The Noble Pony

06/11/2026

How many feel trapped in bad relationships because of the current cost of living? ❤️‍🩹

Horse people aren’t immune to this. If anything, it’s amplified by the fact that we may have not only children but animals to care for and feed.

This is why I think talking about personal finance as horse owners is important. It affects all the corners of our lives. It’s not about shaming people for spending money on a horse. It’s because intentionally managing your money gives a person choices, and those choices can look like freedom from a bad relationship or job.

06/10/2026

06/10/2026

I needed to keep the far side of the gateway electrified while open 💡sooo, instead of burying insulated line under three different gates, I sent the hotwire up and over!

Redneck and slightly cobbled, yes😂

I only needed it this way once a year for a short period of time. It is very quick and easy to set up and move. Let me know if you have questions.

Maybe this helps someone else!

💡😂

06/09/2026

“When things get heavy…, you don’t need to escape your life.
You just need to find the place that brings you back to yourself.

Where silence feels like medicine…

You are allowed to rest, to heal, to begin again…”

06/08/2026

🌱 The easy thing we do that can help prevent founder in horses- late cut grass hay!

The picture below shows why horses should always have access to mature cut hay instead of the soft stuff horse folks normally feed. In late spring and early summer, we always have hay available. We put it somewhere dry like a hay hut or under shelter.

When hay is cut early in the growth cycle, it is soft, sugary and very palatable. Horses love it. It has less fiber, so they don’t feel as full, thus consuming more and getting fat. It is also usually higher in general nutrition like protein etc. This “over-nutrition” over the long term can lead to founder and laminitis. It can also throw off the gut microbiome and cause colic.

🌱 Late cut hay is fully headed out and more fibrous. It takes more time to chew.

🌱 It is “lower octane”- It’s the difference between jet fuel and regular gasoline in terms of nutrition.

🌱 It creates a fibrous buffer in their stomach for absorbing stomach acid. The lush soft grass they are grazing often isn’t mature enough to do this.

Feeding late cut hay is key to being able to offer forage 24/7 to horses, even when there is some grass growing. It allows them to balance the short lush grazing with something fibrous.
Even when there is grass growing in early summer, we still offer this kind of hay.

Has anyone else noticed their horses will eat dry hay this time of year, even though they have good grazing?

06/07/2026

One of the things I have wrestled with is the privilege of having horses. “Oh you own horses, you must be rich.” Or “You’re so lucky.” It makes me feel like I should shrink myself. Make excuses. Justify it.

I can share all the reasons why this isn’t the case- that little Appaloosa mare cost me $600, which is less than a lot of dogs these days.

I also do 99.9 percent of the work and care myself. Mostly me. All the feeding, fencing, manure cleanup, land management. Every one of the wood fence posts on the place was dug in at least 3 feet deep, by hand. I’ve even learned to trim hooves to help cut my trips from the trimmer.

Between it all, I can’t keep nail polish on to save my life. Too much grit. 😂 💅

The responsibility is also all mine. The nights spent thinking about how to source decent hay, or what I’ll do if the cost of fuel makes said hay double in cost this coming year. Learning to rotational graze so I can utilize our grass safely and not have them founder or colic. Dealing with any health issues.

On the flip side, the blessing is mine as well.

Early morning “nose boops”, that special way horses say hello.

Chill times with them when I just need to regulate my nervous system, and hanging out with the horses helps me breathe better and deeper.

Rides shared…Sometimes with friends or family. Pony snuggles for kids who have never even touched a horse before.

The special connection we have built through the years.

So many blessings. ❣️

Yes, I am privileged to have horses in my life.

And I won’t shrink from that.
I will embrace it.

06/06/2026

We love our drinking post waterer! No scrubbing, no algae, no electricity to heat it in the winter. Another win win! 💝

A note on the salt water- our horses do have plain white loose salt available at all times in their shelter- they rarely choose to touch it, and really prefer the salt water here. How interesting!

Thanks to Hamilton Hill Stables (now Hillside) for that tip!


Livery & Rehab

06/05/2026

This is the beauty of letting your horses be horses and choose to be in or out. No shavings to purchase.
90% of their p**p and p*e is out in the laneway or pasture. All night they have the option to choose where to be. They move a significant amount during the evening based on observation of manure out in the laneway. It’s all good.

I would say the only downside is when the bugs are bad, they will seek out the shelter a lot more. It could be really difficult with a horse with allergies, or that had trouble keeping weight on.

But for our little herd, they always have the choice to be out, and they are happy and content. 🧡

06/04/2026

This is my kind of living.

The most regulating part of my day, greeting the horses in the morning. Sometimes in my pajamas. ☺️

If the mosquitoes aren’t too bad, sitting with a cuppa’ and just hanging out. ☕️

Does anyone else call it a “nose boop”? The way they bump you with their noses to say hello?

06/03/2026

This weeks’ most sought after mineral in the buffet- copper! I have noticed this pattern the past few years in early summer. It still fascinates me that they seek out individual minerals. 🌱