Hannah Hurst Helping Hooves

🐴Harry’s Thought of the Day 💭

“If you’re having a wobbly day, remember… even I sometimes trip over my own feet. And that’s okay.”

Sending calm pony vibes to everyone today. 💛
Drop a 🐴 if you needed this gentle reminder.

Why Animals Make the Best Teachers ✏️

Ever noticed how animals just know how to be present? 🐴💛
They don’t rush, they don’t judge, and they help us slow down too. Whether it’s Harry quietly waiting for a child to feel ready or Baloo making us laugh with his cheeky ways, animals teach us every day.

What has your child learned from spending time with animals?

🌞Keeping Horses Cool in a Heatwave 🌞

In the wild, horses stay cool by seeking shade, drinking from streams, and limiting movement during the hottest parts of the day. But our domesticated horses rely a little more on us to help them beat the heat! 🐴💦

💧 Plenty of fresh water
Ensure clean, cool water is always available – our little herd have been doing a whole trough a day in this heat.

🌳 Provide shade
Whether it's natural (trees), stables or a field shelter, shade is essential to avoid overheating. They have been spending most of the day in the field shelter and coming out to graze at night.

🏇 Adjust exercise
Riding early morning or late evening when it’s cooler or skipping the workout entirely if it’s too hot. Working with horses in the heat should be kept to a minimum.

🧂 Electrolytes & salt
Help them replace what they lose through sweat and offer loose salt or electrolyte supplements.

🚿 Cool showers & sponges
A gentle hose-down or a cool sponge bath (especially on the neck and legs) can do wonders. Harry, Gem & Rhona have all appreciated a cold bath in this heat with some added fly repellent wash for a bonus.

☀️ Sun cream on pink noses
Prevent sunburn on delicate skin, baby-safe SPF is fine for horses. Gem and I share a suncream and make sure to apply it as part of the morning routine 🙂

⛔️ When it is too hot, we don't ask Harry to participate in any activities but if he chooses to join us for some attention or a brush and hose off, that is okay.

⚠️Watch for signs of heat stroke:
Rapid breathing or panting
Lethargy
High temperature
Lack of appetite
Staggering or collapse

I was literally talking about this with Jack this week. Being able to see when a horse has ‘checked out’, ‘switched off’ or is ‘putting up with it’ is so important. A horse can be chilled and relaxed but still engaged and inquisitive.

🧨 "Bombproof" or just shut down? 🐴

We hear people say it all the time:

> “Oh, he’s totally bombproof. You can do anything with him.”

But here’s the question no one wants to ask:
Is he truly calm… or has he just given up trying?

Because there’s a big difference between a horse who feels safe and connected
vs. a horse who’s learned that saying no gets them nowhere.

👀 Learned helplessness looks like:
– No reaction, even in chaos
– Dull eyes, disconnected energy
– Going along with everything, no matter what

It’s not “good behaviour.”
It’s a survival state.

🧠 And yet, these horses are praised. They’re used in interactions.
They’re called safe. Steady. Saintly.

But here at Equimotional, we don’t want horses who’ve shut down to stay safe.

We want horses who feel free to say:
❌ “No, thank you.”
❓ “I don’t get it yet.”
❤️ “I’m okay with this now.”

Because the kind of healing we believe in? It doesn’t come from silence or suppression.

It comes from expression, boundaries, and choice.
From working with our horses, not over them.

So next time you hear “bombproof,” ask:

> 💬 Is this horse calm? Or is this horse coping?

Because compliance isn’t always connection.

Let’s choose connection. Always.

🧠 Did you know a child’s brain develops faster in the first five years than at any other time in life?
By age 5, 90% of their brain development is already complete so it makes sense to start building strong foundations before school begins.

Come and learn to read the fun, outdoor, pony-powered way with Hannah & Harry!
📚🐴 Because early learning should be joyful, playful, and full of confidence-boosting moments.

Hi everyone, sorry to have to share this, it’s not our usual ‘feel good’ post, but would really appreciate your support for little Primrose 🌹

We have recently taken in the most beautiful miniature spotted pony; a successful show pony named Primrose, with aim of finding her a wonderful family!

Sadly primrose sustained an injury on Monday which has caused catastrophic damage to her eye!

The vet attended immediately and was prescribed strong antibiotics and pain killers for 48 hours before check up and plan of action (due to swelling was unable to make an assessment of the eye at the time) - we went to give her her meds last night and traumatically found her eye had ruptured…. It seems she has a melting ulcer and her cornea has literally melted! The poor tiny little pony! Must be so painful and we will obviously act on this as a matter of urgency to save her life and relieve her of any pain!

At this point we have 2 options:

Euthanasia or Enucleation (removal of the eye)

The cost of surgery is more than the value of the pony (but of course money is not important over her life)
She’s sooo sweet, only 7hh and 13years old, and I’m sure she could live quite a happy and fulfilled life with only one eye…

One way you can help is by sharing this post 🙏
Our page is monetised and any earnings made from this post will go directly towards cost of surgery and recovery!

We will keep you all updated ❤️

(It’s pretty gruesome so I won’t share any photos here but I will post a video in the comments to give you an idea of what we are dealing with - don’t search for it if you’re squeamish)

Who thinks Harry would climb in the camper van if we let him?

The magic of Equine Facilitated Learning 🦄

🌿 The Effort Paradox 🌿

✨ “The more effortless it looks… the more effort it’s taken.” ✨

Ever had someone say,

“You make it look so easy.”
“You're just out there with ponies, right?”
“You're so calm — I couldn’t do what you do.”

Let us tell you the truth:

💥 What looks calm on the surface is built on hours of safety planning.
💥 What looks simple is the result of years of inner work.
💥 What looks natural is actually deep trauma-informed intention and years of learning.

As facilitators — especially those of us working solo or in small teams —
we carry a lot behind the scenes:
📝 Safeguarding, preparation, emotional regulation, adapting on the fly, chasing invoices, writing notes, designing sessions, learning new things constantly.

And still, we show up gently. We hold space.
We make people feel safe enough to open up in a muddy field with a pony by their side.

That’s not magic.
That’s mastery born of effort.

So if you’re a facilitator and you’re tired — it’s not because you’re weak.
It’s because you’re carrying more than most people will ever see.

💛 Keep showing up.
💛 Keep resting when you need to.
💛 Keep trusting that what looks "simple" from the outside… is actually sacred work.

Horses act as mirrors to support our emotional development. They speak in the world of non-verbal communication 🥰

When the temperature at the field is reading as 28 degrees 🥵, the only thing to do with ponies is a cold shower with some fly repellent shampoo!!