Clarke Meadow Stables

01/02/2024

Jumping into 2024 like this!!

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, successful year ahead…. Full of time with horses! Feel free to get in touch if you need some help with that last one. 😉

Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to the best year yet. 🥂🐴

12/26/2023

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! 🥰❤️🎄

11/25/2023

It was so lovely to have this group of ladies out to the farm to experience the benefits of EAL. Thank you so much to WRRC for coming out and using the EAL as part of their healing program. 🥰

11/10/2023

Just returned from an amazing week out in New Brunswick! With just 3 days notice, I managed to snag the last spot in a course for EAL (Equine Assisted Learning) with EAL Canada. I’m still in shock that the stars aligned and I was able to go on such short notice. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to take care of my horses!

I’m absolutely thrilled to announce I am now a certified Equine Assisted Personal Development coach with EAL Canada!

It was an incredible week with so many amazing people. I made some really awesome friends. So grateful! I’m still on cloud 9 about it all.

Looking forward to a future full of helping people through horses. 🥰❤️

10/23/2023

Presley’s second time trying some canter! So proud of how far she has come and also so happy to have a pony like Butterscotch to teach kids how to ride. 🥰

10/23/2023

So proud of how far Presley has come! From a complete beginner to doing posting, sitting, and two-point trot confidently and very well! She also did some canter steps, which I’ll post separately (since Facebook doesn’t allow multiple videos on business pages?)

10/06/2023

It was massage day on Monday! Thanks as always to Emilie from Healing Touch - Equine & Canine Massage Therapy for keeping the horses feeling their best. All the horses absolutely LOVED their massages, just look at the expressions on their faces! I love how Emilie is so attentive to their expressions and reactions. She really knows what she’s doing and how to work with each horse’s specific needs!

10/03/2023

Joey 1995-2023

We had to say goodbye to one of our boarders last week. Joey was adored by Sarah since he was 2 and she was 12. In his later years he was also loved dearly by Sarah’s daughter Peyton. Peyton has had her first rides on Joey. I think it’s every horse girls dream to have their child ride their heart horse. ❤️ Joey was so lucky to have Sarah and Peyton, and they were lucky to have him. Anything Joey needed Sarah did it for him. I’m grateful to have been the last stop on his journey, he was such a sweet boy. We already miss his kind face and adorable whinnies. Rest in sweet peace Joey. ❤️

06/09/2023

Just love this crazy, beautiful mare. 🥰❤️😍

06/08/2023

Good read and very true! 👏🏻❤️

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!

05/18/2023

It was a paint massage day! Butterscotch and Scout were the lucky ones for massages on Monday with Healing Touch - Equine & Canine Massage Therapy. Emilie got all their muscles feeling good and gave us some stretches to help keep these working horses feeling their best. Contact her for all your equine, feline, canine massage, laser, hydrotherapy needs!

04/28/2023

My heart horse Murphy turns 20 today! Where has the time gone!? We are working on our 12th year together. Oh the adventures we have had! We live a less exciting life these days, but he still feels amazing, loves to work, loves to jump and loves to keep me on my toes by spooking at everything and throwing the odd buck when he’s feeling a little fresh 😂 I love this horse to the moon and back and can’t wait to make more memories together in the years to come. ❤️

03/29/2023

Daughter or Son!!

03/21/2023

Had a fun ride on little miss Butterscotch today! She’s my primary lesson pony, but it’s fun for both her and I to have a little tune up ride here and there! Couldn’t have picked a better day either! 😍☀️

03/08/2023

Been a little while since I posted. Here’s a lovely sunset ride photo from a couple weeks ago. 🥰🥰 Roo was such a good boy as always!

02/11/2023

Murphy strutting his stuff. Lengthens, led yield, and stretchy trot, some of his favourite things. This guy is going to be 20 years young this year! Can’t believe it because he still feels so amazing. ❤️❤️ Love this horse to the moon and back.

Please excuse some of the unsteady videoing, Roo didn’t want to stand still 😂

01/25/2023

Keeley has been one of my most dedicated students. She’s here 3x/week all year round, AND she does exercises at home to help improve her riding! It’s so nice to see someone so dedicated to the sport and always trying to be better. Keeley has improved so much and is such a joy to teach. 🥰 It was a beautiful winter morning yesterday with that lovely sun!

01/02/2023

Happy New Year everyone!! Thank you for a fabulous year. I’ve met so many new people and helped many along their journey with horses and riding this year- beginners to experienced riders. I’m very grateful to all of you for allowing me to be a part of your team.

Cheers to another exciting year of growth, learning, health, happiness and most of all, lots of horses!!

12/01/2022

This guy has been hanging around all day and then he walked right up to us!! How cool!! 😍😍

11/23/2022

4 years with miss Fiona. Celebrated with a sunset ride today. Not where I thought we would be in 4 years but life always has a plan for us. ❤️ Looking forward to many more years ahead with this spicy 🌶 redhead.

11/18/2022

Abby’s mom Crystal has a great eye with a camera and got these great shots of Sheamus and Otie this past weekend!

11/15/2022

Payton and Butterscotch doing a great job over some poles on Saturday! Payton is working on knowing when she’s on the right or wrong diagonal and learning how to change it. She’s doing a great job and has come so far since starting lessons a few weeks ago!

11/11/2022

Lest We Forget. ❤️

10/31/2022

Happy Halloween everyone! Please feel free to share photos of your or your kids costumes, photoshoots or whatever you’re up to this year!

Have fun and be safe tonight!

10/30/2022

Butterscotch and Fiona enjoyed their late evening massages with Emilie (Healing Touch - Equine & Canine Massage Therapy) last night. Thank you Emilie for squeezing us into your very busy schedule!! ❤️❤️

10/27/2022

Fall trail rides are my favourite. 🥰 Love that I am blessed to have these trails right on my own property!

10/09/2022

Butterscotch taught her first lessons this weekend and was such a star!! Everyone loved her and she was perfect. 🥰🥰

Pictures of Payton riding her today. Payton is progressing so well! She’s learning her posting diagonals and just started learning about 2 point today. ❤️

10/04/2022

Beautiful sunset ride for Jessica and Roo

🥰❤️🌅

10/02/2022

Can’t believe it’s October already! That being said, fall is such a beautiful time of year. 🥰 Lookkng forward to soaking up the last of the nice weather!