Twin Oaks Farm - Horses and Fun

12/01/2025

12/01/2025

11/29/2025

From Believe and See Ranch

A lot of people think board is a rip-off.
They look at the number and ask, “Why are barns charging so much?”

But board isn’t the rip-off people think it is
It’s a recovery of cost, with no profit, and sometimes even at a loss

It’s what allows people who don’t own a farm to still have horses and know they’re being fed, watered, and cared for properly.

But let’s watch the math play out.
Because once you add hay, water, labor, maintenance, hauling, insurance, repairs, bedding, fuel, taxes, and about a dozen little things no one notices, that “high” board rate barely breaks even.

Which means those times where the costs don’t break even, the barn owner has to either work at other jobs or take from their family finances to cover the costs of someone else’s horses.

And if you don’t want to pay it, that’s fine.
You can always find somewhere cheaper.

But you’ll usually pay for it in other ways: care corners cut, overworked staff, horses neglected or fed just enough to survive.

That’s why I don’t offer board as part of the business, even when we have extra stalls.

Because - even when a barn owner does cover costs, you’re still out of pocket time, labor, wear and tear, the endless “little things” they do , that are over and above cleaning stalls, without billing for them.

Blankets. Repairs. Emergencies. Repairs (for breakage other peoples horses cause). Insurance. Turn in / turnout etc. When people use “just a little extra” - hay, shavings or water than their allotment. The midnight checks nobody sees.

And at the end of all that?

The property owner still isn’t compensated for the nuisance fee of having their privacy invaded,,strangers on their home property, at any time, expecting access.

So no board isn’t expensive.
Horses are.

Make sure to share with a barn owner who needs a little extra appreciation

11/26/2025

11/24/2025

We were discussing SLOWING DOWN just last week. Love this!

Copied from Andrea Wilder.
Most horses aren’t asking you to be stronger, braver, or more skilled.

They’re asking you to be more present.

I didn’t learn to slow down from meditation, mindfulness, or a horsemanship clinic.
I learned it by walking 175 miles across Costa Rica… with a rescue horse who refused to rush for anyone.

Most people think slowing down is a luxury.
Horses know slowing down is a language.

When I started that journey — from the Pacific to the Caribbean — I thought I understood horses.
I’d trained them for years.
I’d ridden more miles than I could count.
I knew techniques, methods, patterns, programs.

But I didn’t know how to listen.

Not really.
Not the way Zeus — the dishevelled rescue horse who walked beside me — needed me to.

For 175 miles, Zeus showed me what happens when you stop trying to get ahead of the moment…
and start living inside it.

He didn’t care about schedules, goals, or getting miles done.
He only cared about:

• the ground under his feet
• the rhythm of our steps
• the feel of my energy
• the truth of the moment
• and whether I was present or pretending

When I rushed… he rushed.
When I pushed… he hardened.
When I disconnected… he drifted.

But when I softened?
When I slowed my breathing and uncluttered my mind?
When I matched his rhythm instead of forcing mine?

Everything changed.

He became available.
He became curious.
He became with me.

The deeper lesson was this:

Slowing down isn’t an act.
It’s a nervous system shift your horse can actually feel.

And presence isn’t taught in a clinic.
Presence is learned in the quiet moments when you stop trying to control the horse…
and start walking beside them.

That’s what Crossing Bridges is about.
Not training.
Not technique.
Not steps or systems or formulas.

It’s the story of how one rescue horse taught me that:
• calm is contagious
• pressure isn’t leadership
• softness is strength
• and slowing down is the most advanced skill you’ll ever learn

This book went on to win an award at the Equus Film Festival — not because it’s flashy, but because it’s honest.

And maybe… it’s exactly the story you need right now.

If you’re the kind of rider who wants more than techniques…
If you want to understand what your horse is really trying to say…
If you’re ready to slow down, soften, and listen in a way that changes everything —

I’ll send you my book Crossing Bridges for free.
Just cover the cost of shipping, and it’s yours.

👉 [Get your free copy here — just pay postage]

https://training.horseclass.com/crossing-bridges-free-shipping

One horse changed the way I walk through the world.
Maybe this book will help change the way you walk beside yours.

“I was telling my friend about my crazy idea — to take a horse, broken by life and destined for the meat man, and walk across Costa Rica from coast to coast…”

11/19/2025

Anyone who rides here knows I LOVE this one!

Nice simple graphic of the most simple iteration of the delaG squares -

11/15/2025

This is a bit long, but important to share ❤️ 15 Fascinating Facts About Horses’ Emotional Memory and Empathy

1. Horses hold one of the most powerful long-term memories among domestic animals — recalling people, voices, and events for decades.

2. They read human intent through facial expressions, distinguishing friend from threat long before a hand is raised.

3. A single act of kindness can echo for years — a horse may seek out the same person even after a long separation.

4. Trauma carves deep grooves — a horse may forever avoid a place, object, or person tied to fear.

5. They sense human emotion through voice tone, breath rhythm, and body tension — even from across a field.

6. They respond not just to fear, but to sadness, joy, or confusion — silently, instinctively.

7. Mirror neurons in their brains allow them to feel what others feel — true empathy in motion.

8. When tears fall nearby, a horse may approach softly, lower its head, and offer a gentle touch — comfort without words.

9. A wounded horse can form the deepest bonds with a patient human — shared pain becomes shared trust.

10. Horses are proven emotional therapists for PTSD, depression, and anxiety — healing hearts, not just bodies.

11. They grieve deeply — lingering by a lost companion or withdrawing in quiet mourning.

12. Once bonded, they memorize your personal rhythms — footsteps, breath, even the silence between.

13. Their memory isn’t just survival — it’s the foundation for profound connection with those who earn their trust.

14. With gentle consistency, fear can be rewritten into safety — even shattered trust can be rebuilt.

15. Horse empathy is biological fact, not folklore — their brains and hearts sync with human emotion in real time.

11/14/2025

has anyone had any dealings with Peg’s Therapeutic Ponies in Mt. Washington. I have tried all week to contact them, phone calls to a couple of numbers ( won’t let you leave a message ?) emails have gotten no response…..?

11/10/2025

love this. walking doesn’t have to be boring!

Why so much walk?

…says another insecure voice in my head second guessing what others are thinking of my horse training 🤪.

But seriously, why are you still in walk 20 minutes after getting on?

Because in French classical training, the walk isn’t the warm-up before the real work; the walk often is the real work.

One of the biggest mindset shifts for me was realising that rushing into trot and canter was often my way of skipping over the boring but essential stuff: balance, looseness, straightness, genuine connection… all the things I later complained about not having.

The walk is where we develop those ingredients without the added chaos of speed or suspension. I’m not saying you should stay in walk; it’s vital to keep a horse eager to move forward, and some horses absolutely need to go before they can think. But once the desire to go is there, walk is where we can install the alphabet of aids and build balance before expecting the same clarity in trot and canter.

So we spend time in walk because:

✅ It gives you and your horse thinking time.

More time to think means more precision, and more precision means faster learning for both of you.

✅ You can fix crookedness before it becomes a habit.

If the shoulders are falling left at walk, they will launch left in trot.

✅ Walk is the only gait where each limb steps independently.

Because walk is a clear four beat rhythm with each leg landing separately, it is the easiest pace to isolate a single limb, influence it, and coordinate it with the rest of the body.

✅ Relaxation and balance come first.

A horse who isn’t mentally or physically balanced at walk won’t magically be balanced in canter. (Ask me how I know.)

And guess what: when you finally ask for trot or canter after all that patient, technical walk work, the trot and canter are magically improved. That is why we do it.

So if your friend peers over the arena fence wondering why you’re still walking in circles, smile politely. You’re not wasting time; you’re building foundations that will make your tower of training so much stronger.