Prairie Breeze Stables

12/16/2024

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Due to the amount of snow and roads not being plowed, we have decided to cancel lessons this evening!

12/12/2024

How to dress for winter riding

It’s very important to layer up when riding in the winter.
Remember- you can always remove a layer if you’re warm, but you can’t put more on if you don’t have it!

❄️🐴 Why It's Essential to Help Your Riders Dress for Cold Weather
….. ‼️ and an easy email template (for you to personalize) to send to your riders! ‼️

There’s nothing worse than a rider who’s cold and uncomfortable. A cold, tense rider simply isn’t in an optimal state for learning or riding.

While you probably know how to dress for the barn in colder temperatures, have you communicated this to your riders and their families?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard riders step out of the car and say, “It’s colder here than it was at home!”

When riders aren’t properly prepared for cold weather, both their physical and emotional states are impacted:

The Physical Toll of Being Cold
Cold muscles are stiff and less responsive, reducing flexibility and coordination. This affects safety and performance in the saddle:
🥶 Numb fingers struggle to feel and hold the reins.
🥶 Rigid hips create bouncing riders with braced legs.
🥶 Stiff shoulders and elbows can cause pulling on the horse’s face.
Additionally, as the body works harder to stay warm, riders tire out more quickly, leading to reduced focus and endurance.

The Emotional Impact of the Cold
When the body is focused on staying warm, it diverts energy away from mental and physical tasks. Riders may struggle with processing, retaining information, and even demonstrating skills they are normally good at. Emotionally, being cold can lead to frustration and irritability. Think about how you feel when you’re chilled to the bone—short-fused and more focused on warming up than anything else.

Preparation Matters
The easiest solution..... Have riders come prepared to the barn for the weather. As an instructor, you should educate your riders (and their families) about how to dress appropriately for winter lessons. It may sound simple, but many people don’t spend as much time outside these days and may not know how to dress for extended exposure to the cold.

So other than having your rider dress for the weather, what things can you do in lessons minimize some of the effects from the cold weather.
☃️ Ride in sunny areas
☃️ Ride in areas out of the wind
☃️ Minimize the idol time in lessons and focus on quality over quantity
☃️ Encourage ways to get their body moving and elevate their heart rate without sweating prior to their lesson.

👇 🥶 If you actually read this, drop a comment below with the lowest temperature you have experienced at your barn !!

‼️ Get Your Free Winter Prep Resources! ‼️
In the comments, you’ll find a signup link. Enter your email, and I’ll send you a PDF of the infographic and a template you can use to quickly email your riders and their families to better prepare them for winter lessons.

Let’s keep everyone warm, focused, and ready to ride this winter!

12/11/2024

There will be no lessons tonight due to the cold.

There also will be no barn rats hang out tonight.
Stay home and stay warm!!

12/09/2024

Lessons are on tonight!!

Brandi will get working on plowing asap!!

See you all soon!

12/09/2024

Todays horse is yet another welsh!!

We sure love our Welsh ponies.

Share your Daisy love below!!

12/08/2024

OH NO!!
My scheduled posts having been posting! Darn technology!

I’ll post multiple today to get caught back up.

Share your Kitt photos and videos below in the comments!

12/05/2024

Day 5 of meet the team: Kodi!

Kodi is an extremely playful pony. We took the chance on him many years ago when he came to us as a 2 year old stud.

Drop your Kodi photos & videos below in the comments!!

12/04/2024

Brandi was under the weather yesterday and didn’t get to post the horse of the day.. so today you get a double whammy!!

Meet sisters, Freya and Kirin.
Both of these girls are gentle giants. They are kind and loving.
They are both Belgium Quarter horse crosses but their personalities are all their own.

12/02/2024

Welcome to day 2 of our Meet the Team series.

December 2nd is all about ZEP.

Fun Fact: Brandi rode Zep for her wedding in 2015! Check the comments for a photo.

Share your photos and stories of Zep in the comments!

12/01/2024

Our December meet the team is back again!!

Today is all about Sky!

Share your photos & stories in the comments.

11/28/2024

We have SO MUCH going on right now!! I’m not even sure where to begin.

#1 Winter riding schedules will commence the beginning of December. We will contact all those who have said they are planning to ride through the winter.

#2 Planter fundraiser for Barn Rats. December 8th at the stable.
Link to Register: https://forms.gle/XRWLLeWu4DovZKhX7

#3 Gift Fundraiser for Barn Rats. This fundraiser will also end December 8th. It costs nothing extra for you, but we gain a percentage from each card purchased.

What exactly are Barn Rats and why are they fundraising?!?
Barn Rats is our youth group. They consist of 30 youth between the ages of 6-18. They are our assistants for all the things that we do at the stable. They are the leaders who are helping your young child to ride, the kids in the barn helping your child tack up. They are outside catching the horses for the lessons. They also enjoy going to local dressage and hunter/jumper shows to show off their skills.
They are the backbone to the stable and we are planning a trip to Spruce Meadows for the Masters tournament in September 2025.
They would greatly appreciate your support to help get them there!!

11/25/2024

Deck the stalls 2024 is DONE!!

It was another crazy weekend.
3 days
+ 15 horses
+ 19 riders
=
unmeasurable amount of memories made.

Thank you to the parents who made this possible and the barn rats who worked their tails off to get to this point.
Also to our Prairie breeze team! Megan Mossop and Marilyn Palmer. You guys are the best for giving the youth this opportunity and fostering the love for equines at a young age.

11/24/2024

2nd annual altos breakfast during deck the stalls show

11/23/2024

Reminder!!

There are no lessons tomorrow due to the show at the keystone!

Come and visit us in barn 1 and watch our barn rats!

Photo tax of some of our littles watching an older barn rat in the warm up ring.

11/18/2024

Winter has arrived at the stable…
Overalls. Boots. Mittens. Toque. Extra jacket. Water heaters. Tractor plugged in. Multiple daily herd checks. Extra hay.

Winter around the farm means so much more work… but it’s the life we chose and keep choosing every day.

We take the bad with the good and go to bed each night thanking above for the life we have.

11/18/2024

We did something a little different with some of the barn rats this morning.

They got to create their own unique sweater design.
They planned it out. Cut it and pressed it.

They did an amazing job and it’s awesome to see their personalities shine through their choices.

After lunch we headed to the barn for our Pony Club Open House.

Always a good day at the barn!