North Keppel Equine

23/04/2025

We exist to help rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home Canada's National Horse, The Canadian. We try to ensure none of these treasured and rare horses end up at auctions where their fate is uncertain.

13/04/2025

Formal listing coming soon for this absolute gem of a filly!
Keppel Kelbeck Lotus (pending), Smokey black.

10/04/2025

INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

I'm reading an amazing book called Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster, the Academy award winning documentary film maker of "My Octopus Teacher".

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, it is simply profound.

In the book he says "As a rule, I never touch an animal unless they touch me first".

In my work building relationship with horses, I do this too. Most times a horse will touch you with their nose/muzzle first, and matching that greeting (versus labelling the horse as a biter) is a game changer.

But there's a phenomenon I have noticed going on with people trying to build relationship with their horses that I have labelled "inappropriate touching", and it looks a bit like the photo below.

This picture was taken at a horse expo in Pennsylvania recently, where I worked with a demo horse who has a "biting issue". He would reaching out in a way that his owner was termed as nipping, whereas I interpreted as him saying hello, similar to reaching out to shake hands with someone.

When he reached out I would greet him with a flat hand that he is able to to nuzzle, lick or even scrape his teeth on. After doing this a while his snappy acting motions got less so, and he was no longer needing to say "hey, pay attention" , but was more "hey, how's it going". I was explaining to the audience that I was meeting him in the way that he was meeting me (with his muzzle) and that it's not an invitation to touch other parts (yet).

I then said that it's many people's default to reach up and rub a horse between the eyes, whether that's what they are offering or not, and that if you do, it's inappropriate touching and it gets in the way of connection. It doesn't meet their needs, and is all about yours.

With the horse in the picture, he'd been engaging me with his muzzle, and I said to the audience "watch what happens when I try to rub him between the eyes". As you can see in the photo, he has raised his head up and is clearly indicating "No, not there, on my muzzle".

We had a Connection And Attunement retreat here at the Journey On Ranch a week ago, and I used my wife Robyn to illustrate this point to the participants. I said "imagine I'm at a gathering and meeting Robyn for the first time". We walked up to each other in that way people do when they see someone new and they can tell an introduction is shaping up, Robyn reached out with her hand to say hello and instead of me reaching out to shake her hand, I gently reached up and lightly brushed a wisp of hair from her cheekbone and tucked it behind her ear.

The participants all gasped and the ick factor was high.

Even though it was caring, and gentle, it was inappropriate at that moment.

Now Im not saying you can't rub your horse on the forehead. I'm saying if your horse has a disregulated nervous system around humans because they don't feel seen (and safe), try to meet their needs first, before trying get get yours met.

I recently saw an instagram post from a University in the UK, and the professor was explaining that they were doing studies on horses to determine levels of stress. In the background a horse was standing with his head out over a Dutch door. While he was explaining their investigations on stress, a female student (or maybe another professor, I don't know which) walked up to the horse. The horse reached out with his muzzle to greet her.

She ignored this and reached up to rub the horse between the eyes.

He turned his head 90 degrees to the left to communicate that wasn't what he was offering.

Her hand followed him and kept rubbing.

he then turned his head 180 degrees to the right, saying "No, not like that".

Smiled, gave him another pet between the eyes, and walked of camera.

While the professor was saying that they are doing experiments determining the amounts of stress horses are under, someone in the background was actually creating stress, without either of them even knowing it.

Once you understand how sentient horses are, and how subtle their communication, you can't unsee it.

02/03/2025

22/01/2025

There have been some big changes around here lately. Without getting too poetic, it was time for a change: a shift, a focus, and some hard decisions. I love all of my horses, so very much… but not all of them were thriving here anymore - and I wasn’t, either. The things that I dream about weren’t an option with my herd as it was, and after about 7 years of putting those dreams on the back burner, it was about time to make a change. Thankfully, I know some incredible humans who have been wanting the opportunity to buy some of my herd, and I recently met another wonderful human who is the perfect fit for others. Hannah will be staying in PEI with (possibly the hardest horse sale in my life - it took 2 years for me to wrap my head around it and I couldn’t have sold her to anyone else 🤍), Charlie will likely also head to PEI to hang with my bestie Marina at .acres (eventually 😂😂), and Rosie & Léo lucked out with getting to go to a new home together where they will provide EAP and EAL for First Responders - exactly what I’d hoped to do with Rosie back in 2020 when I became a certified EAL instructor (and then had to halt all business launching because, you know, covid). 🤍
It couldn’t have worked out any better for any of us, and I’m grateful to these humans who will love these horses even better than I do.
Hard decisions don’t mean that they’re bad ones, and the clarity I’ve found over the last few months has been really energizing. I’m excited to chase some dreams again.
In the meantime, I’ll be snuggling my crew as much as possible until they head to their respective new homes.

24/11/2024

You have been lied to about confidence. Grossly mislead.

Lost your confidence? Not confident to ride anymore? You see, you used to be young (and dumb?). Jump on any horse and somehow, you're still alive.

"I can ride anything!" You used to feel. In that instance, your brain wondered what this state of invincibility was... and you looked to your left, to your right, and a horse-pro who does the same; meaning ride any horse, in any condition, in any state, in any way you want, feelings be damned, and they told you that this feeling was "Confidence".

They then used this concept of "Confidence", as the Boogie-Man against you. If the horse was nervous, it is because you're not confident. If the horse doesn't understand you, it is because you're not confident. If you feel anxious, it is because you're not confident.

Anything to hide the fact, that there were very real problems present under the surface. But it is easier to gaslight someone than to educate them, (or the horse).

Why then, later in life, when we become more cognisant of our safety, and our well-being, and hopefully the horses well-being too, do we then lose our confidence? A textbook definition of confidence is:
"the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something."

If your confidence is contingent on youth, ignorance of hazards, disregard for safety and well-being, and then your "Confidence" fly's the coop the minute those issues become important to you, your "Confidence" wasn't reliable in the first place. Meaning, your "Confidence" by definition was not confidence.

It was probably youthful hubris.

It takes absolutely no skill, no intelligence, to disregard your personal safety and get on hazardous horses. In fact, I used to be surrounded by such a horse culture. Folks who wore a badge of pride for their ability to survive sitting on the "craziest" or most dangerous, or behavioural horses on the farm... and live to tell the tale.

I remember one horse who was so grossly ill-matched and poorly prepared for her job, that to be mounted, three people had to hold her still while her rider took a running leap off a nearby hilly mound, and there were no brakes on this mare. It was baptism by fire, jigging and snorting and stamping and levading all day. This mare was in high distress. And her "riders" were only permitted to be "confident" riders, and would come back from those rides with a smug look of survivor arrogance on their face.

It was so, so, so gross to me.

These days I do not classify that as confidence. But Youthful Hubris, Pride, Arrogance, Carelessness, Irresponsibility.

You know what is the most confident thing you can do?

Say No to riding a horse who is clearly demonstrating that they are not safe, happy or comfortable for what you intend to do with them.

Hello? Am I getting through to us? Let me yell with capitol letters.

PEOPLE LITERALLY DIE RIDING POORLY PREPARED AND UNSAFE HORSES.

THEY DIE.

BEING WILLING TO FLIRT WITH DEATH WITH A HORSE IS NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH CONFIDENCE

And enough with the toxic gaslighting of people who demonstrate logical, clear, grounded awareness of their safety and then labelling them, grossly incorrect as;
"You're a Nervous Rider."

Well if being "Confident" by the definition of some people means we must disregard our safety, and the well-being of the horse, skip steps in training and Git On With-it, then I would rather be a Nervous Rider everyday of the week. Because I like my life. I love it actually. And I love horses. I love happy horses. I love over-faced horses only because I love horses, but I don't love that horses are over-faced and we call that "Ok." Or call an over-faced horse an "Advanced Ride". Bu****it. The world is upside down. FFS.

Here is what confidence is: it stays with you forever. Whatever you have, when all your arrogance, youthful hubris, fear conditioning, gaslighting, irresponsibility leaves you. That is what you are confident about.

And most of the people I know, are very confident. They are very confident, that they don't want their love of horses, and horse riding, to result in an early or painful death. Or egregious bodily harm.

That's confidence.

Also, having the confidence to say "No" to the toxic equestrian mislead culture as we know it, and to actually spend the time to educate a horse thoroughly, so they are prepared for the activities we lay out for them. To take the time to get to know horses before we ride them. To not ride horses unless we can make a pretty good check-on them, that they have the skills required to work under saddle safely.

Of course accidents happen. I could go outside and get hit by a meteorite. But that doesn't mean it is a good idea for me to go ride a comet. They are not the same probabilities. Not even close.

Speaking of confidence, remember that mare I described a few paragraphs of rant ago? The one who was an "Advanced Ride" only, who was hugely distressed in her work, grossly unprepared and very dangerous to handle?

I was once invited to ride her. They presented that to me like it was some sort of honour. Like they had decided I was skilled enough to go ride the comet, like I was now qualified enough to go risk my death.

Now I loved this horse. Because I love horses. I could see the potential in her, to be educated, to be safe, to be happy in her work. And I felt like I could do that with her in the right context.

I asked:
"What sort of ride is she scheduled for?"
"Well, you would guide a Day-Ride off of her. With a group of five clients behind you. You would ascend to 1600m above sea level, stop for lunch, and return via the National Park."
"Ok. And what is the level of the riders booked."
"Beginners. Walk only."..
"I would love to work with this mare. But not in that context. That sounds like su***de."

And for that I was labelled as not confident enough. I agreed with their assessment from their point of view. I am certainly not unscrupulous enough to do that.

01/11/2024

So excited to see our beautiful breed represented at the Royal Winter Fair!

21/10/2024

It’s official… this little sweetheart is a Smokey Black! 🤍 She carries the cream gene from her mama, which makes her just a little extra special.
Keppel Kelbeck Lotus (Lottie). Registration pending.

19/10/2024

16/10/2024

This sweet little filly is the 4th generation of this maternal line that I’ve owned over the years. Keppel Kelbeck Lotus (Lottie) - Registration pending.
I’m currently waiting on her coat colour test to see if she also carries the cream gene hidden underneath her black. What’s your guess, did she get the cream gene from mama?

13/10/2024

A little photo dump from Oct. 10th of a few of the girls here (and Leo - IALHA available for sale)

09/10/2024

SO glad that this is getting talked about!

03/10/2024

Hey friends!

In the next few weeks, I'll be posting some horses for sale:
- Leo (2024 Andalusian x Canadian c**t)
- Rosie (grade Canadian mare, Leo's dam)
- Charlie (hilarious mini that may not actually ever go up for sale but...).
If you're interested in any of these three before they're listed publicly, please send me a DM & we can chat!

03/10/2024

Everyone meet Oki. Oki is an American Quarter Horse. He has some Poco and Docs bloodlines on both his sire and dams side. He is now 2.5 years old.

At 2.5 years old, nothing bad has ever happened to him. The most stressful part of his life was his relocation from his breeder on one side of Spain, to me on the other. To prepare him for that, I hired a fantastic trainer who spent 6 months, 2-4 days a week, who prepared him to load. And then I hired that same trainer to chaperone him across Spain, ensuring no whips or loud handling were used to load him on day 2 of the 2 day journey (Rebel horse care thank you!). It was stressful for him, but when he got here, he drank water, looked at my other horses, and ate hay. 3 months later, it is like Oki has lived here all his life. He gets along with everyone. He is funny and energetic and relaxed.

Despite being weaned slowly over a 12 month period, he is extremely independent and confident. He has no qualms about sleeping or eating on his own. Doesn't crowd me in a way I find irritating. And he has his own ideas, and is not afraid to push back on me. He knows when the electric fences are off, will look me squarely in the eye, and pluck the fence like a guitar string.

But at 2.5 years old, he looks physically somewhere between a Sea Monkey and a Shrimp. He has a lot of developing to do.

Out there in the world, other AQHA youngsters who were born in the April/May of 2022, are beginning their training under saddle. By age 3, many are already entering ridden competitions in performance categories.

That is not a blanket statement. Because not all AQHA horses are. But it is a common practice. So common, I recently received an email from a reader who was desperately anxious she was wasting time with her 3 year old. Asking me when do I recommend begin riding work.

Six. 6. S-I-X.

6.

That is when I recommend begin riding work.

I am firm on that. For that, I am seen as
1. Not a serious rider
2. Not a confident c**t starter
3. A snowflake/pansy/ insert-homophobic-slur-here
4. Molly coddling my c**t

And other such brutalities.

But I have seen the data. I have read studies. I have spoken with dissectionists, osteopaths, body workers, owners and I have seen the bones. Held and touched the bones.

Riding horses young predisposes them to damage. It just does.

It is not a guarantee that the horse WILL be damaged. But neither does cradling an infant with knifes guarantee you will slice them, good hands can balance the knifes edge.

But just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

One simple bit of anecdotal information that stands out in my mind is when I interviewed the incredible Becks Nairn for my podcast. Who has dissected many horses, mostly off the track gallopers and trotters, but not exclusively so. She explained that the pelvis of a 2-3 year old horse is not fused. That she, a human of standard body strength, can break apart a 2-3 year old horses pelvis like it was made of lego. Split it into pieces.

I am not interested in asking for engagement and impulsion from a liquid pelvis. Nor sitting on bones that are still part cartilage.

Years ago, before I knew better but was trying to do better, I was riding a 4 year old for an employer. This arabian was extremely wiggly. I asked them why.
"Young horses are just wiggly, like candy snakes. It is normal".

Now I look back and understand I was probably sensitively feeling the instability in their musculoskeletal system. The horse couldn't be straight and strong. Not yet. Not until they finish growing.

I have also had conversations with colleagues who are aware that horses don't finish growing their bones until they are about 6. But they believe they are good enough to ride sooner. Plus, it is easier to "imprint" into the horse that "riding is just something to accept", by way of taking advantage of their infantile nervous system that doesn't have a fully formed sense of itself yet. When I found myself breaking bread next to such a perspective, it made me shudder. Like I found out I was sitting with a wolf in sheeps clothing.

That's just me.

The fact that I want to WAIT until the skeleton has stopped growing AND I am willing to talk about it AND I am willing to call out the problematic principals that inform impatience, makes me a pariah.

But I will take it. I will take it any day.

Meanwhile, Oki is learning plenty. He is learning all the things he needs to learn so that when riding begins it is a simple and healthy formality. And has the potential to enjoy a career long into his 20's rather than being all used up by 15.

28/09/2024

👏
I found out last week that even if I wanted to show my horses in our local, small fall fair, I wouldn’t be able to because bits are mandatory.
Blows. My. Mind.

03/09/2024

So exciting to see a mare I bred become a mama to another beautiful filly! 🤍

22/08/2024

Gwen’s gorgeous grandsire. Little Lotus (Lottie) is reminding me a lot of him!

Came across this photo of our stallion Zipper, that was taken at our inaugural CHHAPS Show in 2002 held in Langley. For some reason this got tucked away, and I just unearthed it now. He was such a gorgeous guy!