Whole-istic Horses - The Natural Connection and Ms. Jean

10/21/2025

Continuing another chapter in:

TELLING A STORY, ABOUT A HORSE…

✅COMMITING to CRUISE, PART 3:

(A Focus on Gastrointestinal Health)

In Part 2, I finished the story with a picture of Cruise bolting and the words, “…there were some serious rodeo moments.”

In the couple years that passed since that last article, I had brought Cruise a very very long way.❤️

Being a very tall and lanky horse, I decided that Cruise needed to start his dressage journey, to learn how to use his body more effectively and push from behind. When I could, we trained with some fantastic instructors, 2 regular favorites were Patrick Tigchelaar and Katie Davis. They were instrumental in helping Cruise find his forward, learn the importance of neck stretch, the value of long and low and how to recognize and eventually, how to reward his wonderful moments of being light and upwards on the bit. But keep in mind, it took me dedicating 3-5 days a week of work to maintain his topline, musculature and work ethic.

During this timeframe in training, I also learned alot about Cruise’s gut imbalance issues. I kept him on Pro-bios, a fat supplement, a beet pulp based feed, alfalfa and access to hay 24/7.

Most days, I would show up to the barn and Cruise would tell me he was “ready to work and ride.” He would greet me in the field, ears perked forward. He would be easy to halter, pleasant to walk from the field to the barn and then calm through the grooming and tack up process. We would then ease our way into the arena for lunging or groundwork and then enjoy our ride time together.

Other days, Cruise would not greet me at the gate. He would stay in the run-in shed. When I haltered him, some days, he would turn his head away or lift his head up. Walking from the field to the barn would sometimes feel like I was leading a fire breathing dragon that had wings, just waiting or looking for something to give him a reason to take flight. At grooming, he would pin his ears when being brushed or bite the air when being touched in the girth area.

On those unpleasant days, back then, I would bring him into the arena to lunge, thinking I needed to watch his movement in case a lameness might be causing the grouchiness. Then I would hear him farting in the trot so loud or so much that you couldn’t help but notice that he had a gas problem. When I asked for the canter, he would explode into it, sometimes galloping off instead of a steady transition. Sometimes he would crossfire in the canter as well. Sometimes, he would also show distress with teeth chattering, at various different times in a work out.

So I learned, that when Cruise was having a “not so pleasant day”, I would look for all these recurring symptoms and if confirmed, I would treat him for an ulcer flare-up. And once he had his ulcergard regime, he would feel so much better and return to the sweet boy I know he wanted to be.

Recently, not by his choice, I took Cruise out of work. He hasn’t been under-saddle for a year and a half now, due to both my professional and personal life circumstances in 2024 and 2025. When I took Cruise out of work in April 2024, it was because I no longer wanted to board him at a specific boarding facility, but that meant, he had to come home. At that time, “home” was not an ideal situation to continue working with Cruise. The facility at “home” was limited in what it offered for training a horse with his “needs” and just as important, my time was quite limited, so, I decided to let Cruise have time off and just be a horse.

As I mentioned above, my last article mentioned rodeo moments, which I now know many were due to his stomach issues.

Now that I am bringing Cruise back into work, I wanted to share the pictures I have taken as he is going through an ulcer flare up again.

And the biggest change I want to share is that since I have kept Cruise on ProElite Gut Biome, (which provides billions of CFU of pro and prebiotics daily), he recovers from his ulcer flare-ups much faster. He still gets his alfalfa and fat supplement, but we are focusing on a more forage based approach.

So I hope Cruise’s article resonates with other horse owners and riders out there, realizing that we all go through struggles with our horses and that sharing our stories about what see and even what we feel, may help others in some way, shape or form.

❤️

Be on the lookout for PART 4!

05/03/2025

This is a great visual to understand what is meant by bony column alignment the term I use as this is how I was educated.

In the picture it’s called hoof pastern alignment.

I assume it’s the same thing…

So the historic and current thinking is that those 3 bones at the bottom of the horses leg, are the most biomechanically efficient and all the tendons are in balance if those bones are aligned.

It’s all related to levers and moments. The way I understand it is if you think about carrying shopping bags, if they are close to your body they are easier to manage. If you stretch out your arm a bit then the weight of that bag will be harder to manage plus the muscles are worked more. Stretching out your arm is acting like a lever.

The 3 photos show nicely the different ways those 3 bones can present.
Farriers and trimmers will be striving to maintain or get to bony column alignment. By removing hoof or adding to it, adding by shoes, wedges, casts, acrylics, etc.

Note that to look at the bony column line, the cannon bone must be vertical.

I can’t give credit to this person that owns this photo but I am grateful to them and if anyone knows the owner, please let me know so i
can give credit.

Added to give credit to the canadian horse magazine

Image used for fair use- educational and critique

Lindsey

http://www.patreon.com/hoofstudies

04/16/2025

This…

Why $50 to $80 for a Riding Lesson is the Bargain of a Lifetime! 🐴

At first glance, $50 to $80 might seem like a lot for a riding lesson. After all, it’s just 30 minutes or an hour on a horse, right? But here’s the kicker: that price doesn’t even begin to cover the full value of what you’re getting.

Let me break it down for you:

When you pay for a riding lesson, you’re not just paying for the time spent in the saddle. You’re paying for decades of knowledge, years of training, and an entire operation dedicated to creating a safe, fun, and rewarding experience.

You’re paying for an incredible partnership between horse and human—something most people only dream of experiencing.

You’re paying for the *generations of knowledge and skill* that went into breeding or selecting a safe, reliable horse—a horse that can teach a beginner to steer or build confidence in an intermediate rider.

You’re paying for the *thousands of hours* that trainers and instructors spent educating that horse, putting on the miles, and teaching it to be patient, forgiving, and downright saintly.

You’re paying for the tack: saddles, bridles, bits, saddle pads, girths, and all the fittings—carefully selected for comfort, fit, and durability. You’re also paying for the endless supply of grooming tools, from curry combs to hoof picks to detangling spray.

You’re paying for feed: hay, grain, supplements, and the occasional treat. You’re paying for veterinary care, including vaccines, deworming, dental work, and emergency visits. Don’t forget the farrier—someone has to keep those hooves in tip-top shape.

You’re paying for the blankets: rain sheets, winter rugs, coolers—whatever is needed to keep the horses happy and healthy in every season. You’re paying for the halters, lead ropes, and fly masks that keep them comfortable and safe.

You’re paying for the facilities: the arena footing, jumps, fences, barn, and tack room. You’re also paying for the equipment that maintains it all—tractors, ring drags, hoses, water buckets, muck rakes, shovels, and the never-ending repair bills that come with running a stable.

You’re paying for the labor: the early mornings and late nights, the endless stall mucking, the feeding, and the hauling of hay bales. You’re paying for the nights someone walks a colicky horse until the vet arrives.

You’re also paying for the *risk*: every time a lesson horse takes a rider, there’s a chance they could end up hurt or permanently lame. These horses are worth their weight in gold, and it’s my job to keep them safe, healthy, and happy. That’s why they’re only worked a certain amount, jump sparingly, and have strict limits on their workload.

So when you hear, “$50 to $80 for a lesson,” what you’re really getting is the result of years of dedication, hard work, and care. You’re getting a piece of a much larger puzzle—the kind of puzzle that most people don’t see but that makes those 30 or 60 minutes possible.

It’s not “just a lesson.” It’s a lifetime of expertise and a whole village behind it.

I am grateful to my team and the incredible horses for all they bring to people’s experiences. 💙💛

If you are looking for a riding facility here are some tips 📣

1. Do your due diligence before selecting just any facility for you or your child to ride at

2. If it doesn’t feel safe, trust your gut!

3. Any given day, someone wakes up and decides to become an instructor bc they have horses and want to make a buck. Unfortunately, most of them have a little to no prior experience.

4. Instructors/trainers should have references and insurance! This is a business at the end of the day and everyone should be protected.

5. Accept the word NO. Trainers have lesson horses and your best interest at heart. They are not trying to hold you or your horse back to be mean. The amount of students we have received from other programs that are riding or surviving beyond their capabilities is horrifying. What may take you one week may take another rider a month. Everyone needs to go at their own pace to do it properly and safely, This is not a race but something to enjoy at your own pace 🤠

04/13/2025

03/25/2025

02/14/2025

What if you don't have a roundpen? Clinton explains how to work with the facilities you have in the tip ➡️ https://ow.ly/nvls50UzO4J...

02/14/2025

My beautiful Maya is consigned to the Great American Trail Horse Sale in April!

Her video is not complete yet, we are still waiting for good weather to video trot and canter under saddle in both English and Western tack…

BUT!!.. here’s a sneek peak of her video below showcasing her talent and beauty!!

https://vimeo.com/1056864887

12/15/2024

A short video showing Caspian’s progress