Balance Equestrian

Just ONE week to go! 😍

We’re getting very excited for a day of horses, connection, movement and a little bit of time to slow down and breathe. 🐴🌿

There are a few ways you can join us:

🐴 All livery clients and horses — $75

🐴 Bring an external horse — $120
Includes stable use for your horse for the day.

🧘‍♀️ Come without a horse — $75
Take part in the mindfulness & yoga session, watch the liberty work and enjoy the day. No experience required!

We think we’ve replied to everyone who has messaged to enrol so far — but if you’ve been in touch and haven’t heard back from us, please give us a little nudge! 🥰

What do you do when you have the wettest winter in 45 years?🌧️

You pivot. You adapt. You grow. 🌿

This winter has certainly tested us, and it’s given us plenty of time to think about how we can keep improving the way we do things for our horses, our clients and our team.

So when our delivery of Jelka HIT Top Clean Mats from SurehoofNZ arrived this week, we were pretty excited. 👀🐴

This is just the beginning of a much bigger project to make our track more resilient, more functional and better equipped for whatever Southland decides to throw at us next.

We’ll be sharing the journey as we go…and we’d love to hear from anyone who has used Jelka Mats before. How have they worked for you? What have you topped them with - sand, pea gravel, something else?

For those who want to join us and start prepping for next winter, SureHoof have generously provided a discount code for our followers - Balance5 🥰

DELIVERY!!! 🥳

Who’s ready for a hay feeder “glow up”? 👀

What would you like to see around our hay stations? 🤔

💕 The sweetest kind of support comes in the quietest moments.

Ruby has been a little under the weather recently and has spent some time on and off yard rest while we kept a close eye on her.

We noticed she was becoming a little unsteady and struggling to get the deep, restful sleep she needed. So when the opportunity came for her to join Hannah and Sweet Pea in the mare herd, we were hopeful they might be a good fit.

And they have been absolutely wonderful for her. 🥹

Ruby has clicked so beautifully with the girls and has been enjoying some long, deep sleeps - with Hannah and Sweet Pea standing quietly nearby, keeping watch and offering her the security of their company.

There is something incredibly special about watching horses care for one another in their own quiet way. Sometimes support doesn’t look like doing anything at all. Sometimes it’s simply standing close enough to say, “You can rest. I’ve got you.” 🤍

And yes… that is Whinney in the background, very quickly making her way over because there was absolutely no way she was going to miss out on the photo! 😂

Peek-a-boo! 👀

When the new haylage is this good, you just have to get right in amongst it! 😂🌾

Safe to say, Dee approves. 💚

Lewis loved his spring clip with AB Equestrian
✂️🐴 He’s already so much more comfortable doing his physio, and we’ve even had 24 whole hours of no paddock mischief… dare I say it! 😱😂

It was incredible to see just how many little scrapes and marks were hiding underneath his shaggy coat from all that itching.

We’re so thankful for his Horseware Ireland rugs, with their washable, removable liners. They’re perfect for helping him regulate his temperature in this erratic spring weather, while also catering to his sensitive skin. 💙

Here’s hoping the new haircut means more physio….a little less itching… and a little less mischief! 🤞

Lewis is diligently doing his physio for his knee, which is improving every day!

As he gets fitter, he’s also getting very sweaty and itchy…and with moulting season upon us, apparently every hazardous object he can find is fair game for a scratch! 😱

Clipping him will not only help him dry quickly after exercise, but hopefully save a few trees, fences and stable walls from becoming his personal scratching posts too. 🙈

Tonight he enjoyed a lovely warm bath, all ready for his clip with AB Equestrian in the morning.

Thanks Charlee - he loved it! 🥰

Maybe we need to stop waiting until we have something to show for the work.

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much of life is presented in before and afters.

We build, shape, learn and grow quietly until there’s something polished enough to share.

We’ve always been a little hesitant to do “before and after” photos here, whether that’s horses gaining condition or improvements around the property.

Perhaps because we don’t want the “before” to imply that something was wrong.

Because it wasn’t.

It was simply a different moment in time. One part of a much longer journey.

And what about everything in between?

The non-linear steps towards a goal. Forwards. Backwards. The side quests. The plans that change. The things we learn along the way that we never expected to learn at all.

So here’s a somewhat blurry picture of our “messy middle”.

Take three at fixing the front of our pad and sorting the drainage.

Not a before photo.
Not an after photo.

Just somewhere in between.

In the trenches of life, learning as we go. 🌿

Thank you AC Land Development for helping us in this part of our journey ❤️

10 DAYS TO GO… 🤎✨

In just 10 days, Balance Equestrian turns 10! 🥳

A decade of supporting horses and people, learning, growing, muddy boots, big dreams and so many memories.

We’ve been thinking about how we should celebrate this pretty big milestone…

So we’re asking you.

What would you love to see us do for our 10th anniversary?

A big celebration? Something horsey? A giveaway? A special event? Or something completely unexpected?

Tell us your ideas below. 👇