Sweetgrass Equine Therapy

09/05/2025

Hey everyone, I have seriously been slacking with this page. My sincere apologies, I will be stepping it up. Please stayed tuned!😊

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06/21/2025

What is your horse unreasonably scared of? 😄

04/13/2025

Perfect explanation!

FEARING THE EMOTIONS OF THE HORSE
(Or: “He’s Just So Sensitive”—Says the Human Who Can’t Cope With Emotions, Theirs or His)

Look at this horse.
Go on.
Soak it in.

Majestic.
Explosive.
A four-legged emotional TED Talk 🎤🐎

Head high.
Eyes wide.
Nostrils flaring like twin cannons of “I’M NOT OKAY.” 🔥

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
At least… until you're holding the lead rope.
Then it’s suddenly less “freedom of expression” and more
“I didn’t sign up to die in trackpants near the float.” 😬

You see, humans say they love horses.
And we do.
We love the idea of horses.
The curated, emotionally-muted, Instagram-filtered kind.
The kind with a heart-shaped star and a head tilt that whispers,
"I’m here to heal you, Karen." ✨

But real horses have the audacity to feel things.
In real time.
Loudly.
And physically.

And that’s when we panic.

Because it turns out most of us don’t fear horses—
We fear our horse having emotions near us 😱

Which is awkward.
Because horses are horses, not yoga instructors.
They don’t sit in stillness and “breathe through their concerns.”
They bolt.
They snort.
They express.
They react with their whole body, which feels less poetic when you’re standing next to a ballistic missile on hooves 💣

And we then label them “sensitive.”
As if it’s a personality flaw.
As if the goal is to transform a thousand pounds of flight animal
into a scented candle 🕯️

Now here’s where it gets delightfully ironic:

We call ourselves empathetic.
“Oh, I’m just so in tune with my horse’s feelings,”
we say, right before we try to crush those feelings
under a giant weighted blanket of avoidance 🛑

We say we don’t want to “trigger” the horse.
Which really means we don’t want to deal with the horse being triggered.
Because when they feel big feelings, we feel big feelings,
and suddenly we’re both spiralling like a bad date at a vegan cooking class—after admitting you love steak 🥩

So we try to switch off the horse.
With gadgets.
With groundwork.
With supplements.
With a small army of professionals who say things like,
“He needs to feel seen to be connected,”
or
“He’s remembering trauma from when he was a foal and it rained once.” ☔

We spend years diagnosing the horse
like an undergrad psych student at a family reunion 🧠

We treat their fear like a bug in the system—
Instead of what it is:
the system working as designed.

And when they do get emotional—
When they tell us clearly and honestly that they’re confused, or scared, or uncertain—
we get annoyed.

“Stop it.”
“Settle down.”
“Don’t be silly.”
The equine equivalent of telling your sobbing friend to “calm down” while handing them a chamomile tea and walking away slowly 🫖

But here's the twist in the comedy:
It’s the fear in us—of their emotions—that creates most of the chaos.
Our flinching, our overcorrection,
our nervous energy humming like a power line in a thunderstorm ⚡
that turns a horse’s flicker of doubt into a full-blown existential meltdown.

There’s a saying—
Fear is the mother of the event,
and humans? We’re excellent midwives 👶💥

So, what actually fixes this?

Not detachment.
Not sedation.
Not pretending your horse is a misunderstood therapist with hooves and childhood trauma 🛋️🐴

What fixes this is competence.
Skill.
The quiet confidence that comes from knowing what to do when your horse feels something.

You stop fearing their emotions when you know you can help them through it.

Because fear loses its teeth when you know what you’re doing.
When you can hold space and lead the way.
When you’ve got the tools to say,
“Hey buddy, I see you—and I’ve got you.” 🧰

That’s when you stop white-knuckling the halter clip like it’s a hand gr***de.
That’s when their snort becomes information, not a trigger for a hypertensive crisis.
And that’s when both of you can start breathing again.

To work with horses is not to remove emotion,
but to recognise it.
Respond to it.
And respect it 🙏

You don’t need to turn your horse into the Dalai Lama with a forelock.
You just need to stop acting like their emotions are a breach of contract.

Because when your horse reacts, they’re not being difficult.
They’re not being disrespectful.
They’re not trying to ruin your day or your carefully choreographed liberty session 🎬

They’re giving you feedback.
And if you actually want to be empathetic—
Real, adult empathy,
not “I bought a rose quartz necklace from a saddle shop” empathy 💎
then you’ve got to let them feel.

Otherwise, you don’t have a relationship.
You have a hostage situation.

So, next time your horse gets a little “emotional”...
Take a breath.
Loosen the reins.
And stop trying to spiritually euthanise them into calmness.

Because that’s not a horse.
That’s a malfunctioning lawn ornament 🌱

And you, my friend, didn’t get into this for lawn ornaments.

You got into this for truth.
And movement.
And connection 🐎❤️

And horses, with all their feelings, give you all of it.
No charge.
No filter.
No apologies.

And if you can stop fearing that—
If you can build the skills to support it—
That’s when the real magic starts.
Not the fairy kind.
The earned kind.
The grounded, gritty, glorious kind ✨

IMAGE📸: Incredible photography by Lynn Jenkin

➡️If this resonated, challenged, or mildly offended you—in a useful way—please share it properly by hitting the share button. Don’t be a content kleptomaniac and copy & paste it to pass it off as your own...that is super uncool😎

09/30/2024

If some days all you can manage is to go out and just be with your horse, that is enough. 🥰

“I saddled my horse today,
Not to go for a ride,
But for my soul.

I saddled my horse today,
And every brush stroke connected me to her,
Her mane and tail on my fingers as I braided tied our souls together.

I saddled my horse today,
With swinging on her saddle and adjusting her pad I felt the goals we had not lost but postponed to another day.

I saddled my horse today,
And pulling on the latigo and hearing the buckle roll on my back cinch
Reminded me of all we have done so far.

I saddled my horse today,
The sound of the Velcro on her boots and bells
gave me visions of where we are going to go from here.

I saddled my horse today,
Not to go for a ride,
But for my soul”

-Janelle Smith

09/02/2024

📅 Mark your calendars for September 10th—we've got a very special Facebook event planned!

The Masterson Method is back with a brand new Bladder Meridian Challenge, and this time, we're aiming higher than ever! Jim's vision is for every horse to experience the profound benefits of the Bladder Meridian technique. With this goal in mind, Jim himself will be live on Facebook, ready to share his expertise and passion. Join him on September 10th at 12 pm CT for a game-changing Bodywork Q&A on The Masterson Method page! 🎉

Jim will be introducing the new Bladder Meridian Challenge and explaining how and where the Search Response Stay Release process can be extended to any area of the body. Plus, you'll have the chance to ask Jim your questions directly, and he’ll provide insights and answers just for you.

Stay tuned for all the details, and make sure you're following The Masterson Method page so you don’t miss any updates. 👀
https://fb.me/e/23D63RuYD

We’re looking forward to seeing you there! 🙌

04/12/2024

Just came across this. Should be interesting.

** ATTENTION **

“An Open Door,” the documentary examining the influence and life’s work of Dr. Temple Grandin, will have its broadcast premiere tonight at 7 p.m. and midnight on Rocky Mountain PBS.

The film will additionally air at 10 a.m. on April 28th, and will be available to stream online.

Selected for a handful of awards, honors, and screenings, “An Open Door” delves into conversations with Grandin, her peers, industry experts, and those influenced by her, to honor her pioneering journey, invaluable insights, and enduring legacy.

11/08/2023

We all know winter is on the way!! 🥶

did you know?
A calorie is the amount of energy it takes to raise 1g of water 1°C!

At a perfect ambient temperature (let’s all agree this about 20°C with no wind or rain), your average healthy 500kg horse will consume about 10kg (22lbs) of roughage a day, which works out to about 22,000 Kcal a day.

Factors that will increase calories needed per day include: late gestation pregnancy, some metabolic diseases, thin body condition and old age, poor winter hair coat development, infection, pain, heavy parasite burden, and FREEZING COLD WEATHER!

What happens when the ambient temperature is NOT perfect?
Roughage (hay or cubes) is digested via bacterial fermentation of the fiber in the large intestine. This is a huge source of body heat generation for your horse, helping to keep them warm during extreme cold.

Roughage is a bulky food, which limits how much of it can be ingested. If your horse is losing weight or unable to maintain their body condition on 100% hay, they may need additional calories in the form of cereal grains (oats, barley) and oils (canola, vegetable, or horse specific formulated oils such as Mad Barn Omega). Oats contain 33% more digestible energy than hay and vegetable oil contains 400% more energy than hay.

To maintain their body condition, a horse needs to increase caloric intake 15-20% for every 12°C drop in temperature below 0°C! At 0°C your horse will need to eat approximately 12kg (27lbs) of hay a day. At -40°C, your horse will need to eat closer to 20-25kg (44-50lbs) of hay just to stay warm.

Along with increased hay consumption is increased water consumption. Water is essential to improve nutrient absorption, prevent dehydration, and prevent colic.
Optimum water temperature is 7-18°C. Horses tend to drink less if the temperature falls outside this range, making them more prone to poor digestion efficiency, dehydration, and intestinal impactions (colic). Studies show that horses drink up to 40% more water if the water is in this temperature range!

Please contact the clinic if you have questions about your horse’s diet during cold weather

Other important cold weather care tips
- Always ensure your horse has shelter from the elements. Wind and precipitation can cause weight loss and hypothermia as they ruffle and flatten the fur, leading to loss of the hair coat’s insulating capacities. All horses (even those at the bottom of the pecking order) must have access to shelter, especially in extreme cold.
- Donkeys are LESS tolerant of cold and more prone to hypothermia than horses. Please take extra care with your long eared herd mates in cold temperatures.
- Avoid trailering in extreme temperatures. If trailering needs to occur, make sure your horse’s trailer is enclosed to protect from additional wind chill and/or blanket them.
- A hands on approach to assessing how your horse is holding up is essential as their fuzzy coat can easily mask prominent ribs and hip bones. Go out and touch your horse to make sure they are warm and not losing condition!
- Contact the clinic if you notice signs of hypothermia including lack of interest in food and water, lying down frequently and/or inability to stand, a re**al temperature below 36.5C. Hypothermia is an emergency!

07/26/2023

Hahahaha!

❤️ 🙋

06/25/2023

Great advice from one of the best. Thanks to Keystone Equine for sharing. Lee is also someone to follow for good, common sense advice from someone who has been around “for awhile” and put a lot of miles on a lot of horses

Yesterday, I met and watched the teaching of one of my honest-to-goodness horsemanship heroes.

Al Dunning—for those of you who either live on another planet, or are not followers of western performance horses—is a master trainer of cutters, reiners and working cowhorses, pleasure horses, rope horses, trail and even barrel horses. His barn has been home to a number of hunters and jumpers, too. He has won more world and reserve titles—48—than any other trainer in the NCHA, AQHA, NRCHA, and NRHA. He is a carded judge in all four organizations.

As he says about old-time versatility, “If they opened the gate, we rode in.” As a young rider, he apprenticed with Jim Paul and Don Dodge for eleven years, before going out on his own.

“Learn. Just learn!” he says, from the oldtimers around you and then, from the young guns who are blazing new trails.

Two of his books—Reining, published by The Western Horseman and The Art of Hackamore Training, co-authored with the late Benny Guitron—are staples on the bookshelves of keen horsemen. The man has evolved with performance horsemanship over six decades. He has been married to his college sweetheart for 52 years, which is accomplishment enough. Al still maintains a thriving teaching and training business, along with a social media presence, hosting famous guests on his regular Facebook live videos.

Best of all, when one meets a hero such as this, is finding that he is also a fine and caring human being, with a genuine sense of humour for people and an undying love of the horse.

The occasion was a two-day clinic, hosted by the Canadian Quarter Horse Association. I had wanted very badly to ride in this event, to learn in the saddle from this great man, but with a shortage of hay staring us in the face and two horses newly on ulcer meds, it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Undaunted, I showed up to audit the clinic with my notebook and pen in hand.

Here are just a few ‘Al-isms’ for your learning pleasure… and probably about one-quarter of all the gems I wrote down.

• “Ride the backend! Forget about the front!”

• “Legs on with rhythm to go! Slow and stop the rhythm of your legs to slow and stop your horse…”

• “If you want your horse to go right, then sit right. Stay in the centre! Be athletic! Be able to rise straight up from where you sit. Get your legs under you!”

• Basic Western Horse Training means that every horse needs: 1) To go forward happily and readily, from leading as a baby, to riding later on. 2) To turn, steer or guide easily, equally, both left and right. 3) To stop! 4) To back up, for this is the way to get the hocks involved, ‘accordioning’ the horse’s body. 5) To find collection, which means understanding the legs, two-tracking, lead changes, all up into a round feeling. All riding horses should be able to build on these steps and add to them throughout their life. Just build and add!

• Once we get the horse to soften, we want to convince him that he can stay there, or find self-carriage. How do we do this? With the rhythmic legs…

• "A soft poll will stop a gaping mouth, not a noseband. That is up to us!"

• Legs help and correct a busy mouth, not the hands.

• "Learn from Dressage! Yes, even in the western performance events."

• “Inside rein first for bend, outside rein for roundness!” (Which I loved, for so much of this went back to my days with Mrs. Boerschmann. It truly is a small world.)

• "On a green horse, you are building a triangle between his bit and your two hands. Help and support him!"

• "Stop and transition down with the outside rein, not the inside rein."

• “Ride those shoulders where you want to go! The head is just ‘hooked on’ to the rest of the horse.”

• “Trust in the pattern! Don’t fight him!”

• “Close your hand, you’re not drinking tea! If that little finger is stiff, it means that your hand and arm are stiff, too.”

• “Pull that back cinch up a hole!”

• “Pull back, the horse goes out… pull up a bit and the horse’s head naturally goes down!”

• "If your horse keeps bending out, don’t ride with so much outside leg… or, are your reins even?"

• A weaker rider, the horse always fades in on the turns; a stronger rider who uses her legs, the horse will stay out…

• Keep your counter-canter smooth, subtle, simple. It is one sure sign of the working relationship between you and your horse. Until you can counter-canter, you have no real control over the shoulders or hips and you should not be changing leads.

• "Horses do not change leads UNTIL you change your legs!"

• A saddle should be big enough to have some room, a hand’s breadth at least, behind your backside. You want to be able to slide around a bit.

• "It is a fallacy that snaffle bits are for pulling. No! They’re made to slide a bit, from side to side, so ride with one rein, then the other. Use a straight line between the elbow and the bit, no limp wristed stuff! Thumbs are up, elbows work like pistons, so bend them!"

• “Sit still, don’t pump. The lower body does the work, not the top. Eyes forward and be balanced, like a tennis player receiving a service. You are not on a couch; don’t disappoint me!”

• “Don’t stare across the circle, unless you’re jumping horses. Ride while looking over the inside eye. Mind your track! Don’t be wandery!”

• The turnaround (spin) and the lead change is built on what comes before. If it isn’t there, don’t even try it. Fix the before, first.

• “Be a stickler with your equipment. If that bridle, or saddle, or breast collar has a keeper on it, then tuck your darned straps in!”

• “Constantly—constantly—self-check your own position by standing up in the stirrups slightly and lowering yourself back down… without using your hands.”

• Practice shortening and lengthening your split reins, one-handed, in front of the TV. You don’t need to be bumbling around on your horse.

• If your horse is front-end heavy, sit the large fast circle in your reining, don’t stand up over his neck. He doesn’t need that extra weight.

• A horse who won’t guide one-handed yet, cross those reins under his neck. Just get riding! So many broke horses go better if we trust them with one hand, than micro-manage them with two… Too many of these horses are ‘hand oriented’, rather than taking direction from the rider’s legs!

• “Talk about it less and do it more.”

• “This isn’t about me; it’s about you today. The student steers the lesson! The teacher sees and answers what is needed at that time.

• “Do as little as possible and as much as necessary. Building good horses is like building a house; don’t go on if the foundation is crumbling. Fix that, first!”

• “Horsemanship is somehow making each horse in your hands as good as it can be. Don’t ever cross beyond what his mind or his body can take… but build up to sometimes come close to it. Learn that line and don’t push over it.”

• “Don’t ever be afraid to ask.”

• “Don’t be one of those people who will not allow a horse to make a mistake. When he does, just teach him, don’t overreact. So many people don’t understand that the ‘punishment has to fit the crime’. He made a mistake; don’t sentence him to ten years! There’s a lot of ‘jerk and spur’ that doesn’t belong here, folks.”

• “If it’s not working, stop doing it. Find a new tool.”

• “Your horse has enough to do, he doesn’t need to ‘hold that bit up in his mouth’, (sorry Tom and Ray)… adjust that bridle to put the bit where it should be, in the first place!”

• “Make a strong enough aid that you don’t need to keep making it! Then, you can lighten it as you go along.”

• “If you ride with spurs, put your heels down and use your legs.” (Which made me laugh, just a little bit, for it’s true.)

• "Sit up! Look up! Don’t ride around like you’ve dropped something in the arena dirt!”

• "If you use cheap, garbage bits and gear, stop expecting great results."

• "Slow your hands down. Slow your hands down. Slow your hands down!"

• “Ride them five days a week but train them only two days a week. Turn them out as much as you can. Remember, they also need one or two days without you doing anything at all, but their chores.”

This day was a real highlight for me, meeting this man who has done so much good for western horses and their people. Thank you, Al Dunning, for always being willing to share.

04/17/2023

😄

12/28/2022

I am sharing this, I did NOT write it…but what excellent advice it is! 😊

12/16/2022

Check it out. Available to stream and download