Bits & Peaces

08/03/2025

08/03/2025

Check out another collection of our animal prints that have made it into frames! Thank you so much for your support, Courtney Holt!

Use the link below to view available prints for purchase:

https://form.jotform.com/251774712295059

07/29/2025

I have some gorgeous for sale by owner horses that are about to be posted on an independent site if anyone is interested before that happens ❤️.

07/29/2025

We’re thrilled to share that we’ve been awarded a special interest grant from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee! This support fuels our mission to rescue and rehabilitate horses while expanding equine-assisted therapy programs that create healing opportunities for both people and horses, and helps us make a meaningful difference in the community.

07/28/2025

🐴 Signs Your Horse Feels Relaxed & Content 🐴

A relaxed, happy horse is easy to spot once you know the signs! Horses “speak” through body language, and these little cues can tell you they feel safe, comfortable, and cared for. 💗

✨ Look for these signs of contentment:
✅ Soft, relaxed eyes (no tension or wrinkles above them)
✅ Lowered head and neck while resting or grazing
✅ Gentle chewing or licking when relaxed
✅ Ears relaxed to the side or flicking calmly
✅ Standing on three legs (resting a back hoof)
✅ Nuzzling, grooming you or another horse
✅ A loose, swinging tail while walking

A happy horse is one that feels safe, understood, and well cared for. 💕

💬 What’s your favorite way to know your horse is feeling relaxed and content?

07/27/2025

We love seeing where our photo prints are being featured in your home or business! Thank you, Tia, for your purchase! This is an 8 x 10 of “VooDoo.”

If you have purchased a print from our fundraiser please feel free to share with us how you are displaying it.

07/27/2025

☀️ When is it too hot to ride your horse?

Horses feel the heat just like we do, and riding in extreme temperatures can put them at risk for heat stress or even heat stroke. A good rule of thumb is to add the temperature (°F) + humidity (%)—if the number is over 150, it’s best to avoid strenuous riding.

For example:
🌡️ 85°F + 70% humidity = 155 (Too hot to ride!)

High humidity prevents sweat from evaporating, which is how horses cool themselves. Even a light ride can be dangerous if they can’t cool off properly.

✅ Instead of riding, opt for hand walking, groundwork in the shade, or giving them a cool bath. Always provide fresh water, salt/mineral blocks, and shade.

Keeping our horses safe and healthy is always the priority—sometimes the best choice on a hot day is rest! 🐴💦

07/26/2025

❓ Why Don’t People Ride the Horses in Your Therapy Sessions? ❓

The majority of horses in our program are rescues who are undergoing their own rehabilitation process. Our focus is on helping them heal while they help people grow. 🐴

Horses are prey animals, meaning they rely on keen awareness of body language, energy, and intention to stay safe in the wild. This natural sensitivity allows them to respond instantly to the emotions and behaviors around them. In a therapeutic setting, this makes them powerful partners for building communication skills, emotional regulation, trust, and confidence. It also means they feel every emotion we feel while around them.

When our horses are at liberty (free to leave us), they can distance themselves if they begin to feel overwhelmed. Because we ALWAYS want our horses to feel safe, we would have to coach anyone riding during session to push down and hide BIG emotions in order to avoid making the horse feel anxious. This is counterproductive for both horse and human. 😵‍💫

We need our clients to feel these big emotions in order to work through them. However, we do not think it should come at a price to the horse or potentially a rider who could get hurt. So we decided to leave riding out of the picture ❤️.

Horseback riding is an art that is mastered after years of experience. Without the focus on learning something new, participants can fully engage with the horse’s responses and develop deeper self-awareness and mindfulness. Working on the ground allows individuals to excel in our sessions regardless of prior horse experience or physical ability. 🤠

07/25/2025

🐴🍬 Let’s Talk About Sweet Feed! 🍬🐴

Did you know sweet feed was originally created for working horses? Back in the day, horses spent long hours pulling plows, carriages, and wagons, burning thousands of calories every day. Sweet feed was an easy way to give them an energy dense boost to try and make up for the heavy work they did while not being able to graze. 💪🚜

Today, most horses don’t have that kind of workload – especially our backyard horses, pasture ornaments, or companions. Feeding too much sweet feed to an animal designed for forage intake can actually lead to problems like microbial imbalances, digestive issues, dental problems and even laminitis. 😬 Bringing back an underweight horse on forage can take longer than with sweet feed, but the long term results we see are worth it. They end up easier keepers with less metabolic issues down the road and we often see behavior improvements as well.

That’s why we use sweet feed sparingly and purposefully – focusing on quality hay, forage, and mineral instead. Our goal is always to give every horse exactly what they need to stay healthy, happy, and thriving the way they were designed– without the sugar rush! 💛

07/24/2025

Why We Don’t Buy Horses from Auctions 🐴🚫

We’re often asked why we don’t “save” horses by purchasing them from auctions. While the intention behind this question is full of compassion 💛, the reality is more complicated—and heartbreaking 💔.

Buying horses from auctions—especially those caught up with kill buyers—can actually help fuel the very system we’re trying to stop. When a horse is bought, that money 💵 doesn’t go toward rescue—it goes right back into the hands of kill buyers. And what do they do with it? They use it to purchase even more horses, send them to auction, and then tug at people’s heartstrings 💔➡️💸 with emotional pleas to “bail them out.”

It’s a cycle built on heartbreak, manipulation, and profit—and every purchase helps it continue 🔁.

Instead, we focus our resources on horses seized by law enforcement 👮‍♀️ or surrendered by owners who can no longer care for them 🏡. These horses are already at risk—abused, neglected, or in need of urgent care—and they come to us with no price tag, just a need for safety and healing 🩷.

Our mission is to break the cycle, not feed it 🙅‍♀️. We want your money to directly benefit the horse by buying its feed, vet care, farrier work, etc. There are lots of people that train horses already at these auctions trying to find good prospects they can train and sell to good homes. Our focus with your money is to maximize it to benefit the horses that are already a part of our community and in need of help.

07/23/2025

Where Your Donation Goes 🐴💛

When you support Bits & Peaces, you’re helping more than horses — you’re helping people, too.

We do things differently here. We don’t attend auctions or buy horses. Every animal in our care comes through law enforcement seizures or owner surrenders — often after experiencing neglect, trauma, or hardship. These horses don’t just need a safe place; they need time, medical care, and patient, compassionate handling to heal.

Your donation goes directly to:
✨ Veterinary care, farrier visits, and dental work
✨ High-quality feed, hay, and supplements
✨ Safe shelter, fencing, and pasture maintenance
✨ Enrichment, daily handling, and trust-building
✨ Training and transition programs — for both horses and humans

Many of these horses become partners in our equine-assisted therapy programs, helping people work through challenges like anxiety, grief, trauma, or simply the weight of everyday life. Together, they heal — side by side.

Your support creates a ripple effect: healing horses, helping humans, and building a more compassionate community.

No auctions. No flipping. Just second chances — all because of you.

💛 Thank you for making it possible.

07/21/2025

The horses are now requesting one of these 😆