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.

I have to give credit to her instructor here in Statesville, NC.  She is wonderful!  My daughter has learned so much in such a short time.  The trainer is Jennifer Dipple at Full Circle Farm.  You should definitely check this place out.  You will be impressed, I promise you.  I, too, take lessons there.  Any good trainer and instructor will always be furthering their skills and knowledge through lessons and I am glad I found this facility.

My daughter has an appaloosa that she raised and trained from birth.  She has always wanted this horse to show and through the years have been working towards that goal.  Now she has the opportunity to realize her dreams.  She has come a long way in teaching Eclispe to become a wonderfully well trained horse.  Here she is working with Jennie at Full Circle Farm teaching Eclipse to bend and supple. They are learning to find their rhythm and work together as one.  They have come a long way in the past week.

At the beginning of the week, Eclispe didn’t even want to be ridden.  She ignored commands and did everything she could to the opposite of what she was being asked.  But after a week of consistent work and encouragement, the trainer and my daughter were able to get Eclipse to bend and supple enough to have a very good lesson.  I am sure she will be showing her in competition this summer.

I had a wonderful client who brought his TWH to me to be trained as a trail horse.  This horse was a little spooky to ride, but boy did we have fun together.  She taught me a thing or two, like how to get over my fear of losing my seat when horse gets excited on the trail and wants to take off running and bucking.  She went back home at the end of her session at Baymount Farm and has become a favorite of my client.  Jazzy Plays Soccer  This same client has asked me to come to his farm and hold a two day clinic for his family.   I am happy to comply and very excited about this opportunity.  I plan to hold many more clinics in the future. 

This particular clinic will be customized to my client’s needs.  I will be teaching harnessing and driving TWH’s, giving riding lessons to his family, giving trail lessons and teaching how to handle horses properly.  The wonderful thing about clinics is that they can be tailor made to fit the needs of the individual.  Not all clinics need to be so organized that they become boring or a show of trick training skills.  I won’t be starting out by round penning, then moving onto sacking out, tacking up, etc.  I will be using their horses that they are already familiar with to teach them how to become better riders and drivers.  How fun is that! 

When I finish I am hoping the whole family will be confident enough that individually they can go out saddle up, or harness up and take off for a wonderful time with their horse.   Watch for the video of this clinic.  I think you will find it interesting. 

Happy Riding!

I have decided that ex-race horses really don’t like staying in the stall, which is quite alright with me.   My other one, Sera, a thoroughbred stresses and walks the stall if I try to keep her in.  Sir Alex just chooses to try to crib.  There isn’t a place in the stall he can sink his teeth into except the buckets, so out he goes.  I don’t need my buckets torn up.  Also, one less mess to clean up, you know.  As long as he is happy outside, so be it.  His coat is thick enough and he is heavy enough that I doubt he will even notice the cold.  He is also barefoot, which I like during winter.  Ice, snow and mud doesn’t get so clogged up on his soles and I don’t have to worry so much about him getting hurt cavorting out in the pasture. 

My daughter rode him two days after he arrived and he was wonderful.  Sir Alex raced his second year and won a fair amount, but started to get sore so his conscientious owners decided to retire him rather then risk his getting hurt.    After that he went on to being a lesson horse.  He trots and paces which makes him perfect since he is so versatile.  I finally rode him a few days ago and decided that I needed to work with him on the snaffle bit to see what he would do.  In the video he was wearing an eggbut snaffle.  I put a full cheek snaffle on him which is my choice in bits when I get a new horse to try out.   I have been suppling him and asking him to walk straight without all the chewing.   Alex does like to chew, so I think I will try a snaffle with a french link and see how that works for him.  Today we had a great day!   Obviously  he has been very well trained by his previous owners and is a pleasure to ride. 

Sir Alex has quite a smooth trot, doesn’t canter, but that is ok, he does pace and is very smooth.  That’s all I need anyway.  He was a nut today when I was riding him in the ring.  My dachshund, Izzy, came out to say hello to me and Sir Alex thought he was going to get attacked.  I never dreamed he would be frightened by such a small, unassuming dog, but by golly if he didn’t spin around and try to run.   Thankfully, he is very, very well behaved and trusting of humans.  He settled down easily and we just kept going.  That is a good training technique with a spooky horse.  If you can stay on, just ride it out all the time trying to gain control and give the horse something to do that he does well to get his mind back on work and off whatever scared him.  They have a one track mind, so stay calm, regain control and keep going.

Anyway, to me Sir Alex is special and I really look forward to giving lessons on him.  I think my students will love him too.

Was I in for a huge lesson.  I was so green and so dumb that I told the farmer who owned the land that his mare pony had an infection and needed to call a vet because she had all this discharge under her tail!!  Imagine the laugh he had after I left!  Well I kept my horse for a few years, but sold him after I had my daughter.  I had owned him a few months when I found out I was pregnant for the third time and decided he was too much to care for with an infant and two  boys that needed me more.   I wish I had someone who took the time to tell me how much there was to caring for a horse when I bought him and had outlined it for me.  I wouldn’t have changed my mind, but I would have had something in which to refer.  And I probably would have picked out a better horse.  There were so many books out there I could have thumbed through hundreds before I found the right one to go by. 

Here’s what I wish I had known.

1.  How to judge the temperament of a horse.  I loved all horses and if I could catch them I thought they would be fine. I didn’t know to look for signs of sourness, distress, submissiveness or what-have-you.  I didn’t know that ears flat back meant, beware, or that flared nostrils could mean the horse is ready to bolt, a swishing tail could mean, anger, not just swatting flys.  There is a lot of body language I know now, that I had no idea even existed then. 

2.  I would have given anything to have known a horse has a one track mind and if you keep it busy doing something it knows well your chances are greater at having a safe ride.  Especially if you horse hates to leave its buddy or the barn. 

3.  Knowing what type of grain, hay and wormer to give and when would have helped.  My poor horse had to survive on what grass he could find.  There was plenty of it, but he would probably have been healthier if he had been limited to his intake of rich pasture grass and wormed more often. 

4.  Realizing (not just knowing) horses are herd animals and feel safer in groups would have helped me understand my horses reluctance to be separated from his pasture buddy.  Looking back I am thankful he had a pasture buddy.

5.  Knowing the signs of colic and how to take a pulse, respiration and what is a normal temp would have been helpful.  All these things should be kept on record for future reference.

6.  Signs of lameness and what the common causes are, like laminitis and abscesses. 

7.  My most recent challenge was to have a horse choke.  Never had that happen before and didn’t know what had happened at first.  It’s nice to know that they can choke and still breath, but do need to see a vet immediately when this happens. 

I could go on and on, but I would end up writing a book and there are already enough books on the market about horses.  My best advice is, that if you love horses, but aren’t that familiar with them, then don’t be afraid to ask for help.  There is no need to go out and hire a trainer, but you can learn a lot through riding lessons, videos and there is always RFD TV.  There is lots and lots of practical advice on that program. 

But if you have a question and need a fairly quick answer just email me.  I’ll do what Ican to answer your questions and give my best advice.  You can find me on Facebook under Baymount Farm or Twitter.

I have several trail horses of my own.  Some of them are field trial horses, some are pleasure horses.  Most of them are familiar with the gates being opened while I am on their backs, but a few aren’t familiar with side passing over logs, turning on the forehand with their feet in a square, etc.  So, I set up a trail course in my ring.  It has most of the obstacles they need to practice on.  It always amazes me how quickly the horses pick up these new “tricks”.  Horses are so smart and willing, especially if you are having fun and letting them adjust at their pace to anything new you want them to learn.

Here is a tip:  when introducing a new obstacle, calmly walk your horse up to it first, if they seem apprehensive about it, let them stand and face it, smell it, paw at it (as long as they don’t tear it up – pawing allows them to see that it isn’t something that will jump up and attack them), then walk them around it until they are comfortable with it.  Look for signs of submission like, sighing, licking and chewing, dropping their head, looks of boredom and just standing there.  Once they are comfortable ask them to perform the task at hand, one step at a time.  Please don’t force your horse or you will find that training will quickly become frustrating for YOU and the horse will likely balk and become defensive every time you ask it to do something.  Remember your goal is to get your horse relaxed and willing.  You are the leader and must set the attitude from the beginning.   If you are relaxed they are likely to relax much more quickly.  Take your time, there is no rule that says your horse has to learn a new trick in one minute, one hour, one day or even one week.  If you feel you are going backwards or not making any progress, then stop, re-evaluate what you are asking and break it up into little steps.

For instance,  if you are asking your horse to turn on the forehand and he has no idea what you want, try these steps.

1.  Teach him to stand still first.

2.  Teach him to move one foot over at a time by tapping him on the side just behind the girth.  Ask for one movement, let him rest, ask for another movement, let him rest, repeat, repeat, repeat and soon he will be moving over until you ask him to stop.

3.  Next apply this to the bit.  I use a full check snaffle bit with a bit keeper to keep the bit from moving around so much in his mouth.  Pick up the rein and just take the slack out, when he moves over, let the rein pressure off immediately and pet him for being right.  Do this until he is moving over everytime you ask.

4.  Apply the two aids together.  Stand at his side, pick up the rein and tap him behind the girth as he moves his hindquarters over.  If he moves forward, stop, ask him to stand still, then apply the aids again.  Soon he will be moving his hindquarters over and then;

5.  Mount up, pick up your reins and ask him to stand, apply the reins by picking up one rein and taking the slack out, apply the leg aid behind the girth (you may have to use an active leg at first) and he should move his haunches over.  The idea is for him not to move forward.  He may get slightly confused at first and this is ok.  He will be thinking he is supposed to move forward since that is what he is usually asked to do.  Just gently stop him and apply the aids again.  Soon enough he will pick it up.

I have never come upon a horse that did not pick this up quickly and sufficiently when I took my time and made sure the horse understood what I was asking.  Rewarding for getting the right answer and practicing until he is 100% always works.

You can apply the same theory to whatever you are teaching and have fun doing it.  Make learning simple, rewarding and relaxing for you an your horse.  You will be amazed at how quickly you will be teaching new things and enjoying your ride much more.

Recently I purchased a Haggis Saddle made in Canada by Jack Haggis.  Awesome saddles, but I wasn’t sure how it was supposed to fit my horses.  Each horse should have it’s own custom fitted saddle, but like me most of us have more than one horse and less than a few dollars,  so several horses have to share a saddle.  That’s one of the things I like about the Haggis Saddle.  With a little padding it can fit more than one horse comfortably.

Notice that the saddle is sitting  just behind the large muscle over the scapula.  This saddle could be moved back slightly to give a more comfortable and secure fit.  The bars at the withers are tapered out upwards to the withers to allow more freedom of movement of this large muscle.  Gaited horses have a longer stride and therefore, that particular muscle has a longer length of movement and needs more room to avoid pinching.  That is why the bars are tapered on gaited saddles, unlike english or western saddles.  The withers on gaited horses, particularly TWH are usually higher and narrower.   Some gaited horses like Kentucky Mountain horses have withers more like the quarter horse, but still need a gaited saddle.    The gullet at the withers is higher allowing for the height of the withers.

The back of the saddle should still fit at the 18th rib and not past it.  The bars  angles upward on these saddle to take pressure off the kidneys.  The bars do not sit on the horses back at this point.

The saddles come in standard tree with pretty much fits the TWH or mountain horse tree for the wider or flatter withers like quarter horses.

At any rate, the fitting is the same as for other saddles, you just need to understand that the bars on the Haggis Saddles will not make contact at the 18th rib.   The rigging come in english or western and is adjustable.  Wonderful!  This allows a proper fit and less chance for rub behind the elbow.  On these saddles you don’t have to worry about the width of the gullet on the spine or if it is sitting to close to the spine.   Gaited horse saddles come in the western style or endurance style also.   But that doesn’t mean that any english, endurance or western saddle will fit the gaited horse.  You must remember that the gaited horse needs a saddle with a gaited tree or flex tree.  Also, there are Tarpin Hill Saddles which are field trial saddles that are made similar to these.   Other than that, Tucker makes a good gaited horse saddle.   Hope this helps clear up any questions you have about fitting the gaited horse.  Happy riding!

Standardbreds can trot and pace which makes them very valuable horses for many who are looking for multi-talented mounts.  Watch the video on Sir Alex and see for yourself.

does your saddle fit?

I have done a lot of searching on saddles and saddle fitting.  I have been trying to purchase the right saddle for my new horse, mainly because I decided to take up hunt seat to improve my riding abilities.   There is a lot of information to go thru and can be confusing.  But I am one to keep going, taking things a step at a time.    I will try to make this easier for those of you who are interested in learning saddle fitting.  Look at the saddle above.  See how the deepest part the seat (the area where your seat bones will sit squarely on the saddle) is at its lowest point.  Start there in evaluating whether or not your saddle fits your horse. This will show you that the saddle is sitting level on your horse.   Next, drop your stirrup leathers and measure the distance from the stirrup bar and the center of the seat.  There should be 6 to 7 inches in distance.   Make sure your horse is standing square when you do this.  An improper fitting saddle can bridge causing soreness in your horses back or causing you to tilt throwing you off balance.   Bridging is when the panel is not contoured to fit the shape of the horses back.

Make sure your saddle is level

Now, run your hand along the gusset of the saddle feeling for gaps or pressure points.  You want your saddle to be level and sitting smoothly on your horses back.    This is one way to also check for bridging in case you can’t see it right away.   You can always have flocking added to your saddle.  Wool flocking is best to use and lasts longer, whereas foam flocking has a tendency to wear out quicker.

Saddle is far enough back.

It may be difficult to see here, but look for and feel for the large muscle at the withers over the scapula.    Your saddle bars need to be directly behind this muscle to allow for freedom of movement.    Putting the saddle on this muscle can cause your horse to be sore and restrict his performance.   Check for the movement range in this muscle by marking where the muscle ends when your horse is standing square and where it ends when you stretch your horse’s leg out in front of him.  This will give you the best indication of how far back to put the saddle.

Next look at how the gullet fits at the withers.  You should be able to get three fingers in between the gullet and your horses withers.  If you can’t chances are the saddle is too wide for the horse.  However, if the gullet is too high, as in four or more fingers the saddle could be too narrow.  Most english saddles for women should have a narrow twist, for men a wide twist.  However, if, like my horse who has very high withers,  I will need a half pad or theraputic pad to raise the gullet off the withers.  The saddle is a good fit everywhere  else, she just has exceptionally high withers.   As you can see with an added pad I get the correct distance in the gullet for this particular horse.  By the way,  we can’t all buy a saddle for each horse we own and many times have to use the same saddle on different horses.  So adding a half pad can help tremendously in this situation.   Another detail to look for when checking out saddles is to make sure that the tree has not been twisted.  Put the saddle on your knee looking at it from the front and see if you can detect a twist.  If the nails on the outside are parallel then it probably isn’t twisted.

Although it may be difficult to see from this pic, you want to look at your saddle from the back and be able to see light all the way through.  This is a good way to check for the gullet width and thickness.  You want the gullet to be wide enough to NOT sit on the horses spine or to be touching it at all.  You should be able to get at least three fingers between the narrowest part of the gullet.  Turn your saddle over and look at it from beneath.   Some saddle gullets will be wider at the pommel and narrow slightly through the middle then get wider again at the cantle.  Some won’t, depending on the brand.   Pressure on your horses spine and ligament that runs down his back next to the spine can cause soreness.

One you are sure your saddle fits your horse, go out and take a ride to see how the saddle fits you.  You should be able to stand up in the saddle and balance without  feeling you are tilting forward or back.  This means your saddle is balanced.    There is a little more to it than this and you can always hire a saddle fitter to be sure you have the right saddle for you and your horse.  But these are the basics and I think will help you a great deal if you are unsure.

Why is it so important to have a properly fitting saddle?  Comfort, soundness and performance.  You want to get the best out of your horse and not be riding wondering why your horses ears are back, why he/she doesn’t move forward, etc.  Sore back horses are never much fun to ride.  Remember, just because a saddle fits one horse doesn’t mean it fits all horses.  Be sure to check the saddle bars also so they aren’t pinching his back.  Have a pleasant ride and watch for more blogs on fitting western and gaited horses.

Finally learned to drive.

Midnight has finally graduated.  I am so proud of her.  In my recent posts about her I was training her to drive,  but she was having  a difficult time because of a dental issue she had.  Once that was cleared up, learning to drive was a piece of cake.   I have been able to drive her around our neighborhood several times now and she has become quite a pro.  I was able to safely give my barn help a ride home, which to me is the mark of a good horse.  Let me explain, anytime I feel I can trust the horse to not spook, to stop upon request and stand until asked to go again, then I can safely let others ride with me.  Midnight was excellent at this.

I love teaching a horse to pull a cart.  It is so simple!  All it takes is patience and time.  Most  horses are very willing to please, they just need to time to adjust to what you are asking them to do.    In case you are interested in how I do it, here it is in a nutshell.

1.  Start out by round penning your horse to assure they learn to look to you for direction.

2.  Equip your horse with a surcingle and long rein it both ways asking it to stop on command and stand.

3.  Once the horse is 100% listening to you on the long reins and surcingle, attach poles to either side of the horse and ask it to perform the same tasks dragging poles.  (a bit of advise here, don’t teach your horse to back on the poles or long reins until after it has learned to pull the cart, if it backs on the cart while still in training it may not stop and could tear up your cart).

4.  With poles attached teach your horse to make lots and lots of turns making them sharper.  This teaches the horse to step over and use her body to move the cart.

5.  Add weight to the poles, I suggest using a hay bale(s).  By the way, do all this in an enclosed arena or small pasture.

6.  Once your horse is 100% with poles and weight it is time to hook it up to the cart.  I use a heavy metal cart, weight helps keep the horses mind on not running away and wooden carts are easily broken.  Take your time here, as the horse has to be comfortably standing still for this.  Also, it is ok to lead the horse thru all these steps until it is ready to be driven.

7.  If you are unsure or don’t have the time, hire a trainer.  That is the easiest way to teach your horse to pull a cart and ensures neither you or your horse gets hurt.  By the way, I know a good trainer…wink, wink…