Taylor'd Equine Services LLC

02/11/2026

I’m so tired of seeing businesses use AI to create their flyers/graphics. Hire a graphic designer instead 👇🏻

02/10/2026

I handed out samples of this a couple of months ago! Let us know how you liked it!

You can order more from Topline Equine Services, LLC!

Have you picked out your horse’s feet today?
Are they trudging through mud and poo and lord knows what else?
Does your horse have a crack in the center of their frog?

Don’t wait until your horse is tender footed and stinky to start treating them.
Remedy Seven is an all natural hoof clay designed to combat bacteria and act as a barrier between the soft tissue of the hoof and the bacteria in the environment.

I have clay on hand, ready to ship! Message me to order so you can be prepared for thrush.

02/02/2026

Celebrate our 16 Year Anniversary with us! 💞

How to E N T E R?

Create a video (under 60 seconds) showing how you use Hay Chix Nets within your feeding program! 🎥

✸ Tag the Hay Chix page on Facebook or Instagram OR email your video to info@haychix.com to e n t e r!

✸ Submit videos by Monday, February 9th
✸ The w i n n e r s will be chosen February 11th!

Please note: Watch for s c a m m e r s. We will not message you or comment that you've won and ask you to click a link or ask for card information.

01/30/2026

Horses that bite?

In my career, the amount of horses I’ve encountered that bite has been staggering.

Ranging from chewing and nipping, to outright biting, I would say that it is a large problem. I probably get asked for help with this problem from folks around the world daily.

Where does it come from?

It’s probably a complex problem with no one simple solution, but it’s safe to say it’s human exaggerated to an alarming level.

Some contributing factors-

-Early and stressful weaning
-Under socialization of youngsters via a healthy herd dynamic, with not enough healthy parenting and too much interruption from humans in growing stages
-Prevalence of ulcers and body pain
-Frustration, lack of clarity, messy and unclear communication from people, unclear boundaries, over abundance of humanizing or dog-ifying a horse.
-Youngsters oral stage amplified and prolonged by breeding practices and lifestyle that leads to mental immaturity prolonged
-over handling and teasing of horses lips and mouth, instigating a lipping response as a habit

———
A happy, balanced, well adjusted horse does not nip and does not bite.

This to me is an alarm that things are not going well, and something needs to change.

What’s the fix? It’s complex, and very situation dependent. But if you have nipping and biting, it’s time an overall audit -

Auditing of the horses health and well-being
Posture
Your positioning and habits near the horse (this is usually very hard to break in people because so many of them are so subconscious and constant)
Your clarity of communication
Your awareness of equine behavior and beginning of signaling
And much more

If you have biting, get some help. Ideally you start getting help at nipping. Don’t underestimate this problem. I tell people often, even if its just the horse playfully nipping, consider how heavy and strong the equine head and neck is, and check around with your friends to see if anyone's ever been concussed or knocked out by a neck (even a friendly one) swinging toward them - it's not too pleasant and very preventable.

It can become outright dangerous at the worst case scenario, best case scenario is you are being given a chance to hear your horses communication at a need not being met, either physical or mental, or simply structural.

01/28/2026

Did you know that water temperature can influence your horses water consumption??

Studies show that horses drink up to 40% more water on average when their water temp is between 45°F and 65°F compared to colder water that is near freezing.

Which made me wonder what the temperature of the waters on my property! These are all setups that I’m currently using. I took these temps today, around 8am, when the air temperature was 12°F with a windchill of 0°F with about 10-12" of snow on the ground in Southern Illinois.

#1) Small green bucket set into a larger bucket insulated with straw, inside a barn with a stall. It originally had a thin layer of ice on top that I busted. The temp was sitting around 32°F, so I added some hot water from the house, which brought it up to 43°F.

#2) Bar-Bar-A Insulated Automatic Waterer was around 41.5°F. This waterer automatically drains after use, so it uses no electricity, is not heated, and is sitting in snow just as deep as it is.

#3) Black Tuff Stuff 25-gallon water tank with a K&H Stock Tank De-Icer in it, a little over 3/4 of the way full. This one was around 45°F.

#4) Black Rubbermaid 100-gallon water tank with a Farm Innovators Tank De-Icer in it, about 3/4 of the way full. This one was around 45°F.

There are pros and cons to each, but my favorite setup is the Bar-Bar-A automatic waterer due to ease of use. You don't have to worry about hauling water, frozen hoses, or electricity! However, it did take some training to teach the horses how to use it.

Check out these resources below for winter care tips and the study done on water temperature!

https://extension.umn.edu/horse-care-and-management/caring-your-horse-winter

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0168159194900205

01/23/2026

❄️ 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ❄️

🔥 𝐇𝐚𝐲 = 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭
The best way to warm up your horse in the winter is to provide hay!

Hay is primarily digested in the hindgut through a process known as fermentation, which generates a significant amount of metabolic heat. This means hay acts as a fuel of sorts for the horse’s very own internal furnace, helping warm them from the inside out.

⚡ 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬
Not only that, but when the weather is cold, a horse has increased caloric demands, as they require extra energy to maintain body temperature. This means providing extra hay during a cold snap not only helps generate internal heat, but also helps meet the additional calorie requirements associated with cold weather.

🌾 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬
While I provide unlimited access to forage year-round, I have been to many barns that provide set amounts of hay at mealtime. This can become problematic when temperatures fall below the horse’s lower critical temperature (LCT).

🌡️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐋𝐂𝐓)?
The LCT represents the temperature at which a horse begins to expend additional energy to stay warm. The farther below the LCT the temperature falls, the more energy the horse must use to maintain body temperature.

The LCT can vary based on the individual horse, acclimation to the current climate, hair coat, and weather conditions.

Specifically:

❄️ A horse acclimated to a cold climate with a long winter coat has an LCT of 18°F

🌤️ A horse acclimated to a warm climate with a short coat has an LCT of 41°F

🌧️ A wet hair coat is especially important, as it can increase the LCT to 59°F

📈 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐂𝐓 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?
This value is important because for every degree below the LCT, a horse’s energy requirements increase by approximately 1%.

For example, if you have a horse acclimated to a cold climate and the outside temperature is 0°F, their energy requirements increase by 18%.

🧮𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝
To determine how much additional hay is required, you must first estimate the horse’s baseline energy requirements. I personally use the NRC Requirements of the Horse – Working Doc, where I input body weight and current life stage to estimate maintenance energy needs.

Once this value is determined, I use the digestible energy (calories) reported on my hay test to calculate how many additional pounds of hay are needed to meet the increased energy demand.

🌿 𝐏𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞
As you can see from this example, providing nearly 10 additional pounds of hay per horse may not always be feasible. This is why I keep a high-quality alfalfa hay on hand, which allows me to help meet increased caloric demands in a quantity the horse can realistically consume.

I think it is also important to remember that blanketing or housing horses in insulated or heated barns may alter these recommendations, as the body does not need to work as hard to stay warm. This equation helps provide an estimate but we can expect some variability!

✅ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
On these cold days, make sure the first thing you reach for to help your horse stay warm is some extra hay! Not only does it fuel their internal furnace, but it also provides additional calories they require to maintain their core body temperature. This equation can help estimate how much extra hay may be needed during cold weather!

Stay warm out there ❄️🐴
Dr. DeBoer

01/20/2026

Hay Chix nets for sale in the comments!👇🏻

This is what I have in stock so I can ship the same day or bring it to your next appt!

📸 Topline Equine Services, LLC Missy with a 6ft round bale net and a rope saver

01/08/2026

I know the cost of loving horses.

I know it in early mornings
when rest would be easier.
In long days that don’t pause
just because I’m tired.
In plans that change
and priorities that shift
without apology.

I know the cost financially,
but that’s never been the hardest part.

The real cost is time.
Energy.
Emotional space.

It’s the mental load of always caring.
Always noticing.
Always being responsible
for a life that depends on you
whether you feel ready or not.

It’s the worry that never fully turns off.
The decisions that weigh heavy.
The knowing that loving deeply
also means risking loss.

I know the heartbreak too.

I know what it’s like
to say goodbye too soon
or hold on through seasons
that are harder than you imagined.
I know that grief is part of the agreement
you sign the moment you choose this life.

And still—
I choose horses.

I choose them because of what they give back.

Because they ground me
when the world feels loud.
Because they teach me patience
without preaching it.
Because they ask me to slow down
and show up honestly.

I choose horses
because they don’t care who I am
outside the barn.
They care how I arrive.
How I breathe.
How I listen.

They’ve taught me responsibility
without resentment.
Strength without hardness.
Confidence without ego.

They’ve shaped the way I move through the world—
steadier,
more aware,
less reactive.

I choose horses
because they’ve been there
in seasons no one else saw.
Because the barn has held me together
more times than I can count.

I choose them
because this life feels real.
Because the work matters.
Because the connection is earned,
not given.

And yes—
the cost is high.

But so is the return.

The peace.
The purpose.
The quiet understanding
that I am exactly where I belong
when I’m with them.

So I keep choosing horses—
not because it’s easy,
not because it’s convenient,
but because it has shaped me
into someone I’m proud to be.

Some things cost more than money.
They cost heart.

And some things are worth it
every single time.

Horses
have always been one of them.

Do you still choose horses, despite the cost?

12/25/2025

12/16/2025

Need a last minute gift idea for the horse crazy person in your life?? My friend Helen Parks with Spurred Cactus Creative is making these bracelets!

No more overflowing water tanks because you forgot to shut the water off! I put it on every time I fill tanks and its probably saved me hundreds on my water bill 🤣

I should have them with me next week in Southern IL, could deliver to Marshall, IL area around Christmas or I can ship them! $8 each or $10 shipped. Multiple bracelet colors available!

12/13/2025