Deb Harper's Naturally Right with Horses

Of Minis and Muzzles

Of Minis and Muzzles….. The latest farm saga… my Houdini horse DETERMINATION is the best word I can think of to describe Maximus (aka Max) . With the grass and the weird spring, I’ve had some trials with my metabolically challenged horses and the best solution was to limit their grass by the [...]

Laws of Attraction – Part Three – “What does Love have to do with it?”

Laws of Attraction – Part Three – “What does love have to do with it?” A dear friend suggested I carry on with this thread and talk about my observations on the different pairings between mares/mares….mares/geldings…geldings/geldings and even stallions with either of those two. I can even go one step further and talk about siblings. [...]

Laws of Attraction – Part two “The science of the language”

Laws of Attraction – Part 2 Last blog, I told the story of how multiple strange horses sorted themselves out in little spin-off groups when I turned 6 minis out in a large safe field. Horses are social animals. Instinct tells them that they need to be in a herd in order to [...]

The Laws of Attraction- Part One “The dynamics of the herd”

How relationships form with horses – the Laws of Attraction Part One Have you ever wondered why certain horses get along with some horses and not others? Me too! I love to watch horses interact with one another and figure out what the factors might be that attracts or binds certain pairings, especially [...]

Bobbysox – a special time and place

Sometimes we get these wonderful moments when animals let us in….really in. I never cease to be amazed when this happens because those moments are so powerful that unless you’ve ever been appreciated or loved by an animal you might miss the window of opportunity to bare your soul and receive the love back. [...]

Horse Play in the Winter

While we might be faced with extra chores during the winter, something about the snow and the cold brings out the goofiness in our horses that is a joy to watch. Dogs too…My Kerry Blue had a blast leaping into the snow and the Shih Tzu was all gung ho until he sank out [...]

Horses with senses of humor….what does it mean?

A few days ago I was turning the horses out for the day and I was taking the three minis down the aisle way together…all at once, 3 abreast, to save time….. (and you can envision what a gong show that can be with 3 individual little characters…on a good day!…one of them might be [...]

The World lost a special little horse

It’s with a heavy heart I write to say that the world lost a special little horse on Thursday. Robin Hood was a foster miniature horse that came to my farm for diet rehab. He was surrendered to Pipsqueak Paddocks, a very special place that accepts minis that need to be re-homed….sometimes because of abuse, [...]

Dancer- the new kid on the block

This is Dancer, a four year old miniature stallion that is with me for the winter. He is settling in fine and is safely stabled between Ruby and my warmblood Lyric…. Ron lowered the stall door so Dancer could look out and he looks rather small in this 12×12 stall!

Madrona Sealect Lad – the horse of a Lifetime

Madrona Sealect Lad 1992-2008 Horses and people come into your life for a reason and this phenomenal Lippitt Morgan stallion was my best teacher. Lad was the horse of a lifetime. A once-in-a-lifetime special horse. I still feel his loss to this day, and I find it difficult to write about him and yet I could [...]