Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the business of pet care. I'm Dara Forleo, here to pull back the curtains on what's really happening in the pet industry, transforming the way we care about the animals we love. From grooming to training, veterinary innovation to nutrition, we spotlight the voices shaping the growing industry.
I'm your host, Dara Forleo and today's guest is Marcus Rattigan, founder of Hillbrook Sport Horses. Originally from Ireland, Marcus has spent over two decades training and developing sport horses in the United States. His business is built around this world class horsemanship that we are going to talk about, training both horses and sometimes their riders for peak performance.
Marcus, it is such a pleasure to have you on the show.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Thanks Sarah. Thanks for having us.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Well, I really want to start first with, you know, a lot of the things that the listeners are gonna, gonna kind of have and, and join in about is things about starting the younger horses and that, you know, that's really confusing, overwhelming sometimes, especially for new trainers. And having a solid foundation is really something that these trainers kind of need and themselves plus to be able to pass on to the horses. So I'd like to ask, you know, you, you have a different approach and your approach is really with starting horses and that solid, solid foundation, what are some of the biggest mistakes that you see new trainers are, are making out there.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: You know, rather than to, to mistakes? I think it's really a lack of spending time with older professionals.
I was definitely growing up in Ireland. We had access to a lot more unique trainers, people that have spent years just highlighting how important the beginning phases were.
A lot of our top riders would also produce young horses in the winter.
And that side of things has changed a lot as the show season now is 360.
So the top riders are constantly on the show circuit.
There's limited access to seeing what they're doing.
There's less potential for working students to come through the system of learning.
And it's all about getting to go to the horse shows and at horse shows it's about the finished product. It's not about spending time studying the horses from the full age, yearlings, 2 year olds, 3 year olds, and understanding what, where their brain is at, where their physical body is at, emotional statuses.
So I think it's, it's becoming more and more lost art. And we see this conception of let's just get the job done quickly. The horses are rude, it's easy to get them going and then we'll jump on them and we'll fix it when we're on them.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: You kind of said something a little interesting. That is, you said, you know, a lot of that people are on the road more, they're, they're right at the shows year round, a lot of travel and that there aren't a lot of apprentices or working students that are at the, at I would guess the stables. As much as now, they're learning on the road as well. So that probably play plays a really big part of that.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: It's a huge part because for want of a better word, the horse shows are a bit like a circus, right? It's all the performance, it's not the, the weeks leading up to the event that they're seeing.
And you know, the difference between a toddler and a middle school or a high school kid is massive. It's no different with animals and horses. You know, that they, the way that their brains are wired, what they need to be able to learn to focus and to go through the process is very different. And I think unless you're around that all the time, producing horses all the time, you're just not thinking quick enough, you're not thinking sharp enough, you don't have a strict plan of what you're going, you know, look, every plan is built to change, but if you don't have a foundational plan, if you don't understand what that's going to look like, what the horse is going to need to do when it's a 10, 12, 13 year old horse, you're, you're missing massive steps. A lot of people are just thinking about how can I get this horse ready and get him into the ring? I think with us at Hillbrook, we're looking at the long inevity of this horse's career. We want this horse to go into the show ring, four year old, all the way up until they're 18, you know, and be healthy and be sound both physically and mentally.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: So how, how do you go about building that, that confidence? How do you go about developing that, that foundation?
What like, you know, your, your foundation? How, what does that look like?
[00:05:45] Speaker B: You know, so, so for instance, if we get a three year old coming in, it's unhandled, it hasn't done anything.
It's. We look at the emotional side first.
So we're going to watch how this horse comes into the farm, how it comes off the trailer, how it looks around its new surroundings, how it adapts to other horses, to the staff that are here.
All those things are paramount. That's going to give us our baseline of how a Horse transitions through stress. True new beginnings.
So once the horse is settled in, I normally leave them for a week or two if I can. Not doing any work, just leading them in and out, kind of getting to know who they are, figuring out what personality they have. Just like humans, we all have a personality.
I don't think you can force any horse into a box and say, hey, this is who you're going to be. So you have to study and find out if they're a bit quirky, if they're a bit sharp, if they're quiet, and if they're personable, if they're involved in human connection, if they have no time for humans, huge amount goes into that process.
After that, I like to work them a lot on the ground, figuring out, again, everything in a system has to fall back to the foundations.
So the first foundation is to create happiness, to teach the horse how to use its body, how to think, how to relate to situations that are happening. How are you going to react to me making a big noise, even just touch gently?
There's so many components on the ground that we look at, and once we find that the horse is starting to stretch in their body, they're starting to use their body.
We're also taking that time to create fitness and to check in with soundness, to check in with their strengths, their weaknesses, what gate is better for them. Some horses have a fantastic trot, not a great canter, vice versa, their walk as well.
So I'm kind of always thinking, what's this horse going to need to get to the point that I'm going to be able to ride it and that it's sound, it, it's comfortable and it's physically putting body on and a top line to make it useful for its job.
[00:08:19] Speaker A: Yeah, that. That's really cool. So how do you.
How do you tell. What are. What are some of the signs that those horses over those two weeks, that they're, you know, getting into their. Their routine or that they're ready to start training with you?
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Well, I like to put things into an easy conception point for people because I understand that I do this all day, every day. And I like a great sort of repertoire with my client, who also, 99, are fully invested in the process. They want to know. They want to understand and know. I always say, great movie, Ratatouille, the children's movie that everyone can cook. And I believe it's the same with horses. Everybody can have a relationship with horses.
We just have to give it time to understand what that looks like. So just like any person going into a new environment, they're uncomfortable slightly, they're nervous.
You know, if that's a fitness component, if they're sitting in an office all day, they might not be working out, they might not be physically fit. A lot of these young horses coming in are not fit.
Their body is tight, they're wild looking, their eye is large, their noses are inflamed. So we're looking at these components. We're looking at how the horse is taking its breath, how the horse is dropping its head, how it's looking for interaction, wanting to be part of what I'm offering it.
As that builds up, you then see that the horse is ready to progress.
That can take a week, it can take a month. It just depends on who the candidate is, right?
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I want to go a step back just because some of our listeners may not know exactly what a sport horse is.
So do you want to give us a little how you came up what that means? And you know what I'm saying?
[00:10:29] Speaker B: You know, it's really, it's a modernization of aid and sport. Right. So sport horse is encompassing a huge category of horses. Now really what it means is horses that are athletic, that are in the mindset to be a sport animal, we can go more direct into breeding and specializing in breeding for discipline, for type, for what we're looking for. But you know, there's a huge level and a huge spectrum of horses from your average, happy, go, lucky riding horse to your Olympic horse. But they all fall into sports because they're doing as sport.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: That is perfect. Thank you.
So I just wanted to say that is great. And we are going to be right back after this commercial break for our next segment and that is going to be turning nervous horses into competent performers.
We'll be right back. Do not go anywhere. This is the business of pet care. And we're back. I am Dara Forleo and this is the Business of Pet Care where the conversation continues.
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And we are back, Mark, with. Sorry. Marcus Radigan, the founder of Hillbrook Sport Horses and a passionate trainer known for transforming shy and anxious horses into confident performers. In this segment, we are talking about how to earn a horse's trust and build mental strength, especially when nerves are holding them back.
So, welcome back. Thanks, Marcus. It's good to have you on here.
You know, we're, we're kind of going back and forth here, really. What, what is it about the horses that really causes them to panic or lose confidence in their training sessions or settings?
[00:13:27] Speaker B: You know, look, okay, that's a bit of. It can be a bit of a broad question there. Okay, so, yeah, you have two different types, really, just to make it brief, right, you have your young horse coming in again, unhandled, untouched, doesn't know what it is.
We go back to personality.
Some horses, genetically, depending on their sire, depending on their dam, will have a certain amount of blood.
Sometimes the stallion can be a bit nervous, a bit sharp with things, or the mare was a bit sharp or nervous with things, and that can be bred through the baby.
So how I'm going to handle that situation over a horse that's coming from a trauma experience would be similar, but also quite different. Right, so a young horse that's coming in for training again, just straight off the bat, hasn't had any handling, is really, again, about teaching them how do I deal with pressure? How do I deal with being asked to do things that I don't feel comfortable in?
Trust.
Trust is huge, okay? It's a foundation of everything. And also being a vulnerable person. Look, I'm six three, I'm a big guy, I played rugby. I'm not what you're going to be looking at going like, oh, he's nice and gentle. But you have to let your soul come out when you're training and you have to have your empathy button tuned in and.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: And they know it right away.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Yeah, 100%. Are you empathetic to the fact that they're scared or are you annoyed that they're scared?
And obviously, you have to be empathetic, right? There's a time and a place for structure and sort of saying, hey, you've just stepped over a boundary line that's made this unsafe. We're going to have to have a conversation about what that looks like. But if you're nervous, that's my job, to create an environment that you don't feel nervous anymore.
Right. If you have a trauma case coming in.
[00:15:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: Trying to find out history is, can be very difficult. Right. So I definitely have techniques and training, whether it's through desensitizing, if they're at that point, or under attack if it's at that point. And I like to try and stimulate situations that encourages the horse to react, allows me to study what the reaction is and, and then come back with a plan. Rome wasn't built in a day. Nothing has to be done in that one session. And I think that that's a huge problem. I indeed made it many times, especially as a clinician or in a group of people, trying to show them that I know what I'm doing.
As you get older, you spend more time, you're walk away and you say, hey, let's come back tomorrow with a better plan. Let's force through that.
Sometimes it's physical, sometimes it's emotional.
Having the right team of veterinary care, body workers, healing workers, communicators, you have to be open. It's not for everybody. But neither is just job either, Right?
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And they, they do definitely send, send have that vision around them themselves, walking in to go, is this a good place for me? Is this a scary place? What's gonna happen?
They're, they're sensitive to all of that. And I don't think a lot of people think about that or, or even understand that themselves when you're building trust with them and that.
Go ahead, go ahead. Yeah.
[00:17:19] Speaker B: Yeah, sorry. It just leads back into what you're sort of saying is that training isn't just in the arena. It's not just your session a day that the training happens. And one of the unique things is I'm a small operation because I work hands on. I clean stalls, I feed horses, I groom horses.
I love it. That's part of the job. Sometimes you're too busy, you need help. Yep, that's okay. But having the right help, that's really important. Finding people that are passionate, that care about the horses when your back is turned, or looking after the horses.
I'm pretty military, as in we feed at the same time. We turn in and out correctly. Horses are led properly. They have to have manners at feeding time, they have to have manners when they're being turned out. All of the little small things are what makes the big picture.
It's not just me, it's everything that we create. How I expect people to be around the farm. I don't like erratic, loud noises. I don't like dogs and cats running through the barn. Something like, oh, it's great. It desensitizes them. It's not. They're predatorial. They go against the grain. If an animal is upset and acting daft like a dog and the owner is not looking after it, the other animals are feeling that. I'm feeling that that's going to change the atmosphere in the farm. So having an overall 360 approach to every component of their day is what makes it successful. Not just the ring work.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: Yeah, that, that is really, really great because. And there's no shortcuts. You're. There's so many other. You're not taking the shortcuts and there's accountability on all ends and all sides and yeah, I love this a lot.
[00:19:19] Speaker B: Yeah. But people. And people will often say, like, oh, you know, it's great. You're so structured and. But what happens when you go out to the real world there and structure is not there when we go out.
Exactly. Our horses are looking to us for the right decisions. At that point, they become vulnerable. They're. When you're vulnerable, you go to the people you trust. If the people you trust say, you good, we've got you, then they're going to be able to cope with situations. Of course they're going to have good and bad days, but no, hopefully not. Right.
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Do you have any patient driven techniques that have actually helped you shift some of the horses that you've worked with and their mindsets.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Stubbornness.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: Yours or theirs?
[00:20:15] Speaker B: My stubbornness?
No, I, you know, I'm the type of person that I'm very visual and when I meet the horse as an indeed, when I meet a client or just people in general, I create a story for that person and that horse and I listen to what the owner needs, I listen to the horse's needs and I create a picture. And we work towards that picture. Right. And we work towards how can we help this animal and this partnership be created.
So stubbornness is the joke is that you have to be willing to wait for the horse to figure things out.
You have to have good timing. You have to watch their muscles, you have to watch their instincts.
It that's what takes the time is being patient. Sitting in an arena for two or three hours if need be, with a horse while they're having a breakthrough moment. Most of us are like, I gotta go home, I gotta feed, I gotta do things that's out the door. You, you can be with a horse for 10 minutes in a training session or two or three hours. It all depends on the horse and depends on what you're doing with them, but it's worth it. And when you watch a horse change and when you watch a horse become confident, not confident with the exercise, but confident inside themselves, then it's worth all the time. You wait. Right.
And you see that, owners see that more most importantly the horses see it. They see this transformation in themselves.
That's what gives them strength, is belief in themselves. I needed to believe in myself as a trainer and I need my clients to believe in me, believe in the horse and then also indeed in themselves.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Wow, that is so powerful.
I, I wonder how many people think about that when they go and ask questions of, of trainers and where they're putting their horses and you kind of, you shared, you know the, the story of building that trust and how turning these horses into these show ready athletes.
What's one of your, any recent ones lately that jump out that you're like. I'm really proud of that one.
[00:22:48] Speaker B: I'm a parent so I'm proud of them all.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: All right, that's good. Well you can hang on to that because we can come back to it also.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: Yeah, so, so, you know, I often sort of, I, I've been very lucky with, with I, I'm scared to say the word bodily injuries considering my age and how long I've been doing this game and.
But I also know that every horse, I leave a bit of my body with them, if that makes sense. There's always a moment where I feel if I've over corrected, I'll normally get hurt or, or you know, if I miss the step, things happen. So I've been working on one horse and he's a product of the horse show. He has been passed through multiple owners.
He was, I watched him as a 5 year old.
Wasn't produced perfectly. That's, that's just a nice way of saying it was sold to the next person who jumped him over very big jumps.
Horse was not meant for that job. He could do it, but it wasn't his job.
Anyway, long story short, the horse shut down.
Horse was rearing, horse was bolting, horse was aggressive, horse is not happy at all.
Fast forward. We've had him in the farm now for nine months. We've done a massive transformation. He's older, he's 12. 11, 12.
We went to a horse show this weekend and we got there a day early so we could take him out. Horseshoes were a big hot topic for him. He wasn't even. He knew once the bell in the ring went to go. If he shut down for 60 seconds, he was out of the ring. Job was done. He didn't have to do his job that day.
So we picked a really nice venue that has a lot of riding available around the area. It was quiet. It had just enough of what we needed.
And this horse never really has been outside of the arena. God love him. He doesn't know how to be a horse. Right. So he's like a product of the show world.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: We gotta go to a break right now, so we're gonna pick this back up with what happens in the show ring.
This is the business of pet care. And we will be right back.
We'll be right back. Do not go anywhere. This is the business of pet care. And we're back. I am Dara Forleo and this is the business of pet care where the conversation continues.
Welcome back. We are here with Marcus Rattigan of Hill Brook Sport Horses. He is not just a working class trainer, he is a coach and a mentor to horses and riders. And in this segment, we, we are going to continue with our conversation about the show ring and we are also going to talk about how to communicate and bridge the gap when earning a client's trust, because that is a big part of this.
And when your methods are a little less than conventional and take a little more time, sometimes owners may not quite understand that. So let's return to our conversation and I want to hear what happened at the show.
You want to give us a quick re brief about it for those just tuning in?
[00:26:21] Speaker B: Yeah. So we were just discussing one of our project horses. He's an 1112 year old Warmblood who had stopped performing in the arena at horse shows and in life in general just had shut down. And we were discussing his first outing at a horse show and trying to reintroduce horse showing after going through our program.
So we'd gotten to the horse show of an evening where we had time to go out and ride them and I decided it would be great to bring him around the venue. They happen to have a cross country course and a lot of trails. So we went out there and we decided to go through the river because they have lovely canter through rivers that are nice and set up for horses to jump in. And it's not always that you can get that facility without rocks and all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, long story short, brought the horse down to the river and he was eager to have a look, but then decided outside of his comfort zone and wanted to revert Back to his bad behavior, which was perfect. We were there to see if the glue was sticking or not.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:33] Speaker B: One big thing about training is you. You can't demand that they stop, but you can teach them to rethink their idea of what's going on. So his initial idea was rather than accepting that he could do this or even considering he can do this, he was going to say, nope, I'm done. I don't want any part of this.
So stubbornness came back in, and I just sat there and I said, we'll wait. You can spin, you can do your thing. And the other horses are in the river playing and having fun.
And he watched them, and we were there for about 20 minutes, maybe less.
And I knew when he would go to go in that he is going to jump, right? That's okay. I'm prepared.
We're talking about leaving a part of your body with the horse that you train.
As he jumped in, he angled his body in such a way that I landed and destroyed my ankle in the saddle.
Did everything.
Put the horsemen in the water, and the horse came out of the water thinking like, oh, I'm special. I just did something fantastic. We continued with our work. I was super happy. His personality changed. He got larger than life. He was so, so sure of what he had done was fantastic. But we still have to cross the river to go home again.
So the horses had gone into the.
[00:29:01] Speaker A: River at your expense here. But it's really funny.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: But this is. This is my reward, okay? This is what I get out of it. Now when the horse goes back into the river for the second time, he's watching the other horses pull.
Splash.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: He's like, can I splash?
I'm like, you can splash.
He was like a toddler.
He called once or twice, and this is where empathy. This is where being an empath, you get that magic.
The horse's whole body softened.
He felt larger. In life, you can't pay money for that feeling. That's what the job is about. That horse that. That made his show, that changed his perspective on life 100%. He mastered something.
Our bodies, horses, bodies are wired very similarly. When we do something that we don't believe we can do, the magic happens.
The magic is in the body, and it changes us. When we do something fantastic, we feel fantastic. That's what training horses is about, making them feel fantastic about who they are.
[00:30:21] Speaker A: Ah, man, those are. You have some powerful concepts here. Like, so the owners now talk. They have the. This was a long process with them, with him being with you and how.
What was their reaction to all of this?
[00:30:41] Speaker B: You know, modern technology is fantastic. Right.
I'm going to backtrack into a couple of different things. Okay.
First of all, I'm dyslexic. I've had to learn different ways of learning, which has enabled me to create a simple process to re educate people about what we're doing.
[00:31:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:31:04] Speaker B: It's great that I know what I'm doing, but that's what I do. But teaching you how to do it, opening you into a world that you're not used to, that's huge.
So communication is key. Whether it's true online training, whether they're watching what's happening.
I'm always calling my clients, FaceTiming my clients, bringing them into that special moment, educating them how I got to that moment, and then indeed, when they come, spending time with them and showing them how they can create that with their horse, how they can create their bond, and it's going to be unique for everybody. But with the correct foundation, which is what I give them, and creating a simple approach to the daily activities that other people can follow, we all naturally have a sense whether we're open to using that. That's different. That's the bit you have to work with your clients on.
[00:32:11] Speaker A: So did.
Did he go in the show ring?
[00:32:15] Speaker B: He went in the show ring jokingly. I went up to the judge and I said, apologies in advance, this might not go very well.
I said, but I'm here to train him. He's had some issues.
The comment of the judge leaving the ring was.
And you think he has any issues?
He was lovely.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: So it was a win. Win.
[00:32:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:32:38] Speaker A: That's good. Was it a small. Was it a jumping class or a flat class or jumper class?
[00:32:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So big, big day for him.
[00:32:47] Speaker A: Big day for him.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Really manageable and happy and, you know, as they say, the truth out of babes of the mouth of babes. Right. And you know, I have a daughter, she's also very heavily involved in the horses.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:33:04] Speaker B: She acknowledged his existence. He was here. He was a client's horse. He wasn't on her radar of cuddly shmush. You know that.
[00:33:13] Speaker A: Oh, yes.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: All of a sudden, I'm getting tiktoks with her and Barlow.
He's lovely.
Licking her.
That's when they see that. That's those moments when the owner or when people are around them, they realize that the horse is ready to be loved too.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: Yeah. That is amazing. So how. How do you explain to someone for that. That slow before the fast method. How do you explain that value to them when new owners are coming in or approaching you?
[00:33:53] Speaker B: Honestly, I. I use the same approach with the clients as I do with the horses.
And really, psychology comes into it a lot. And being very selective with who I bring into my farm and asking the right questions and seeing if that person is open to what I'm about to do for their horse. I learned that a long time ago, that I have a responsibility to my horses first and especially, well, all horses. But when you create vulnerability, love, and trust, you also open a can of worms for that horse to go out into the world and be abused and used.
So you have to teach that horse, both sides of that spectrum, how to read the people that they're working with, how to protect themselves. And I do the same with the clients, and I find out what their personality is and what their strengths are and indeed, what their weaknesses are. And I do expect from people that they are honest about who they are. We're all different, we're all unique, but we are all in animals. I'm working with animals for the same reason, because we love them.
But love can make people pretty vulnerable, right? Yeah, it can be quite uncomfortable. And I've had plenty of clients walk out. I mean, that's not for me. And that's okay. That's, you know, not everything is, you know, we don't all walk the same way.
[00:35:27] Speaker A: Right.
[00:35:28] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:35:29] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. It is. I kind of know that. That feeling with even what I do. And when we have new students coming into the school and making sure that we're right fit for each other, because not everyone's going to be the right fit.
And we have to be selective about that.
And it just might not with the horses, too.
Have you had horses?
Have you had horses come in that you're like, yeah, no, I've had horses.
[00:36:03] Speaker B: I've had horses that I might not like their personality.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: But that doesn't mean they don't get a fair chance.
We might not be best buds at the end of it. I might not put them in my diary and go, I'll remember you forever.
But I think you have to be honest that they do. You know, this conception that all horses are perfect.
[00:36:26] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:36:28] Speaker B: Did we lose?
Sorry, this just died.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: No, you're. Oh.
Oh, no.
Can we pause?
[00:36:38] Speaker B: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: And we will be right back with Marcus Ratigan. And in our next and final segment, we are going to be talking about feeding barrier and wellness plans that support the training goals of the horses that Marcus Works with.
Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back. Do not go anywhere. This is the business of pet Care. And we're back. I am Dara Forleo and this is the Business of Pet Care where the conversation continues.
Welcome back to the Business of Pet Care. If you are loving what you are watching and you don't want to miss a moment of what we're talking about, you can go right to your favorite NOW Media TV shows live and on demand, anytime, anywhere, including the business of pet care. Go ahead and download that new I'm sorry, Download that free Now Media TV app on Roku or your iOS and enjoy instant access to our full lineup of bilingual programming in both English and in Spanish. And if you are on the go, constantly catch the podcast versions on the show right on NOW Media TV website. NOW Media tv.
Oh, and if you are here for business and breaking news about lifestyle, culture and everything in between, now Media TV is streaming 24 7. Ready when you are all the time. So we are back and we are going to be wrapping up today's show with Marcus Rattigan, trainer, founder and longtime wellness advocate in the equine industry.
This final segment is going to talk about a little behind the scenes on caring and the work that goes into the horses when they are in their training process, barrier work, nutrition, the vet support, all that is really impactful on the performance and, and the training of these horses that are coming in.
So welcome back. Marcus, you know when I'm gonna ask just because I, I got to talk a little bit too behind, but when you have new horses that come in, you do something a little different that I've, I've never heard another trainer do.
And we talked about it in the first segment a little bit that the horses come in and you give them that downtime but you do something a little special with them where you really do a thorough exam and, and take and I don't know if I'm giving away your trade secrets so but you know, you do a real good head to tail look at them and you have this all documented what they look like and from day one up until the day they head back to their owner.
Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
[00:40:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: You know, look around about way of saying it.
[00:40:05] Speaker B: I think that's where you're expanding your knowledge. Right. And looking at the sports side of it, the medical side of it and realizing as the old saying goes, no hoof, no horse. You know, without these components, what I'm doing can Only be as good. Okay.
[00:40:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:26] Speaker B: I like to kind of explain you've got the motor neurons in a horse's body and they're like traffic lights throughout the body and we want them all on green so we can allow the body to function at a hundred percent.
And if there's blockages amongst the body, the horse is never going to be able to perform correctly.
We're in a world where quick fix injections, medications are way more on the forefront.
But it's like our own body, we can't live on that stuff and be healthy. Right. So we've got to look from the floor up. So when our horses come in, we basically go through a service check, right? We have our chart, we start at the feet, we measure the feet, we find out where there's good feet, where we can work on corrections, whether we need X rays on the horse's feet. And I work closely with my farrier. Having the right team. I have the best team, right. I've taken ages to select the people that work for me and they're also the top in the industry.
Most importantly, they all work together.
My farrier can talk to my vet, my vet can talk to my dentist. My body worker will talk to all of the above.
Without that, you can't be successful. Right. It's a team event.
So when the horses come in, I personally go through my A to Z chart, checking their feet, checking their muscle components, checking their structure, their confirmation, their teeth.
I know myself that I know enough to be dangerous. That's all I know, okay? I let my people come in and then say, right, this is the next level. So the farriers say, he comes in, he makes the corrections, we make a plan for what the future is going to look like.
I then have my dentist come in. My dentist comes in, does sports dentistry on the horses, corrects the balancement of the horse. Without that, the horse's structure is not going to work.
I have my vet come in and run blood work also just to do a wellness inspection.
And then I have a fantastic lady that works with me that does cranial, sacral and body work.
And indeed, I can have my chiropractor work on them too.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Okay. So the body work is the chiropractor, or that's a separate.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: So my body worker is a myofascia, she's an energy worker and she's does cranial sacral.
So she's working on the nervous system and on the muscular system and she helps rebalance their, their soul, basically, which is super important, especially on A high trauma case for horses.
So once I've done all of that and I've had my people come in, we all get together, we figure it out, what's the right plan, what veterinary care going forward, what chewing going forward? What dentistry going forward.
Then I look at their nutrition through the blood work. What feed do they need? I work with my grain specialist. What food is going to work for them. I work with companies like SmartPak who do a fantastic job bringing out the right supplements that we need for our horses. I do have to say I keep it very simple.
Our nutritional, our internal system is built to work correctly. When it is all aligned, it shouldn't need too much magic. Sometimes we just need to kick start it. Right. Once my horses are working, other than basic stuff like electrolytes and some joint supplements, I lay off supplements. I don't do a whole lot about them. Magnesium to help their body as well their brain for focus and stuff. But really, if we're getting too far into things, we've missed a portion of that check in, you know, and going into the training side of things is that like, if a horse is having an issue, if I know that the horse is not in pain or in considerable pain, then I can push the horse into a situation and expect a good outcome. If you're going into a training session not knowing the ins and the outs of the horse, how do you know if it's behavioral or how do you know it's physical?
We know ourselves. If you are not comfortable and someone puts you in an uncomfortable position, you are not going to be happy.
Horses are the same.
[00:44:58] Speaker A: Yeah. You are a rarity.
I do not know very many. I've. I've had a few worst trainers in my time and none have ever been as thorough as.
Do you go more in depth with this. They're not just walking through the door as a paycheck, they're they, they mean more to you than that.
[00:45:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And look, you have to love what you do.
I was lucky, I have to say. I knew what I wanted to do since I came here and that means the earth.
This was my path, this is what I've looked to do.
And I'm proud of myself every day for who I am and what I do at horses. I do it for me.
I do it because I want to be the best at what I do and I'm proud of what I do every day.
That's a lot to be said, that is.
[00:46:05] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, and the one thing I have not asked you during any of this is. And I'm going to ask you right now, how can people find you?
A lot of listeners that are out there and viewers. So we need to know, how are we going to find. How are they going to find you? What's the best way?
[00:46:23] Speaker B: Well, thankfully, I have a fantastic new website that we just launched a few months ago.
It has great detail of what the farm and what my philosophies are about. So it's really interactive. People can go there. W.W. hillbrook Sporthorses.com we also use social media, so we have Facebook, we have Instagram and we have Tik Tok.
[00:46:46] Speaker A: I love talking to people on your channels.
[00:46:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I do, absolutely. I think it's just a nice. We show it different, especially on Tick Tock. We show a different side of horses and, you know, we're vulnerable. We're okay to show the soft and soppy stuff and also the meat and potato stuff, you know.
[00:47:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
I want to ask some questions about your farm because I. Looking at the website and going over things, you have a wonderful video that shows the farm.
There's something very spiritual about the property you're on. And it seems like that really resonates with you as well.
[00:47:30] Speaker B: Yeah. I also think it's how you see the world, Right.
I grew up in the city or suburb. City.
I always wanted a farm.
And someone just said to me recently, your videos are so inspiring. They're beautiful of the farm. It makes it look so nice. And I said, well, it's my way. Yeah. It's my way of showing the world what I see every day and what my eyes see.
I'm grateful they don't make any more land.
So to be able to own and be the caretaker of a beautiful property.
My farm has a lot of history and not the buildings, but the land itself.
From the Native Americans that lived in here to the glaciers that ran through this property, all the way through to farmsteading and now indeed to my operation here. We have a vortex, an energy vortex in the corner of our property, which brings huge amount of energy through the farm. We have multiple brooks, hence Hillbrook, running through the farm, which brings good, positive energy.
We grow our own crops for our hay and.
Oh, it's loved, right?
[00:48:49] Speaker A: It is loved. Yeah.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:51] Speaker A: It shows. It shows in everything. It. It definitely shows and really speaks that it's a special place.
[00:49:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:04] Speaker A: Everything you do is special. Everything you do. It is unbelievable. And, you know, people need to come to you to learn how to do better themselves.
[00:49:15] Speaker B: And thank you. Because I grew up and I've worked for 1% people. I've worked for state of the art facilities where that has everything.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:49:24] Speaker B: But they don't have what we have.
And that is purity of love for the land, love for the horses. And they come first. You know, you can have the shiniest penny in the parking lot. That doesn't mean that it's the best. Right. There's a lot of things that I would love to upgrade in my farm, but everything that I do is practical. Everything we build on the farm is, is slowly making it the masterpiece that I want it to be.
[00:49:56] Speaker A: Yeah. And it is showing in everything you do and everything you talk about.
Marcus, I just want to say thank you so much for being on the show with me. And your holistic views is just such a gift to horse owners and, and to the horses.
Again, we will show. If you want to reach out to Marcus, we are going to show all of his information, but you should follow him on all of his channels. And again, Marcus, thank you for joining me on the business of pet care.
It has been an absolute pleasure. And talking about your patience, your precision. And that partnership is just so huge. And to our viewers, whether you are working with dogs, horses, any other companion animal, remember, there is Joss.
Excellent. Pet care is built on the connection, the consistency and your compassion.
So again, this is Dara Forleo and I would like to say thanks for watching and I look forward to seeing you next time on the business of Pet Care.
