Why We Need Horse Sense in Business – An Interview with Gail Boone

I have always been in an entrepreneurial environment. Growing up with my parents running a television production company primed me to be thinking about how to best run a business. Now, an entrepreneur myself, the intricacies of business practice played a significant role in my pursuit of becoming an Advanced Eponaquest Instructor. Why? Because there is …

Saying Yes to Living Wholeheartedly

Last week, I said yes. Yes to go back to Arizona. Yes to growth. Yes to challenges. Yes to self-care. Yes to life. I thought I had finished my education in the south when I became an Eponaquest Instructor last spring, but it turns out life had other plans. This past week, I returned to …

A Heart for Knowledge

As a farrier, continuing education is important to me. Every year my business partner, Rodd, and I travel to various clinics and conventions in Canada and the United States so we can keep learning, improving, and helping the horses we serve. A few years into my farrier career, I attended the International Hoof Care Summit …

Bite Back to Reality

The smallest horse in my barn continues to teach me the biggest lessons. It was early morning a week or so after my husband Aquila’s surgery. He was starting to regain mobility, but still far from being able to help with farm chores. I had taken time off to help him recover, but I was …

Riding My Way To Grace

Since I became a farrier, every week someone offers me a free horse. Every week, I say no. There are always horses looking for homes for a plethora of reasons, and I am honoured people feel that I would be a good owner. That being said, horses are incredibly costly in time and money. Declining …

Become A What?

The first time I heard the word farrier, I thought it had something to do with taxidermy. No, I was told, it is the person who cares for the horses hooves. The horses need regular trimming and sometimes shoeing, and the farrier travels around to different barns to provide this service. My highly opinionated project …

A Diva Named Contessa

What is in a name? A LOT! Contessa was proof of that. A two year old dark bay filly with attitude coming out of every pore - she was a handful. Contessa was born on the farm a couple of years before Aquila and I arrived as WWOOFers. From the moment she entered the world, …

I’m Addicted to Horses

  There are plans, and then there is life. Initially, Aquila and I were to stay at our WWOOF location for two weeks. Nearly two years later, we were still there. The farm owners were looking for long term apprentices and we were happy to fill those roles. Despite my family believing I had joined …

Sense Knocked Into Me

Friday the 13th was the beginning of my new life. It was June of 2008 when my boyfriend Aquila and I left Montreal to go WWOOFing across Canada. Our first chosen farm destination captivated me with its description of horses, vegetable gardens, and maple syrup, but the promise of equines guided my soul. Nestled in …