More freedom | More joy | More horse
The practicalities and logistics of keeping horses healthy and happy in the best environment possible
After 3 months of peace and quiet, all of a sudden we have a string of issues at the Singing Horse Ranch. The sheep are being attacked by coyotes, our Kangal pup is too young yet to do a goodRead more
We needed a shelter for our flock of Katahdin/Dorper sheep, but I also wanted one that would be comfortable for 2 horses as well. Just in case I had an injured horse or two that needed to be kept closeRead more
Have you ever imagined yourself living your horse’s life? How would you feel, what would your day look like? Would you have an interesting, varied existence? Would you have loving, spicy, or bonded relationships? Join me as we listen toRead more
Sometimes I am just overcome with the beauty of this 160 acre ranch in the Canadian wilderness, near Vernon BC. The beauty of the horses against the backdrop of huge mountain ranges and old-growth forests is arresting. While the challengesRead more
My CAT skidsteer has died and it’s time for a replacement machine that can do all the tasks around the 160 acre Singing Horse Ranch near Vernon, Canada. Moving/stacking hay bales up to 1300 lbs, snowplowing the 1km long driveway,Read more
Whether your dog or horse has brushed up against engine oil or machine grease, or whether they have rolled in a riverbank lined with rotting salmon (like mine did!). There is a 2-part removal process, depending on how saturated theyRead more
Rick Bruno, a former police K9 handler, had a dog that was sprayed 3 times by skunks. By the third event, he had found the antidote to remove the terrible skunk smell. Needless to say, make sure you carry outRead more
I’m sitting down on a rock in the middle of the west field at the Singing Horse Ranch, when suddenly the horses become aware of my presence…. and they come running to investigate. Of course they then want me toRead more
A reader emailed in, asking if I had a recipe for natural insect spray for horses? Well, let me tell you, when my purebred Andalusian mare, Zorra, first arrived in Vancouver, Canada, all the way from New Jersey, she wasRead more
The horses have some pretty strong opinions about the pristine fresh mountain water filling their trough. Posa is particularly demonstrative and decides to help make it better. Meanwhile, my welder guy is out repairing the wood boiler and a hayRead more
Thanks to everyone who donated to buy the horses extra hay this winter! I show you how we feed out the big bales and manage 10 horses at the same time. My friend Cody is helping me, then Zo andRead more
Do you have any frustration around cleaning or trimming your horses hooves? Perhaps you’re dealing with a difficult situation due to past traumatic experiences (yours or the horse’s!). Or maybe you’ve got a young colt or wild mustang who’s neverRead more
When I first bought the Singing Horse Ranch, back in August 2021, the land had been terribly overgrazed by cattle for 15 years straight. The first thing the land asked of me was, “No more cows!!” So I gave upRead more
Having been on numerous properties with my herd of up to 11 horses, I have noticed a few elements in barn or shelter design that result in a space that horses enjoy AND that provide protection from horseflies, while keepingRead more
When we think about ‘listening to our horse’ or animal communication, many of us automatically think about telepathy. Receiving pictures, impressions, feelings, ideas, or entire thought packages from our horse. But we also need to remember how horses communicate withRead more
Remember in the film, The Biggest Little Farm, where they spent over $100,000 building this massive worm farm, to produce compost tea to nourish the microbial life in the soil of their trees and vegetables? Well, today is a beautifulRead more
Permaculture is a design philosophy based on observing nature’s patterns and putting these observations into practice. So we must first spend LOTS of time observing our horses, their herd dynamic, and all the other creatures and elements that share spaceRead more
I’m sad to say, I did not compost my horse manure for 5 years because it just seemed too complicated to me. I had tried composting at home, read all about it, got a special composting unit sponsored by myRead more
You may have already heard how haynets can cause damage to horse’s gums, and metal grates on slow feeders can cause damage to tooth enamel. Well I’m going to share my experiments of using both over the course of 7Read more
Last summer I dug out a waterhole for the horses in a spot that satisfied my logical, intellectual brain as the best spot for the purpose. It was up near the water troughs, so I knew the horses often wentRead more
One of my barn helpers couldn’t fill the hay net today, because he couldn’t get the knot untied. So I shot a video for him to show how easy it is to untie even a super stock knot! Sharing inRead more
Sometimes you need to remove a fence line, or even just a couple of posts, to reorganize a paddock area. My friend Rocky shows us his method for using a farm jack (maybe even a car jack?) to remove fenceRead more
WHY ARE YOUR HORSES SO MUDDY?? Humans use mud to draw out impurities. We drink bentonite clay to assist with detox. This all happened in one afternoon – a peek into what I get up to when I go hangRead more
We recently had to switch out some of our metal grate slowfeeders for haynets and I realized that most of my barn help didn’t know how to tie a slipknot. I went on YouTube to find them a tutorial videoRead more
Whether you’ve just moved to a new horse property, or you want to fence a new section, or add some cross-fencing, or you’ve got challenging terrain to fence – we’ve got you covered! I’ve gathered together some of the bestRead more
If you’ve read Isabella Tree’s fabulous book, WILDING, then you already know about Knepp Estate and it’s re-wilding project. Isabella and her husband converted their 3500 acre conventional dairy farm to wild land, populating with keystone species and letting NatureRead more
After receiving the spiritual message from hornet/wasp in my last post and video, you may be wondering how we actually cope with having 20-30 wasp nests in our barn every summer. Not to mention the 3 massive hornet hives thisRead more
Whether your nervous system needs a re-set, or you’re curious to see how wild horses explore a forest, join us for a blissful afternoon excursion into the woods… If we ever get impatient with foals or horses for being soRead more
What can you do when you know your horse hates his living conditions, is not getting his needs met, is getting anxious and grumpy as a result, but yet you cannot move him elsewhere? Sometimes we know our horse isRead more
Have you ever wondered if your horse needs a winter blanket, a waterproof blanket, a fly sheet, or a fly mask? How do you determine what your horse wants versus your own idea, or fear? And if you’re in anRead more
This winter on our farm in Northern BC, we are experiencing hay-feeding season (and the costs and labour associated with it) as something much more than a necessary means to an end (ie keeping everyone alive through the cold months).Read more
It took me forever, searching on YouTube, to figure out how to open my manure bin! I had texted the dumpster company and they told me to just ‘twist the handle’ – what?? If that wasn’t difficult enough, when IRead more
In the good old days (when I was a kid) hay bale twine was made of natural substances. We re-used it for all kinds of things – I once made an entire harness out of braided sisal hay bale strings,Read more
Have you ever felt inadequate as a horse guardian? Did you ever wish you had more resources to care for your horses better? Have you ever felt despondent and discouraged about your horses’ living conditions? Personally, I can answer aRead more
Falcon was standing alone in the field, which in itself is not a strange thing as this particular thoughtful, dreamy horse often lets the herd drift away while he occupies his own little world. What was strange was that heRead more
I am an absolute rookie when it comes to pasture and grass management. For years I couldn’t really conceive of it; I guess I took grass for granted. Being the ongoing steward of a small piece of the earth hasRead more
Contract goat grazing is a new niche business that assists horse and cattle owners with pasture management. It is also utilized by cities to manage vacant lots, creek bed areas, or other public lands that need to be maintained withoutRead more
Have you ever watched guys working on your ranch or farm and wished you knew how to operate that machinery? Every year when a guy comes to dig out the manure pit, or spread gravel, I wish I knew howRead more
Some of you may remember the rather brilliant DIY scratching post I came up with a few years ago. Unfortunately, in my sodden climate, it only lasted a year before the horses had pushed the post (machine-pounded 3′ deep) rightRead more
The herd and I had a lovely time hanging out with a couple of horse listeners from Chicago and Cambodia – Christina and Maddalena – when they came to visit one afternoon. After spending time with them, they were struckRead more
Scientists have long been trying to figure out why Zebras have stripes. There’s been a lot of speculation/testing of theories related to confusing predators, social purpose, or heat regulation, but none of those have really panned out. Then a studyRead more
In early January, my mom and I spent 3 days traveling a 5 hour round trip to spend time supporting land defenders at the police blockade on the way up to Unist’ot’en Camp, where members of our neighbouring First Nation,Read more
By Mary Walby Rehabilitating the senior horse is a bit of science, with a whole lot of art (and heart!) thrown in the mix. But these same protocols of training, communicating and healing, can work incredibly well with all horsesRead more
By Mary Walby I first began feeding soaked hay pellets when I received a senior horse for rehab who suffered from chronic diarrhea. The equine dentist told me that his teeth were completely worn out and incapable of chewing hay.Read more
When Jax (Arab/Belgian) got a ginormous matted tangle in the middle of his tail, I posted a picture on Facebook and asked if anyone knew of a natural product that could untangle the mess. People told me about ShowSheen (notRead more
Stud piles are mounds of manure left by rival stallions in the wild. Poo is used to mark territory and so when rivals come along – just as you see dogs doing with urine – they poo on top ofRead more
Need a forest cleared of underbrush and great trails for hiking, biking, or riding? Just turn a herd of horses loose for a month or two! Forests are wonderful, stimulating environments for horses – much better than just a flatRead more
Here’s the story of my very first horse trailer purchase and our very first haul, picking up our wildie, Siyone, and her filly, Posa. And what Siyone thought about my choice! It took me two full years to decide whichRead more
You may have heard the advice, over and over again, to allow your pasture grasses to reach 6-8 inches in height before you let your horses graze. And then you’re also advised to pull them off when those grasses areRead more
When you want to give your confined (non-pastured) horse a more natural experience of eating, or, you want to continue their natural grazing during the winter months, or, when they’ve eaten down their pastures – slow feeding is the solution.Read more
After numerous experiments with culvert drainage for my graveled horse paddock, I finally decided to start all over again and do it properly – from start to finish. My cousin Adam was in town and since he used to workRead more
During a recent trip to the UK, I was finally introduced to the New Forest – more importantly, I was introduced to the New Forest Ponies. My sweetie, Tim, a southwest UK native, had been talking about taking me thereRead more
We’ve been talking about flower essences lately, but how about just connecting – in the moment – to plants you discover in your field? Have you ever thought about the gifts of the plant world that might be right inRead more
Sometimes the simple solutions are the ones that work brilliantly! If you want to greatly reduce the frequency with which you have to dump your water troughs and scrub them out, OR, if you have an algae problem in yourRead more
One of my subscribers asked if I could do a video on my paddock/pasture setup for my herd of 5 horses. I live in the Pacific Northwest (Langley, BC) so my setup is designed to keep horses healthy and happyRead more
Let’s take a look at a ground-feeding hay net called the Hay Pillow. I’m going to give you my review and what I think are the pros and cons of this slow feeding solution. And then, I’ve got a funRead more
I’ve written a fair amount on my health blog about why people struggling to heal, or wanting to stay healthy, need to avoid factory-farmed animal meat. And that it’s FAR better to eat less meat, but buy pasture-raised, free-range meatRead more
Whether you’re looking for more games to play with your horses, or wanting to see if any of them enjoy jumping, I’m going to show you the easiest (and cheapest) way to make two different kinds of proper horse jumps:Read more
For those of you that live in rainy climates (like the Pacific Northwest or the U.K.), or, maybe you get a really intense rainy season that lasts for a couple of months, then you know how nasty your paddock andRead more
As a South-Coast bumpkin, I never really had my horses in snow, unless you count the usual one-day affair with a few inches of fun before the inevitable melt-and-muck. It never affected feeding, just made poo-collection more arduous. But whenRead more
As we head into winter, some of us are going to get lots of snow, while others are going to get lots of rain! As it’s much easier to protect your hay stack against snow, I’m going to give youRead more
This may seem like a weird topic for a horse blog… but since most of us with horses also have dogs, I figure it’s all good! I’ve had my female dog Tiah for two years now. And after going throughRead more
Even though I purchased a Weaver rope halter specially sized for draft breeds – it was just a bit too small! So then I decided to venture into the scary territory of making my own rope halter for my BelgianRead more
All horses like to itch, scratch and rub themselves on an ongoing basis. But during shedding season the urge to itchy-scratchy gets pretty intense. So if you can set up a sturdy self-scratching area (the edge of a barn, aRead more
[updated 2024] Although I bought Jamie Jackson’s, Paddock Paradise book over 3 years ago, I have not been able to implement anything yet as I am still boarding my horses on other people’s land – where I have already sunkRead more
We’ve all heard about the different ways you can cover your hay stack with a tarp so it doesn’t get wet or moldy. But have you ever heard about using commercial-size dessicant pouches to absorb moisture under your hay tarp?Read more
Looking for a faster way to build a fence? A tractor-mounted post pounder does all the hard work for you. In this video, Ray and Will also show you how to make sure your posts are straight and all theRead more
You may have heard of equine permaculture systems and yes, most of the information and sites are based in Australia. Which is not too helpful for those of us in rainy climates like the Pacific Northwest or UK! However, youRead more
If your horse is not prone to laminitis, or other complications, the standard way to transition from hay to grass in the spring is to start with only 15 minutes of grass per day and gradually build up from there;Read more
First of all, regardless of which hay you feed, if you place it in a slow feeder (or hay net) and allow your horse 24/7 access to hay – you will have a much healthier, happier horse. If you putRead more
Although I have 2 stalls as part of my barn, I also wanted to get a portable shelter to put out in the horse’s field in case they wanted to lie down out there – since we live in theRead more
~ Updated in 2022 ~ Let’s start with these pictures of my first set-up, where I self-boarded my horses on a friend’s property, and my adventures in paddock footing began. There are 4 acres of fields here, and three horsesRead more
I became motivated to investigate different feeding systems after I noticed how horses kept in any kind of enclosure other than pasture, became fixated on food! Even though they received the right amount of hay and/or feed for their bodyRead more
