The Managemant initiative

Recent advances in our understanding of how environmental factors affect physiology and behavior now give us a basis to make informed decisions about horse management. Just small changes can have profound effects on a horse’s health, long-term soundness, hoof integrity, and even longevity.

Liberated Horsemanship’s Management Initiative is a broad-based effort to provide up-to-date information and cutting-edge services which can help horse owners and professional facility managers make and implement informed horse management decisions.

The Management Initiative stands side-by-side with Liberated Horsemanship’s Riding and Barefoot Initiatives. These facets of horse care and use form an integrated trilogy, all of which, must be addressed to effectively support optimal horse health and soundness.

The Management Initiative is a multi-faceted, science-based endeavor entailing:

Innovative architectural and environmental designs which are beneficial to horses and humans and compatible with other native species of plants and animals. This is a major aspect of the Management Initiative with multiple components driven by an alliance between Thomas L. Croce Architects and Liberated Horsemanship.

Tom Croce is a recognized leader in equine facility master planning and design. Tom brings over 20 years of architectural and equine experience to the LH Management Initiative. He has a passion for creating facility master plans and designs that are healthy, safe, comfortable, and functional. Tom’s expertise blends uniquely with that of Bruce Nock PhD, an authority on how environment and lifestyle impacts horse physiology and behavior. Tom is an active equine competitor who manages his own small farm. His background and experience provide him with a deep understanding of the importance of planning and design in the breeding, raising, and training of happy healthy horses. Tom's contact information is listed below.

Bruce Nock, Ph.D. of Liberated Horsemanship is a tenured neurobiologist at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He is the author of the acclaimed book Ten Golden Rules of Horse Training, the newly released book, Ride For Tomorrow, and 70+ published articles, including the highly regarded series The Biology of Natural Horsemanship. Bruce’s contact information is listed below.

Facility consultations on ways to improve the horses's physical environment.

A facility program to recognize and promote horse-, human-, and eco-friendly facilities.

Educational seminars to increase public awareness about the benefits of environmental enrichment to horse health, e.g., Equine Affaire.

The publication of quality original articles about significant horse management topics, e.g., The Biology of Natural Horsemanship.

Support for and participation with organizations devoted to improving horse welfare, e.g., Friends of Sound Horses.

A management training program to help horse owners develop new, or evaluate existing management and use alternatives to work hand in hand with the facility planning and design. This will be a broad-based educational program covering topics ranging from boarding, riding, training and feeding to hoof care alternatives. It will be implemented in 2010.

On-site consultations with horse owners to identify environmental and lifestyle sources of stress and laminitis/founder triggers and solutions. Now available. Contact Liberated Horsemanship for information.

For more information contact:

Tom Croce @ Thomas L. Croce Architects Inc.
722 Hoffman Ave.,
Lebanon, Ohio 45036
513-934-3957, info@tlcrocearch.com

Bruce Nock, Ph.D.,
Watershed Farm
PO Box 546
Warrenton, Mo. 63383
314-7405847