Stall and Stable: Ideas for Happy Horsekeeping

Stall and Stable listeners are the BEST listeners ever! In getting know some of you over the last year, I am both overjoyed and humbled by the stories you share with me. Stories about your barns, your horses, your accomplishments, and your challenges. It's really starting to feel like a family.  Today, Helena welcomes a listener from South Carolina who brought her horses home for the first time wi...

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting Tik Maynard for a 2-day clinic in the Ocean State. It was a very enlightening two days!  Advanced Eventer, Horse Trainer, and author, Tik Maynard, is a quality human being. You sorta need to be if you're going to convince horses to be awesome, and Tik does that without even thinking about it. Do you how he's so effective as a trainer? It's because he th...

When you finally get your horses home, there is no other feeling like it. Looking out your window and seeing your favorite creatures enjoying life under your care is one of THE most gratifying experiences for a horse lover.  But there's a flip side. Happy Horsekeeping isn't as easy as it sometimes seems. While we can design our barns, yards, and turnout to keep our horses safe, feed them the best...

There's a wonderful surge in horse adoptions this year. Many rescue horses, however, are in poor condition, and that leaves adopters struggling to nurture their horses back to good physical and mental health. Our guest in this episode is Dr. Stacey Boswell, an equine veterinarian whose new book, The Ultimate Guide to Horses in Need, covers the most common issues facing rescued horses, and how we,...

We're having a conversation about stall doors today. If you're a barn geek like us, every design element in a barn is meaningful, but perhaps none so much as doors, which can be used dozens of times a day. Doors need to be safe, efficient, functionally compatible with your barn's workflow, and of course, handsome. Join Helena and guest, Nick Thornton of Lucas Equine, as they chat about what goes i...

What's so great about boarding? Lots of things, actually!  Helena chats with return guest, Terry Golson, of the Cooperative Horse today, about Terry's recent move to a new boarding barn that has turned out to be quite the surprise for her and her American Paint Horse, Tonka. "Terry is one of my favorite people to talk with because she's not just a horse lover, she's also an animal behavior expert...

In today's episode, we revisit a favorite book of ours; The Compassionate Equestrian.  The book describes 25 principles that compassionate equestrians use as a guide to create healthy and productive relationships with their horses. As we circle back to the principles of compassion when we work with our horses, this episode's conversation digs deeper into the concept of reducing drama with your hor...

In another installment of "Siouxsie and the Solitary Witch", Helena catches listeners up on the first year (and canter!) with her OTTB mare, Siouxsie. --- One of the hardest things to overcome when you work by yourself, and you're a bit of an overachiever, is to stop second-guessing yourself. And lemme tell ya, a Thoroughbred in your back yard will most certainly give you reason to second-guess yo...

#BlackLivesMatter means the black community deserves to be heard, embraced, and celebrated, especially in the horse world. We are Equestrians first, whether we're bay or gray shouldn't matter, and yet it does. Still. In an effort to move the dial of racism down to zero, Helena talks with two smart, young women who know a thing or two about horses, podcasting, and grace. Abriana and Caitlin from th...

One of great things about podcasting is the opportunity to connect with other horse owners and sharing their stories and ideas for happy horsekeeping. We welcome one such listener today, Lori Rodriguez, from Tallahasse, Florida. Lori shares with us a bit about her life as a new backyard horse owner in the Sunshine State, including how she handles the heat, the bugs, manure, and more. Listen in!  

Today's episode was going to be about bailing twine. In light of the recent events in America, the discussion will instead be about how having our horses at home can teach us about silver linings. For every frustration, every complaint, every step backwards we take in our horse lives, there's a blessing hidden just beyond it. Stick around and see if you agree. 

There's been a lot of activity at our place these last few months. The quarantine has us sheltering in place here in Rhode Island, but that doesn't mean there's been a lack of things to do. On the contrary! From finishing our new hay shed, to major driveway construction, Buck and I have been busy little bees. Stick around to find out what inspired Buck to get back in the saddle, how our backyard b...

We had an entirely different episode planned for today. Dr. Karyn Malinowski, was kind enough to agree to a 2-part series on horse keeping at Rutgers University Equine Science Center. Well, we got part 1 down okay, but as we connected last week to begin recording part 2, Dr. Malinowski and Helena found that their casual conversation about their horses was just the antidote to the ho hum glum if is...

Dr. Karyn Malinowski, an accomplished equine scientist, is the Founding Director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). She joins Helena in this episode to talk about current best practices in horsekeeping. Listen in to hear about how the experts at Rutgers manage things like the dietary requirements of their horses, turnout, herd dynamics,...

As we move closer to peak infection rates of coronavirus in the United States, more and more states are reporting their hospitals becoming overburdened with sick patients, healthcare workers are also becoming infected. This makes any visit to the hospital an especially risky one. The governing bodies of most equestrian sports have issued notices to riders to take extra steps to reduce the everyday...

It may seem odd, at a time like this, to talk about saving time, when we're all locked in our homes with nothing but time. But it's actually a great time to talk about time. While our everyday lives have slowed to a crawl, let's take this opportunity to get creative about the ways in which we can optimize our time at the barn so we can enjoy every minute there. In today's solo episode, Helena shar...

Meghan Hamilton runs a quality dressage training facility in southern New England. Like all horse owners, managing the manure pile is something she calculates into the cost of doing business. Unlike others, however, Meghan's manure pile isn't in her debit column. Nope. Meghan has actually turned her horses' manure into a profit center using a pretty straightforward composting system. And the best...

We are talking emergency planning and first aid in this episode. Our guest is Catherine Frend-Gillihan from Equi-First Aid USA , an organization that provides customized health and safety training courses for people in the equestrian industry. Catherine and Helena talk about some of the things we all need to be thinking about before an emergency arises. Even if we are not 100% prepared for whateve...

We're getting down to business today, listeners, and whether or not you own an equine business doesn't matter. As I chat with social media pro, April Hardeman of Make It Rein, you'll come away with a new appreciation for how today's social platforms can improve your access to equestrian businesses, professionals, and opportunities as a user, and how to best leverage the media as a business owner....

Whether you are thinking about building a small barn or a large one, there are thousands of decisions to make along the way. When it comes to the actual components of your stalls, this is where you need to really focus on making decisions that are safe and comfortable for your horses. This doesn't mean you have to sacrifice beauty, though. Our guest today is Nick Thornton from Lucas Equine Equipme...

Not everyone can build the ideal barn in size, layout, or amenities. In that case, some creativity and a modest budget can make it all work nicely. Buck joins me today to talk about what's happening at our place these days, how we are managing Siouxsie's life to manage her ulcers, and the thought process behind adding a new shed to our property. Listen in! This episode is brought to you by our fri...

World Class Grooming Pro, Emma Ford, returns to Stall and Stable to chat with us about some interesting tips from her clinic in Rhode Island a few weeks ago. We talk winter blanketing, turnout, horse care, and transporting Olympic horses by air and by truck. We also chat about what kinds of things the team at Phillip Dutton Eventing do in order to prepare their horses for a possible run for the go...

Happy holidays, everyone! If you're a horse person listening to this episode you know full well that stalls don't muck themselves, so keep yourself company today with our final episode of the decade! Stick around as two old friends, horse people, and veteran podcasters talk about life with horses, podcasting, moving from north to south, and everything in between. Our guest this week is Horse Radio...

If you ask 10 equestrians what "quality" means in terms of horse care, there is no doubt you will get ten different answers! That's a problem when business owners open their barns for boarding. It may not be their problem, but it is certainly a problem for the customer - the horse owner. As with any equestrian professional or service provider, accreditation is key to establishing trust with the cu...

This episode gets a little personal, and that 's Helena for you! She is the kind of "girl" who wears her big ole bleeding heart on her sleeve, welcoming anyone willing to listen to join in on her story. But this isn't a sad story; it's a happy one. Well, it's both, actually. And that's what horses do for us. They help us uncover parts of ourselves that need work, and they help us uncover the parts...