Woodring Farm - Est. 1975

05/27/2026

05/10/2026

Spring grass may look harmless, but introducing it too quickly can have serious consequences for your horse’s digestive and metabolic health. 🌱🐎

Lush spring pasture is often higher in sugars and rapidly fermentable carbohydrates than mature forage. Sudden access can disrupt the hindgut microbiome, increase the risk of colic, diarrhea, and laminitis, especially in horses with insulin dysregulation or metabolic concerns.

A gradual transition is key:
✔️ Start with short grazing periods
✔️ Increase turnout slowly over several weeks
✔️ Feed hay before turnout to reduce gorging
✔️ Monitor body condition and weight closely
✔️ Use grazing muzzles or dry lots for sugar-sensitive horses when needed

Pasture management matters too. Waiting until the grass reaches at least 6 inches before grazing, and resting fields before they’re overgrazed, helps support both pasture health and safer nutrient intake for your horse.

Every horse responds differently to spring pasture. If your horse is at risk for laminitis, metabolic dysfunction, or other health concerns, work closely with your veterinarian to create a safe grazing plan tailored to their needs.

03/28/2026

This. ❤️❤️❤️

03/27/2026

03/18/2026

6 Million Lost Horses
A Black-and-White Cry of War

This is not just a photograph of old saddles. It’s a silent scream from the past — a haunting echo of pain endured not only by soldiers, but by those too often forgotten: the horses.

These saddles once rested on the backs of loyal, powerful animals who never chose war. They didn’t understand the cause — they simply followed, through snow, starvation, fire, and chaos. Romanian cavalrymen rode them into the frozen hell of Stalingrad, and many never returned.

Over 6 million horses were used on the Eastern Front during WWII. They hauled artillery, carried wounded men, and trudged through frozen steppes where many froze, collapsed, or died under fire. No one rescued them. No one buried them. They were simply left behind…

This image is their graveyard. Each saddle — a nameless tombstone for a life once breathing, once running, once brave.

Let us not only remember the soldiers in uniform. Let us also mourn those without names, whose hearts beat beside ours in history’s darkest hours.

03/07/2026

A WARNING ABOUT THAT GREEN STUFF

Spring is upon us. As our green grass begins to grow, it could signal the beginning of serious founder problems – laminitis.

Laminitis is inflammation of the laminae of the horse’s foot. Laminae make up the delicate, accordion-like tissue that attaches the inner surface of the hoof wall to the coffin bone (the bone in the foot.) The sensitive laminae cover the bone and interlock with the insensitive laminae lining the inside of the hoof wall to keep the coffin bone in place within the hoof.

A horse suffering from laminitis experiences a decrease in blood flow to the laminae, which in turn begin to die and separate. The final result is hoof wall separation, rotation of the coffin bone and extreme pain. In severe cases, the coffin bone can actually rotate through the sole of the horse’s hoof where it becomes infected and usually results in the death of the horse.

Laminitis is triggered by a variety of causes, including lush grass, repeated concussion on hard ground (road or mechanical founder); grain overload; retained placenta; stress, hormonal imbalance (Cushing’s disease or metabolic syndrome), mineral imbalance, and certain drugs (corticosteroids). Obesity makes any of these much more likely to happen.
Veterinarians and nutritionists have known for some time that plants store energy in their seeds and that energy can lead to laminitis.

Only relatively recently have researchers discovered that grasses not only store energy in their seed heads as starch, they also store energy as sugar.

In the spring, as grass is growing rapidly, it stores more sugar that it needs for growth. For every inch the grass is below six inches it is in more stress and throwing sugar at itself to grow and repair. And then horses consume the sugar (and starch) as they graze. At this time grass is also high in potassium which can inhibit magnesium uptake. Later in the year, when the daylight and nighttime temperatures are more consistent and grass growth rates decrease, the plant uses up most of the sugar produced during the day each night.

We OFTEN hear, "but horses in the wild eat grass all they want and they are fine!" Yes, because humans have not used fertilizer to kill all the weeds in their lands and thickened the grass. Because humans have not planted higher yield grasses there. Because humans have not fenced them in and provided them with easy access to water where they never have to roam far and exercise when they are thirsty. Our "un-natural" horse keeping has helped to create this problem and many others!

Here are some tips for avoiding grass founder:

ALLOW HORSES TO FILL UP ON HAY BEFORE TURNING THEM OUT ON GRASS FOR A FEW HOURS. This one is a very important, easy step. When turning horses out onto rapidly growing pasture (or onto pasture for the first time if they have been completely stalled), limit their grazing time for several days to avoid digestive upset and laminitis. Increase the amount of turnout time by one hour every 4-5 days until they're turned out for the desired time (be it all the time or just until they're brought in to their stalls) If you are really worried night grazing is the best option.

Watch your horse's crest. ANY filling should be considered a serious warning that laminitis is coming on and more drastic measures are needed.

Make sure your horses get at least 15 minutes of good exercise per day. This should include some trotting. Round penning them or riding them is ideal.

Watch what kind of grain you are feeding at the same time as lush grass. A low NSC option is best if it is needed at all.

Keep horses off lush, fast-growing pastures until the grass has slowed in growth rate.

Avoid grazing horses on pastures that have been exposed to low temperatures followed by bright, sunny days, such as a few days of warm sunny weather followed by a late spring frost or crisp, cool fall nights followed by warm sunny days.

Some horses may need to avoid grazing on pastures that have been grazed very short and/or are growing rapidly.

Keep overweight horses in paddocks or put a good grazing muzzle on them until the pasture’s rate of growth has slowed, then introduce them to pasture slowly.

For those struggling with obesity implement a properly set up track system and enlist the help of a certified nutritionist to balance the vitamin and mineral intake.

https://equusmagazine.com/horse-world/price-progress-32134?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQrkWVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR7zKnprgX6Z_gAvvP24OEGLop8xRMqic8qzkJA3YyIyGVDRH5dLtDTYcHgiXA_aem_xCyFOpYtS7rMrdbVm5o1MA

Long toes make for stressed laminae. Add in grass issues and your horse could be set up for disaster. Keeping the feet in balance can be an important step.

REMEMBER THAT A HORSE WHO HAS FOUNDERED ONCE WILL ALWAYS BE VERY SUSCEPTIBLE to REFOUNDER!
To avoid being unnecessarily cruel, you MUST take all precautions to keep this from ever happening again! IT IS VERY VERY PAINFUL TO YOUR HORSE TO BE IN THIS STATE!!!!!!

Horses that are over the age of 10, “easy keepers,” overweight or those with crested necks seem especially vulnerable to grass founder and should be the focus of your preventive program.

After the horses are turned out on pasture, check them often for early signs of laminitis such as a bigger crest, heat in the feet and a pounding pulse at the back of the pastern. Foundered horses also assume a characteristic “sawhorse” stance with their hind feet up under their body and their front feet placed farther forward than normal. This is because the horse is trying to shift its weight off its painful front feet to its hind legs.

Grass-foundered horses also move gingerly, as if walking on eggshells, and are often unwilling to turn or move at all. This is a big warning. In severe cases, the horse may refuse to stand. If your horse demonstrates these signs after being turned out on grass, immediately pull him off the pasture and call a veterinarian. While you are waiting for their arrival, you can cold hose the feet, or stand them in a creek, puddle, or wet mud. These things will give your horse a bit of relief.

Buttercup is pictured here in a classical founder stance. She was an owner surrender when her person realized she needed more help than she was able to give.

02/24/2026

If I ever come back as a horse,
let me come back scruffy.

Let me be the one nobody looks twice at.

The one without the flashy paces.
Without the perfect breeding.
Without the word “potential” whispered over my stable door like a price tag.

Let me stay with my mum in a muddy field.
Let me grow up in a herd.
Let me learn to be a horse before I’m asked to be anything else.
Let me be loved for who I am, not for what someone thinks I might become.

Because the pretty ones, the fancy ones, the impeccably bred ones with bloodlines that read like royalty — they enter the world already carrying expectations that aren’t theirs.

They are born with plans written for them.

Plans about ribbons.
About heights.
About returns on investment.

No one asks them if they want that life.
No one explains the pressure that will sit heavy on their young backs.

They are bought with ambition.
Trained with urgency.
Measured in results.

And when they’re not quite good enough,
not quite careful enough,
not quite brave enough,
not quite fast enough,
they are moved on.

Passed from hand to hand.
From dream to dream.

From one set of expectations to another.
Until, if they’re lucky, they land with someone who finally sees them.

Not the breeding.
Not the photograph.
Not the record.
But them.

By then, though, too many carry invisible cracks.
Anxiety where curiosity should have been.
Tension where trust should have lived.

Souls that need patient, gentle hands to piece them back together again.

My heart has bled one too many times lately for the ones who had “potential.”

Because potential should never cost them their peace.

Every horse deserves a childhood.
Every horse deserves softness.
Every horse deserves to be valued for who they are, not what they can produce.

Sometimes the scruffy ones are the lucky ones.

And sometimes the most beautiful thing we can give any horse is the freedom to just be one.

01/25/2026

Inspired by a followers comment which touched my heart ❤️

Winter is about love.

It’s the season where you see whose horses truly matter to them
not the ones who say it when it’s easy,
but the ones who show it when it’s cold, dark, muddy and inconvenient.

It’s the early mornings.
The late nights.
The quiet consistency when no one is watching.

And it’s not just about the horses.

Winter shows you the people who are kind to people too.
The text that says,
“I’ve put him out already, don’t rush up.”
The extra haynet done without a word.
The pair of hands that appear because someone can see you’re struggling .... no fuss, no audience.

No likes.
No rosettes.
No performance.

Just care.

Winter strips things back.
What’s left is who .. and what ... really matters.

So yes… to me, winter is about love.
The kind that shows up.
The kind that stays.
The kind that doesn’t need to be loud 🤍

01/07/2026

I know the cost of loving horses.

I know it in early mornings
when rest would be easier.
In long days that don’t pause
just because I’m tired.
In plans that change
and priorities that shift
without apology.

I know the cost financially,
but that’s never been the hardest part.

The real cost is time.
Energy.
Emotional space.

It’s the mental load of always caring.
Always noticing.
Always being responsible
for a life that depends on you
whether you feel ready or not.

It’s the worry that never fully turns off.
The decisions that weigh heavy.
The knowing that loving deeply
also means risking loss.

I know the heartbreak too.

I know what it’s like
to say goodbye too soon
or hold on through seasons
that are harder than you imagined.
I know that grief is part of the agreement
you sign the moment you choose this life.

And still—
I choose horses.

I choose them because of what they give back.

Because they ground me
when the world feels loud.
Because they teach me patience
without preaching it.
Because they ask me to slow down
and show up honestly.

I choose horses
because they don’t care who I am
outside the barn.
They care how I arrive.
How I breathe.
How I listen.

They’ve taught me responsibility
without resentment.
Strength without hardness.
Confidence without ego.

They’ve shaped the way I move through the world—
steadier,
more aware,
less reactive.

I choose horses
because they’ve been there
in seasons no one else saw.
Because the barn has held me together
more times than I can count.

I choose them
because this life feels real.
Because the work matters.
Because the connection is earned,
not given.

And yes—
the cost is high.

But so is the return.

The peace.
The purpose.
The quiet understanding
that I am exactly where I belong
when I’m with them.

So I keep choosing horses—
not because it’s easy,
not because it’s convenient,
but because it has shaped me
into someone I’m proud to be.

Some things cost more than money.
They cost heart.

And some things are worth it
every single time.

Horses
have always been one of them.

Do you still choose horses, despite the cost?

01/04/2026

There are thoughts horse women carry
that don’t always get said out loud.

Not because they’re shameful—
but because they’re layered.
Because loving horses teaches you complexity,
not simplicity.

We don’t always say
how heavy the responsibility can feel.
How the love comes with worry.
How caring deeply means
you never fully clock out.

We don’t always say
that sometimes we feel torn—
between devotion and exhaustion,
between wanting more time at the barn
and needing rest we rarely prioritize.

We don’t always say
how much pressure we put on ourselves
to do right by them.
To make the right decisions.
To never fail something
that trusts us so completely.

Horse women don’t often say
how much of themselves they pour in.
The emotional labor.
The quiet sacrifices.
The mental load no one sees
when things look peaceful from the outside.

We don’t always say
how deeply loss changes us.
How loving horses means accepting
that grief is part of the agreement—
and choosing love anyway.

We don’t always say
how much strength this life builds.
Not the loud kind.
The steady kind.

The kind that knows how to keep going
even when it’s hard.
The kind that learns when to push
and when to pause.
The kind that understands
that softness and resilience
can live in the same body.

And maybe the thought
we say the least out loud
is this:

That despite the worry,
the responsibility,
the heartbreak,
and the weight—

we would choose this life
every single time.

Because loving horses
has shaped who we are.
It has taught us how to listen,
how to care deeply,
and how to stand steady
when life feels uncertain.

These thoughts may not always be spoken,
but they live quietly
in every horse woman who understands.

And if you read this
and felt seen—
you’re not alone.

Some thoughts
don’t need to be said out loud
to be shared.

Do you feel this?