Spirit Farm Blog
Welcome to the Spirit Farm blog, the home of all things Gypsy Cob! This space will be a forum for us to provide regular information on the care and maintenance of Gypsy Cobs, training tips, interviews with equine service providers and a monthly mindfulness and human-animal connection column. We are continually expanding and evolving this space so please contact us with your feedback and ideas!
Handling Foals
When a foal is born, it is so tempting to get right in there. We want to help the mother, make sure the baby is well, and even start training it right away with the imprinting method popularized by Miller and Close (1991). Miller hypothesized that foals would be accepting of handling and new situations later in life if they were flooded at birth with things they will experience later.
Wasteland Series Part 1
By Shreyasi Brodhecker Antidotes to the Wasteland – Embracing Ways to Just Be “The Wasteland is the hollowness inside us, for we are reflections of the hollow world we live in. To embrace it might mean that we spend our lives doing work we hate in order to feel secure…It might mean that we wrap ourselves tightly in busy-ness and noise and never-enough-time and anxiety and panic and
Affective States—How Horses’ Emotions Impact our Interactions
Affective States—How Horses’ Emotions Impact our InteractionsWhen a horse is worried about something, he doesn't pay much attention to you. That's whenhis 'arousal' level is high. A horse can also be optimistic or pessimistic—he can expect a new experience to be positiveor negative. That's his ‘emotional state’. His level of arousal and emotional state taken together are his affective state and dictate the quality of work he is capable of
Feeding Our Senior Equine Companions
By Deborah Barrie When looking at the feeding program of “Senior” horses I first look at the definition.With the advent of dewormers and enhanced nutrition the term “Senior” begsredefining. Once slated for retirement at the age of 20 as a senior horse, some horses are as fit and able to work as if they were 15, and may continue for another 5 or moreyears. However, there are some horses that
Q & A with Laura MacSwain
Q & A with Laura MacSwain Bio: Laura MacSwain, of Rejuvenation Equine Remedial Therapy, is a certified remedial therapist and a graduate of the four year, Canadian Equine Therapy Institute program. Modalities that she has trained in are: massage, osteopathy, chiropractic, cranio-sacral and acupuncture. Laura strives to provide individualized treatment to every horse and owner she works with, to optimize performance. Spirit Farm Gypsy Cobs (SFGC): Can you tell
Q & A with Rhonda Bignell
Q & A with Rhonda Bignell Bio: Rhonda Bignell grew up riding through the bush and open meadows of the range, in cattle country, around Williams Lake, British Columbia. As a teenager she began her equine career as a trail guide and then training horses. Over the past 30+ years, she has competed in open shows, dressage, endurance racing and team cattle penning, at a National level. Rhonda has continued to learn
