Our Philosophy

We view horses as equal sentient beings with humans, with their own soul histories, emotions, unique personalities, and spiritual gifts – just like us. We also regard them as excellent teachers and examples of how to be fully alive, how to be free and yet also always connected and part of the whole. Horses naturally live in harmony with each other and with their environment when allowed to do so. Horses teach us how we too can naturally live in harmony with the earth, and that if we actually have what we need, very little extra is necessary.

We support the use of the “3 Fs” model of horse welfare which defines the basic needs of horses as Forage, Friends, and Freedom (more info can be found here):

Forage – Horses require a steady stream of unrestricted forage to keep their digestive systems functioning properly. Grazing is a natural behavior that helps to calm the horse nervous system and also helps to bond the herd together.

Friends – Horses are herd animals and need to live with at least one other horse at all times that they can freely touch and interact with physically. Meeting instinctual needs for mutual grooming, play, and group rest are necessary for healthy and balanced horses.

Freedom – Horses are very large animals that are designed to walk long distances each day, and whose primary survival instinct is movement (running away from a threat). They need to live in an environment that encourages and allows for healthy movement, such as a track system.

Once these basic needs are met, you will be amazed by the results for your horses in terms of their health, soundness, and willingness to partner with you for various activities and interactions.

The Model

Our model at LandHorse Consulting builds on research in equine health as well as the significant insights gathered by regenerative farming and land conservation advocates. We have built our model standing on the shoulders of giants, using the ideas, insights, and learned experience of others who have come before us, mixed with our own unique perspectives, skills, and experiences.

We are not the first ones to invent the idea of horses living naturally in harmony with their environment, free of unnecessary human ideas that interfere with their innate way of living on earth. We have experienced firsthand that horses are able to bring themselves into balance when they have the freedom to live the way nature intended them to – and that they will also choose to be in harmony with us as well when we are in balance ourselves.

Some of the ideas we have been inspired by include the Equicentral system designed by Jane and Stuart Myers in the UK, and the Paddock Paradise system created by Jaime Jackson. We have also learned from Amy Dell’s experience in the UK with running a track-based boarding facility (what they call a “livery”). These systems consist of practical, easy-to-implement practices that not only allow horses to meet their instinctual needs of movement, herd bonding, and foraging, but also meet the needs of the land for rest, regeneration, and protection from overuse in order to flourish.

The LandHorse model builds on the excellent work done by these innovators, as well as other research conducted into the needs of horses. Our model is designed to allow horses the utmost freedom possible, while balancing their effects in the ecosystem to ensure harmony is maintained between human, horse, and land.

Horse management is completed in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible, requiring minimal control and intervention by humans. The beauty of the design is that this method naturally aligns with the way horses prefer and need to live in order to be healthy and sound in body, mind, and soul:

  • Horses’ needs are met in balance with the needs of the ecosystem in which they live, ensuring grazable land is preserved and the natural habitat is able to flourish alongside the horses;

  • Horses live free of confinement in stalls, individual runs, and small spaces, so they can move their large bodies as nature intended them to do;

  • Horses live together with other horses that they can physically touch;

  • Horses live outside in natural environments, with the option to utilize shelter as needed;

  • Horses have constant access to forage, to provide the flow their digestive system requires; and

  • Horses have the opportunity to place their hooves directly on the earth whenever possible, so they can receive the information they need about their environment and their hooves can grow healthy and strong.

Benefits of the LandHorse Approach

  • Healthier horses with far fewer issues, saving money from costly vet visits, complicated feeding and supplement routines, repeat visits from bodyworkers, chiropractors, and other specialists, endless training and interventions.

  • Increased soundness in your horse, including the ability to go barefoot over all types of terrain. We partner with a natural trimmer that we can connect you with as well if you are interested in transitioning your horse to barefoot or improving their soundness once they already are barefoot.

  • More balanced, calm, and easier-to-handle horses who are less spooky and unpredictable. When horses are able to move freely and have all of their instinctual needs met, their nervous systems naturally balance themselves, making their baseline emotional state calmer and more regulated.

  • Improved performance in any chosen partnership activities with your horse, whether ridden or in-hand/on the ground, a natural result of the above.

  • Increased enjoyment and less stress in managing and caring for your horses, so you are able to realize your dream of a harmonious horse-human partnership!

  • Reduced need for daily labor to complete horse chores, either for your or for your staff – eliminate unnecessary work, reduce the wear & tear on your body, make it easier to hire and keep staff to care for your horses, and reduce costs.

  • Improved health of the land – leave it better than you found it, and preserve the natural resources already available to you. Build soil health, regenerate any available grazing, attract helpful wildlife, and create a natural sanctuary for you & your horses to enjoy!

A New Era in Horsekeeping

Given the significant changes in how horses are living alongside humans, it is time for the living arrangements and management systems of domestic horses to catch up to the current reality.

The old model of horse-keeping comes from two primary ways of living with horses that are no longer a reality for most horse owners in the U.S.: the use of horses in the military (calvary), and the use of horses in daily labor such as farm work or transportation. In these situations, horses were in work all day long, doing extremely taxing physical labor in service to human goals. At night the horses would be placed in stalls, stables, or small paddocks so they could eat and recover, and be readily and easily accessible to humans the next morning to continue their duties.

In these situations, stalls made sense, as you certainly can’t waste time walking out to a pasture to catch your horse if the enemy forces are approaching and you need to ride out immediately to meet them! Horses were often moving from place to place with their humans as well, in nomadic situations or moving to different theatres of war. Tying them nearby and ensuring they couldn’t run off also made sense in those situations.

These days, those of us with horses in our lives are doing very different activities with our equine friends. Aside from working ranches, most of us are doing more recreational activities with our horses which don’t require all-day training sessions, or even for the horse to be taken out of her living environment every single day. When we do go to get our horses for riding or other activities, we don’t need them to be at immediate access where we can grab them out of a stall and go in a matter of seconds! Even those horses that are training for competition are only physically moving a couple hours a day at max to prepare for their competitions. This means horses nowadays have much more time to stand around and rest, perhaps even too much time to stand around and rest, as they are designed by nature to be moving the majority of the time!

We also have the benefit of much more research about wild horses, equine nutrition needs, equine health and behavior than we have ever had before. What’s amazing is that the research about horses has consistently shown that there are much simpler, less expensive, less constrictive ways to keep horses which actually support their health and well-being! We also have excellent information now about sustainable and regenerative approaches to land management that can enhance and support the land horses live on, rather than depleting it.