Horse Illustrated Magazine

Welcome to Barn Banter, the official podcast of Horse Illustrated. In Barn Banter episode 24, hosts Susan Friedland and Horse Illustrated Editor In Chief Holly Caccamise talk with Dr. Elizabeth James, the co-founder of the Liberty Festival and CEO of International Liberty Horse Association. To end the episode, they chat with Rachel Navarro, Equine and Farm Animal Intake Coordinator at Nevins Farm, about this month’s ASPCA Right Horse adoptable ponies, Buggsy and Muffin.

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Listen to Barn Banter episode 24 now to learn more about liberty from Dr. James.

Title Sponsor of Barn Banter: Adequan

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Dr. Elizabeth James, CEO of International Liberty Horse Association

Dr. Elizabeth James was born and raised in Montana where she grew up riding horses working cattle. Upon graduating high school she set out to turn her passion into a career by earning her BS in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska, a Masters degree in Equine Reproduction specializing in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, and most recently a PhD from the University of Kentucky in Experiential Education.

In 2005, Dr. James started her career as an equine instructor at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo. where she taught Colt Starting and various training classes. In 2007 she accepted the position of equine instructor alongside Chris McCarron at the North American Racing Academy. From there she went on to spend more than ten years as a full time professor in the Equine Department at the University of Kentucky. Dr. James has over 15 years of experience helping students achieve their dream careers, coordinating internships, and working closely with the equine industry to develop what they are looking for in a workforce.

She left the University of Kentucky in 2018 to launch Equine Career Coach which offers resources, advice, coaching, and career services specifically for the equine industry & Equine Business Solutions which helps entrepreneurs in the equine industry succeed. Together with her husband, Dr. James founded the exciting new International Liberty Horse Association in 2018 which is the first ever association for the liberty discipline and the Liberty Festival in 2022 — the first expo dedicated entirely to Liberty horsemanship.

Dr. James currently resides in Midway, KY with her husband, Dan; daughter, Isabella and son, Jesse on their farm, the Australian Equine Performance Center.

◆ Liberty Horse Association website
◆ Liberty Festival website
◆ Follow International Liberty Horse Association on Instagram (@libertyhorseassociation)
◆ Follow International Libery Horse Association on Facebook

Buggsy and Muffin, Adoptable Ponies of the Month

Buggsy and Muffin are best friends seeking a companion-only home together.

Buggsy

Buggsy is a cute and flashy 21-year-old Paint mare who would make an adorable addition to your barn. She is easy to halter in her stall, lead to her paddock, and catch for turn in. She is an easy keeper (as most ponies are) and seems quite hardy and healthy. Nevins Farm does not have a full picture of her history, but as far as they know, she came from an auction in Oklahoma and hasn’t done much ridden work in her life. She would be best suited to just hang out and be your best friend from the ground.

Buggsy is patient for vet care and enjoys being groomed and fussed over. She seems to really like her cozy stall in the winter, but could likely handle living out 24/7 with adequate shelter and blanketing in bad weather.

Learn more about Buggsy here.

Muffin

An 25-year-old pony mare, Muffin was a bit shy and avoidant of touch when Nevins Farm first met her, but she has fallen into a great rhythm with them and is now easy to halter in her stall, lead to her paddock, and catch for turn in. She is an easy keeper and seems quite hardy and healthy. Muffin does well living out 24/7 and stalling overnight with day time turn out; she is super flexible.

Nevins wouldn’t go so far as to say she is a kid-safe pony yet, but it is possible she could get there with some time and patience. She has been straightforward for them to work with and hasn’t offered a bite, kick, or rear. She does require an experienced handler for vet care, but has also improved greatly for this type of handling in the time they’ve had her. She stands well for the farrier and tolerates grooming; Nevins Farm thinks she’ll enjoy it one day when she finds a family who will dote on her.

Learn more about Muffin here.

In addition to Barn Banter episode 24, you can check out all previous episodes of Horse Illustrated’s podcasts.