Rose O' Sharon Equine Farm (R.O.S.E. Farm)

06/16/2026

06/11/2026

And that’s a wrap for2026 Rose Farm Horse Camp! This was our 5th year doing the camp. It was definitely hotter than we usually get for camp, but that didn’t stop everyone from having another fun-filled horse week! Thank you to all my volunteers who helped make this happen: Joss, Lydia, Sandra, and Addi! We couldn’t have done it without you all! And thank you to all the campers who participated this week! We had a blast and we are looking forward to doing it again next year. 🐴♥️🥰

06/10/2026

Day 1 and Day 2 of our 5th horse camp! Hard to believe we’ve been doing this for 5 years now. Despite the heat it has been going really well and the kids are all having a great time riding and learning all about the horses! Two more days to go! Horse Camp 2026! 🐴♥️😍

06/04/2026

Wesley and I went to the Anna Library this week and gave a presentation about horses. We had lots of fun sharing our passion with the 4th-8th graders there. Thanks for having us, Stinson Library! 📚 🐴♥️

05/19/2026

‘“Yes” has no value, if “no” is not an option.’

I came across the above quote from Leslie Desmond and it really hit home for me, not only with horses, but with raising children too. Actually, it can be applied across the board. When we don’t allow others the option of saying “no” to us we really limit our ability to communicate and deeply connect with them. The deepest of relationships always allows for the option of “no.” Unfortunately, so many people never allow their horses, children, or friends to say no them. So how can they really have an honest, true relationship with them if only “yes” is allowed? Do what I say, when I say!

05/10/2026

“There’s a real difference between trying to be kind while guiding a horse toward our goals… and allowing the horse’s experience to help determine what happens next between us.

It isn’t about doing the same things more gently.

It’s about allowing the horse’s lived experience to help guide what happens next.”

What would change if our interactions with horses began with awareness — not of what we want from them, but of what is happening inside them?

What if the moment a horse showed uncertainty or tension, the work paused there?

What if the most important skill we supported in horses wasn’t performance, but their growing ability to return to a sense of steadiness and safety within themselves?

And what if the felt experience of both horse and human mattered more than whether something looked correct from the outside?

At first, ideas like this can sound like a gentler version of familiar horsemanship.

Like becoming more thoughtful.
More careful.
More attentive within the same basic structure.

But I think they are pointing toward something deeper than that.

There’s a real difference between trying to be kind while guiding a horse toward our goals… and allowing the horse’s experience to help determine what happens next between us.

Most approaches — even very considerate ones — quietly begin with the question:

How can I help my horse succeed at what I’m asking?

An awareness-centered relationship begins somewhere else:

What is my horse experiencing right now?

And how do I respond in a way that supports their ability to find their way back to stability from the inside?

That shift changes everything.

The focus moves away from shaping behavior.

It becomes about noticing earlier.
Pausing sooner.
Recognizing when clarity and safety need to come first — for both horse and human.

Something else begins to change too.

Relaxation stops being something we try to create in the horse.

It becomes something we learn how to leave room for.

And when that happens, cooperation starts to look different.
Participation starts to look different.
Even the meaning of progress begins to change.

This is where the line starts to appear between being a careful horse owner and stepping into something closer to an autonomous partnership.

It isn’t about doing the same things more gently.

It’s about allowing the horse’s lived experience to help guide what happens next.

05/08/2026

Letting Go of “Fixing” Horses

There’s a quiet pressure that many of us carry without ever realizing it:
the need to fix a horse.

Fix the behavior.
Fix the posture.
Fix the attitude.
Fix the “problem.”

But what happens when we pause long enough to notice how much tension comes with that mindset?
How it narrows our vision, tightens our chest, and turns our beloved partner into a project?

When we stop trying to fix a horse, something profound opens up.
Curiosity appears.
Softness returns.
Listening becomes possible again.

Instead of:
“What do I do to change you?”
we start asking:
“What are you showing me?”
“What do you need right now?”
“How can I meet you with presence instead of pressure?”

Sometimes the most powerful shift isn’t in the horse at all—
it’s in the human who stops trying to force a story and begins to read the one already unfolding.

What becomes possible when you no longer need your horse to be different?

02/26/2026

Hi everyone, Invitations are out!! Come and get your tickets to our Kentucky Derby Gala on May 2, 2026. Good good, live music with Blacktop Junction, silent and live auctions. Call Debbie 618 303-2700 to get your tickets today!!

02/16/2026

MAKANDA — Specialized Equine Services and its Veteran Equine Therapeutic Services program are pleased to announce the start of the 2026 season in March at Rose O’Sharon Equine Farm.