Second Chance Thoroughbreds

We are so screwed as a society 🤦‍♀️

New bridle in the works. Solo Maps. 😂

For all us riders who still can't remember where R or V is after 25 years of riding.

Stability first - Patience always.

Having horses when you’re neurodivergent is basically running a a very high budget wellbeing retreat for yourself without realising it. 🐴🧠

You thought you were buying a horse.
What you actually bought was an external hard drive for your nervous system.

• Routine?
People love to say horses thrive on routine.
Mine thrive on ✨vibes✨.
I turn up at wildly inconsistent times like a feral yard goblin and they’re like,
“Ah yes. This version of you again.” ⏰🧌 We LOVE it.

• Executive dysfunction?
You can ignore emails for weeks.
You will not ignore a horse staring at you like you personally ruined their day because you gave them 3 carrots and they know the 4th is in your pocket. 👁️🌾

• Sensory overload?
Phone = too loud.
People = too loud.
Horse chewing hay = perfect.
Brain finally stops buffering. 📵🌾

• Social energy at zero?
Great. Horses do not do small talk. Ideal.
They will stand with you in silence and call it quality time. 🤝

• Hyperfocus?
You only meant to “quickly check” them for the 4th time today.
It’s now dark, you’re covered in mud, and you’ve started a deep emotional audit of saddle pads and long lost bags of miscellaneous items. 🔦🫠

• Emotional regulation?
Horses sense your internal chaos before you’ve even parked the car.
They don’t judge it.
They just quietly refuse to cooperate until you stop spiralling. Iconic behaviour. 👑

• Masking?
Doesn’t work.
Horse sees straight through it like,
“Please stop pretending you’re fine. I can smell the cortisol.” 👃😐

They don’t care if your life is messy.
They don’t care if you’re late.
They don’t care if you haven’t replied to anyone in your WhatsApp for three days.

They care that you show up.
That you’re kind.
That the hay eventually appears. 🌾💛

It’s not structure.
It’s connection.
And somehow that’s exactly what our brains needed all along.

The Jockey Club scholarship (bit.ly/tjcscholarshipsapps) and internship (bit.ly/tjcinternships) applications are open through January 5, 2026. Selected interns will be notified in February 2026 and scholarship recipients for the 2026-2027 academic year will be announced in the spring of 2026.

Many enjoyed the last horseback riding reel, so Julia went on a mission to find something more local! Learn about Second Chance Thoroughbreds located right here in Jackson!

“He/she is too green”

This is something I often hear when people enquire and I send videos of suitable horses. These horses are 3/4/maybe 5yos…. I am glad they are green!! And I will never apologise for that.

It means they haven’t been overproduced and have spent lots of time in the field growing and developing between little bursts of work. It also hopefully means that they will go on to have long and happy lives as strong, sound individuals - able to do their jobs for as long as possible.

Yes - our young horses will always be “behind” others in their age group and those you see at the big sales/age classes at shows…. But what does “behind” really mean at that age? They always catch up with their peers by 6/7 if you have spent the time doing the basics correctly and have a well rounded, soft, supple horse who wants to work.

You don’t prove anything at 3/4/5 you just use up some of the finite number of jumps that I believe each horse is born with. That’s one nugget of wisdom I gleaned from a very experienced horseman in my formative years - don’t use those jumps up jumping pointless fences as a young horse.

Get out of the arena, go hacking, work on a variety of surfaces to build soft tissues and never be afraid to turn the horse away for a couple of months. They will come back mentally and physically stronger as a result. Let them into big open spaces with friends and allow them to just be horses for a little while longer.

There will be many years ahead to go competing if you take it slowly in the first few. Photo of Donal with a few 3 and 4yos growing slowly in the fields of Ballinasloe ❤️