Albany Horse Central

13/05/2024

Seeded yesterday and the rain goddess has granted 6mm. Very satisfying.

26/01/2024

Horses need salt…

03/06/2023

LOL!

03/06/2023

https://www.facebook.com/1300591836/posts/10230540215591382/

22/03/2023

Safety comes with building a relationship based on trust, communication and psychology.

I am lucky.

I have fallen. I have been kicked. I have been stepped on. I have been bitten.

I’ve had falls that could’ve and should’ve caused permanent injury.

I’ve had falls that have broken my fingers, wrists and hands and continued to ride through such injuries.

I’ve had falls that could’ve gravely injured me and robbed me of the very job and activities that bring me so much joy.

I had one fall in particular, a few years ago, where I landed so hard I thought I may have broken my back. Every fall before this, I had been able to just get up and go catch my horse. This time, when I tried to get up, the pain was so sharp I had to take a knee. I felt like I was going to be sick.

Since this fall, I’ve had back soreness and body soreness issues. My low back, hips and knees are not great.

Recently, I had an MRI. I was expecting bad news, but instead I got good news.

I am lucky.

I have beaten up my body and needlessly put myself and horses in dangerous situations that are entirely avoidable and could be made so much safer just by training with more patience and thought.

I could’ve robbed myself of a lot of longevity and caused permanent injury.

But, I am lucky.

That luck has made me consider what it would’ve been like if I hadnt been so fortunate.

If these injuries had caught up with me.

Oh, the anger and frustration I would feel.

Others are not so lucky.

Others are still actively endangering themselves doing the same things I once did. Being applauded for it and told they’re gritty and brave.

It isn’t necessary. It isn’t worth it in the long run.

We don’t need to endanger ourselves as riders to the extent that is normalized.

Horses can be dangerous on a good day, but far too often in training and care, us humans throw gasoline on that figurative fire and create situations that are much more risky than needed.

Safety is cool.

Patience is cool.

Not injuring yourself is cool.

We can be safer. We can stress horses out less. We can preserve our bodies more and we can yield the same results or better just by taking a step back and relaxing.

We don’t need to create dangerous situations in the name of training.

You can train to avoid such dangerous situations.

And your body will thank you.

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Learning resources: http://MilestoneEquestrian.ca/resources

Webinars: https://milestoneequestrian.ca/shop-milestone

Patreon: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

23/01/2023

Meals on wheels

24/09/2022

Lily is doing so well as a driving pony!

17/09/2022

Caught in the act!

14/02/2022

Maybe we should offer kangaroo agistment!?

13/02/2022

Not sharing…. Ever!

13/02/2022

Still not sharing

13/02/2022

Not sharing…

13/02/2022

Sharing and caring

05/02/2022

Dear Denmark friends, Albany Horse Central has room for you if you need to move your gees, even as a precaution….

12/12/2021

Hi! Albany Horse Central has a paddock available. Please PM for details.

18/11/2021

So true

Things you should know before buying a horse:

1. They will multiply. You’ll have one, then suddenly you’ll have another, and the cycle repeats itself for all of eternity. Pro tip: Some horses are the exact same color. This means those free souls who are not horse people aka husbands will not be able to tell the difference. You can have multiple horses of the same color and claim to have only one and your husband will never know.

2. You will buy specific outfits to wear around your horse. They will smell terrible. Then you will go shopping in these outfits and everyone in the grocery store will turn their noses up and avoid you. These outfits will cost more than everyone’s grocery carts combined and yet you will smell and look like a complete pauper.

3. Barn time is not like other time. You might go to the barn planning on spending an hour there, but you won’t leave until the barn feels its time for you to go. A week later you might walk out to see your husband and kids lying in the driveway waiting for dinner. There’s no telling what the barn will decide. It is its own entity. Respect it. Don’t make plans around it.

4. They wear shoes. Like human shoes, except 5x more expensive. Also, they only wear them if they want to. Some days, they’ll take their shoes off and leave them piled up in the mud. It’s impossible to find these shoes after they leave them somewhere.

5. You will be called horse girl. You can take this as you’d like to take it. Some horse girls take it poorly. Some take it well. Sometimes its an insult. Sometimes it’s a mark of respect for a human who is strong enough to keep a 1200Ib “my sole purpose is to die from stomachaches” animal alive.

6. Oh yes, stomachaches. Did we not cover stomach aches yet? My bad. Let me explain. Horses don’t like having stomach aches. When you have a stomachache, you might have a soothing drink and sit down a minute. Horses are not like you. Horses will feel slightly off anywhere in their bodies and will simply decide to give up the ghost. Everything and anything can kill a horse. If it moves, it will kill a horse. If it doesn’t move, it will kill a horse. If you’re not sure if it moves or doesn’t move, it will still kill a horse.

7. Most importantly, horses will change your life. You will cry and laugh at the same time. You will look like a total fool at a show, but you will have the time of your life doing it. You will meet people who’ve got the horse bug too and suddenly you’ll have a second family. You will ride one day and then spend four days trying to learn how to get out of your car without groaning. You will have horse cookies in your laundry and your house will smell like your best friend. You will spend every waking minute and every sleeping half second thinking about them. And, when the moon aligns with the earth just right, the tree sways in the exact manner needed, and the birds quiet for one instant, you will realize you are living inside the dream you had as a child. You will be the princess on a horse.

-- Angelina Vita

27/09/2021

I was scared today.

I was scared to get on, scared to walk out the yard because I had a bad ride the day before. One bad ride, and it made me scared.

I didn’t know why. I’ve had 1000 bad rides. I’ve had 1000 falls. I’ve broken bones and bruised my pride on countless occasions, but today I was scared.

Why? Because confidence is fragile. It takes months and years to build and seconds to lose and yet we are so careless with it.

When we get on a horse, we wear a hat to protect our head. We wear body protectors, gloves, boots...

We pay so much attention to protecting ourselves physically, we forget that our minds are not invincible, and our confidence certainly is not.

Your bank of confidence needs regular deposits, not just from others... but from you. Self confidence is the most valuable currency in life.

When you go to get on, and you hesitate, you falter and you start to ask yourself “can I do this?”, chances are, your account is almost empty.

Every time you laugh and say “oh no, I’m no good” or “so and so is 10x better than me”, you make a withdrawal from that account, and before you know it, your account is empty and you’re scared to get on.

But every time you say “I’m really pleased with how that went” or “I think I rode that really well”, your balance increases.

We need to learn to give ourselves a break, pat ourselves on the back and allow ourselves to feel proud of where we are - after all, most of the time we’ve worked bloody hard to get there!

Recognising your strengths is just as important as recognising your weaknesses. Never allow yourself or anyone else to empty that account.

Confidence is valuable, don’t bankrupt yourself.

27/09/2021

20/09/2021

😊😊😊😊😊

16/09/2021

30/08/2021

Wow, this could be a bit of fun...