Keough Lane Stables

11/01/2024

10/27/2024

What a fantastic day for our annual Halloween Show 👻 and Costume Party! The costumes just keep getting better and the horses (including the 3 year olds) are such great sports! 🎃

10/24/2024

This ⬇️

Please look at the circle on the lower right. Inside it is an eight sided series of straight lines, an octagon. Most riders who believe they are riding a circle are actually riding a polygon like this series of straight lines in the circle. This is because they do not bend their horses. They either don't know how or they lack the core and leg strength to do it correctly, or both.

Bending your horse and holding a bend happens when a rider applies physical strength at the center where the red arrow in the top image is pointing. Additionally, the rider holds their horse between the forehand with the inside hand and rein, and the hind with the outside leg slightly behind the girth.

The point of the red arrow acts like the point on a compass drawing the circle. The inside leg is the compass point at the red arrow defining the center of the arc of the bend. The right hand in the top picture is like the inside rein, and the rider's left leg acts like the pictured left hand. The rider in the picture holds their horse between the right rein and left leg and the "point of the compass" determines the center of the bend.

The process of riding an entire 20 meter circle in a bend might start as an octagon with many straight lines connected by quick turns. At the beginning an accomplished rider might hold a bend in their horse for the length of two of the straight lines, then three, then four and so on.

When the horse holds the bend longer, it requires more strength and stamina from both the horse and rider. Because of the strength required riders must be patient with the muscle development of their horse. To hold a bend throughout a complete circle is much more difficult than most riders believe.

10/12/2024

Easy!! 7&8 😂

08/28/2024

🐴❤️“A horse’s heart is so powerful it can directly influence a human’s heart rhythm—almost like a magnet. The research on horses’ healing capacity continues to provide fascinating insight into these magnificent animals and the bilateral healing they provide to trauma survivors.”🐴❤️
~ Vanessa Schmidt, founder of The Wild Hope Center for Healing—a non-profit organization providing equine-assisted therapy for human-trafficking survivors based in Austin, Texas

Research conducted by the HeartMath Institute found that horses have a “coherent” heart rate pattern. This type of heart rhythm provides a robust measure of well-being and is indicative of a system that can very efficiently recover from and adjust to stress. To read more from our sister brand EQUUS, click on the link in the Comments below.

07/23/2024

Looking to fill a couple shifts... It's a GREAT time of year to get started or get back into horses!!!
Give me a call or send a dm!

07/18/2024

Do ya think our youngsters are well
socialized ? 😂 now to work on personal space!!

06/28/2024

😂

06/23/2024

Happy Birthday to Indi ❤️

06/17/2024

Totally agree

*** LENGTH OF SCHOOLING SESSIONS ***

Following my post from this morning, about Johnnie only working for 15 minutes, as he worked so well, I thought I’d give my opinion on how long horses should be worked for. This is my opinion. It is based on both my experience and understanding as a rider and horsewoman, and my knowledge as an equine vet with 12 years’ experience.

My horses are never, ever, schooled for longer than 30 minutes. This is more than enough time to achieve something, and if you haven’t achieved your goal after 30 minutes, it’s unlikely that you will by plugging on for longer. This 30 minutes includes my warm up, and a couple of short walk breaks.

I haven’t really had lessons for many years, but when I trained with Jennie Loriston-Clarke, and then more recently with Olly Barrs, their lesson times are 40 minutes. This includes warming up and warming down. Frequently, they wouldn’t go on past 30 minutes. Horses learn by repetition, not by grilling them for an hour at a time.

Horses also break easily. They damage ligaments and tendons. Yes, this is often unlucky and frequently caused by a sudden twist in the field. But it’s also frequently caused by too much schooling, especially if the surface is deep, or uneven. Proximal suspensory ligaments are not designed to take the weight of a horse in collected work for hours. Once a PSL is damaged, you are often looking at a lengthy rehab, or surgery to cut the nerve that supplies it (neurectomy). That is not to say that every horse with PSD has been overworked, before I offend anyone!

Horses break more easily when they are tired. A tired horse is more likely to trip, possibly resulting in ligament or tendon damage. Muscle needs some degree of fatigue to condition it, but not to the point of exhaustion.

A horse’s brain also breaks easily. Fatigue can also be mental. Granted, some horses’ brains don’t take much to break, but if a horse becomes stressed or can’t work out what you are asking him that day, then take a 24 hour break, and go for a hack, or just lunge the next day. Or give him a day off.

Most horses will be fit enough for their job, without being ridden 6 days a week. The main issue with lower level competition horses, is that many are fat. Exercise is a great way to get horses to lose weight, true, but not without reducing the amount of grass or hard feed they are receiving. Schooling a fat horse for an hour, will cause joint, tendon, and ligament problems in the long term. Find hills to slowly jog them up, or even walk them up, if you are wanting to exercise more to help with fitness and/or weight loss. Don’t school them more. Trotting endlessly around a flat arena isn’t really going to help with fitness.

If you are going to school, then add plenty of variety. Make sure the horse is working from behind, and not dragging himself along on his forehand. If you don’t enjoy schooling, you will be more inclined to switch off and trot endless 20m circles. So go for a hack first, and then just do ten minutes of intense schooling when you get home. That will keep both human and horse brains fresh!

This is an enormous topic, and it would take me days to cover it all, so this is really a brief summary. Keep schooling sessions short and productive, and if the session is going wrong, take a break!

Photo is of my wonderful Harold, on his lap of honour for winning the Advanced Medium Regionals, to qualify for the National Dressage Championships, a good few years ago now!

Feel free to share.

06/11/2024

Keough Lane Stables is located in Windsor Junction (near Fall River/Lower Sackville) and is looking for a part time stable hand to join our team. We have two types of positions available:
1. 4-5 hours per day, Monday thru Friday. This is a permanent salaried position PLUS riding available for an experienced person.
2. Weekday Volunteer. We have a great team of volunteers that work in exchange for riding and/or lessons. We currently have a few spots open for weekday afternoon shifts. This is a great way to get to know more about horses and their environment plus learn about or increase your riding skills.
Duties include working with other team members to pick up paddocks daily, prepare and put hay out, clean & fill water troughs and maintain cleanliness, cleaning stalls, general cleanup of barn and yard areas.
Please email [email protected] with your experience and availability.

06/04/2024

Happy Birthday to my girls today. River is 3!! Such an amazing little mare ❤ Smart, sane and so ready to take on any challenge. Born in 2021 on Angel's birthday. Angel is the matriarch at our barn and still looks amazing at 24! ❤ Mom to River's half-brother Halo.
Happy Birthday ladies!

05/25/2024

Happy Birthday to our best boy! 3 years old today ❤️
Halo 🥰