Large beautiful oak trees, pecans, wild cherries, sassafras, persimmon, maples, and many other trees adorn our pastures, but the most beautiful ornament we have are our horses.   Currently we have a Percheron, an Arabian, a quarter horse, two appaloosas, a thoroughbred, a standardbred, minis and various tennessee walking horses.  My favorie of all are the three gaited, walk-trot horses.  They are very versatile, very well trained and lots of fun to ride.  Most of my riding horse cross creeks, rivers, logs, put up with barking dogs, four wheelers, bicycles, yappy small dogs, geese in the pastures, deer in the pastures, you name it, they have been exposed. 

That is also how I train our trail horses.   Baymount Farm is a  training and lesson facility training all breeds of trail pleasure horses.  The best trained horse is one you can get on and trust to take you through anything and go anywhere at a controlled and safe speed.

We are pleased to announce two new opportunities for horse lovers who have limited time and funds, but would love the opportunity to become involved in riding and various equestrian activities.  Baymount Farm has created and is offering a new Intro to Horsemanship class at Mitchell Community College this fall.   This class starts September 9, 2010 on Thursdays from 6:30 – 8:30 pm for six weeks.  The class will cover briefly many aspects of the equestrian industry, including various disciplines; hunt seat, dressage, equitation, western and gaited riding.  Also covered will be the different equestrian businesses, equine contracts and laws, grooming and demonstrations at local barns.  More information can be found at http://www.mitchellcc.edu/cec/forms/MCC_CE_Schedule_Fall10.pdf    on page 14 of the Continuing Education Booklet online. 

Also beginning in September will be special classes just for Mom’s.  These will cover learning to care for, tack and ride horses with trail riding for groups of 4.  Classes will be scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Fridays in the mornings.   This gives Mom’s an opportunity to treat themselves special while their children are in school and take a break from the humdrum of cleaning, shopping, planning and all the daily activities of managing a family.  Visit the LESSON page on www.baymountacres.com for pricing and more information.

All in all, I am expecting this to be an exciting fall for 2010.  Hope to see you soon.

We saddle up first thing after the kids get there and go to the ring.  Most of the children have no idea how to ride, some think they know and a few have had lessons from friends and family.  Their hands, arms and legs are everywhere.  Thank goodness I have a group of slow, forgiving horses who don’t mind all the pulling, yanking, kicking and thrashing around done by these kids.  By the end of the first day the kids are in love with the horse they have ridden.   They have tacked, groomed, washed, picked hooves, grazed and loved on their horse and want to stay for more.  

The rest of the week is spend working on using their hands, voice and legs to ride.  They learn through coloring pictures of horses and tack the different parts of the horse and the difference in english and western tack.  They learn the parts of the hoof and how to take care of it.  And they have cleaned and oiled tack, cleaned a stall, learned how to feed and what to feed, learned about wormers and parasite control as well as washed their horse.   I think the most fun they have on the ground with their horse is braiding manes and tails. 

At the end of the week, they have a horse show where they present their horse all braided and ride a pattern they have learned over the week.  They are so proud of themselves for riding their horse all alone and stand quite proudly for pictures taken by family and friends. 

I am glad I have done this for these children.  It has been fun for me and fun for them.  I think the parents appreciate their children getting to do something for an entire week they they would not normally have had the chance to do.  I so look forward to doing this next year.

So, thanks to some clients of mine I have had the opportunity to hold a clinic with just such a thing in mind.  They requested that I come to their farm and teach them specifics in their area of riding for the entire family.  I did and it was great!  My daughter and I both held the two day clinic for my clients who were a family of four.  They provided their own horses and equipment.   I think that is the best way to learn.  I can easily use someone else’s horses and equipment when I am learning, but then I get back to my barn and horses, discover that my equipment is slightly different and my horses aren’t quite trained the same and that adds to the confusion of putting it all together.  With their own equipment, horses and on their trails we were able to progress with comfort and ease.  This added to the quickness in which the children were able to pick up important skills in riding and apply those skills without as much hesitation by being on their own territory. 

The first part of each morning consisted of learning to harness, hitch and drive a carriage horse.   This went very well, was lots of fun and the family members learned the basics of driving down their driveway and out onto the property.  They learned how to fit the harness for comfort and security, how to handle the reins properly and how to drive, turn, back and slow down their driving horse.   Most of this they were already doing properly, but just needed a little brush up on their skills and confirmation that they were doing it correctly. 

The second half of the day consisted of trail riding, a few lessons on jumping, two-point position, proper leg placement and usage in the saddle, the correct way to balance and the difference in hunt seat, western, and equitation.  Since we were using gaited horses, the hunt seat was a little challenge but the lessons were learned and the students were jumping by the time we left.   

Unfortunately, because of the weather, we were not able to do as much as I had planned.  We were facing wind gusts up to 25mph and temperatures in the low 30’s.  This made it quite cold, our fingers and toes were numb, our faces wind burned but our spirits were up and that hot chocolate sure was good!  Plus the cooks were magnificent, they provided the lunches and we dined like kings.

At any rate, I have a video of our clinic just for fun.   Baymount Farm Natural Horsemanship Clinic.   I hope you enjoy watching as much as we enjoyed filming and working.  I wish I had more to show you, but our battery went dead, must of been the extremely cold weather. 

Future clinics can be held for you, within a reasonable driving distance, no more than 2 hours away please.   Clinics run $110 per person daily, 8 hour days,  for 4 people, plus hotel.   More than 4 people the price can be adjusted.  Just email me for more information.