Honoring Our Heroes

It might be because I come from a military family –  my father was in the Merchant Marines and all his brothers also served during World War II, my husband was in the service, my daughter retired from the Air Force, a grandson just came back from Afghanistan, and my granddaughter’s husband is still serving.

It might be because when I taught I could see how hard it was for the kids whose parents were police officers, fire fighters, first responders, not knowing if they would be safe in the job that they do.

When we read about Horses4Heroes and Operation Freedom, we knew that this was an organization that we wanted to be associated with. So, on May 18^th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, we will be hosting Hero Appreciation Day at our horseback riding facility.

This is a day where our active and veteran service families and community service families (police officers, fire fighters, EMS, etc.) can come out and enjoy a day at the farm. There is no charge to participate in the activities that will be available – horseback riding, horse grooming, making horse treats, and other horse themed games.

We are looking forward to a fun-time with the heroes and their families in our community.

For more information and our location, please visit our Website.

 

College Bound!

I never thought I’d be the proud owner of a horse that goes to college, but earlier this month Angel (Angelita’s Image) stepped into the trailer that took her to Meredith Manor is West Virginia!

One of our Program Aids, Christa, had been working with her for over a year. Late last year she was accepted to Meredith Manor. During a session she expressed her disappointment that she would not be the person to “finish” Angel since she would be leaving soon for college. At that moment I had an idea. I knew some other colleges that would allow the students to bring a horse; I even heard of a few colleges that would allow horses to attend even if their owner wasn’t attending that school. So, why not ask if Angel could go too? After all, she still needed some training and Christa had really bonded with her.

So we began getting all her supplies together and having the vet come out to give her the required vaccinations for her new adventure.

When the big day came, Angel loaded in the trailer like she was an old hand at travelling. Truth be known, she has not travelled much at all, but she wasn’t going to let the transport compnay know.

From all reports, she was a big hit when she arrived. Unloaded, refused to walk through the mud, and made herself comfortable in her new stall. When Christa visited her the next day, she was very happy to see a familiar face.

The back of her stall open to the paddocks so she doesn’t feel confined when she spends time in her stall.

Angel has been assigned to an advance student who is making sure her ground training is on target. They will teach her all she needs to know to be a great program horse. And best of all, she will continue to be with Christa!

We’ve even given her a Facebook page that will be updated with her progress. You can find her at Angel (Angelita’s Image).

It will be two years before she returns in her cap and gown.

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Your Left; Your Right

Navigating a pattern

One of the activities that we do with our riders is weaving cones or guiding the horse through a pattern. Both of these require the rider to pull the rein with either the right or left hand. Some of our riders have a hard time grasping right or left hand. For a time, I would say pull toward the wall or pull toward me. The rider could get the horse to walk the pattern, but the objective of learning left and right was not met.

red=right; black=left

One of the moms came up with the idea of putting a red glove on her child’s right hand and a black glove on the left. Instant success! Well, maybe not instant, but we were able to work toward learning right and left.First we started by asking the rider to pull with the red hand or the black hand. Being able to see the colors helped the rider pull the correct rein. Now we added right or left to the direction, pull with the red right hand, pull with the black left hand.

The rider was already associating the color with the correct hand. Now the rider could correlate the color to the hand. Finally we were able to only say right or left and the rider pulled with the correct rein.

Knowing right from left is so important in many activities, that we try to make an effort to teach this as one of the riding basics.

 

On the Bit!

When most equestrians hear the phrase “on the bit” they think of the horse’s headset. But at our farm, it means that the rider has demonstrated soft hands and good control of the horse. The rider can now ride with a bit in the horse’s mouth! For most of our riders, this is like graduation day for them. And, in a way, it is.

Our riders, regardless of the class – therapeutic, pony pal, or beginner – start riding without a bit in the horse’s mouth. The focus is on how to steer the horse and focus on control. This is not control like the horse is going to try to run and the rider needs to keep the horse at a walk, but in precision. Can the rider weave the cones or turn corners without knocking over the cone. We might put up a pattern, like the one in this picture and expect the rider to steer the horse through it without stepping over the poles. It sounds easy, but it really requires focusing on the task for the rider.

Next the riders learn how to trot. Balance is important here. If they pull on the reins as they post or bobble back and forth, they don’t have the balance they need. Once they can trot the horse keeping their hands soft and still, they have made it to the next level. Riding with the bit!

Every rider is different. Some riders have good balance when they start learning how to ride; others don’t. Some can focus; others are easily distracted. There are a lot of skills involved in getting to this level. Most riders are able to steer their horse confidently within six months. It’s getting the balance to trot with soft and still hands that can take a lot longer. But eventually, every rider who has the determination does end up “on the bit.”

If you have a child that is interested in horseback riding, but you don’t know where to start, download our free ebook A Parent’s Guide to Horseback Riding

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Yes! I Can!

It’s the first riding sessions of the new year. The riders were excited to be back in spite of the cold temperatures. This year I decided to start the year asking about goals.

“Goals?” asked one six-year old.

“Yes, what would you like to do this year.”

“Go to Cedar Point. We couldn’t last year because my brother broke his leg.”

Oops! I need to be more specific. So I rephrased it to focus on horseback riding. The answer came back very clear. “Keep riding all year!”

Got it.

Next class the riders were older, but just to be safe I rephrased the question to focus on horseback riding.

“Canter!” shouted the first rider.

“Good for you, but we need to make the goal something we can do by the show. How about post the trot around the arena.”

“Ride with a bit,” said the second.

Now we are getting it.

After the classes I started to think about how many times we set goals for ourselves that are too aggressive. We end up falling short and feeling like we failed.

In our riding classes our curriculum follows a pedagogy that builds on previous success as we challenge our riders to achieve. We like to think of it as No Rider Left Behind. Every rider should be able to say, “Yes! I can!” when presented with a new skill because they know it is achievable.

Now that the riders know where they are heading, I need to think of my goals as an instructor. Better examples, more exercises, and, of course, lots of fun in every riding session.

How about you? Do you have riding goals for 2013?

 

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 940 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

 

Dressing For the Winter Ride

I would love to ride in the winter if only my ______________ wouldn’t get so cold! Select all that apply.

1. A.     Feet
2. B.     Head/Face
3. C.     Hands

Even with our indoor arena, there is still a bite in the air when the temperature drops below 30⁰. So the kids and moms are always trying to learn ways to stay warm.

LAYERING

Don’t rely on one item to keep warm. Layer your clothes. Start with a cotton t-shirt, add a snug turtle neck, then a sweatshirt before you add the winter coat. A warm fleece vest or jacket under the winter coat can help both on very cold days as well as days that are moderately cold. Some riders get warm when they ride and a vest can keep in the heat if they need to remove the winter coat.

Don’t forget the bottoms and feet. I recommend that footless tights or cotton leggings be worn under the jeans or riding breeches. Two pair of socks can also help keep the feet warm. My preference is wool socks. Natural fibers tend to wick away moisture better than synthetic.

FOOTWARE

You can wear the wool socks or two pair with regular riding boots. There are also insulated riding boots for riders who have a very hard time keeping their feet warm. Do not be tempted to wear snow boots for riding, unless you are going bareback. As warm as they may be, they are a danger if the foot gets caught in the stirrup and they have no heel, which is a requirement of any boot or shoes used for riding.

HEAD/FACE

Helmet covers! There are some very warm and colorful helmet covers. Most come with a neck warmer that covers the mouth and chin as well as the neck. For those of you who are creative, SuitAbility sells patterns so you can make your own! Make them in your barn colors!

HANDS

Thinsulated gloves are a life saver. You can also find fleece-lined and insulated riding gloves that have the pebbled fingers so the reins can be gripped better.

If you or your rider still gets cold, you may want to break open the hand warmers. They typically last about four hours and are well worth it.

Here’s to fun-filled riding this winter!

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