulation. When we put a blanket on and flatten the coat, the fill must replace that lost insulation.

Problems begin when moisture reaches the skin. Wetness at the base of the coat flattens the hair and stops the coat from trapping heat. This can happen in freezing rain, heavy wet snow, or when a horse sweats under an inappropriate blanket.

Checking the base of the coat tells you far more than looking at the surface. Slide your fingers down to the skin behind the shoulder and along the ribs. Dry and warm means the horse is coping well. Cool or damp means the horse has lost insulation and needs support.

Horses also show clear body language when they are cold. Look for tension through the neck, shorter and stiffer movement, standing tightly tucked, avoiding resting a hind leg, clustering in sheltered areas, a hunched topline, withdrawn social behaviour, and increased hay intake paired with tension. Shivering is a clear sign but it appears later in the discomfort curve.

Ears can give extra information but they are not reliable on their own. Cold ears with a relaxed body are normal, but cold ears paired with tension, stillness, or a cool or damp base of the coat can suggest the horse is losing heat. Always look at the whole picture instead of using one single check.

If you choose to blanket, pick a fill that REPLACES what you are removing. Sheets and very light layers often make horses colder in winter weather. A blanket that compresses the coat needs enough fill to replace the trapped warm air the coat would have created on its own.

Blanketing is a tool, not a default. Healthy adult horses with full winter coats often regulate extremely well on their own as long as they are dry, sheltered from strong wind, and have consistent access to forage. Horses who are clipped, older, thin, recovering, or living in harsh wind and wet conditions will likely need more support and blanketing. The individual horse always matters.

It would be easier if a single number worked for every horse. But in my own herd I have horses who stay comfortable naked in minus thirty and others who need three hundred and fifty grams (+) in that same weather. That range is normal. It is exactly why no one chart can ever work for every horse, and why watching the individual horse will always be more accurate than any temperature guide.

Thermoregulation is individual. Charts cannot tell you what your horse needs. Your horse can. Watch the body, check the skin, and blanket the individual in front of you.

11/24/2025

A very interesting concept, and to the point for me as I am working with my youngest cob, who is very emotional and has big feelings about pretty much everything.

Stop Babysitting Everyone’s Feelings (Including Your Horse’s)

Do you spend your life scanning people’s faces like supermarket barcode scanner, checking for signs of disappointment, irritation, or emotional turbulence you might have accidentally caused? If so, welcome to emotional monitoring. It’s exhausting, unproductive, and about as effective as trying to stop a storm by shouting at the clouds.

When you take responsibility for someone else’s feelings, two predictable disasters follow. You either contort yourself into a people pleasing pretzel and resent everyone. Or you hand over your emotional power to anyone with a sigh or raised eyebrow and feel controlled and resentful anyway. Either way stress wins.

The antidote is almost offensively simple. Let people feel their feelings. Terrifying, I know, but here’s the kicker. You don’t control their emotional weather. You can be saintly enough to make Mother Teresa look abrasive and they’ll still roll their eyes the moment you turn around. So act with kindness, hold your integrity, speak honestly, and let people experience whatever bubbles up for them. Your job is to manage your own behaviour and emotions, not perform emotional CPR on fully grown adults.

And horses? Same pattern, but with more dramatic consequences because they won’t politely wait until you turn around. They’ll meltdown right in front of you. Taking responsibility for a horse’s emotions looks like avoiding anything that might worry them, analysing every tiny twitch, micromanaging their stress, or obsessing over whether they love you and believe your connection is spiritually significant. All this does is make you inconsistent and teaches the horse to be fragile instead of confident.

A horse learns to canter confidently by cantering. A horse becomes resilient in new environments by experiencing new environments. A horse learns to navigate pressure by meeting a little bit of it, not by having every emotional wobble rescued.

Healthy rules of engagement in life and horsemanship come from letting emotions happen instead of trying to bubble wrap them out of existence. Own your feelings. Let others own theirs. That is where clarity shows up, confidence grows, and real partnership finally has space to exist.

This is Collectable Advice Entry 84 of 365 in my little challenge that may or may not have taken a brief holiday😆. I am dedicated and brave about sharing ideas that actually line up with reality instead of whatever fantasy world social media tries to sell you. Hit save, HIT SHARE, but please resist the urge to copy and paste. It is not cool.

11/19/2025

"Listen to the whispers before they have to shout"
It is one of my favorite statements.
When we are talking about pain in horses, those whispers can be that subtle change in behavior like a horse spending more time on the fringes of the herd. Or it can be a physical whisper in a in a tail quietly carried off-center.
And those whispers aren't uniform.
Breed plays it own clever game of telephone: the cobs who make stoicism their super power, versus the Thoroughbreds being dramatically clear about their grievances.
Then there’s temperament and experience. A horse conditioned into learned helplessness may no longer shout… and may barely whisper at all. Silence isn’t comfort—it’s resignation. And that’s the most tragic whisper of all.
So when the whispers are missed and a horse finally begins to shout—what we label as “behavior problems”—that’s the moment to pause, step back, and ask: “What is this horse reacting to? And why?”
And while modern diagnostics are absolutely incredible—ultrasound, radiography, scoping, nerve blocks, the whole high-tech parade—they’re still far from perfect. Not every source of discomfort shows up neatly on a screen or under a probe. So when a horse gets the all-clear from the vet yet continues to show “behavior issues,” don’t assume the case is closed. More often than not, that horse is still shouting that something isn’t okay… we just haven’t asked the right question, or looked in the right place, yet.

There is a phrase I see constantly in the horse world ESPECIALLY on social media:

“Medical issues have been cleared.”

People use it as if it means the horse has been fully assessed, fully understood and confirmed pain free. I have even seen it followed by things like

“This horse has been cleared of pain. It is just behaving like a pig.”

That kind of statement shuts down the conversation before it even starts. Once someone believes the horse is “cleared,” every behaviour afterward gets interpreted as a training issue, a character flaw or a lack of respect instead of a possible sign that something in the body still needs attention.

But pain does not work in neat, simple categories. And neither do horses.

A single appointment can absolutely rule certain things out. It can give important direction. But it cannot confirm that a horse is not experiencing discomfort. Many physical issues are not visible in a basic exam, a static scan or a straight-line trot up. Some do not even show clearly on imaging until the horse is moving or loaded in a very specific way.

We see this even in post mortem diagnostics.

A static image alone is not enough to tell the full story. Tissue changes, joint function, muscle compensation patterns and micro injuries often only come to light when the structures are examined dynamically or from multiple angles. If that is true after death, it is certainly true in a live horse whose behaviour is part of the diagnostic picture.

This is exactly why pain ethograms exist. They give us a structured, research-backed way to identify behaviour patterns that correlate with discomfort long before imaging can. Without a behavioural component, our understanding of equine pain is incomplete.

There are three major things that equine pain research keeps showing us:

——

First:

Many pain related behaviours are subtle, inconsistent or suppressed when the horse is stressed or excited. Horses compensate far longer than people expect. A lack of dramatic lameness does not mean a lack of pain.

——

Second:

A horse can present “normal” in a basic exam and still be uncomfortable. Low grade or multi site pain can be missed in standard checks but becomes obvious under saddle or during specific movements that recreate the problem.

——-

Third:

Behaviour changes are often the earliest and most reliable indicators that something is going on. Hesitation in transitions. Shortened stride. Loss of softness. Increased tension. A shift in posture. These patterns usually show up before imaging does.

This is why the phrase “the horse has been cleared” is misleading. What we actually have is a snapshot of what was ruled out on that day, under those specific conditions.

A more accurate and welfare centred approach sounds like:

“When these behaviours show up, we ask what the horse is communicating and whether the pattern aligns with known pain indicators, instead of assuming defiance.”

That mindset keeps the horse’s communication open instead of shutting it down. It keeps the door open to understanding rather than labelling. And it acknowledges that pain is far more complex than a single visit, a single scan or a single moment in time can capture.

10/30/2025

10/28/2025

Use your voice to protect horses welfare against proposed FEI rule change.

194 signatures are still needed! Stop the FEI from unethical rule change allowing injured horses to compete

10/28/2025

We can be kind, approachable, and open to discussion, but we’re also allowed to draw a line when it comes to welfare.

Education and empathy can exist alongside boundaries. Gentle communication doesn’t mean endless tolerance, and we can stay open to dialogue without blurring the line between different and harmful.

Advocacy and education aren’t the same, but they need each other. Education invites curiosity. It opens doors, builds understanding, and helps people see why change matters. Advocacy draws the line. It says, “This isn’t okay.” It protects the very welfare that education works to nurture.

It’s not unkind to name harm, and it’s not “negative” to take a stand or draw a line.

Choosing to advocate doesn’t make us unreasonable or “too emotional.” It means we’ve seen what species-appropriate care looks like, and we know it’s possible. Advocacy isn’t arrogance, it’s awareness.

If something with advocacy or education feels uncomfortable, it doesn’t always mean it’s an attack. It might just be an invitation to look a little closer at why it feels that way.

That discomfort isn’t directed at you. It’s directed at the system that convinced so many of us that certain practices were good for horses. Questioning that system is VERY important.

Real welfare means drawing the line, even when it feels uncomfortable, for the one saying it or the one hearing it.