Mystic Equine

11/19/2025

11/19/2025

11/08/2025

30 adoptions this year! 🐴❤️

11/08/2025

10/25/2025

There is a very dangerous and misleading statement being made on the internet.

Quote
“Laminitis is not caused by diet”

I urge you to use caution if you choose to believe this.

I am a student of the hoof for the past 10 years and I am mentored by Prof Chris Pollitt, the pioneer who discovered the insulin relationship to laminitis. I beg you to be very careful with what you hear out there being touted by lay people.

Horses will die unnecessary painful excruciating deaths if you follow this misinformation.

By ignoring the well understood relationship between high insulin and laminitis you may be inclined to turn out your ponies onto the rich grass. Apparently it’s said that a balanced trim is the key- which I do not totally agree with.

Once the genie is out of the bottle and the laminae are failing due to high insulin stretching and snapping the laminar attachments of bone to inner hoof wall then good luck getting it back.

Is it worth the risk?

Have you seen laminitis appear in the spring when the grass starts to grow. Or after a long hot summer, when the rains start, and boom, laminitis rears its head. Why is that?

Why do many horses suffer laminitis after getting into the grain shed and gourged themselves? Is it the grain or the trim?

Trimming is important, but you cannot trim your way into preventing or treating laminitis without looking far deeper into the cause. Diet and insulin go hand in hand.

Do you think that these lay people that come up with such crazy and dangerous statements that are said as if they are fact have actually been in the lab and done any research?

These are frightening times my friends.

Anyone can say anything and mislead us.

Maybe it is intentional, it just feeds the algorithm and everyone comments and argues and shouts and the ones dropping bombshell dangerous statements just rub their hands in glee at the carnage.

It’s sick.
It’s dangerous
I follow the science.

This is my position statement.

10/11/2025

“My horse bucks, but pain has been ruled out.”
“She won’t pick up her right lead, but pain’s been ruled out.”
“He rears when I tighten the girth, but pain was ruled out.”

I understand where it comes from... it’s meant to say, “I’ve done the responsible thing. I’ve had my horse checked.” And that’s a good thing! Having your vet involved is a crucial first step.

But the reality is, pain can never be completely ruled out.

It can be minimized. It can be treated. It can be managed.
But ruled out entirely? Nope.

Horses are prey animals. They’re designed to hide discomfort until it becomes severe. Even with the best veterinary care, pain - especially when chronic - can be subtle, fluctuating, or context-dependent.

A horse might look sound in the exam aisle but struggle with certain movements under saddle. Maybe the issue isn’t a clear injury, but muscle tension, gastric discomfort, saddle fit, or even mental stress creating real physical tension.

So, if pain has “been ruled out” and the behavior is still there, one of two things is true:
1️⃣ There’s a source of discomfort we haven’t found yet.
2️⃣ The horse is experiencing confusion, frustration, or emotional overload (which still deserves our empathy and adjustment)

Both possibilities lead us back to the same mindset: curiosity over certainty.
No matter what the problem turns out to be, we cannot approach it with force.

Pushing harder, “showing them who’s boss,” or labeling a horse as “lazy,” “spoiled,” or “stubborn” does nothing to solve the problem. In fact, it almost always makes it worse.

Force might suppress a behavior for a while, but it doesn’t address why the behavior happened. It risks adding fear and pain to a body that’s already trying to communicate.

When we replace frustration with curiosity and pressure with compassion, we create space for trust, progress, and genuine cooperation.

When we approach behavior with curiosity, we stop seeing it as disobedience and start seeing it as communication.

Instead of asking, “How do I stop this?” we begin to ask, “What is my horse telling me?”

Sometimes the answer lies in the body. Sometimes it’s in the training plan, the clarity of the aids, or the horse’s confidence level. But it always matters — and it always deserves investigation.

Ethical training doesn’t mean assuming every issue is pain. It means recognizing that pain, confusion, and frustration are all valid forms of distress and that addressing them is part of our job as responsible, compassionate horsepeople.

We just have to keep listening — and keep adjusting — until they can say “yes” again. 💛

10/04/2025

10/01/2025

09/28/2025

This was a wonderful class! I can’t wait for more events like this in our area!

09/16/2025

09/03/2025

The first foot pictured use to look like the second foot. A neglect case where hoof care was non existent and turn out was unheard of. Now with regular hoof care and and 24/7 turn out this girl is healing up! REMEMBER the horse has the innate ability to heal itself, we are responisible for providing and environment conducive to healing.