A journal from the barn

This is Marshall.
He turns 21 this month.

I've had him since he was two months old — which means I am the only complete record of his entire life. This is a journal about keeping a horse well, and about the one who came after him with no history at all.

Come along to the barn


Who's writing

I love this more than I'm good at it.

I'm Morgan — an adult amateur, which is a polite way of saying I came to horses as a grown woman with a job, a daughter, and not nearly enough hours. I ask my trainer too many questions. I write everything down. I'm learning out loud, mistakes included: what things cost, what I get wrong, what a horse can teach you when you finally stop pretending you have it figured out.

If you've ever loved a horse more than you actually knew what to do with, you're in the right place.

Read the whole story →


The heart of it

Two horses. A full book and a blank page.

Everything I think about keeping a horse well lives somewhere between these two.

The full book

Marshall, at 21

The horse I've had since he was two months old. I know the year his teeth gave him trouble and the exact way he stands when his hocks ache. None of it is written anywhere official. It's just in me — and that's the point.

Meet Marshall →
The blank page

Harvey, off the track

He came to me last year the way a lot of them do — sound enough, sweet enough, and with almost no history. No real record, a rumor about an old injury, and not much else. I've spent every month since writing one for him.

Follow Harvey →

When Harvey arrived with a blank page, I understood for the first time how much of a horse's life simply vanishes when no one keeps it. So I started writing it all down. The writing-down, it turns out, is part of the caring.


From the journal

What we've been keeping track of

The Real Number

What Harvey's First Year Actually Cost

Nobody told me the real number, so I'm telling you mine — line by line, nothing hidden.

Learning in Public

I Was Completely Wrong About This

I asked my trainer something embarrassing this week, and the answer changed how I ride.

Good Records, Good Care

The Horse Who Came With a Blank Page

Why a horse with no history made me obsessive about keeping one.

Read the journal

The letter

Come along to the barn.

A letter every other week — what Marshall and Harvey are up to, what I'm learning, and what things actually cost. No spam, no selling. Just the honest version.

Every other Sunday · unsubscribe anytime

I'm also slowly building a tool called Horse Passport — a way to keep a horse's whole record in one place. It grew out of this journal. More on it as it's ready.