Balancing Whispers

10/07/2026

The Herd Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts.

When we look at a large herd of horses living together, it can be tempting to think about “the herd” as one entity. But a harmonious herd is actually made up of many individual nervous systems, bodies, personalities, relationships, histories and needs.

And every one of those pieces matters.

I often think of it a little like the cells of the body, a topic close to my heart as a TTouch practitioner for 20+ years.

A healthy body depends on millions of individual cells communicating, adapting and working together. When one area becomes compromised, the effects don't necessarily remain neatly contained there. The whole system may begin to compensate.

A herd can be remarkably similar:
When one horse is in pain, unwell, chronically stressed, hungry, sleep-deprived, socially insecure or simply struggling to cope with their environment, that experience doesn't exist in isolation.

It enters the social system, the herd:

Perhaps that horse becomes more defensive around resources.
Perhaps they move another horse away more frequently.
Perhaps their closest companion becomes reluctant to leave them.
Perhaps another horse changes where they rests, eats or drinks to avoid conflict.

And then that horse's behaviour affects another horse.

Suddenly what appears to be a herd dynamics problem may actually have started with the needs of one individual.

This is why managing a large herd successfully requires us to see both the whole/herd and the pieces/individual horses that create the whole.

We need enough forage stations, water access, shelter, space and opportunities for movement. We need compatible social relationships and the ability for lower-ranking horses to move away without becoming trapped.

But we also need to keep checking how each individual horse is doing:
Are they physically comfortable?
Are their nutritional needs being met?
Are they getting sufficient rest?
Do they have meaningful social connections?
Can they access resources without repeatedly experiencing conflict?
Are there subtle changes in behaviour that might indicate pain, illness or stress?

Because harmony in a herd isn't simply the absence of obvious fighting.
A quiet herd isn't automatically a healthy herd.

True stability comes from individuals who have the physical, emotional, environmental and social resources they need to function well within the group.

And sometimes, when the dynamics of an entire herd begin to change, the most useful question isn't - what is wrong with this herd?

It is:

Which individual is struggling—and what are the others telling us about it?

Just as we cannot separate the health of the body from the health of its cells, we cannot completely separate the wellbeing of the herd from the wellbeing of the individuals within it.

Because in a truly harmonious herd, every horse is part of the conversation. And here at Balancing Whispers, we witness the power of healthy herd living every day.

09/11/2026

Different Horses. Different Needs. One Large Grass-Free Track.

One of the questions I often hear about keeping horses together on a grass-free track is: how do you manage them when they all have different nutritional needs?

The answer is simple in principle, although it takes thoughtful management: we manage the individual without taking away the benefits of the herd.

A grass-free track gives us the opportunity to control what horses have access to while encouraging something very important - movement. An equally important item is 24/7 access to tested, low sugar hay, spread over the track in a variety of feeders.

Our group forage is a base that is safe for all horses, but it is only part of the picture.

The rest of each horse's diet is customised to their specific needs through additional meals, provided once or twice a day.
It allows us to provide more calories and protein for those that need it.
Supplements and medication can be added depending on the individual needs.
Older horses sometime receive an extra flake of richer, second cut hay with their breakfast.

They can still live together.

Bringing each horse in for breakfast allows us to monitor body condition and overall health and adjust quickly.

But that is not where it stops.

We continue to watch the horses, for changes in appetite, herd behavior, movement patterns, social behavior.
Blanketing, clipping, extra fly spraying, bodywork therapies, hoof care, extra indoor time, are all done on an individual need and schedule.

Successful husbandry means responding to each individual horse, rather than expecting every horse in the herd to thrive on exactly the same program.

And providing individualized care does not necessarily mean horses need to spend large portions of their lives separated from one another.

With thoughtful design and management, we can support individual nutritional and medical needs while preserving movement, social contact, choice and companionship.

That, for me, is one of the great strengths of a well-managed track system. Same herd. Same environment. Different needs. Individual care.

09/10/2026

Please read and share. Understanding how R+ training works is essential to its success.

One of the biggest reasons people avoid Positive Reinforcement is because they’re worried about creating a muggy, frustrated or food-aggressive horse.

THIS IS A VALID CONCERN.

Positive reinforcement can absolutely create muggy, frustrated, or even food-aggressive horses. IF NOT DONE PROPERLY.

Pressure and release can absolutely create shut-down, fearful, anxious, or aggressive horses.

Neither outcome is inevitable. Both are possible when training lacks clarity, consistency, or good mechanics.

Fortunately, there are a large number of things we can do to reduce the likelihood of mugging, frustration and aggression.

1. Have clear start and end of session signals.

Horses benefit from knowing when training has begun and when it has ended. That predictability matters, especially at the beginning. They don’t have to constantly guess whether reinforcement is available because the context is clear.

2. Teach context.

Not every interaction needs to be a training session.

Sometimes we’re shaping a new behaviour. Sometimes we’re working on behaviours already under stimulus control. Sometimes we’re simply sharing space together in the pasture.

Horses are incredibly good at learning context. Clear contexts create clear expectations.

3. Reinforce calm.

One of the most important behaviours to reinforce is doing NOTHING.

Standing quietly, “respecting” personal space, waiting calmly, and remaining relaxed around food are all behaviours worth reinforcing.

Calm behaviour around food doesn’t happen by accident. It’s taught, reinforced and maintained.

4. Reinforce away from your body.

One rule I repeat over and over in the beginning is:

Food goes to the horse. The horse doesn’t come to the food.

Food doesn’t always need to come from your hand or directly beside you. Reinforce the position you WANT, use a feed pan, or reinforce where you ultimately want the horse to be.

This helps prevent horses from learning that crowding you is the best strategy, because crowding never results in reinforcement.

5. Teach boundaries AS behaviours.

Rather than only correcting a horse for being “pushy,” teach the behaviours you want instead.

Stand here.
Wait.
Put your head here.
Stand calmly.

Boundaries ARE behaviours, and like any other behaviour, they can be taught and reinforced.

6. Be mindful of your choice of reinforcement.

People often call this “treat training,” but most of us aren’t actually training with treats. The goal is to use the lowest value reinforcer that still effectively reinforces the behaviour. Sometimes that’s hay pellets. Sometimes it’s chopped forage. Often it’s part of the horse’s normal daily ration.

Higher-value food can increase arousal, especially early in training, which is one reason people sometimes run into problems with mugging.

It also answers one of the most common concerns: “Won’t my horse get fat from all those treats?” In many cases, we’re simply using calories the horse would already be eating.

None of these principles are magic. They’re simply ways of making the training clearer and more predictable for the horse.

The goal isn’t to have a horse following you because you have food. The goal is to have a horse that understands when reinforcement is available, what behaviours earn it, and what is expected in different contexts.

Positive Reinforcement DOESN’T create mugging. Poor application of R+ can.

Just as poor application of pressure can create fear, frustration, or shut-down behaviour.

The answer isn’t avoiding a learning process.

The answer is understanding the principles that make good training possible.

09/10/2026

It’s unfortunate that we have to make this post, but the track system community is small, and this has now made its way back to us on multiple occasions from different people.

So, once and for all:

The track system at Balancing Whispers was designed and developed by myself and Brie. We did not hire an outside consultant to design it, and no one else was involved in planning or designing our system.

We have repeatedly been told that someone is claiming they had a hand in building and/or designing our track. That claim is false.

We can’t control what someone chooses to tell people, but when someone is using our facility and our work to bolster their own experience or credentials, we’re going to correct it.

If you have been told this lie, we would encourage you to consider evaluating any other claims being made about their experience.

We’re putting this publicly on record so there is no ambiguity going forward.

Feel free to reach out to me directly.

08/17/2026

An oldie but still very pertinent...

08/12/2026

Brie made a post about the conversation her and I have almost every day..the real cost of caring for horses, to make them thrive. Not just be okay.

The location of your farm will have a huge impact on your expenses. Here in Southern Ontario, we deal with bitter cold and heavy snow loads for almost 5 months of the year. Then scorching hot summer and flooding fall and spring. All of that requires maintenance, equipment and man power.

We have access to all services like good vets, farriers and feed stores. But that translates into high real estate prices and higher labour cost.

And if the Gods really smile upon you and bless you with metabolic horses, then the fun really begins..

The continuous bashing of barn owners is just forcing many barns to close, and private barns to stop boarding.

The reality is painful, but no amount of bullying will change that. In this area, horses are an absolute luxury.

We need to have a realistic conversation about what boarding a horse actually costs.

Because sometimes I see boarding ISO posts and genuinely cannot figure out how people think the numbers are supposed to work.

Let’s use some pretty conservative numbers.

And for context, these are Ontario numbers, based on purchasing tested hay. Costs obviously vary depending on where you live, what forage is available, bale size, quality, and how your facility is set up.

Hay alone can easily cost $200 per horse, per month.

Now let’s say your horse needs grain twice a day. You supply the grain, supplements, medications, whatever goes into the bucket.

For the sake of some very simple math, let’s conservatively say preparing and feeding it takes ONLY 10 minutes per feeding.

That’s 20 minutes a day.
10 hours of labour per month.

At $25/hour, that’s $250/month in labour just to provide two feedings a day.

Add the hay and we’re already at $450/month.

That’s hay and ONE relatively basic daily service.

We haven’t paid for ANYTHING ELSE.

We haven’t paid for manure removal, stall cleaning, fencing, shelters, water, hydro, insurance, taxes, equipment, fuel, maintenance, repairs, snow removal, arena harrowing, drainage, pasture maintenance or any of the other expenses involved in keeping horses on a property.

And I think this is where a lot of boarding operations accidentally make the numbers look better than they actually are:

They don’t account for their own time.

If you spend two hours fixing fencing, those two hours have value.
If you spend your morning filling hay, cleaning troughs and maintaining paddocks, that time has value.
If you spend your evening changing blankets, bringing horses in or checking an injured horse, that time has value.

Every hour you spend working at your boarding facility is an hour you could theoretically be working somewhere else and getting paid.

Your labour does not become free simply because you own the property.

And obviously, there are economies of scale. Feeding ten horses doesn’t necessarily mean ten separate 10-minute blocks of labour.

Some facilities also have enough appropriate pasture to significantly reduce hay consumption during the grazing season.

But neither makes the cost disappear.

Pasture itself requires land and maintenance, and here in Ontario, grass certainly isn’t replacing hay twelve months of the year. The mortgage doesn’t stop in June. Insurance doesn’t stop. Fences still break. Equipment still needs maintaining. Staff still need to be paid.

And then I see what people are sometimes looking for:

Multiple feedings every day. Blanket changes. Boots on and off. Feet picked. Fly spray. Supplements given. Horses brought in and turned out. Stalls available whenever needed. Trails. An outdoor arena. An indoor arena. Good footing. Lots of turnout. Shelter. Constant forage. Someone keeping an eye on their horse.

And somehow all of this is supposed to cost a few hundred dollars a month.

Every single thing on that list requires labour, infrastructure, money, or all three.

Wanting those things isn’t unreasonable.

Wanting excellent care for your horse isn’t unreasonable.

But at some point, what you’re asking for and what you’re willing to pay for it have to exist in the same reality.

And this is also why boarding by itself is often not particularly profitable.

I’ve talked a lot about the lack of access to species-appropriate boarding, because it IS a problem. There are owners desperately looking for better options and unable to find them.

But I think this HAS to be part of that conversation too.

We cannot ask boarding facilities to provide increasingly individualized, labour-intensive, species-appropriate care while expecting the people providing it to subsidize our horse ownership.

Horse ownership is a luxury.

The people feeding horses twice a day, breaking ice and shovelling in February, fixing fences, maintaining arenas, cleaning troughs, managing pastures, filling hay, changing blankets and monitoring horses deserve to be paid for their labour.

If we want better boarding options, those facilities have to be financially sustainable.

And sometimes that means accepting that good horse care costs more than we wish it did.

08/06/2026

Use and reuse.
The last few winter storms broke a lot of trees in our surrounding forests - we are using the trunks to block the grass growing under fences.

Clean our forest trails and keep our metabolic horses just a bit more grass free...

08/02/2026

A heartfelt post. Our differences should not stop us from seeing the positive in others.

08/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DMK6CJQtv/

07/29/2026

A new challenge is facing our industry, and it isn't about horses at all—it's about the people coming into it.

We have all seen the decline of Pony Clubs, the dissapearence of the young barn rats growing up around horses and learning through practice.

Many first-time horse owners are now adults fulfilling a lifelong dream. They bring enthusiasm, dedication, and the financial ability to finally own a horse. That's something worth celebrating.

But they often arrive with little understanding of equine behaviour, learning theory, husbandry, or welfare. And that's not a criticism—it's simply the reality. We don't expect someone to become an expert simply because they've bought a horse.

Unfortunately, this lack of knowledge can leave new owners vulnerable. In an unregulated industry, anyone can call themselves a trainer, clinician, or horse professional. Some are exceptional educators with years of experience and a genuine commitment to horse welfare. Others rely on confidence, clever marketing, and promises of quick results, while lacking the knowledge or ethics to support both horse and owner.

The cost isn't just financial. Horses can experience unnecessary stress, confusion, or pain, while owners often lose confidence, blame themselves, or even give up on the dream they waited years to achieve.

As an industry, we need to do better.

We need to create environments where asking questions is encouraged, where science-based education is accessible, and where owners are taught why horses behave the way they do—not just how to make them comply.

Knowledge is one of the greatest welfare tools we have. An informed owner is far less likely to be misled, and far more likely to build a relationship with their horse based on understanding, trust, and compassion.

If you're new to horses, don't be afraid to ask questions. Seek out professionals who can explain their methods, welcome curiosity, and continue learning themselves. The best trainers aren't threatened by questions—they're delighted to answer them.

Our horses deserve knowledgeable advocates, and every new owner deserves the opportunity to become one.