Welcome to Sage Knoll Farm
Sage Knoll Farm is the home of
Equine Connection Freelance Training,
located in Salvisa, Kentucky.
We are a unique full care boarding and educational facility
designed to meet the customized needs of each horse and human.
Our mission:
Affordable boarding for horses with unique needs, and relationship-based horsemanship and biomechanics education. Specialized in rehabilitation and nervous system regulation.
A model of horse management that is centered on horse-welfare and ecologically-conscious land stewardship
A diverse and inclusive community of people who want to learn from horses.
The farm features a paddock-paradise track system, 10 acres of pasture, a 20x40m sand dressage arena, and 4 stall barn. The dividers between the stalls can be opened up to make 2 oversized stalls, in case of horses needing to stay in beyond feeding times. The barn also has a climate controlled tack and feed room.
A weekly lesson or training session is included in board as a means for Annemieke to best monitor and improve the health and happiness of each horse and their human.
The photos of the track and fields were taken in December and January. Notice the lack of mud and the bounty of fresh forage in our pastures!
Amenities
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Paddock Paradise Track System
An innovative system of horse and pasture management featuring narrow alleyways to keep the horses moving, just like the tracks wild horses make on their home range. Well-draining, abrasive footing promotes hoof health by keeping hooves cleaner, drier, and naturally worn down through movement in the rugged terrain like they were evolved for. Enrichment such as changes in footing and wooded sections encourages novel movement, which is essential for a healthy nervous system. On the track, horses have 24/7 access to free choice, high quality teff hay that is low in sugar and starch— perfect for your easy keeper. Metabolic horses who cannot maintain optimal health on Kentucky’s rich pastures live happily on the track without ever being confined to a stall or dry lot, isolated or standing in mud. Horses that benefit from pasture grazing are turned out at night when the sugar is lower.
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Individualized Nutrition
Boarded horses are fed twice per day in stalls to ensure that any concentrates, supplements, and medications are consumed only by the horse they’re prescribed for. Individualized feeding of concentrates also reduces stress from resource guarding and competition at mealtimes. We work with independent equine nutritionist Caitlin Chase, M.S. with Equinex Nutrition to balance each horse’s diet according to their unique needs. Hay and pastures are tested twice per year so we know exactly what the horses are eating.
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Full Care
Full care means that we will strive to meet all of your horse’s unique needs. Board includes twice daily feeding in the stalls, blanket and fly gear changing, and a weekly lesson or training session. Special care for any other needs your horse such as boot changes and topical treatments may have can be negotiated and billed accordingly. Contact us for an extra care price list, or to inquire about individualized services.
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On-Site Lessons and Training
One lesson or training session is required at Sage Knoll Farm, and included in board. This way, horses and their humans never stop learning and developing towards greater balance and relaxation together. It also enables Annemieke to best monitor each horse’s welfare through her usual physical, mental, and emotional postural assessments and teachings. She is committed to ensuring each horse receives the best possible care for their unique needs.
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Discounted PEMF Treatment
The Centurion Magnetotherapy PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy) is perfect for horses in rehabilitation, older horses with arthritis, or pain, inflammation, and open even open wounds-- horses and humans heal faster and find almost immediate relief from nerve pain thanks to this technology. PEMF works by sending magnetic pulses that stimulate cellular repair. Diseased and damaged cells have an altered charge called rest potential, and their ion channels are influenced by the magnetic pulses. These pulses encourage the exchange of oxygen, proteins, and electrolytes through cell membranes, which improves circulation and reduces pain.
What’s in the name?
Sage Knoll Farm is named after Annemieke’s greatest teacher, both about horses and life at large, Sage. Her 18 hand heart horse was truly a Sage in every sense of the word. His wisdom has made Annemieke who she is, and made Equine Connection Freelance Training possible. He taught her about healing from trauma, the importance of self-care, how trust is built through care for one another’s safety, radical acceptance of what cannot be changed, and the patience and perseverance to improve what can be changed. All of Annemieke’s signature postural in-hand work was learned through experimenting with how to best help Sage to inhabit a healthy, happy body. Sage crossed the rainbow bridge just a few weeks before Annemieke and her partner Judson purchased the farm. They named it Sage Knoll Farm in honor of Sage, and to represent a space where horses are our sages and we are the students.
Here’s what boarders have to say
about their experiences at Sage Knoll Farm…
My horse, Santigo, and I have just spent 6 months on Sage Knoll Farm with Annemieke working on his nervous system dysregulation. She also worked with me to improve my skill level reading his signs of stress and appropriately responding them. The difference in my relationship with my horse and his comfort level in most situations is so improved I am tempted to use the word miraculous. The wonderful bonus I gained during my journey was how much I learned about horse needs, health, care and personalities. I learned the importance of having my horse biomechanically balanced to keep him safe and comfortable. Annemieke also addressed my riding skills to improve our ability to work as a team when I am on the ground and on his back. Her level of knowledge and experience is top notch and she is a gentle and compassionate teacher to both horses and humans.
I am leaving Sage Knoll Farm to have Santigo closer to my home. All my goals were met but I am leaving with a heavy heart. The level of care given to Santigo and my confidence in Annemieke will be impossible to match. I am grateful for all the knowledge and skills Santigo and I have gained under Annemieke’s tutelage.
— Tammy Lyons
Maxx and I moved to Annemieke’s in search of a community where we belonged, where the relationship with the horse and trust between partners was most important than the horse, and where it was okay to have feelings and not be perfect. So far, here, we’ve learned that we don’t have to be anxious before a lesson and it’s okay to mess up. We’ve learned it’s okay to just listen to each other and change our plans according to what we are prepared to learn that day. We’re learning how to trust each other in the hopes that one day we can do anything together, no matter how scary.
— Macy Godman
