Equine Connection Freelance Training

08/19/2026

I can’t wait to teach this clinic! I hope to see some of my old northern KY and southern OH clients whom I haven’t been able to work with since creating Sage Knoll Farm! We have virtually unlimited room in the classroom, so please join us even if you can’t bring your horse!

We are excited to host our next clinic - Annemieke Buis - September 19-20. Here is a link to her website for more information and a link to the registration is in the comments. Come learn with us! https://www.equineconnectionfreelancetraining.com/

08/17/2026

I'm developing a new skill-- glue on shoes! As many of you know, Manchego has been recovering from a double-whammy of ehrlichiosis and EPM. This resulted in subclinical laminits, joint and muscle pain (as well as likely but undiagnosed arthritis and synovitis), ataxia, and much more.

Erin Steinbeck shod him for the first 2 rounds to support him through all this inflammation, and then coached me through the process of doing it myself. Kimber Evers Miles and Alec Fourman also gave me lots of ideas and tips. Of course I learned so much from Ida Hammer at her clinics and absolutely cannot wait to attend a hoof protection clinic now! Thank you all so much!

I did the front shoes on Wednesday and accidentally ended up shoeing during a severe thunderstorm with water rushing into the barn. The shoes turned out ok, although I had to grind the right one back to give adequate breakover since it slid forward when he moved as lightning struck the field in front of the barn. Challenging conditions for my very first shoe job!

Yesterday I did the hinds. It was lovely for my track system to trim his hind bars and soles for me, and thankfully he's feeling well enough that the time out of the wedges didn't bother his joints. I practiced qigong thanks to Anna Lewis's teachings, then followed my step-by-step cheat sheet, and as soon as the shoes were on, I did bodywork on Manchego until they cured. I radically accepted that he may move and screw up my work, and committed to not worrying and stressing us both, and it made all the difference. I'm very proud of my first full set of shoes.

Will I be offering this service to clients? Absolutely not, sorry! I offer trimming for my rehab cases and feral/traumatized horses that
"normal" farriers can't do, or can't do often enough, but I reserve my shoeing services for my special boy, Manchego. This s**t is not easy, and I have so much respect for all the "real" farriers out there doing this work!!!

For most of my horse career, I have gone along with traditional farriery. I watched it fail my heart horse, Sage, who was ultimately put own for recurring abscessing in a hind foot that turned into a coffin bone infection. Then I went down the barefoot rabbit hole and honestly believed every horse could and should be barefoot with the help of boots. I've since seen that's not always possible, and that boots are very limited, They bring the breakover out in all directions, leveraging the laminae, plus they come with the challenge of staying on when they need to and taking them off enough to take care of microbial growth. I've seen how much proper shoeing can improve body mechanics, increase sole depth, and much more. I'm still not for open-heeled metal shoes, or nail ins, but my perspective has opened up to all the possibilities glue ons offer.

Manchego is in Easy Care Ones with DIM all around, and 3 degree bar wedges behind to ease the strain on his stifles. He loves his shoes! Thank you to all of my teachers and those who have borne the brunt of my hoof hyperfixation!

08/05/2026

Last week, our sweet dog Otis suffered a TBI and severe eye injury of no fault of his own, when my horse accidentally kicked him in the head while running and playing.

As those who signed up already know, I had to reschedule the Art of Feel- Proprioception Clinic. I needed to keep the house a quiet place for Otis to rest when he returned from the hospital. The clinic will now be August 29-30.

I can't thank everyone enough for their kindness and support during this very difficult time. Anna Lewis led Qigong via Zoom and surprised me with guiding a healing session for Otis that truly marked a shift in his recovery. The vets couldn't believe their eyes when we brought him in for a recheck immediately after. One of my boarders brought us a delicious homemade mushroom pot pie and a bottle of Riesling. My Sage Knoll Farm staff has taken on extra shifts to allow me time to to go Otis's appointments and watch him every possible moment. Everyone who knows about the accident has been checking in and sending love. I am so very grateful for this community.

When you're self employed, you don't get paid time off, and taking extra time to care for your loved ones or yourself means a dent to your income and ability to pay off those bills.

With that, I hope you will consider supporting my work at this rescheduled clinic. I will also soon be running sales on my webinars and other lectures on my Patreon. Thank you all again for your abundant kindness, support, love, and compassion. Otis is doing miraculously well, and the latest challenge is trying to convince him that he's not ready to sprint around and wrestle his big brother, Agave.

07/27/2026

Saturday is full for partnership participation (with your horse), but we still have a few partnership participation spots left on Sunday!

Participants will get to feel their horses balance, collect, and release as I work with them in-hand. They ride as a passenger, and I guide the horse, coaching each student on learning to get in touch with their body's sensitivity and intelligence to connect to their horse's whole being in motion.

In lessons, my students have loved the opportunity to drop the reins and just feel their horse. Like a lunge-line lesson, but with so much more intimate and intentional guidance for the horse from me on the ground. And it's not about position of perfect riding; it's about learning to feel and trust!

All participants, even those not bringing horses, will get to participate in the classroom sessions with me, and Qigong sessions with Anna Lewis to educate and ground us. I can't wait!

Sign up here to join us: https://forms.gle/daYMu7Vb3hByyWH96

07/20/2026

The same is true with horses! This is why I believe rehab should address the nervous system as much as muscles, bones, fascia etc!

The same ache. The same intensity. The same spot. But not always the same cause.

Structural pain comes from tissue damage: an injury, inflammation, something physically wrong. Neuroplastic pain comes from a brain that learned to sound the alarm even after the danger has passed. And often, it’s not one or the other. Many people have mixed pain, a real structural component that gets amplified by a nervous system stuck in overprotection mode.

That’s why the same sensation can call for different approaches, sometimes medical treatment, sometimes nervous system work, often both at once.

Which one do you think you’re dealing with? Tell me below. 🧠

07/18/2026

Yes!!! I’ve worked with so many horses and clients who “just” want to trail ride, and they absolutely need all of the same work as the arena horses! They need good postural stability, emotional regulation, and loads of self carriage! Arlene Swindle is probably my greatest example of an epic trail rider transforming her quarter horse through classical dressage. 🥰

07/17/2026

I heard you, Kentucky! Here's the clinic you asked for. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLQ9XwLUcgQv4Xs5pfwMzzzTayTUUE9Ajwh03BsscrwUPx-g/viewform