Tag Archives: Equine Studies

Florida, Midlife Crisis Edition

Finding my bliss at equine internship

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Since heading back to college last fall, I knew I would be required to complete an internship. The thought made me anxious. As a veteran teacher, I’m used to being one of the experts in my field, but in the horse world, I’m a rookie. I worried about feeling stupid. I worried about making embarrassing mistakes. I worried about having condescending supervisors. After my first week on the “job,” I am breathing a sigh of relief … no, it’s more than that. I am actually giddy with joy to have this opportunity.

My neighbor introduced me to Sharon Madere, a certified horse behavior consultant, who agreed to take me on as an intern at her gorgeous 39-acre farm. Her business, EquiLightenment, offers equine behavior consulting and positive reinforcement training. In addition, she operates a small breeding program, Silver Moon Iberians.

Colts separated from their mamas for the day as part of the delayed weaning program.
Halters for the mamas and babies (and one pony).
Such a lovely setting!

The farm has a wonderful vibe that seems to stem from a genuine love and respect for horses paired with an idyllic setting. Towering oak trees draped with moss provide a dramatic backdrop to the pastures, and the barn is bright and breezy, clearly designed with the horses’ welfare in mind.

The cart features a guide for each horse’s care, as well as supplies such as fly spray and a bucket of warm water for wiping eyes and nostrils.

Sharon was out of town last week, but her barn manager and fellow trainer, Jess Ward, provided a warm welcome. She has patiently showed me the ropes regarding their barn management practices, and I’ve already learned so much from her.

On my first day, Jess introduced me to Meg Eades, who was visiting to perform body work on some of the horses. According to Meg’s website, she offers Lazaris Method Nerve Release, which “gently unwinds chronic tension and nerve impingements, and promotes soundness and healthy nervous system function.” Watching Meg and Jess work together on a horse named Epic was riveting. Slowly and gently, they helped Epic release tightness in his neck through body work and movement.

Jess leads Epic while Meg offers guidance.

Meg also worked with the resident stallion, Ladino.

Meg and Ladino.

On my second day, I met Dr. Karen Hitchings, who shared her philosophy about barefoot trimming. The goal is to help the horse feel balanced, she said, to move him out of his sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and into his parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relax).

When we weren’t chatting with visitors to the barn, Jess walked me through the daily routines. We brought the horses in from the pasture to feed and groom them. We cleaned stalls and filled hay bags. We hauled hay out to the pastures to ensure horses had 24/7 access to the forage necessary to keep their digestive system in working order. Jess drove the Gator, zig-zagging around the pastures, while I threw handfuls of alfalfa, a management practice that encourages horses to move around as they graze.

Jess backed the Gator up to the hay container.
Jess and Chris pulled down flakes of hay and loaded them on the Gator.
Eliana spotted the delivery and stopped for a snack.
Throwing handfuls of hay to the colts in the pasture.

One of the pregnant mares, Crescente, is due to deliver her foal any day now. She is huge and uncomfortable. Not surprising since a newborn foal averages around 100 pounds! Jess explained that testing the pH balance of Crescente’s milk would help predict when she’ll have the baby. Researchers have found that when the pH drops below 6.4, the mare has a 97% chance of foaling in the next three days. I have my fingers crossed that I will be there when it happens.

Me leading Crescente in from the pasture.
Jess took a milk sample from Crescente.
Close, but not there yet!

I also watched Jess give a dewormer to one of the colts, Solsticio. She calmly desensitized him to the plastic syringe – showing it to him, letting him smell it, touching his face with it, etc. – so she could administer the oral paste. I followed her lead later than night when I had to give one of the minis some anti-diarrhea medicine.

I’ll be working and learning at EquiLightenment three days a week until I complete 120 hours. After all those Equine Studies classes, I’m thrilled to have more hands-on experience with horses and the experts who work with them. It reminds me of when I trained to be a teacher. You learn heaps of information, but none of it really makes sense until you step into a classroom. Lucky me … this time, my classroom is a barn.

Florida, Midlife Crisis Edition

College Classes + Miniature Tutors = Steep Learning Curve

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After two decades of learning and growing as an educator, I feel quite confident in front of a classroom. Presently immersed in something totally new and unfamiliar, I am beginning to realize how much I took that expertise for granted. Developing a solid skillset takes time, patience, and humility. Why did I think I could jump right in to the horse world like a pro? 

The amount of learning my poor old brain absorbs each day, both in my classes and at the farm, makes my eyes twitch. Book learning and lectures frequently raise more questions than they answer. I latch on to some random concept and lose myself in a digital scavenger hunt on that topic, such as when we studied the circulatory system and I got fixated on the size of a horse’s heart. Human hearts weigh about 10 ounces. The heart of an average 1,000-pound horse? 10 pounds. And remember racing legend Secretariat? His heart was reportedly a whopping 21 pounds! So there’s a good hour I can’t get back.

Reviewing with a model before dissecting the horse heart.

The minis also teach me a lesson every day. These two guys, Timmy and TJ, are among my most dedicated teachers.

They seem determined to trick me into a variety of rookie mistakes. TJ (on the right) is a rapscallion of a gelding with a strong sense of entitlement and crazy eyes. Timmy is TJ’s dad, the only stallion in the little herd. He is generally sweet and gentle, but TJ brings out his naughty side.

Every morning, when I clean the barn, they follow me and intentionally block my path. I keep telling them, “The sooner you let me sweep out this sand, the sooner I can feed you!” Yet they persist. Here’s one example of their determination.

After all this time, I had the brainstorm yesterday of shutting myself in the stalls. Shoulder-high doors lead from the barn aisle to the stalls, and metal gates lead from the stalls out to the sandy paddock. The horses roam freely in and out of the paddock but have no access to the barn’s interior. 

TJ and Timmy glared at me through the gate while I efficiently swept out the sand and loose hay. When I opened the gate, they rushed in, and I quickly shut myself in the neighboring stall. Smug with this new power, I forgot to latch the door from the first stall into the barn, and those two made a break for it. Before I could stop them, they gleefully knocked over a bucket of pellets and scarfed down a few bites. Touché, little men. Lesson learned.

Later in the day, it was bath time. Timmy loves to hang out in the water mister until he is soaking wet, and then he rolls in the sand. He was filthy, and his tail was matted with poo and sticks from the field. I tied him up and hosed him down before getting to work with shampoo, sponge, a rubber curry mitt, and a comb. Afterwards, I used a mystical concoction called Cowboy Magic to detangle his mane and tail. He was so handsome! 

And then he did this. I think I heard TJ egging him on.

When I texted their owner, she wrote, “That’s why we leave them in the stall until they dry off.” Well, rats. Another lesson learned.

Although my eyes ache from the pressure of my rapidly growing brain, I love this stuff. I may not reach expert status as quickly as I had hoped, but for now, I am focusing on the journey instead of the destination.