Blog

An easy keeper is the type of horse that many people say “lives off air.” These horses have a slower metabolism than others, and struggle to maintain a proper weight.  We have included some general guidelines that can help as you work to feed your easy keeper, but we always recommend contacting your veterinarian when… Continue

Nutrition and a balanced diet are just as important for horses as they are for people. Horses are herbivores that are designed to graze for the majority of the day. Unfortunately, most barns and equine facilities do not enable us to allow our horses access to pasture for that amount of time. For many horses,… Continue

One of the hardest challenges we face as horse owners is proper care and nutrition for the aging equine.  As horses age, their dietary and physical needs can change quite dramatically.  It is our job to notice when these changes occur and act accordingly to ensure that our horses stay healthy and happy even in… Continue

One of the challenges of working with horses is that we don’t inherently speak the same language. With practice we can learn a lot about equine body language and can train ourselves to listen to actions and behaviors. With many of our rescue horses coming from unknown backgrounds, we often have to make our best… Continue

This week, we’re going to do a follow-up of our recent blog about Dessa Hockley’s book, Is Your Horse a Rockstar?. If you haven’t read that blog yet, check it out here: https://horseswithhopeme.org/horse-personalties/. The book gave us a new and fun way to think about the personalities of the horses who come through our rescue…. Continue

As this challenging year draws to a close, we are struck with a deep sense of gratitude. We’ve been lucky to spend our days caring for horses, and to find comfort in the ritual of chores and continued training. Throughout the hardship and heartbreak that 2020 has brought to so many, we have also been… Continue

One of the joys of working with horses is searching for new information that can help us understand them better. We recently came across a book called “Is Your Horse a Rock Star? Understanding Your Horse’s Personality” by Dessa Hockley. This is, of course, not hard science– but it has been fun and useful to… Continue

We often joke here in Maine that there are two seasons: “Winter” and “Preparing for Winter.” You also may include the entire month of rain that seems to occur in both Spring and Fall creating the always popular “Mud Season.” On the farm Winter means survival mode not only for us, but for the animals… Continue

If you haven’t read last week’s blog, Removing the “Negativity” Towards Negative Reinforcement, please follow this link to read that one first! Last week, we talked about negative reinforcement, and the common misconception that it’s a harmful training method. We also touched briefly on the behavioral theory known as operant conditioning. This week, we’re going… Continue

If you have ever sat down and observed a herd of horses, you probably noticed that they move each other around; a more dominant horse will pin its ears at a more submissive horse, which results in the submissive horse moving away. This is an example of what is frequently referred to as “pressure.” Pressure… Continue

We recently welcomed Baran to our training program. This handsome 16 year old off-track Standardbred comes to us through a new partnership with Futures for Standardbreds. Baran is a true war horse, who raced until he had to retire at age 14 and won over a quarter of a million dollars along the way.  As… Continue

Our adorable resident pony has been making great strides in his training. As you may remember, Bentley joined the program in early July from our friends at the MSSPA. He was only gelded earlier this year, and it took a few weeks for him to settle into the routine here at Horses with Hope.  Now… Continue

Summer is one of the best times to ride and enjoy your horse, especially when you live in a northern climate that can be covered in snow and ice for 6 months of the year.  Horse keeping in the summer months can also have its challenges, and we would like to share some helpful tips… Continue

Bentley is the newest arrival to our training program. This petite 13 hh, 6- year old pony was just gelded in January and comes to us from the MSSPA. As part of a state seizure case, not much is known of Bentley’s history but it may be assumed he had little handling and was not… Continue

Just last week, we welcomed Clyde into our training program. This 16 yo, 15.3 hh gelding was part of a state seizure case and is now owned by the MSSPA. Little is known of his background, but he was ridden while at the MSSPA and is well behaved for vet and farrier work. Our immediate… Continue

Although he joined our program late last summer, you may not have heard much about Pilgrim. This handsome QH gelding had the winter off, due to lameness caused by his thin soles on frozen ground. Throughout his rehabilitation Pilgrim was a perfect patient, and now after careful work by our wonderful farrier, Pilgrim is happy… Continue