Trail Riding

My mare has done a lot in her lifetime; mini prix showjumping, dressage, foaling, and now back in the showjumping ring.

While it’s important to keep show horses in a regular workout routine, it’s also important to get them relaxed and out of the ring. Your horse should love their job and you don’t want their sourness to the ring getting in the way of that.

Especially after a hard ride, I love to take Honey out of the ring to stretch her muscles, relax, and get used to being ridden outside the confines of an arena. Plus, it’s a great way to continue to build your relationship with your horse…after all, a horse and rider’s success is based on mutual trust as a team.

Still worried? Think of it this way: if your horse doesn’t get used to being ridden outside of the ring, you can’t blame him/her if they act up while riding them on a show ground.

Always trail ride with a buddy, or at least a cell phone, and always be sure to stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Safety first!

Cheers!

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Jump Into Spring

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If you’re anything like me then you love to jump. . .and so does your horse. The problem is, when you don’t have a covered arena, the winter season can get you out of shape and out of practice. Not only does your horse need to regain lost strength and stamina but so do you! Not to mention, as the rider you are the “driver”. This is my slow and steady workout to get my mare, Honey, back in show jumping shape.

Week 1: Do It Without the Jumps

At the start of any conditioning series you really want to get a good feel for where you and your horse are as a team. The first few rides of week one I use to feel my mare out with flatwork. It’s important to have your horse listening to your aid, moving off your leg, balanced, and adjustable on the flat before you think about adding obstacles into the mix. If you have all of these flatwork elements, “checked off”, then you’re good to go with week one! My rides always start with about 10-15 minutes of flatwork focusing on transition as well as lengthening and shortening. Transitions, especially when done correctly ensuring your horse is using their hind ends and not falling forward, are excellent practices to building muscle and increasing responsiveness. After raised trot poles you’ve warmed up with some flatwork, add some trot poles into your workout. These are great for getting your horse to really use their muscles to pick up their feet. If you’re more advanced, raise the trot poles for an added challenge for your horse. Just be careful, I have a hot horse and we have to walk through raised trot poles before attempting to trot them because she thinks that she’s supposed to jump them. Always be listening to your horse and supporting them.

A Guide For Trot Poles - I use one big step
A Guide For Trot Poles – I use one big step

Now, the trot poles are for the horse but the canter poles are for you. Canter poles are great because they’ll help you regain your eye for distances once you start jumping but they’re easy on your horse’s legs. The exercise below will help with your eye but more so help with your seat, your position, and how much you’re supporting and helping to balance your horse. If you’re just working on you eye, I suggest single canter poles or canter pole lines, etc.

Do this at the canter: Your goal is to have the same number of strides between every pole (This is very challenging when done properly)
Do this at the canter: Your goal is to have the same number of strides between every pole (This is very challenging when done properly)

Week 2: Hot to Trot

Keep the fences low, either small x-rails or low verticals and keep it simple with single fences. You should still start your workout with good flatwork exercises focusing on elements of balance and adjustment that you feel is needed for you and your horse to improve. I know, I know, we all hate trot jumps but they’re actually super helpful for two reasons:TrottingFence

  1. They’re great for building muscle in your horse’s hind end because they force your horse to rock back and use their haunches to jump. Remember not to let them rush the trot jumps so this can happen!
  2. They force us, the rider, to really keep our upper body back and let the horse jump up to us instead of us jumping ahead of the horse.

Week 3: Exercises

This is the time to think about all the courses you’ve jumped in the past and dissect them element by element. Keep the fences at a low height (but slightly higher than your trot jumps) and practice the course elements you set up. For me, I make sure to set up long straight lines, rollbacks, long approaches to single fences, skinnies on the short end of the arena, bending or broken lines, and even some fences set up on a serpentine. While you can’t do all of these at once you can do at least half of them and only have to set up four (4) jumps in the ring so don’t get overwhelmed. Remember, the idea here is to keep the fences low and work on the technique and execution of riding each element individually. We’re NOT putting them into a full course just yet but rather practicing so that when we do, both rider and horse are confident and ready to ride.

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One example of an exercise that will work on bending lines in both directions depending on what route you take.

*Note: I never jump every day of the week. Even when practicing exercises over low fences, I’ll only do three (3) days a week of jump work with one (1) day off and three (3) days of complementary flat work.

Week 4: Set the Course

Now it’s time to put all the exercises we worked on in week three into a full course. My suggestion for you is to have the jumps set so you can ride a more simple, hunter-like, course for your first course and if all goes well, add some equitation-like elements to make it more challenging. It depends on your horse, so be sure to be listening to them, but I usually raise the jumps to a low schooling height for our full course with some trot jumps as my warm-up. For example, my mare and I show at 3’6″-3’9″ so our height for this week in our training will be 3′-3″ if she feels good over the 3′-fences. I always jump a few single fences at this height before asking her to do a full course to get a feel for how she’s jumping. Also make note of your horse’s breathing and give them plenty of breaks to stretch out and walk if they’re sounding like a freight train. Pushing them is good to an extent but I always ere on the side of caution if my mare is telling me she’s had enough.

After week four I play it by ear but if you’re curious, this is what my horse’s weekly workout schedule looks like:

See you at the show!
See you at the show!

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: No Stirrups Flatwork

Wednesday: Trot Jumps

Thursday: Flatwork

Friday: Low/Medium Exercises

Saturday: Full Course/Trail Ride

Sunday: Light Flatwork/Trail Ride

So, You Want to Own & Operate a Farm?

As you’re growing up and trying to figure out what you’re going to do for your professional life people always tell you, “do what you love”, or, “find something you’re passionate about and make that your job”. Naturally, any horse person will think, “AHA! I love horses so I should own and operate my own farm one day”!

Please, if this is you, PAUSE, think, & understand that this means you want to start your own BUSINESS.

Yes, a horse farm is a business and horseback riding is an industry.

NL-Phillips-John

So many times I see passionate people who love horses start their own farm and then get burnt out, go broke, or get stuck with a farm that’s falling apart and a far cry from what they originally wanted and dreamed about. That said, here are a few things to consider in order to make your farm a revenue positive business!

Quality lesson horses for a variety of levels 

Trinket

Lessons are the foundation to how you are going to make money and the lesson horses you have will either make it or break it. You want to attract junior riders who will inevitably bring their parents along to all their lessons. Yes, you need to fall off and get back on if you’re really going to learn how to ride but, wait until the rider is confident in the saddle before putting them on a dirty stopper or easy spooker. Set the parents at ease by having safe and reliable lesson horses for their kids to learn on. Now, here’s the important part. Lessons are only the entry point for your main revenue builder; shows. Have lesson horses that you can take to local horse shows in order to get the kids, and the parents, excited about competition. You want to make sure your kids are placing in the top four ribbons for their first few horse shows in order to get them hooked on showing. There are a few that will love it no matter how they place…but the truth is, it’s a lot easier to love showing if you actually do well every now and then. Eventually, they’ll want to show more and outgrow your lesson horse which is when you start looking to find them a show horse.

Sell or lease out your personal horses (if you have more than one)

Your lesson horses are now “your horses”. If you have one for yourself then fine but just because your horses are on your property doesn’t mean they’re free. Having a herd of your own horses that aren’t or can’t be used for lessons will drain your business.

Have a trainer!

Lesson

In order to show you need a trainer. More importantly, in order for kids to learn how to ride and be comfortable they need a consistent teacher who they’re used to riding with. This might mean that you have two trainers, which many farms do…one for beginners and one for the upper level or actively showing students. Another fun option is to have an IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Association) team. This is great for kids who can’t afford their own horse but still want to show. Plus, it gets your farm name out there and can really build a strong foundation for your riders (look for my upcoming post with more detail on IEA!).

Purchase a trailer or two 

ShowGirls

Showing is a must unless you plan to be a breeding or rescue farm. Sometimes you’ll have one or two horses going to shows, other times you’ll have four horses going to shows. Competition is a great way to build relationships between your students and create a “barn family” or a greater community feel to your farm which is AWESOME for your barn! Having both a two-horse and a four-horse trailer gives you flexibility and allows your trainer to show in order to keep their name out there and possible get your horses name’s out there.

Safe Fencing 

It’s safe to say that you’re going to end up with some show horses on your property and, as a member of the hunter/jumper/equitation show world let’s face it…show horses are prissy! Safe fencing is going to be one of the first things that new boarders look at when deciding whether or not to bring their horses to your farm. If you have to, get a bank loan or small investment through crowdfunding or other sources but it’s better to be safe about fencing then skimp on it at first and have to deal with it later.

Good Footing

Discipline doesn’t matter when it comes to footing. Make sure that your footing is going to be good for the horses and, for your outdoor ring, make sure that it’s put in properly so that rain, snow, and other kinds of weather don’t upset or unsettle the footing so much that it damages the ring. Indoor rings are a HUGE plus especially if weather makes it difficult to ride in the winter but, if that’s not in the budget, leave space for the possibility but maybe have a covered round pen or something so that boarders can still ride regardless of rain or snow.

Be online! 

People Google..and they will google you. So much is online now that if you’re not, it affects how people view your credibility. Even a basic website and some social media pages can go a long way! This is where a lot of farms drop the ball and having an online presence really does help you build your business, credibility, name recognition, and even show recognition. Have a blog so people can get a better feel for your trainer’s style, your farm’s identity, and who you are as a farm owner. If it’s ok with your riders (or their parents if they are minors) then post photos, videos, and articles about them and their achievements. There’s so much you can do that can help ensure your future success!


If you have any questions or are interested in talking further about building your barn’s brand, let me know!

Comment or email me at: elizabethfgreenberg@gmail.com