Equine Training For Wellness

If you follow this advice it will help you become a better horseperson, and make better choices for your animals.

https://www.ttouch.ca/2020/02/14/finding-the-right-trainer-for-you-and-your-horse-or-any-animal-really/

Nope, its not AI!

More info about Veronika the cow - see post below.

The study, titled "Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow," was conducted by cognitive biologists Alice Auersperg and Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaró from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.

The researchers were initially skeptical when Veronika’s owner, Witgar Wiegele, sent them videos. However, after traveling to Nötsch (Austria) to conduct 70 controlled trials, they confirmed that her behavior meets the scientific definition of flexible, multi-purpose tool use.

• Tactile Precision: Veronika uses her "hand-like" tongue to pick up a deck brush (broom) and grip it firmly in her mouth.

• Purposeful Choice: She doesn't use the broom randomly.

The study showed she consistently selects the bristled end for the thick, tough skin on her back and the smooth handle end for sensitive areas like her belly and udder.

• Technique Variation: She uses broad, sweeping strokes for her upper body and careful, poking/rubbing movements for her lower body.

• Cognitive Rarity: Using different parts of the same object for different functions is a level of sophistication previously documented almost exclusively in chimpanzees (e.g., using different ends of a stick for termite fishing).

The researchers believe Veronika’s skills emerged because she lived an unusually long and "enriched" life. At 13 years old, she is much older than most commercial cattle and lives in a pasture with constant human interaction and access to various objects.

"We don’t believe Veronika is the 'Einstein of cows.' Instead, her behavior suggests that the cognitive potential of cattle has been vastly underestimated because we rarely give them the environment or the time to develop such skills." — Antonio Osuna-Mascaró

Source: Current Biology Journal, January 19, 2026, Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059

We can say the same think of horses. Tell me about things you have observed your horse doing which no one would believe 🌻

https://youtu.be/U-hJB0gefMQ?si=9ss6ObGqz9gTSArG

and:

https://youtu.be/dZAmey4suhM?si=wpit-hyvO9tP6jxy

This Fabulous Cow Has Demonstrated The First Case Of Tool Use In Cattle An Austrian pet is the first tool-using cow known to science. Veronika started picking up sticks in her paddock and using them to scratch herself when she wa...

More blanketing advice from our friend at Equine, PhD.

One of the biggest blanketing misconceptions is that if you start blanketing before the winter solstice, you can’t stop for the rest of winter. And while blankets can influence the hair coat, those changes take weeks to meaningfully affect the horse. Using a blanket during a cold snap, wind, or rain doesn’t lock you into blanketing for the rest of the season. The bigger welfare issue isn’t when you started blanketing - it’s whether you’re adjusting appropriately as conditions change. I choose to remove blankets on warmer or sunny days to give the horses a chance to ❄️ Feel fresh air or snow on their coat 🪮 Groom each other 🐎 Move without restriction I then monitor for when they need them back on based on weather conditions and their behaviors. Do you blanket your horses? And if so, how do you know when it is the right time to let your horses have a break from them? Cheers, Dr. DeBoer

Never forgotten. Always in the hearts of those who knew and loved them.

Kerry left us 10 years ago on January 3rd, 2016. Christine passed last year on Nov 18th,2024. It is hard to grasp they no longer walk amongst us.

This a true, heartfelt and comprehensive tribute to Sarah Fisher, the founder of ACE (Animal Centred Education) and a woman whose work with horses and dogs everyone who lives with, cares for or trains animals should be aware of.

You can learn more about ACE here:

https://animalcentrededucation.teachable.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BbLde7nzc/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It is impossible to put into words the impact that Sarah Fisher has had on us all.

A dear and treasured friend of both myself and my husband, Sarah was a fiercely loving mother, the ultimate advocate for animals’ wellbeing, and a truly irreplaceable light in our world - both within and well beyond the realm of dog training and behaviour.

Sarah was that rarest of breeds: one of those very special few who leaves behind a legacy destined to impact exponentially vast numbers of living beings - far more than the lucky few who were blessed to know her, watch her genius work with animals, and share space with a powerful woman whose brilliance was matched only by her beautiful grace.

I was blessed to have met Sarah many years ago, and she has remained a steadfast friend beyond just her professional work. From the beginning, Sarah was different. As a speaker at every Dog Behavior Conference since its inception and a VSA faculty member sharing her genius with our UK-based students, Sarah’s willingness to share her work without pretense or ego was marked by an unmissable generosity that infused every room she entered with a sense of calm and peace.

She was one of the true ‘good guys’ - always able to cut through the noise and BS of the sometimes unforgiving world of professional dog training with her uncannily no-nonsense and accurate reads on whatever extraneous debate topic du jour was dominating our headlines. We connected so deeply in part due to a shared intolerance for anything that didn’t directly benefit the wellbeing of the animals we worked with.

Sarah’s sense of commitment and loyalty to those who shared her simple but powerful passion for making animals’ lives healthier, richer, and better understood knew no bounds, and I will forever feel blessed to have benefited from it. Sarah shaped my work as a dog behavior consultant perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever met, and her wise and gentle touch will remain a guiding presence in my life and career forever.

Sarah used her beloved Tilley Farm near Bath in the UK as ground zero for ACE Free Work, helping so many people expand their vision into animals’ life experience with a passion and determination to continuously unpeel the layers of the animals in all our lives. We had the privilege of sharing some precious time with her over the past few months, exchanging ideas over lunch and going for a walk through Tilley Farm’s lovely grounds. That piece of land has a special history, having found its way into Sarah’s orbit years ago via remarkable circumstances. It exudes a special energy - when you’re there, you cannot help but feel Sarah’s reassuring presence all around you, including her deep connection to the animals under her care there.

As my husband shared with her the last time we talked shortly before her passing, Sarah is unique among us as someone whose presence feels truly timeless. Her energy, passion and graceful power feels like it has always been here - long before she walked among us and long after she’s gone.

The deep insights that came to her so often and so effortlessly were so obvious once she revealed them, you wondered how you didn’t think of that yourself and marvelled at how she translated what she felt and saw into such accessible, digestible and actionable takeaways.

I will miss being near Sarah, sharing space - both privately and professionally - with someone so deeply generous, brilliant, empathetic and powerful. Her loss feels insurmountable, and while we are bereft in the realization that she’s gone, she would also no doubt be sharing her timeless wisdom in how she felt we should try to tackle this: “Sit with your grief, honor what you’re experiencing, then get up and take action to make a difference where you can.”

We will, Sarah.

Everything I do in this industry is infused with your wisdom. You taught me, inspired me, made me see things in a different light. You lifted me up when I felt overwhelmed and supported me when others didn’t. My family and I are blessed to have known you and we will forever be grateful for your insight, your grace and your courage. You were and will continue to be a champion for animals and the people that love them.

It is with great sadness that I have just learned of the passing of the incomparable Sarah Fisher.

Sarah's book, "Know Your Horse Inside Out", first introduced me to her work and her immense talent for observing, understanding and helping horses and dogs. Sarah was one of the best animal behaviorists I have ever met; she was not only exceptionally observant, but she brought a respect, understanding, and boundless love and compassion to her work. That love resonated in every single interaction she had with animals—many of whom had suffered greatly.

Minty’s story is one I have carried with me (along with the story of her beloved Henry) - and it is the story my mind turned to immediately when I read of Sarah’s passing tonight. I wanted to share it with you because to me it perfectly exemplifies how Sarah approached animals and it contains much for us to learn so we can be better care takers and friends to our animals. It also reflects her lovely voice, so filled with warmth and kindness.

In the years since she wrote that post, her work continued to grow by leaps and bounds, but at its core, there was always that same immense humanity and love.

My thoughts are with her family and all of her friends and students.

I could not share the post from its source so I copied and pasted it below but you can click on the link for the source beneath the post.

I encourage you to look up Sarah's work, trainings and books. she leaves behind a group of dedicated professionals who will continue to share her legacy and spread her approach and philosophy which she christened ACE: Animal Centred Education.

https://animalcentrededucation.teachable.com/p/home

THE STORY OF MINTY

"A long post!

When you take it slow, the trust will grow.

Let me introduce you to our darling Miss Minty. Some of you have followed her story since she came to live with us in March 2018.

Minty was approximately 33 years old when she arrived at Tilley Farm with her companion. She had spent most of her life with a couple who had rescued her from the sales – they had done their best but Minty was fearful of human contact. Part of her ears had been chopped off prior to ending up in the sales. She had to be lured into a stable and trapped to have her feet trimmed every few months.

Once Minty’s head collar was on her guardians said they could do everything with her. This may have been true, and this is by no means a criticism of their management techniques, but it can be hard to see that an animal is shutting down rather than being still because the animal is feeling calm.

Her guardians realised they were no longer fit enough to give Minty the care she needed in her old age, and signed Minty and her equine friend over to an animal welfare organisation. I saw a post and offered to help as it was clear this wasn’t going to be a straight forward rehome.

I went to visit Minty a few times so we could make a plan. If she saw anyone approach, she would turn and trot off in the opposite direction. We eventually lured her into a stable for a thorough vet check under sedation to minimise her stress as her teeth were in urgent need of attention. The weather was awful that spring – it poured with rain for weeks on end and paddocks everywhere were under water so it took us a little time to put our plans in place.

With careful management, the assistance of my wonderful equine vet and my ACE colleague Shelley, we transported Minty and her friend to Tilley Farm. I promised Minty that she would never be lured or trapped again, unless of course there was ever a situation that warranted urgent medical care.

At some point in Minty’s past she had sustained a significant injury on the left side of her body. Part of her rib cage is compressed and there is scarring in the skin. In her winter coat the only evidence was a coat change – it was only when she shed that spring that the extent of her old injury became more evident. She’s also had an eye injury at some point too and her veterinary records showed that a dart gun had to be used to sedate her in order to treat the eye. I fully appreciate it would not have been possible to catch her any other way.

And so what we thought would be a long road to building trust began. When we walked out to feed her she would run away. We would put her feed down and leave the field. It is so important not to poison meal times – separate food rewards and clear markers for engagement by choice are the best way forward. Remember Minty had banked over thirty years of fearful experiences around humans – it’s also important to remember her guardians really did their best.

By creating a routine, it was only a matter of weeks before Minty stopped running away. She would wait, and move forward to her feed bowl once we had stepped back. Then she started to walk towards us when she saw us approaching and by scattering additional treats on the ground once she had eaten she continued to gain confidence and gradually decrease the distance between us and her until she was taking treats from our hands. This alone was an incredible moment for us all.

Sadly Minty’s companion died that summer. We paired Minty with sweet, gentle Bonnie (photo below) and that proved to be another turning point for Minty. Our vet had already been able to look at Minty’s eye from only a few feet away – something that hadn’t been possible when she first arrived – but I really wanted to be able to manage her old injury without regular sedations or without causing Minty any stress.

The farm was quiet for two weeks that summer – it was just Shelley and me on the property. We created a low barrier in the barn with two stables at the end left open. We opened the field gates and we carried on with our summer cleaning and kept to the same feeding and treat routine that we had established in the fields but this time near the barn. Shelley and I would sit and have our lunch together and to our absolute amazement Minty started to hang out with us too. I will never forget the moment I felt her warm soft muzzle touch my hand as she asked for more tasty treats.

I taught her a hand target, and started clicker training her to put her nose into her head collar. We set up a station and using a version of the Bucket Game built her trust so we could bathe and treat her eye whilst she was completely free. She started to rest in her stable with the door wide open and every day her confidence increased. What an incredible summer that was.

Minty started to follow me in the arena around patterns of poles, and outside, and it wasn’t long before she was leading the way when we moved her and Bonnie to pastures new; all through choice, and without the need for a head collar. Her circle of human friends began to grow. We were able to do gentle bodywork around her head and ears, our vet could examine her eye, and our kind and gentle farrier was able to trim her feet in our covered barn without inciting panic. I had kept my promise to this sweet brave pony and we never did have to lure or trap her to give her appropriate care.

Minty was still wary of contact on her body from the shoulders back – particularly around those damaged ribs. Watching her interact with our donkeys and Bonnie it was evident there were some areas of her body where contact from an equine friend was welcome, and so with a solid relationship and many hours banked of positive experiences caring for her eye and feet in a variety of locations, I decided to progress with grooming her a couple of weeks ago. I left attempting to groom her this long as it was more important we could trim her feet every two months and clean her eye a couple of times every day.

Using her bucket (an old supplement pot) I introduced a ‘scratch me silly’ holding it at first before moving it in the air, then touching her once or twice with the rubber end. This enabled me to stand a little way from Minty – it is close proximity in a new situation that worries Minty the most. Minty knows however if she lifts her nose from her bucket, we stop whatever it is we are doing at the time, and when she puts her nose back in her bucket we start again. I was able to remove part of her winter coat that was still on her back in that first session – again Miss Minty was completely free. Two days later I no longer needed the ‘scratch me silly’ - as she enjoyed her treats, I was able to groom her all over with a soft rubber groomer. I am smiling now as I type this as it was such a momentous moment once again. For her to trust me enough to let me feel her entire body beneath my hand feels like the greatest gift.

So here we are, two years on and those thirty three years of fear have been replaced with trust and joy. And it isn't just me that has developed this bond - we are all blessed here to have an extraordinary relationship with this amazing pony that just continues to deepen, and grow.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ej7L2bqGY/?

This helped me better understand why outbreaks of the EHV-1 virus should be treated as life or death.

🦠🔒 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐇𝐕-𝟏: 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬

Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious virus that is commonly classified based on how the disease manifests:

🫁 Respiratory disease
🤰 Abortion
🧠 Neurologic disease (EHM)
👀 Or no obvious clinical signs at all

🧬 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬

Despite these different outcomes, it’s all the same virus. Within EHV-1, three genetic variants have been identified: D752, N752, and H752. The difference comes down to a single amino acid change at position 752 in the virus’s DNA polymerase gene.

That detail matters because it can influence how long and how intensely the virus circulates in the bloodstream.

After infecting the respiratory tract, EHV-1 doesn’t stay localized. Instead, it can move through the bloodstream inside white blood cells. The longer or more intense that circulation is, the greater the chance the virus reaches vulnerable tissues.

🤰 When it reaches the uterus and placenta, the result may be abortion.

🧠 When it reaches the small blood vessels supplying the spinal cord or brain, inflammation and vascular damage can lead to neurologic disease.

While the N752 variant is often referred to as the “non-neuropathogenic” or “abortion strain,” and the D752 variant as the “neuropathogenic” or “neurologic strain,” these labels can be very misleading. This is because both variants can cause all forms of disease.

To make this abundantly clear - the strain does not dictate how the disease manifests.

🤧 𝐄𝐇𝐕 -𝟏 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞

This is evident in published research. An earlier study (Perkins et al., 2009) linked the D752 variant with more EHM cases (16/19). However, more recent work (Pusterla et al., 2023) showed the pattern had flipped, with N752 now being the leading variant in EHM cases (26/35).

That said, D752 remains much less common overall, accounting for only 34 of 297 EHV-1 cases, yet 71% of D752 cases (24/34) developed EHM, compared to only 10% of N752 cases (26/255).

Put simply, a horse is less likely to be infected with the D752 variant overall, but if infection does occur, the risk of developing EHM is higher than with the N752 variant.

Ok. I’ll pause for a moment to apologize for all the numbers. I just find this fascinating. 😅

Based on these data, it’s also important to emphasize that just because a horse gets EHV-1, it does not mean it will develop EHM. In the U.S. dataset, only 35 of 297 cases (11.8%) developed EHM, 5 (1.7%) resulted in abortion, and the remaining 257 cases (87.5%) were respiratory infections.

That said, outcomes can vary by region. A German study (Klouth et al., 2021) found 23.4% of EHV-1 cases developed EHM, highlighting geographic and population differences.

For horses that do develop EHM, fatality rates can be high with one study (Klouth et al., 2021) reporting a 23% fatality rate in an unvaccinated herd, while others report 30–40%. Put another way: if 100 horses are infected with EHV-1, roughly 12–23 may develop EHM, and 3–9 of those may die.

While the official genotype has not been released for the current outbreak (to my knowledge), it has been described as particularly aggressive and neurologic in clinical behavior - which would typically point toward the D752 variant.

🐴 𝐒𝐨 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐄𝐇𝐌?

A retrospective study on 589 horses in Europe (Klouth et al., 2022) found that fever (p

I am delighted to share this rare opportunity to explore the healing world of flower essences with teachers who share their knowledge with deep integrity.

One of the founders of the school is my longtime friend, Kathleen Aspenns, who possesses a unique gift for bridging the gap between nature and healing. Kathleen’s work is rooted in the understanding that humans, animals, and the botanical world are part of a single, vibrant ecosystem.

By recognizing and tapping into the subtle intelligence of plants, she teaches us how to support human and animal wellness alike and to honor the soulful, interconnected bond we share with our beautiful earth.

I highly recommend all the Flower Essence Studies courses and certifications.

Winter flash sale! ⚡ 30-50% off select courses

⏳ Dec. 16-18 only

🌸 This midwinter, it's the perfect time to catch up on select courses and bundles full of deep plant-centric and practitioner-informed teachings.

🎁 Bundle up with us and enjoy extra plant wisdom this winter!

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