I'm so proud of my horses!! All in one week, Lumiere and Gem competed under totally strange riders to them at the competition in Reddick (where UF won!!), took my working students on a lovely sunset tour at , and then had another different set of riders at the Hunter Pace at . In between, they were at home and in regular work.
I am passionate about creating 2 types of work with my horses: the first is a kind of quality Equitation which strives to respect the laws of balance, the horse's mind and body, and the historical art form. The second is a kind of work where the horse has the confidence and mental fortitude to be a trusting and willing participant and a trustworthy mount. I do not want to create dull, resigned horses, and I would not turn non-horsemen loose with them. I want horses who are alert, sensitive, confident, and athletic. They look at spooky things, they look at obstacles, but most importantly, they then look to their rider for guidance!! 🙌
All 3 of these events were big asks, and I could not be more proud of these two and their education. A thank you also to , who coaches the UF Dressage team and her people for taking care of these special horses over the weekend of the competition.
10/08/2024
Please spread the word!!!
WNC Regional Livestock Center is trying to get the word out that they have tons of supplies that have been donated and stalls for horses and livestock. Please let folks know that they can get donated hay, grain, etc. And if they text, the livestock center will figure out a way to get supplies out to people who are cut off and help get animals evacuated.
Text ONLY to this number - 828-216-4496
474 Stock Dr
Canton NC 28716
10/07/2024
Everyone is getting back in shape from summer vacation, and with the help of new working student Celine!
10/05/2024
Shelbie Fredenhagen is headed to Elk Park and Boone area NC! Water, hay, dog and cat food, human food, animal and human survival supplies! Please get in touch with her if you or someone you know is in need, or if you would like to donate via Venmo!!! Thank you to PINE KNOLL CENTER FOR INTEGRATED HORSEMANSHIP for all the help to make this possible!
10/03/2024
Shelbie Fredenhagen is heading to Elk Park area NC to bring supplies to the equine community in need after Hurricane Helene! She'll be returning to Kentucky with some evacuee horses as well. Please get on touch with her if you know of specific people also in the area who need hay, feed, and shavings brought to them. Please also consider a donation via Venmo to help get this done!!
09/28/2024
We had minimal damage and all the people and critters are safe!! Soooo grateful for what OR Hay does for our horse community here in North Central Florida!!!! As someone with small acreage and limited hay storage, their hours and delivery are incredibly helpful. ❤️🙌
💧 We’ve got running water available! If you need to fill up your totes for your animals, come on by. We’re happy to help! 💦
📍 17405 NW County Road 235A, Alachua, FL
📞 Call or text 352-214-0999
P.S. Our new Utah 21’s alfalfa is looking amazing—come check it out! 🌾
09/25/2024
Projectiles have been burned, horses all have a leather halter and a phone number on them, all water containers are full, and we're stocked up on hay! Ready for this 2024 hurricane! Last I heard there are still stalls available at WEC Ocala if anyone is in need! 🙌🙏
09/14/2024
Our ponies do in fact love the snacks they get delivered from OR Hay!!! 🙌❤️
Another happy customer with our Montana Orchard Alfalfa Half Bales! 🌾🐴 Horses love it, and so will yours.
Order now for delivery—call or text 352-214-0999 📞 or visit openrangehayfl.com
OPEN RANGE HAY - Quality you can trust!
07/31/2024
Absolutely agree.
Riding schools for children -
I used to teach children riding lessons a lot. It was really fun and rewarding to instill in young people care and respect for the horse, and good riding skills. I found chikdren far more receptive and empathetic than many adults, because they hadn’t been taught to ignore horses expressions to get something done.
The pressure from parents to accelerate the kids skills to more fun stuff, or to prevent the child’s boredom, was a steady presence in teaching- along with maintaining the school horses soundness and mental well-being from being ridden by beginners. Keeping lessons good for both horse and rider was a job of creativity and constant adjustment. I believe it can be done, but the culture at large doesn’t typically make it profitable, as many parents struggle to want to pay for lessons on sound husbandry and good riding basics. The kids want to canter, by God!
I have some firm beliefs about good riding stables, and I realize the expense and strain and adjustment is an ever pressing reality, I stand by these beliefs:
-children should learn good riding fundamentals first, and not progress to trotting, cantering, jumping until they have a good understanding of a balanced seat and can demonstrate it
-children should learn care of and respect for the horse comes before their entertainment. Grooming, tacking, warming up and cooling down, quitting an activity or adjusting if the horse is stressed, learning groundwork, etc, should be a non negotiable
-children should learn to feel a balanced horse to the extent possible. A beginner horse should not simply be a lame horse that tolerates them, but one to teach th em how to ride- children should not be set up for a future of kicking and pulling to get a horse to do something, but learn to feel how to direct a horse with their body, and to feel movement that is balanced, setting them up for a lifetime of being able to balance future horses.
- children should learn to read accurately equine expression and well-being. Children should not be taught to describe horses as lazy, stubborn, etc- these are taught by adults and children learn to adapt these views. The adults are responsible for setting the culture and views of horses and their handling.
Many riders struggle with normalizing tight, crooked, and unhappy horses because this is what they learn to ride on. The instructor is responsible for setting the culture of what their program entails, and I believe this means setting firm boundaries on what the purchasing client can expect, instead of catering to unreasonable demands to keep business. That is a whole can of worms in itself, but one worth opening.
07/30/2024
Exactly the kind of culture problem that the whole industry is facing- across all disciplines.
This week's editorial is a follow up to my previous article discussing the proliferation of the consumption of talent rather than the training of it to further develop it for the competitive sport of dressage. It is not a judging problem. It is not a breeding problem. It is an education problem. Aft...
07/28/2024
The mythology of deities and villians.
Horse people are a special breed. They come in a remarkable variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and personality types, but still can share an almost cult-like obsession and dedication.
In May, I gave birth to my first baby, a little boy. It has been remarkable how even the most obvious of facts have created powerful, emotional epiphanies for me. For example, that every single person on Earth, was once a baby. A baby who was helpless, who was scared, who giggled, who just wanted and needed love and care. We share that experience as human beings.
I've long believed something similar about horse people. At some point, they were just innocently in love with the magnanimous beauty, freedom, and power that horses possess. Before the riding, the discipline, the art, or the sport, there was just the love of the animal. We share that experience as equestrians.
Charlotte Dujardin's very public fall from grace brings all of this to the forefront for me. I was not at all shocked or surprised when I saw the video. I wasn't even that disturbed because it is nowhere near the worst I have seen. This type of approach is par for the course in top sport Dressage. We know it's reflective of a culture problem and not a one-off because 4 things are very evident:
1) Despite being clearly stressed, the horse was quite tolerant. This isn't the first time he's experienced this kind of treatment and been expected to figure something out... and he isn't Charlotte's horse.
2) Charlotte's attitude is determined and matter-of-fact. She isn't whipped up in an emotional frenzy and she was okay to do this in front of an audience.
3) The rider claims to have been uncomfortable and unhappy in the moment, but was too intimidated to question such a celebrity trainer.
4) Charlotte's own mentor, Carl Hester, signed a document condeming the actions in the video, as though what is in that video were the foreign acts of some rogue stranger. What completely un-mentor-like and disingenuous behavior. He was very happy to align himself with her in fair weather, and now he's cut her loose in the face of a storm.
What the video shows is without question, not okay. But, the absolute vilification of this women as though she is some monster who lied to everyone that thought of her as their queen... is total bu****it. She's being thrown to the wolves and is being made an example of by her own people for the purpose of politics. Yes, the timing of the release of a 2 year old video also makes that evident. This entire scene is indicative of a toxic, manipulative and exploitative culture within the industry of top sport.
Why wasn't Cesar Parra burned at the stake like this? Or Helgestrand? Their crimes are without any doubt worse. Is it because Helgestrand's family holds significatly greater financial influence and power in the industry? Or maybe it is just because they were never deified and held up as darling heros in the first place. The industry knows there is a culture problem with top sport, and the threat of outside regulation is becoming real. Isabell Werth, a notoriously egregious offender in horse welfare, also ironically signed this document condemning Charlotte. Next signature we will hear about is Sjef Janssen's!
Anyone who ever saw Charlotte and her horses as flawless, didnt know enough about what they were looking at, and that's okay. But don't accuse her of betrayal and blame her for your ignorance. In that video, she was doing what she's been taught, what had been rewarded by judges via the way her horses go, and what has been normalized in the industry. She's far from the worst offender and I absolutely know she's not a heartless monster.
Because she's just another human.
A wife.
A mother.
And yes, a horse lover, even if she has in some ways prioritized the horse's performance over his wellbeing.
But she was never a Goddess, a Unicorn, a Savior, or your Guru. Please spare those of us who knew better the shock and heartbreak. She didn't deceive you: the FEI, the national organizations like USEF, and the judges have been pulling the wool over your eyes, and hers, for decades.
Remember, Charlotte has been being told for years that what she is doing is not just correct, it's exemplary. The horses and Charlotte herself are the ones who are actually being betrayed by this ex*****on theater.
She didn't start her journey as a horse loving little girl doing what she did in that video, she was groomed by an industry that has lost it's way.
Hold THEM responsible!!
04/10/2024
Reduced!!
04/01/2024
Juneau SGA is ready to find his person!
7 year old PRE, black (currently FL black 🤣) gelding.
Located in N.Central FL, this sweet guy has never known a bad day. W,T,C, trails, obstacles, is the same off property as he is at home. Green but very easy personality. Low reactivity and willing. Barefoot, loads, crossties, UTD, and lives peacefully out with others. Very comfortable to ride.
Perfect all around partner with fancy enough looks and gaits to stand out. 🙂
PM for video and more info.
Low/Mid 5s starting with a 1.
01/29/2024
Few purchases have enhanced my quality of life as much as these Bale Bonnets have. 🙏🥰😆
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Renata practices keeping wiggly worm Jay together on figures. 😊🙌
Passionate about horses my whole life, I have always dreamed of a genuine partnership where horse and human choose to work together for a mutually beneficial experience. The horse brings incredible joy, appreciation of natural beauty and a sense of freedom to the people who love him. To the horse, man has the capacity to provide him with the healthy fulfillment of his basic needs, a confident peace of mind and the ability to utilize his forces freely and unhindered.
The horse gives his gifts simply by being present, but the human must pursue many avenues of education in order to be a positive partner for the horse.
My avid pursuit of such an education has led me to study in various countries and within many fields including equine nutrition, farriery, classical equitation, ethology, anatomy, biomechanics and energetic work. My own horse and I even traveled to live and work under various teachers in Europe from 2014-2017. Throughout all of my experiences, I came to see that much of the horse world is stuck in a paradigm of control and domination. With many people not only attempting to control and dominate the horse in an effort to use him for the promotion of their ego... but also the continued ways that instructors, trainers, masters, and other professional industry representatives use to control and dominate other humans for their own benefit.
This was not at all what I wanted to reflect in my relationship with horses. Believing that all healthy relationships are about finding an equilibrium which strives to serve and build all involved parties into the best versions of their individual selves (mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually)... I decided to go my own way.
In 2017 I founded Whole Horse Equitation because I wanted to share this philosophy with others who longed for a better relationship with their horse. It doesn't matter if you just want to help your pasture pet feel happier and healthier, or if you and your Thoroughbred want to move up the ranks in competitive jumping: Learning to let go of the desire to control and force, while also learning to listen, trust and respect the needs of your equine partner, will help you both create a unique shared language and fulfilling relationship experience.
This approach is extended all the way into how you educate your horse to use his body in a way that makes him stronger, healthier and keeps him working longer as opposed to working him in a way that progressively leads to his physical deterioration. This is obviously the only approach that also lends itself to restorative care in the forms of physical and mental rehabilitation of horses who have suffered ill treatment, trauma and injury. Luckily, all horses have the ability to recognize when a person's desire is to help and improve upon their well-being and in this case horses "[colts] not only love men-- but come to long for them." (Xenophon)
