Faunce Holistic Horse

03/17/2026

Fitness in the Aging Horse: Why Movement Matters

As horses age, maintaining fitness becomes one of the most important factors in preserving long-term health, soundness, and overall quality of life. Aging naturally brings physiological changes including reduced muscle mass, decreased joint elasticity, slower metabolism, and declining cardiovascular capacity. Consistent, thoughtful movement helps offset many of these changes and supports a horse’s ability to remain comfortable and functional well into their senior years.

Why Fitness Matters for Senior Horses

• Joint health and mobility: Regular movement supports joint lubrication and helps reduce stiffness
• Muscle preservation: Consistent exercise helps maintain topline, core strength, and overall postural stability.
• Metabolic balance: Movement improves insulin sensitivity and supports healthy weight regulation in horses prone to health conditions.
• Circulation and digestive support: Regular activity encourages healthy circulation and gut motility.
• Neurological and mental wellbeing: Movement helps maintain coordination, balance, and provides important mental engagement.

Turnout Is Foundational

One of the most beneficial and often overlooked components of senior horse fitness is turnout. We want to protect them by keeping them in while ignoring the benefit of constant movement on their aging bodies.

Continuous, low-intensity movement throughout the day supports joint function, circulation, and digestion in ways that short exercise sessions alone cannot replicate.

Turnout allows horses to self-regulate their activity, encouraging gentle walking, grazing, and stretching that help maintain musculoskeletal health. This gives them opportunities for gradual, natural movement throughout the day.

What Structured Fitness Can Look Like

In addition to turnout, many aging horses benefit from light, consistent conditioning. The goal is regular, low-impact movement rather than intensity.

Examples include:
• Long walking sessions (under saddle, in hand, or on trails)
• Gentle hill work to support hindquarter strength
• Ground poles to maintain coordination and proprioception
• Large bending lines and stretching exercises

Sessions often work best when they include longer warm-ups and cool-downs, giving joints and soft tissues time to adapt.

The Key Principle

For senior horses, movement becomes a form of preventative care. A thoughtful combination of turnout and appropriate exercise helps preserve strength, mobility, metabolic balance, and overall comfort as horses age. It is important to recognize where their limits are and respect those limits.

Supporting the Aging Horse

In addition to proper movement and management, bodywork can be an important tool for supporting aging horses. Targeted bodywork can help address muscle tension, improve range of motion, and support overall comfort as the body adapts to age-related changes.

If you have an aging horse that may benefit from bodywork, feel free to reach out to discuss your horse’s needs or schedule a bodywork session.

03/15/2026

I had such a great time at the Deanna Preis Horsemanship Clinic at Miss Mandi Acres yesterday!

It was refreshing to learn from a trainer whose philosophy aligns so closely with my own beliefs when training horses by respecting the horse’s communication and choices, listening to their opinions, and breaking things down into small, simple steps so they have time to process and express their boundaries without stress. I especially appreciated the focus on setting horses up for success and prioritizing true understanding rather than just obedience, allowing each horse the time and approach they need as individuals. There was so much valuable insight into building clearer communication and thoughtful leadership.

I highly recommend her for anyone interested in developing a real partnership with their horse, especially if you’re new to liberty or this type of approach to horsemanship. She’s also fantastic at communicating with both horses and people, which is a rare combination.

Mandi from Miss Mandi Acres was an incredible host. The farm is absolutely adorable and such a beautiful place to spend the day learning with horses. It truly has its own vibe!

03/14/2026

One of the most valuable welfare tools a horse owner has is simple observation.

When you live with your herd long enough, you start to know their patterns.

Who stands together.
Who plays.
Who is the first one to the gate.
Who prefers to be very social.
Who prefers quiet time alone.
Which horses are usually quiet.
Which ones tend to be more boisterous.

A well established herd develops a kind of rhythm. It is not always perfectly peaceful, but it is predictable.

Which is why when something changes, it matters.

If a horse that normally gets along with everyone suddenly gets into a spat with a close herd mate, that is information.

If a horse that is usually social starts isolating from the group, that is information.

If a horse that normally stands quietly at the hay suddenly becomes defensive around food, that is information.

These changes are not always about personality or “hierarchy”.

Often they are about comfort.

Pain, ulcers, illness, hormonal changes, and stress can all shift how a horse interacts socially.

Anyone who knows Asher knows he is one of the best herd mates.

He is friends with everyone. He is very good at diffusing stressful social situations and he is always happy to share resources with other horses as long as they are respectful.

He is one of my go to horses for herd introductions because he is so socially solid.

Anyone who has handled him can attest to the fact that he is an absolute angel.

Up until that point I had never even seen him chase another horse.

He is the type that shares space with everyone. If things get tense, he usually just walks away because he knows there is always more food elsewhere.

Then one day he got into a conflict with a horse he was normally friends with.

That stood out immediately because it was so out of character.
For him to be involved in a conflict serious enough that there was a small injury was unusual.

Some people might call that dramatic, but it was an immediate vet call for me.

Because when a horse that consistent suddenly behaves out of character, that is information.

In this case, it turned out he was in pain.

We started treatment and within three days he was back to normal. I have never seen that behaviour again.

This is why knowing your horses matters so much.

Horses communicate constantly through small behavioural shifts long before problems become obvious.

Sometimes the first sign that something is wrong is not a limp.

Sometimes it’s the smallest change in herd behaviour.

03/12/2026

The appropriate age to begin training or riding a young horse is widely debated in the equine community. Research on equine development suggests that training young horses should be aligned with both their physical growth and cognitive development, progressing gradually from early handling to more physically demanding work. Early interaction with foals typically involves gentle handling, haltering, grooming, and leading, which helps establish trust and develop basic behavioral responses without placing strain on the musculoskeletal system (McGreevy & McLean, 2010). These early experiences can support learning and reduce stress during later stages of training by familiarizing the horse with human interaction and basic cues.

As horses approach two years of age, some trainers begin incorporating light groundwork exercises such as lunging, long-lining, or basic in-hand work. However, these activities should be brief and low-impact to avoid excessive stress on developing joints, tendons, and ligaments that are still maturing (Dyson & Ross, 2011).

Most recommendations suggest delaying ridden work until at least three to four years of age. By this stage, many horses have reached most of their mature height and have developed stronger bones and musculature capable of supporting light rider weight (Evans, 2000). Initial under-saddle sessions are typically short and focused on basic skills such as walking, stopping, steering, and learning to balance with the added weight of a rider. Even at this stage, training intensity should increase gradually, allowing the horse time to build muscle strength, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness while minimizing the risk of overuse injuries.

A key factor influencing these recommendations is the timeline of skeletal maturation in horses. Growth plates close progressively throughout development, beginning in the lower limbs and moving upward through the body. While many limb growth plates close earlier, the vertebral growth plates of the spine, particularly those in the back and neck, may not fully close until around five to six years of age (Bennett, 2008). Because the spine supports the rider’s weight and transmits forces generated during movement, introducing intense work too early may increase the risk of long-term musculoskeletal strain or soundness issues. Turnout affects this as well. A young horse with less turnout will have less muscle development and coordination to support too much workload too quickly.

For this reason, many veterinarians and equine scientists recommend a progressive training approach in which early groundwork is followed by light riding waiting until at least three to four years of age on a horse of appropriate physical and mental maturation, with more demanding conditioning and discipline-specific training introduced gradually as the horse approaches full physical maturity at five to six years of age (Dyson & Ross, 2011).

From an equine bodywork perspective, the focus is on supporting natural development without overloading the young horse’s growing body. Horses are highly integrated biomechanical systems in which muscles, fascia, and the nervous system work together to coordinate movement and maintain balance. Fascia (a continuous network of connective tissue surrounding muscles, bones, and organs) plays a key role in force transmission, proprioception, and postural control (Schleip, Findley, Chaitow, & Huijing, 2012). In young horses, these tissues are still maturing and are particularly sensitive to repetitive strain or premature loading, especially as the horse begins to carry a rider.

Training and ridden work should therefore be gradual and developmentally appropriate, allowing muscles, connective tissues, and joints time to adapt to new demands. Within this context, bodywork such as massage or myofascial release is a preventive and supportive tool, helping maintain healthy tissue mobility, encourage relaxation, and enhance body awareness (Haussler, 2009). Importantly, bodywork cannot replace the need for careful pacing. It is not a substitute for excessive or premature training. Instead, it complements a thoughtful, progressive approach, allowing the horse to develop strength, coordination, and comfort safely as training intensity increases with age and skeletal maturity.

References

Bennett, D. (2008). Principles of conformation analysis. Russell Meerdink Company Ltd.

Dyson, S., & Ross, M. (2011). Diagnosis and management of lameness in the horse (2nd ed.). Saunders Elsevier.

Evans, J. W. (2000). Training and fitness in athletic horses. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.

Haussler, K. K. (2009). Equine manual therapies: An overview of chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice, 25(1), 107–131.

McGreevy, P., & McLean, A. (2010). Equitation science. Wiley-Blackwell.

Schleip, R., Findley, T., Chaitow, L., & Huijing, P. (2012). Fascia: The tensional network of the human body. Elsevier.

03/10/2026

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: ARE YOU ACCIDENTALLY TURNING YOUR HORSE INTO AN INDUSTRIAL GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT?

It is an Unpopular Opinion… but it’s one worth thinking about.

Many bagged horse feeds, despite the marketing, are not really designed with horse health as the first priority. They are often made using inexpensive fillers and industrial leftovers that allow companies to maximise profit and extend shelf life.

Turn the bag over and read the ingredients. You will often see things like:

Beet pulp
Soy hulls
Molasses
Grain fragments
Vegetable protein meals
Legume hulls
Grain and grain by-products
Vegetable oils
Mineral premixes
Mould inhibitors
Apple flavour

To the average horse owner this sounds technical and scientific.

But when you strip away the marketing language, many of these ingredients are simply highly processed waste by-products from other industries that have been repackaged and sold as horse feed.

For example, beet pulp is what remains after sugar has been extracted from sugar beet. Wheat middlings are the fine leftovers from flour milling once the flour has been removed for human food. Soy hulls and legume hulls are the outer shells left behind after processing beans and legumes. Vegetable protein meals are often the pressed residue left after oils have been extracted from seeds.

Many of the crops used to produce these materials are grown in large-scale agricultural systems that rely heavily on genetically modified varieties, fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. By the time these by-products reach the feed industry they have often been through multiple stages of industrial processing.

They are, in many cases, materials that need to be disposed of somewhere once the primary product has been removed.

So they are dried, processed, blended together, and repackaged with attractive marketing and technical sounding ingredient lists.

Which raises an important question for horse owners.

Just because something can be packaged and sold as horse feed… does that mean it is actually the right food for your horse?

A simple guideline many experienced horse owners follow is this:

If it is not something a horse would naturally encounter and eat in a natural grazing environment, it is worth questioning whether it belongs in the feed bucket.

These ingredients are ground together, mixed with synthetic vitamins and minerals, and the whole mash is then cooked and pressed into pellets where often the real core of what is in them is not clearly stated.

This is a good example - apple flavouring.

Most people imagine that means a little bit of apple.

It doesn’t.

In many cases it refers to a manufactured aroma made from chemicals such as:

Hexyl acetate – used to create a green apple scent and also used as an industrial solvent
• Butyl acetate – commonly used in paints and coatings
• Ethyl acetate – used in inks and adhesives
• Isoamyl acetate – a strong artificial fruit fragrance
• Ethyl 2-methylbutyrate – used to create apple-like aromas
• Propylene glycol – used to carry and blend flavour chemic

If a company is willing to call that “apple flavour,” it raises a reasonable question.

How much trust should we place in the rest of the label?

Another thing worth paying attention to is the amount of added oils in many feeds.

Vegetable oils
Canola oil
Rice bran oil
Soy oil

Horses do not have a gallbladder and their digestive systems evolved to process fibre, not large quantities of extracted oils.

Yet these oils now appear in many feeds because they increase calorie levels and make feeds more palatable.

Over time highly processed feeds, oils and additives can contribute to chronic inflammation and metabolic stress.

The problem is rarely a single event.

It is often more like death by a thousand inflammatory cuts.

Day after day the horse’s digestive system is asked to process ingredients it was never designed to deal with in large quantities.

Over time the strain builds.

Inflammation increases
Metabolic stress increases
Digestive balance begins to struggle

Eventually owners begin to see the symptoms:

Laminitis
Metabolic issues
Digestive problems
Skin reactions
Hoof problems
Behavioural changes

We are also seeing more horses become over-reactive and difficult to settle, and while many factors influence behaviour, diet is often part of the picture.

Because I work in this field helping owners solve problems with their horses, I probably see this more than most.

Many horses arrive on ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty different feeds and supplements in an attempt to solve their health problems.

Then we simplify everything.

Very often most of those products are removed.

And the horse improves.

So what can we do instead?

Start with a species-appropriate diet.

Horses evolved to eat forage made up of:

Grass
Plants
Fibre
Small amounts throughout the day

Not bags of highly processed feeds.

FEED FORAGE FIRST: AND USE A GOOD GRASS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Grass suitable for horses
Low sugar meadow hay
Simple forage
Whole foods such as flaxseed meal

Not highly amplified ryegrass pasture designed for beef and dairy production.

Another common misconception is that feeding real, whole foods must be complicated.

People imagine standing in the feed room grinding seeds or preparing special mixtures for each horse.

That might have been the case many years ago.

It isn’t anymore.

Today you can buy flaxseed meal ready to feed from most agricultural merchants. It has a good shelf life, stores easily, and takes no longer to add to a feed than pouring a scoop of pellets.

No grinding.
No soaking.
No complicated preparation.

Just scoop, stir and feed.

Many owners simply add a small amount of flaxseed meal to a handful of low sugar chaff such as meadow or timothy and feed it that way.

Simple. Quick. Effective.

Flaxseed meal is also one of the most useful whole foods you can add to a horse’s diet because it provides a dense package of natural nutrition.

It is naturally high in digestible fibre, which supports the hindgut and microbiome.

It provides a good quality plant protein that supports muscle maintenance and tissue repair.

It is one of the richest natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support healthy inflammatory balance, skin, coat and metabolic health.

It also provides beneficial nutrients such as vitamin E and important trace minerals.

Because flaxseed meal is nutritionally dense, you do not need to feed large amounts.

Small amounts can provide significant nutritional benefits.

That means you get a lot of nutritional value for very little feed volume.

And here is something many owners don’t realise.

It often costs less to feed a horse real, healthy food than it does to buy heavily processed feeds.

You are already spending the money.

The difference is simply where that money goes.

Often the biggest improvement in a horse’s health and behaviour does not come from adding more products.

Sometimes it comes from removing the things that never belonged in the diet in the first place.

Because horses were never designed to be industrial garbage disposal units.

03/09/2026

Wild horses live without human intervention largely because their lifestyle naturally maintains their bodies. They spend most of their day grazing (often 16 to 20 hours per day) on tough, fibrous plants like grasses, shrubs, and other natural forage. This constant chewing helps their teeth wear down evenly over time, preventing the sharp points or uneven wear that often develop in domestic horses who eat softer hay or grain in scheduled meals. Because wild horses eat small amounts almost continuously, their teeth tend to self-maintain through natural grinding.

Their hooves are also maintained by their environment and movement. Wild horses can travel 10–30 miles a day while searching for food and water, moving across varied terrain such as rock, sand, and hard ground. This constant movement naturally wears down hoof growth and keeps the feet compact, strong, and well-circulated. The hoof essentially trims itself as it grows. In contrast, many domestic horses move far less and often live on softer footing, which allows hooves to grow faster than they wear down and makes regular trimming necessary.

Another major factor is their lifestyle. Wild horses live in social herds and spend most of their time moving slowly while grazing. This steady, low-intensity movement supports healthy muscles, joints, circulation, and metabolism. Their diet is also very different from what many domestic horses receive. Instead of concentrated feeds, they consume a wide variety of natural plants that are generally lower in sugar and starch and higher in fiber. This type of diet supports digestive health and helps prevent many metabolic problems seen in domestic horses.

While it’s true that natural environments include challenges and not every wild horse survives, the overall system works because their bodies evolved for this way of living. With thoughtful management, such as encouraging movement, providing forage-based diets, and creating environments that allow natural hoof wear, domestic horses can live in ways that more closely resemble their natural lifestyle and thrive because of it.

In the picture below, the photos on the left are wild horses that lived on the reservation about a half hour away from where my home was. On the right are my domesticated horses that lived free range on 60 acres, mimicking a very similar lifestyle on various terrains, and the gray and tobiano paint both being in their mid to upper 20s and the tobiano paint having came from a feral situation a couple years prior.

03/05/2026

03/03/2026

A horse that is hard to catch is communicating something.

Sometimes it is anticipation of work that feels too difficult or unpleasant. Sometimes it is confusion about the training process. Sometimes it is pain, discomfort, or fatigue. Sometimes it is simply that the pasture is more reinforcing than what comes next.

Sometimes it is a horse carrying the memory of old trauma. And sometimes it reflects past experiences and reinforcement history.

Avoidance has a reason.

Horses are prey animals, and avoiding an approaching human can be an instinctive response. But repeated patterns around catching are often shaped by previous experiences.

Understanding those experiences is often the first step in changing the pattern.

Catching a horse is not just about getting the halter on. It is about understanding what the horse has learned about being caught in the first place.

02/27/2026

Is your horse’s shoulder tight?

Tightness in the shoulder often happens when there isn’t enough space for the scapula (shoulder blade) to glide freely. Since it’s suspended by muscle rather than attached by a joint, any restriction in those muscles limits how the front leg can move.

You might notice:
• Short, choppy stride
• Difficulty picking up a lead
• Resistance to bending
• Heavy on the forehand
• Sensitivity behind the shoulder

When the scapula can’t move properly, the whole front end becomes restricted. What feels like a training issue is often a mobility issue.

When this area releases, you’ll often see:
☆ Longer stride
☆ Softer topline
☆ Easier transitions
☆ A more relaxed, willing horse

If your horse has been feeling “stuck” or uneven, their shoulders may be asking for support.

Message me or reach out on my website at faunceholistichorse.com if you're interested in booking a bodywork session to help your horse move more freely and comfortably. ❤️

02/25/2026

Guarding feed, biting, pinned ears, or pushing other horses away at the feeder are all clear signs that a horse may be showing food-related aggression. 🐴🍽️

Food aggression isn’t just “bad behavior”, it often comes from competition, fear of scarcity, or past experience, and can be influenced by herd dynamics, feeding routines, and individual temperament.

Pay attention to how horses interact around feed: tension at the feed tub, stiff body language, or repeated threats can signal that the current setup isn’t meeting their social or nutritional needs.

Simple changes like increasing feeding space, using multiple feeding stations, and managing herd order can help reduce conflict, but persistent or dangerous aggression may require targeted behavior strategies and professional guidance. ⚠️

To learn more, explore the full article below:
🇨🇦 - https://madbarn.ca/food-aggression-in-horses/
🇺🇸 - https://madbarn.com/food-aggression-in-horses/

02/24/2026

They hold our tears, our passion, our healing, and our growth.
They’ve seen versions of us no one else has.

They’re never “just horses.”

02/22/2026

I’m so happy we finally got some nicer weather yesterday! It gave me the chance to support muscle recovery for some very appreciative reining horses in training. This mare was such a pleasure to work with!

Reining is athletically demanding on a horse’s body with all the lateral movement, spins, and sliding stops. Over time, this can create tension through the back, shoulders, and hind end.

Bodywork helps release tight areas, supports recovery, and keeps horses feeling comfortable and moving freely as they progress in their training.

I love working with owners who prioritize their horses’ wellbeing to help their horses feel their best. If your horse could benefit from bodywork, I currently have availability. Message me or visit my website to book!