🌱 Spring Laminitis: Why Prevention Starts Before the Grass Turns Green

As the days get longer and the pasture starts to glow with new life, most horse owners feel a sense of excitement. But for many horses—especially those with metabolic issues—spring can be one of the most dangerous times of year.

Enter: spring laminitis.

This seasonal risk is more than just a fluke; it’s a predictable, preventable problem that deserves a place in every horse owner’s spring plan.

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What Every Horse Owner Should Know About Soundness

If you’ve ever watched your horse move and thought,

“Something’s just a little… off,”
you’re not alone.

Maybe they’re not lame, but they’ve started resisting the saddle.
Or they pin their ears during grooming, or just don’t seem quite like themselves anymore.
You check the tack. You rest them. You second-guess everything.

And still—something doesn’t feel right.

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Facebook Overwhelm

Facebook Overwhelm

Have you felt it?

Your quest for learning gets hijacked by passionate and conflicting posts and comments.

Is licking and chewing good or bad?

Is your gelding dropping good or bad?

Is clicker training ethical or coercive?

Is pressure and release ethical or coercive?

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Barbara ParksComment
Gutzbusta Hay Nets Discount

I’ve got another great discount to share with everyone!

I have used so many hay nets… and my GutzBustas nets are my favorites (the square bale nets open on the long side! So much easier) so I’m thrilled to be able to offer 10% off all orders to my clients and friends!

The code is easy to remember! It’s THEHORSEPT

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Barbara ParksComment
It's never *just* kissing spines...

Here’s something else from my new collection I think y’all might want to see:

This is a section of thoracic vertebrae (T16/17, so on the part of the horse’s back you sit on to ride)

This segment has “kissing spines” which you can see by the top bits of bone touching.

But the point I want to make here, is that the “kissing spines” - the part you can see on an X-ray- are touching without being fused…

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Barbara ParksComment
Bony Remodeling from Chronic Laminitis

I received a large collection of bones for my birthday this year, and I’ve been slowly working through them to get everything cleaned up and organized.

I’m hoping to create more educational content with the help of these horses, there are a lot of interesting bones - and I thought maybe I’d start here:

This is a set of coffin bones (the bone inside the hoof capsule) from the same pony. Her name is Izzy.

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Barbara ParksComment
It's okay to let it go...

I saw a client today that I haven’t seen in over a year.

Life got tough for her, so she told me she took a break from…everything. Just, let it go.

She had some big goals for herself and her horse last year that we weren’t able to meet the timeline for. Not even close… we were both disappointed.

She said she felt like she was giving up. It would be so easy for me to label her “non-compliant.”

But then, this spring, the chronic pain she had been battling for 10 years just… went away.

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Barbara ParksComment