Hampton Riding Centre

01/19/2025

Excellent tips from Horse Trials NB.

Tips for parents….and everyone supporting an equestrian.

01/19/2025

It's all about body language.

Send a message to learn more

01/19/2025

Send a message to learn more

01/15/2025

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!

01/09/2025

Credit Funny Horse Cartoons

01/08/2025

Another fun theory group!! Jem now has orange parts.

01/08/2025

01/08/2025

Weight management is as important for the health of your as it is for you! Sign-up for the Intro to Body Condition Scoring one-week short online course .ca to learn how to assess your horse. Runs January 20-27, 2025 with expert instructors from . https://thehorseportal.ca/course/introduction-to-body-condition-scoring-winter-25/

01/08/2025

01/08/2025

How adorable is this?

01/08/2025

Pay attention when putting blankets on horses: both the direction of the clips and the method of properly crossing the hind leg straps.

As blanket season is in full force upon us, here is a very important reminder courtesy of the horse doctors at Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services:

"When securing blankets, make sure that the snaps/clips are facing inward, toward the horse! If they are facing out, they can easily become stuck on something, like the hay net in the picture."

01/07/2025

Winter Theory started. JD got all his parts painted!

01/03/2025

All true. It’s not just riding.

Five ways that horses can help with your mental health

12/30/2024

Here's a glimpse into the past - Linda Brett heading out on a competitive trail ride from the Gallaway Ridge Training Centre waaaayyyy back in the 1990s or even the 1980s.

12/29/2024

We all knew this, right?

New Research Proves Horses Have Super Intelligence:

Horses are far more intelligent than most people realize, with cognitive abilities that place them among the smartest animals.

They have demonstrated skills in problem-solving, emotional intelligence, memory, and learning that rival those of many other species. For example, horses are known for their cleverness in opening stable doors or untying knots, showcasing their capacity for strategic thinking.

Emotionally, they form deep, empathetic bonds with humans and can sense feelings like pride or shame, often mirroring their human companions' emotions.

Their impressive cognitive skills also allow them to recognize symbols, communicate preferences, and adapt to complex situations, such as responding to commands in therapeutic environments.

One study even revealed that horses can adjust their communication based on whether humans are aware of hidden food, increasing visual and tactile signals like looking or nudging when their caretakers were unaware.

This ability to understand and respond to the knowledge state of others—previously thought to be unique to primates—illustrates the sophistication of horse cognition. Horses actively attempt to communicate with humans in much the same way they would with their herd members, making horse-human communication a true two-way street.

While horses may not match the intellectual capabilities of elephants, they are often considered more intelligent than dogs or cats in some areas, excelling in equine-assisted therapies where their sensitivity to human emotions makes them invaluable in psychological treatments