Twist of Fate Stables LLC

06/02/2026

05/07/2026

Wind sucking.

One of the most misunderstood behaviours in the horse world, and one that is still too often managed by restriction instead of understanding.

Let’s be clear: wind sucking is not a “naughty habit.”
It is a coping strategy.

When a horse windsucks, they are actively seeking relief, neurologically, physically, and emotionally.

What’s actually happening?

Wind sucking stimulates the release of endorphins. These are the horse’s natural “feel good” chemicals, helping to regulate stress and discomfort. Over time, this becomes a deeply ingrained self-soothing mechanism.

Remove the behaviour without addressing the cause… and you don’t fix the problem, you remove the horse’s ability to cope.

The emotional picture

Most wind suckers share a common thread:
chronic stress, frustration, or a lack of agency.

This might come from:

* Restricted turnout or movement
* High-concentrate, low-forage diets
* Social isolation
* Training pressure or confusion
* Physical discomfort or pain

But here’s the important part…
Even when you “fix” management, the behaviour often remains.

Why?

Because the nervous system has learned that this behaviour is safe. It’s predictable. It works.

These horses are often:

* Highly sensitive
* Internally busy
* Struggling to down-regulate

Wind sucking becomes their way of finding balance in a world that doesn’t always feel safe or understandable.

The physical impact on the body

This is where it gets really interesting, and often overlooked.

Wind sucking is not just a mouth behaviour. It’s a whole-body pattern.

Repeated engagement creates consistent muscular recruitment, particularly in:

* The underside of the neck (sternocephalicus, brachiocephalicus)
* The throatlatch and hyoid apparatus
* The diaphragm and ribcage
* The deep ventral neck stabilisers

Over time, this can lead to:

* Hypertrophy (overdevelopment) of the ventral neck muscles
* A fixed, braced underline
* Reduced lift through the thoracic sling
* Limited ribcage expansion and breath capacity
* Increased tension through the poll and TMJ

Posturally, many wind suckers present with:

* A lowered base of neck
* Hollowing through the thoracic region
* Reduced ability to lift through the wither
* Compensatory tension patterns through the back and abdomen

This is not because wind sucking is “damaging” in isolation, but because repetition builds a default neuromuscular pattern.

Why stopping it can do more harm than good

Collars, straps, crib boxes…

They suppress the behaviour, but they do nothing for:

* The underlying stress
* The neurological need
* The physical tension patterns

In many cases, removing the coping mechanism can actually:

* Increase stress hormones
* Create alternative stereotypies
* Heighten reactivity or shutdown
* Exacerbate internal tension

You’re not solving the issue, you’re silencing the symptom.

So what should we be doing instead?

We need to zoom out.

Look at the whole horse:

* Management
* Diet
* Movement
* Emotional state
* Physical comfort

And then go deeper:

* Where is the horse holding tension?
* What patterns has the body adopted?
* Can the nervous system actually down-regulate without the behaviour?

This is where therapy, correct training, and thoughtful management come in.

Not to “stop” the wind sucking, but to reduce the need for it.

Because at the heart of it…

Wind sucking isn’t the problem.
It’s the horse’s solution.

And if we’re serious about welfare, performance, and longevity, we need to start listening to what that solution is trying to tell us!!

04/17/2026

Now that I finally own my own barn after years of boarding, there’s SO much I didn’t realize as a boarder that I TOTALLY get now, Jamie Sindell writes.

Dear Barn Owners of My Past:

I would sincerely like to apologize for believing it was appropriate to grab hay whenever I wanted. I had to stuff Precious Pony’s face full. Heaven forbid she stands for an hour deprived of hay. What I didn’t realize is that Precious wasn’t wasting away. Hay is freaking expensive. Every. Single. Flake. Is money.

It was obnoxious to snag hay. If I believed you were truly starving Precious, I owed you a conversation. Sorry!

I also extend an apology for not thanking you regularly. I now comprehend what it takes to haul my butt out of my cozy bed on a frigid morning. I feel the pain of wrestling a frozen hose and slinging manure pucks into the wheelbarrow. I would absolutely prefer to skip chores and arrive in my heated vest to ride Precious Pony. You never had the choice to ditch the horses and sip a latte by the fire. Instead, you were out there caring for the herd.

In the summer, scorching fly-filled days when sweat soaked every fiber of your clothes, you ensured the horses stayed comfortable and healthy. I’m genuinely sorry I didn’t express my gratitude enough or bring you a Strawberry Acai on the regular. What I understand now is that one thank you or kind gesture makes a stressful barn day less painful.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say MY BAD for believing everything in the barn should look like an Instagram reel. Days the stalls weren’t done ASAP, water was lowish, or the ring wasn’t dragged with a pretty pattern…. Well, now I recognize crap happens! You have a life beyond Precious Pony, and gasp, maybe even a family to care for too!

Things come up. I’ve had sick kids upchucking into bowls, a spouse stuck at the airport, and busted-frozen pipes cramping my watering style. Crazy days make it extra hard to get everything looking just so. If the horses are regularly getting good care, blips aren’t a crisis. Precious Pony will survive to trot another day!

Turnout! Ugh. I was a brat. When I believed Precious Pony MUST go out to frolic, but the fields were a mucky mess, that wasn’t my call at your barn. In fact, Precious Pony would not only destroy your sopping fields, but she might pull shoes or come in limping.

Currently, my fields are moats. Every time the horses gallop through the mud, I cringe. Turnout all the time isn’t always feasible or a solution.

I am also sorry if I didn’t respect your barn rules. Your barn is your pride and joy (when you can muster up joy after caring for Precious Ponies all day). I know I now savor my crossties clipped, halters hung on a bias, and aisle neatly swept. At the end of a longggg day, these details matter. Forgive me for the days I left my brushes strewn about or my muddy blanket heaped in a mountain on the floor.

Finally, my biggest regret… I wish I lent you a hand more often. On days you were overwhelmed and rushed, I wish I hadn’t zipped out of the barn. An extra set of hands for turnout or holding Precious Pony for the farrier goes a long way. Presently, those extra free minutes mean I can grab my daughter from preschool on time instead of dashing in late, a hay-covered-mom-failure.

Let’s face it. Most people don’t board because it’s a cash cow. They do it because they love horses, even if down the line they become a little jaded. If I disagreed with some of YOUR decisions at YOUR barn, I hope I was respectful and kind. If I wasn’t, shame on me. No matter how strongly I felt about Precious Pony’s care, hushed whispers among disgruntled boarders wasn’t the way to go.

Now, when I take on a boarder at my farm, it is my choice. Though I will tolerate the owner and love Precious Pony like my own, at the end of the day, I own this joint. I want respect. You deserved the same.

Sincerely,

Jamie Sindell (Exhausted Owner of Wish List Farm est. 2022)

📎 Save and share this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/04/17/dear-barn-owners-of-my-past/

04/10/2026

INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

I'm reading an amazing book called Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster, the Academy award winning documentary film maker of "My Octopus Teacher".

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it, it is simply profound.

In the book he says "As a rule, I never touch an animal unless they touch me first".

In my work building relationship with horses, I do this too. Most times a horse will touch you with their nose/muzzle first, and matching that greeting (versus labelling the horse as a biter) is a game changer.

But there's a phenomenon I have noticed going on with people trying to build relationship with their horses that I have labelled "inappropriate touching", and it looks a bit like the photo below.

This picture was taken at a horse expo in Pennsylvania recently, where I worked with a demo horse who has a "biting issue". He would reaching out in a way that his owner was termed as nipping, whereas I interpreted as him saying hello, similar to reaching out to shake hands with someone.

When he reached out I would greet him with a flat hand that he is able to to nuzzle, lick or even scrape his teeth on. After doing this a while his snappy acting motions got less so, and he was no longer needing to say "hey, pay attention" , but was more "hey, how's it going". I was explaining to the audience that I was meeting him in the way that he was meeting me (with his muzzle) and that it's not an invitation to touch other parts (yet).

I then said that it's many people's default to reach up and rub a horse between the eyes, whether that's what they are offering or not, and that if you do, it's inappropriate touching and it gets in the way of connection. It doesn't meet their needs, and is all about yours.

With the horse in the picture, he'd been engaging me with his muzzle, and I said to the audience "watch what happens when I try to rub him between the eyes". As you can see in the photo, he has raised his head up and is clearly indicating "No, not there, on my muzzle".

We had a Connection And Attunement retreat here at the Journey On Ranch a week ago, and I used my wife Robyn to illustrate this point to the participants. I said "imagine I'm at a gathering and meeting Robyn for the first time". We walked up to each other in that way people do when they see someone new and they can tell an introduction is shaping up, Robyn reached out with her hand to say hello and instead of me reaching out to shake her hand, I gently reached up and lightly brushed a wisp of hair from her cheekbone and tucked it behind her ear.

The participants all gasped and the ick factor was high.

Even though it was caring, and gentle, it was inappropriate at that moment.

Now Im not saying you can't rub your horse on the forehead. I'm saying if your horse has a disregulated nervous system around humans because they don't feel seen (and safe), try to meet their needs first, before trying get get yours met.

I recently saw an instagram post from a University in the UK, and the professor was explaining that they were doing studies on horses to determine levels of stress. In the background a horse was standing with his head out over a Dutch door. While he was explaining their investigations on stress, a female student (or maybe another professor, I don't know which) walked up to the horse. The horse reached out with his muzzle to greet her.

She ignored this and reached up to rub the horse between the eyes.

He turned his head 90 degrees to the left to communicate that wasn't what he was offering.

Her hand followed him and kept rubbing.

he then turned his head 180 degrees to the right, saying "No, not like that".

Smiled, gave him another pet between the eyes, and walked of camera.

While the professor was saying that they are doing experiments determining the amounts of stress horses are under, someone in the background was actually creating stress, without either of them even knowing it.

Once you understand how sentient horses are, and how subtle their communication, you can't unsee it.

04/06/2026

Understanding Lateral Movements in Horses

Lateral movements are foundational to the art of dressage, developing balance, strength, and flexibility in both horse and rider. They are movements where the horse moves forward and sideways simultaneously. Here’s a breakdown of the key figures shown in the diagram:

🔄 Shoulder-in & Counter Shoulder-in

The Shoulder-in movement will present the horse’s shoulders slightly inward from the track while the haunches stay on the track. The horse bends around the rider’s inside leg. The Counter Shoulder-in is the same position but with the head and shoulders directed towards the outside of the ring.

🔄 Renvers & Haunches-in (Travers)

These movements involve the haunches being displaced from the line of travel.
Renvers (Tail-in) - The horse’s head and shoulders stay on the track while the haunches are brought inward. The horse bends towards the outside.
Haunches-in (Travers) - The head and shoulders are on the wall (outside rein) while the haunches are brought inward. The horse bends to the inside.

🔄 Half-Pass & Pirouette
These are more advanced lateral movements:
Half-Pass - A diagonal movement across the arena, with the horse parallel to the long side but bending and moving sideways in the direction of travel.
Pirouette - A 360-degree turn in a canter (or walk) where the horse turns around its hindquarters while moving slightly sideways. It demands great balance and control.

Mastering lateral movements improves coordination, engagement of the hindquarters, and responsiveness to the rider’s aids.

04/03/2026

Our yard will be open tomorrow for stone and aggregate sales……AND we have limited quantities of #2, #57, and crusher run size CRUSHED material on the ground and available for sale!! Come load up before it’s gone!

We also have traditional limestone and river rock products in stock as well.

If you’ve got spring projects on your radar this holiday weekend, come by and see us! We’re always happy to help!

03/25/2026

The psychic didn’t flinch when I sat down across from her.

She just looked up, met my eyes, and said quietly, “You’ll die tomorrow. Riding your horse.”

I laughed, at first. How did she even know I rode? Oh, it must have been because I was still wearing my barn coat?

Some part of me wanted to dismiss it, chalk it up to cheap theatrics, bad crystals, and incense smoke.

But when I got home, I felt it. That strange, heavy knowing, pressing into my chest.

One ride left.

There was no point chasing perfection now.
No point worrying about what wasn’t fixed, or the mistakes I’d made.
All that was left was to feel everything, the sway of his body, the rise and fall of his breath, the softness in his eye when I scratched his neck.

And for the first time, I realized:

I never wanted to be remembered for the tests I rode, or the scores I earned.

I wanted to be remembered for how I listened. How my horses felt in my presence.

For how I loved this ridiculous, beautiful, fleeting thing called a ride.

The next morning, I rode like it was the end.

As I pushed my leg off the mounting block, I whispered to Oli, “I guess this is it, buddy.”

He flicked his ear back like, you’re being dramatic, but I rode anyway, heart pounding, eyes wide open, soaking in every breath, every step.

We floated through the ride, laughed (okay, I laughed) when he spooked at his own poo, and trotted a centerline so straight you’d think I was trying to impress the gods themselves.

And then… nothing happened.

No lightning strike.

No heart attack.

No tragic fall into the sand.

I dismounted while there was still time, heart pounding, and let out a breath so deep it shook.

And that’s when it hit me:

The psychic was wrong, but she’d still been right.

Because every ride is your last ride, until it’s not.

Every moment we get is a gift we only realize after we survive it.

So I led Oli back into the barn, scratched his favorite itchy spot, and whispered:

“Let’s pretend tomorrow is the last one too.”

03/11/2026