Life on a Farm

I realized that most of my posts of our summer programming are of the riders doing non-riding events. And, with Jacki's amazing leadership, we are certainly doing lots of great non-riding activities. However, it is the riding that is the real attraction.

In one short year I am proud of Chuck, Linda and Krissy -- they have really developed the vision of having well-taken care of horses who are well-suited to instilling in young riders the joy of horseback riding. There are so many aspects to riding that are positive for kids: balance, needing to focus and take direction. The self confidence that the riders gain being able to control something so much bigger than themselves is its own reward.

For the first time riders, they get our calmest, most dependable horses: Dixie, Hercules, Sweet Pea, Mr. Tee and Buck. All of these horse vary a great deal in size from Hercules who is only about 13 hands to Sweet Pea who is 16 and a half! New riders each have a leader, and in some cases a side walker. They learn balance, positioning, and just get a feel for the horse. To keep it interesting, Linda has them do a bunch of different things on the horse: around the world, posting at the walk with hands on hips. Alot of that is what you see here.

Once students are comfortable they get off the lead line but still have a leader near the horses head in case they get in trouble.

It is so interesting to see the riders different personalities on and off the horse. Children who are really tentative on the ground sometimes meld with the horses in short order, whereas kids who are completely confident on the ground sometimes take a little longer to develop confidence on the back of the horse.

It is an art and Linda is phenomenal at picking up on each horse's daily disposition and each riders' emotions. The result is meeting the goal of having everyone get off their horse with a smile on his or her face!

Labels: Beginners

My first post from the road! Today, the farrier was on the farm to finish up spring shoeing. I've learned that there are a few keys to having good riding horses: the right diet, the right amount of 'work' each day/week and 'soundness' -- meaning, their legs/hooves (feet) don't have any issues. Keeping a horse sound requires a team effort. The vet can help you detect and treat issues but the farrier is also a really important part of the team.

Our farrier, Matt Reopel is terrific. Elizabeth, Lauren and Sarah love his little dogs he brings (so does Buddy!) and I appreciate his friendliness and willingness to explain his work to the riders in the barn. But most of all, it is his skill in tailoring individually appropriate shoeing options for each horse that is really important to running a high quality riding stable.

Lately, we have not been able to use Ginger very much. Ginger is one of our 'key' horses -- besides being beautiful, she is a really calm older horse that the beginner riders love to ride. Elizabeth won her first "Grand Champion" ribbon on her in the beginner walk/trot division. She and Dixie came to us together and, excuse the pun, have really been "workhorses" for us. But, for the past several weeks she's been lame and despite lots of exploration and expense using our wonderful vet, Greg Dowd from Arlington Equine, we have not been able to solve the issue.

Lameness in a school horse presents a huge emotional and business dilemma. We need horses that can be ridden every day now that we have so many riders. And heading into summer, we have a significant number of new and beginner riders -- which is GREAT -- but means our beginner horses will be earning their keep. It is a careful balance between using them and over-using them. And Chuck and Linda are adamant that we not work a lame horse. So, if Ginger can't work we not only are absorbing a lot of expense, but we then need to increase usage of our other beginner horses who we don't want to over work.

We had to begin to consider the unthinkable: finding Ginger a new, good home. Enter Matt Reopel! Today, he had some custom made shoes to put on her. She has had nevicular (spelling?) issues and these were designed to address that as a possible issue. And, guess what? By this afternoon Ginger seemed much, much better! She was used (I am told) for some light walking lessons today. Keep your fingers crossed. We would all be sooooo happy if this simple solution allowed us to keep and use Ginger. She is the perfect horse for new riders.

Krissy was going to get me some pictures of Matt working today. I will post those when I get back to the farm later tomorrow. And this summer we are going to do some amateur video with Matt and Dr. Dowd to post on this blog. They are definitely key members of our team!

Labels: Beginners, farrier, Ginger, Matt Reopel