Lingering Hill Equestrian Center LLC

06/27/2024

06/20/2024

There’s more to horsemanship than just riding. Sometimes in life things get uncomfortable. Today it’s too hot…and the hay still needs to be put away.

Learning life lessons…
Plan according to the weather.
Make special accommodation when the going gets rough.
Give yourself grace and take your time.
Persevere even in the most challenging circumstances.
Slow your breathing and drink plenty of water.
You can do hard things no matter how big or little you are!
And of course ice pops and swimming are the best after a vigorous workout😉
Woohoo 300 bales put up!

06/18/2024

So much of what we do with horses is truly a process. It’s not a one and done. That includes green riders too! It takes years to become a seasoned rider! Riding in different situations on different horses to become better able to handle more and more interesting/challenging rides successfully. So many people want to see immediate results in both themselves and their horses. It’s just unrealistic.

To replace a good horse!
The best horses are built over years of hauling, hard work, tough times, good times, bad times, big spooks, little spooks, their mistakes, our mistakes and continual love and care.

No, your breaker can not turn your young prospect into your old faithful in 30, 60, 90, or even 365 days. It takes years.

I’m plagued with the problem of trying to impress on people how long it truly takes to build that dream partner. There’s not a smooth paved path. Your green horse will embarrass you, frustrate you, and maybe even hurt you. For some of you, buying a $20,000-$30,000 horse is going to be worth it and SAVE you money. Even that more finished horse will take a year or more to sync up with.

Cheap rate for horse training is $1,000 a month.
1 year of training: $12,000
2 years of training: $24,000

Many of you won’t believe this but your dream horse is on the other side of two years of training. In reality, it’s likely around two years of training and two years of seasoning (hauling them to town). Will that horse still make mistakes? Yes, they all make mistakes until the day they die. But that horses mistakes probably won’t put you in serious danger and that horse will probably pack your grandkids around.

If you’re trying to decide between a $3,500 prospect or a $15,000 proven horse. My advice is to do an internal inventory and figure out what you want. Buying that prospect is like the first roll on the Jumanji board. You’re entered up, get ready for a journey of ups and downs (possibly quite literally!) If you’re buying that finished horse decide what you really want, get ready for a lot of shopping and painfully overpriced sh💩tters. Take a friend or a trainer on this journey with you and try to double your budget (that’s right, 30k). Be smart and buy something OVER 8 years old. Don’t buy that pretty 5 year old they only want 20k for. He isn’t old enough to be proven for you. Lots of horse traders are trying to flip horses, anything under 8 is likely twice as green as he looks in the video. Maturity, both mental and physical will be key when looking for a safe horse.

If you want a project and a challenge I’m not hating, that’s what I want in a horse too, so I buy young ones. If you need a safe one, bring lots of money and quit thinking you need a 6 year old. You probably don’t have what it takes to mentally support that 6 year old through new situations.

The biggest reason I bring this up is because as folks retire their old faithful they are so far removed from when that horse was green and did dumb stuff. They forgot how tough those two years were back when he was 4-6. They only remember the amazing horse he was when he matured. The 3 year old they just bought is YEARS from filling that horses shoes when it comes to training level and safety level. I see people hate on trainers because the trainer couldn’t make their young horse, “finished” in 90 days. It’s honestly the biggest reason I like taking colts for 30 or 60 days. The expectation is shockingly lower than when I take one for 90 days. It’s weird what people expect from a 90 day start. Most people should commit to sending their young horse out for a full year. Two years would be even better.

Green horses do green horse things, don’t blame others for the challenge you bought yourself. Accept the challenge or pay the price for one further along. No matter which path you choose with horses, it’s going to cost you.

(I didn’t write this one I’m not sure who did, however every word of it rings true)

Edit, author Craig Moore

06/04/2024

We’re all drawn to that velvet nose. It’s so soft!! Try to remember to respect that it belongs to the horse. That it’s sensitive. If you ask they will enjoy your time together more.

Apart from the horses back, the horses face is one of the most frequently disrespected spaces in a horses body. Crowded, tickled, slapped, ruffled, pulled on and pushed on, haltered and bridled rudely and carelessly, and generally treated without sensitivity.

A horses face is typically the first place we interact with to start our work- this is where we approach, halter and lead from. From the first interactions here, we can either create looseness, straightness and calm, or we can brace the whole body and create evasion and distrust.

Every interaction matters. Treat your horses face and head with the respect it deserves, remembering that their head connects into their neck and all the way into their back. If we want to ride a swinging back, we can’t forget to treat the head with respect.

05/21/2024

Feels like a perfect day to take a nap…ask Ooge if you don’t believe me. 🥰😴

05/09/2024

Well… we did have a white mule 😂 Welcome to the farm Sgt. Wreckless. 🥰

04/17/2024

Worry- is it virtue, handicap, or indulgence?

Many people struggle with worry- worry of making a mistake, worry of whether the horse, perfectly quiet, might spook or move too fast. Some proudly display their worry as a mark of moral superiority, fretting over the quality of feed, restocking a full bin of hay, obsessing over scratches and minor wounds, second guessing the care and handling of paid professionals.

Maybe the worry is well founded- maybe there is cause to worry with the horse that snorts at his shadow, or the horse isn’t being fed. Maybe the horse is too much for us, unprepared as much as we are, and we know it somewhere deep down.

Sometimes worry is a signal to explore deeper- something needs changing. The horse needs a better environment with better care. You need some help with your horse, help with your seat, or maybe a different partner. Maybe you need some coaching on better guiding your thoughts, your breathing, your attention.

But often, worry is an indulgence that steals from your horse- it steals your attention, steals the ability to give presence and guidance to the horse. It signals to the horse, you are not there for them, and so they must look elsewhere. It steals from everyone around, requiring more attention to the worrier- it steals resources, and time that can’t be made use of, because the cycle of worrying spits out help, and indulges in its own spiral.

A horse has worry, and plenty good cause to have it- and a human lost in their own worry can’t help the horse.

Whatever the cause, whether the reason be valid, or fabricated- the horse needs you there. So take the stirring of worry as a sign that something needs deeper exploration, maybe a change in environment, skill, or in you.

A horse can’t be more like a human, in a human world, but a human can change, work hard to improve their nature. A worrier can’t be there for the horse, and it is our cross to bear to learn how to be present, and useful, for our horses.

04/10/2024

Move over Mayo the Dozers able to give rides now too! 🦄🐂

04/01/2024

New potty 😂

A horse toilet! 🐴🐴
https://inspiringdesigns.net/horse-toilets/

03/23/2024

You need a Digby.

Let me explain. You may think you need a Totilas, or a Rothschild, or a Stroller, or a Frederik the Great, or a Secretariat grandson, or whatever else matches your particular fancy...but you don't. You need a Digby.

You might have the ambition to sit that enormous trot, or jump those grand prix fences at speed. But you also have the adult amateur's physique we glean from working a desk job and riding one hour a day, from managing a household and children, from dealing the banalities of life.

A young, hot, fancy horse requires time, effort and know how. Either you're going to put it in, or you're going to pay someone else to do it for you, and most likely the latter. Or, worst case scenario you do neither and you end up winning a no-expenses-paid trip to the emergency room.

So, if you want to enjoy your riding, you want a pet you can visit, who enjoys your company, who you can pamper, and relax with.... you need a Digby.

Digby, in reality here at LOTW, is our older school master. He can tote a complete beginner around the trails one day, and teach a lesson on flying changes the next. Digby is fit, educated, and bomb proof.

Is Digby maintenance free? He sure isn't. He gets equioxx, extra senior and alfalfa feed, a hoof supplement, and everything is soaked... He's a senior, and he needs the kind of care and maintenance his body requires. Is he perfectly sound? Well, maybe not on a cold day, without a proper warm up. But he is strong and comfortable in his work.

Digby is the kind of horse where you could go on vacation for two weeks, come back, throw a saddle on, and walk on a hack alone, at dusk, on the loosest of reins. You could stick him in a trailer and head to a schooling show or off to a state park he'd never seen before and be safe at either venue.

So please, when you're looking for your next partner, do not buy the horse you aspire to. Do not buy the horse that's going to give you crippling anxiety, or a fast track to bankruptcy when you combine his price, training bills and your hospital bills. Buy an older horse, that needs and deserves the relationship you can offer. Buy the horse you need - not the potential you hope to be able to ride. You and horse will both be happier in the long run. I know the people who most need it will not take this advice. But it bears repeating anyhow.

Here is Digby out foxhunting at Opening Meet, at age 23.

03/18/2024

Simply put patience… if you think about it it’s not lacking in just horses…

Tying- is it a dying skill?

The amount of horses I come across who can’t be safely tied, who break cross ties regularly, who break halters and snaps under normal every day circumstances, is a bit worrisome to me.

Many people maintain that tying is cruel, an unneeded skill. They may say they have no need for tying at home. That might be true, but then there are the what if’s-

What if you get in a trailer wreck, and the only safe place you have to keep your horse is tied somewhere?
What if you have to evacuate for a natural disaster and the only place you have to keep your horse is tied somewhere?
What if you’re at a show, trail ride, clinic, event, and there is no stall for you?
What if you can’t be near your horse while you attend to an emergency? Many times I’ve had to quickly tie my horse up to run and close a gate, catch a loose cow, chase a baby down, etc.

If you’re not teaching your horse to tie safely, you’re short changing their ability to stay safe in life.

Of course, there are cruel ways to teach tying and quiet, systematic and logical ones. People sometimes generalize in thinking- because someone did it roughly somewhere, it must all be done that way. Tying and the education for it can be done well, and should be done this way to educate a horse to tying safely. There doesn’t need to be and shouldn’t be drama.

But to me, a horse lacking the education to tie safely is missing out on a very important part of his education.

03/17/2024

Buck Brannaman has a lot of funny things to say about people and horses, these were two of my favourites at the recent Dallas clinic.

To someone with their horse in a tie down, (kind of like a standing martingale). 'Maybe by the time you come in here tomorrow you'll be so handy, you can take that thing off and give it to someone you don't like.'

Regarding the idea that good training will hold on a horse regardless of who buys it, 'When someone tells me they want a push button horse, I say you might as well buy yourself some fairy dust. You'll bring that horse down to your level in no time'.

You can't help but like the man.

03/13/2024

Full Board Isn't Full Service

A friend asked me to write this a while ago..and I have been thinking on it for several months. So here is a go.

Full board Isn't full board. The average boarding farm with anywhere from 5 to 40 boarders is so much work. Just the daily grind of getting up, feeding, haying, checking water takes up a significant amount of time. Stalls, another massive chunk, then repeat pm feed.

Then you want the boarding farm to do blankets ( something I refuse to do. I worked for a QH trainer in the 90s and spent hrs every morning and night reblanketing all the horses under lights ...cured me ) , meds, you want night check. You want their weight and physical appearance monitored through their blankets.

Now all the extras : tackroom swept, aisle perfect, walls hosed down, no rodents, cobwebs , working washrack with drain that never clogs...

Then perfectly manacured fields , mowed, fertilized, weedwacking. Fences repairs etc....

Board or bored...when your horse is in the stall more for inclement weather , you need to get there to exercise it and prevent colic ( motion is lotion for guts and joints ! ). Full board doesnt cover checking every single inch of the horse ( though most of us do take a quick look, i have trained myself to look at all 4 legs both side every day ) for bumps, bruises, shoes with sprung heels , mysterious fungus that appears on its flank. Owners need to be present, take responsibility for their own horse, make coming out to groom that retired horse on a schedule....and always always be accessible for emergencies.

When you see something needs done, just do it instead of complaining about it. We have all seen the posts about the costs of boarding and basically, if you are paying less than $1000/ month, someone is subsidizing your board. So pick up a rake, a broom, be present. Run a hose, scrub the tub. Triple check your horse. Check on the horse whose owner is ill ( with their permission ) . Leave things better than they were.
Many barns have a person or 2 that randomly helps with some stalls....I guarantee you the barn owner appreciates that person. I used to have a students father who would clean many stalls while his daughter rode. I know I'll never forget him.

Holidays....most barns have 1 of 2 ways of thinking. 1. Don't come out at all. 2. If you do come out, plan to help with feeding, haying, watering turnout and stalls. I can speak from personal experience...I havent had a holiday off since pre 2001 except for 1 Christmas, an exceptional student did all the work as my gift. I'll never forget that act of kindness. Nurses get double time for major holidays ( and still get to take off a day for Christmas , heck even the local convenience store pays double or time and half on major holidays) , barn owners get nothing, most of the time not even a thank you... I recall a colleague who boarded horses ( and of course taught lessons, trained horses, sold horses and ran shows because boarding doesnt pay the bills ) saying one day she realized her life was like the movie Ground Hog Day....and that she has done the same thing every morning every night for decades. Her farm went up for sale and she now boards her own horses.

Education. Do you know what horses diseases are, understand deworming, know what ailments to watch out for. When should the vet be called ? Can you wrap legs properly, handle an abscess, recognize fungus, spot a colic ? If not, pick up a book, watch some videos. Horse ownership means you love horses and you want to know everything about them.

Anyway...full care isn't day care you drop your "kid " off too and never pick them up from again. Be present. Your horse will appreciate the attention and the barn owner will feel relief that you are watching out for your horse.

3/27/23 update. 212,000 views. 1400 shares. And I have gotten a few nasty comments. I cannot understand the nastiness . Bringing awareness is a good thing. If it doesnt apply to you , then move on. Every barn has boundaries. Apparently some people are mad that I wont do blankets...not sure why, as none of them board with me ! Boundaries are made out of clarity and self respect. Every barn , I hope , has rules and boundaries ! Best wishes to all . Horses are my first and longest love.

( This post was made to bring awareness. At least in my area, boarding barns are becoming fewer to non existent. If we want them to stay, we must change . I have seen mostly positivity come from this...i particularly loved the person who shared it and wrote " I go a bit the other way . I try to help in some way every day that I am at the barn "
I , of course, want all the horses in my care to have good, healthy lives too. I would like to think we all do. )

03/10/2024

👀 If you use a neoprene girth on your horse, can we talk?

🙂‍↕️ First off, I get it. You don’t want your saddle to slip, they’re easy to clean, they don’t LOOK like they’ve gotten dirty the way fleece does, they’re marketed as being really breathable, etc. But let’s talk about neoprene girths in a more objective way.

🤲🏼 Some qualities of the neoprene vs effects of those qualities:

🛑 It doesn’t move! - The fact that you can’t budge the neoprene on your horse’s skin also means that the horse’s skin isn’t free to move beneath the neoprene… AND it means when tightening the girth, even if you do leg pulls (please don’t), where the girth created micro pinches while tightening (because it grips the skin), the micro pinches cannot be released. You’ll be riding your horse around while the girth is pinching them.

💨 The ad says “breathable” and touts “air flow” - Neoprene is RUBBER. Rubber is an insulator; it traps electricity and heat. This is part of why wires are contained with rubber… Regardless of the little holes or waffle weave on the girth, your RUBBER girth will be trapping heat to your horse’s body and is why you probably have untacked a horse in a neoprene girth with a sweaty girth mark and no saddle pad mark from the fleece saddle pad……… Waffle weave and holes can’t change the properties of a material.

🧼 They’re easy to clean! - That’s because they’re made of rubber. Go walk around with a bunch of rubber bands on your wrist, grabbing your arm hair all day, and let me know how you feel about how easy the bands are to clean…

🤷🏻‍♀️ If your saddle is slipping so badly that you need a rubber girth to hold it in place, you need to address the root cause - either your saddle doesn’t fit, or your balance is way off. Either way, supergluing a saddle to your horse for rides isn’t a great solution, right? 
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03/06/2024

Oh Dreamy… this one’s about you!

03/05/2024

Here are five lessons we learn from our equine partners.

🐴 Be Authentic. Horses do not know how to be anything other than who and what they are. They inspire us to connect with our true self and engage with the world with authenticity and vulnerability.

🔮 Be Present. Horses aren't very concerned about the past or the future. They are in tune with the present moment so that they can keep themselves comfortable and safe. When we are mindfully present, we increase life satisfaction.

👋 Let It Go. Horses are focused on the present moment, so if right now includes a dangerous situation, the herd will immediately react in order to keep everyone safe. Once that danger is past, however, horses can return almost immediately to their previous state of calm. We can learn from the horses how to do that as well.

🗣 Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say. Horses are master communicators and deliberate with everything they do. To communicate effectively with horses, we need to be secure and confident in ourselves. They teach us to self-regulate our emotions and find our voice, verbally and nonverbally.

👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 We're Better Together. Horses are herd animals. Humans are also hard-wired to be in relationships, and our ability to live healthy lives is enhanced with a healthy support network. While humans have a tendency to withdraw from their social support when dealing with life's challenges, horses' relationships with each other become more important during times of stress and danger. They know that survival is strongest when you’re in a herd.

02/28/2024

02/17/2024

Definitely something that is stressed around the farm here. I always cringe when I see people who wrap the rope around their hands.

01/29/2024

Great opportunity to get ready for the coming year as well as helping out a local riding club.

01/22/2024

Hahaha 🤣🤣🤣

(Never want to) Own A Pony Experience Day

Here at Jamie Wright Equestrian we know that horses are an expensive business and therefore we have developed our 'own a pony experience day' for parents who want to put their children off ever wanting to going near a pony again.

Own a pony experience days are generally held in the depths of winter to try and ensure wet, cold and blustery weather. The day usually starts and ends in darkness and with any luck either miserably wet or freezing.

Meet and Greet.

Your child will be met at the yard gates by a grumpy and sour groom who passionately dislikes children if not all people in general. The groom has very low tolerance levels and will swear at every opportunity making it a very unsavoury work environment.

Meet your pony.

Your child’s pony for the day will have a similar temperament to its groom with the added bonus that it bites and kicks at every opportunity.

Stable management.

Your child will have the opportunity to wade half a mile through muddy tracks to turn out their pony (wellington boots with holes in will be provided), they will then have the chance to muck out its deep littered stable which has not been cleaned out since the last experience day.

Meet the professionals.

Having brought the pony back in from the muddy fields your child will find they are unable to ride as the pony has now got a missing shoe or is lame. They now get to experience what it is like to wait an hour or two in the rain for a vet or farrier to turn up in an emergency.

Lunch.

Your child will take lunch in a damp, mouldy caravan which has no heating, washing or toilet facilities. They will get to watch reruns of the dressage at this years Olympia while the grumpy groom constantly criticizes all the riders whilst muttering that it should have been her riding there had she not taken a job as a mothers ******* help earlier in her career.

The show experience.

Your child will get excited about going to a show and get to spend hours primping and polishing their pony and its tack. Then spent half an hour trying to load it on the lorry. They will then experience the utter disappointment of the lorry having a flat battery/tyre and not going to the show.

The equine shopping experience.

Your child will be taken to a local tack shop where they will spend all the money they have on a rug for the pony who is a compulsive rug ripper.

The human shopping experience.

By now your child will be smelling like a dead badger, covered in mud, hay and straw. Their final experience of the day is to go grocery shopping in the local Waitrose so they can experience the looks of disgust from all the ladies buying quinoa and avocados.

We hope that your child will be so discouraged by the day that they’ll want to spend their days hanging out at shopping malls or staying in to play on their Xbox or phones. The cost for the day is a mere £650 which might sound expensive but is around the cost of 1 months part livery, so just imagine your savings in the long run.

Disclaimer.

Despite our best efforts, some children will still want a pony. Unfortunately there is no cure for this sort of child so prepare yourselves for empty bank accounts and a lack of holidays.

01/01/2024

Ya know honestly spending time with horses will get you fit, help lose weight, watch less TV, and you’ll be tired so you’ll likely go to bed earlier. If you share snacks you’ll eat healthier 🍎🥕🌾… you’ll just have to get over the saving money or having a clean house thing!
Whether you have a horse off your own or just want to spend time with ours don’t be afraid to make it happen.
Best wishes to everyone for the coming new year!

10/04/2022

It’s the little things… found a great deal on some used school lockers. They will make a great place for lesson kids to keep their riding boots and helmets without cluttering the office or lounge. Keeping an eye out for a few more to fill the space.

09/26/2022

This week! Last round of group classes until the spring probably…

Tues! 5-6pm Obedience - $150
Tues! 6:15-7:15 Scent work for beginners-$200

At Lingering Hill Equestrian Center LLC off the Afton NY exit! We still have some room!

Obedience class has opportunity for cgc and akc trick dog testing!

Scent work class is a beginner style class to teach dogs how to find articles with human scent on it. Fun, easy and practical skill for all dogs! Your dog will love this game!

No serious , unmanaged behavior issues.
Proof of rabies required if old enough
Dog should be able to engage with food and or toys- especially for scent work class

Text (607) 267 2184 to get in!

*Current and past clients- take advantage of your private program group class discounts!

Is your dog not ready for a group environment? Let’s get them ready via private in home lessons!

09/15/2022

Have any of you purchased a well trained horse that just made you feel like a million bucks when you handled and rode him? Were you 110% in love and trusted this horse knowing he would never put a foot wrong under saddle or on the ground? Did you maintain his training by continuing to lesson with a trainer and or have a trainer ride your new horse to keep him tuned up? No? You mean you just brought this horse home and thought with all his training he is just programmed to be good (great even) all the time and never go back to the young testy horse he once was?

Let me tell you about the story of when I got my truck detailed. I paid big bucks to send my truck to a guy who spent 6 hours on cleaning the interior polishing the the dash and conditioning the leather seats. He washed/waxed and buffed all the paint, and he shined up my wheels and tires. Pretty sure that truck wasn’t that clean and shiny when I drove it off the lot brand new. My truck was beautiful. For awhile I took my shoes off before I got in and I wouldn’t leave garbage behind, I even vacuumed it and wiped down the dash and seats. Then I started to get busier and just drive my truck because well let’s be honest I had to use it. I didn’t stop to clean it once a week quite honestly not even once a month 🤦🏼‍♀️. My beautiful shined like new truck had dog hair on the floor, trash in the door pockets, dust on the dash and mud all over the wheel wells! Had I took the time to clean it like I was in the beginning, the truck would have stayed clean and beautiful like it was when it was returned from the detailer.

You see folks our horses are the same way. If we don’t constantly keep up training our horses won’t stay the same or improve. If we don’t train a little everyday (yup, every single day) or at least one good professional ride or lesson a week, we can back track so quickly. Your amazing new boy might try and bite you and maybe even think he’s going to buck you off during his circles. We want to get mad at the horse when they behave this way but you have to think in your mind “have I done my job as his handler?”
Make sure their ground manners are good, halter them everyday even if you just have time to feed them. Work with a trainer once a week and maintain the animal someone or maybe even yourself poured endless hours of blood sweat tears and dreams into. Someone believed in your horse, you owe it to them to keep that horse going correctly.

09/11/2022

Absolutely love this message!!!

Worried about messing up your horse?

Something I often hear people express is their fear of "messing up" their horse. This is a topic that I think needs to be addressed, because out of this fear we are then faced with a couple of choices. We can either use this fear as motivation to get better in our horsemanship or we can use it as an excuse not to try.
Understand that horses are always learning, they are either learning to be better...or they are learning to get worse. To me that is a great thing because if I have taught my horse to "get worse" out of a mistake that is never the end because I can always come back and teach them to be better. If we proceed through life always thinking we will mess up and thus refuse to try, we will at best stagnate in the journey.

This mare came to me extremely stiff and unwilling to give to subtle cues and was downright belligerent when asked to do some things. Was she ever messed up? Not in my opinion she just needed to learn to be better.

In life I have sure made my share of mistakes, but if I choose to learn from them and be better then I can turn them into something positive.
In my horsemanship journey it is no different, I have made some huge mistakes that have cost me broken bones and injuries that I pay for everyday but those are constant reminders to be better. I have had the privilege of riding some very talented horses that I didn't deserve and looking back, I would be able to do so much more with them now but that's not how it works unfortunately. All I can do is keep getting better. Let's all keep working to be better with our horses and even more in life.

**This is a post I wrote two year ago and still rings just as true. We have to just keep doing the next right thing no matter how many times we messed up. Unfortunately we have to experience to gain experience and sometimes that may mean, don't do it that way next time.