Hawks Hollow Equestrian - Kasia Burroughs

01/18/2025

🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐

01/02/2025

2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ is here! 🗓️ The full show calendar, featuring all opening and closing dates, is now live on our website. Be sure to mark your calendar!

https://www.kentuckydressageassociation.com/calendar

📸: Lisa Michelle Dean Photography

01/01/2025

Celebrating Chanukah on Horseback 

12/31/2024

Happy New Year, ready for a new adventure!!

12/22/2024

https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/OSUChabadHouse/chanukah_horseback.html

11/13/2024

More Ohio Renaissance Festival photos from Jay Robinson

11/11/2024

Thank you to our very own Sir James and all those who serve. Happy Veteran's Day!

11/03/2024

Nothing compares to a coach when mountains are climbed, a fear is squished and achievements are made. This year has been rough for this one; struggling with confidence issues and past traumas. Many times she would break down in tears of being scared and the loss of her self belief. Many times we would call the lesson short and I’d just hold her, telling her one step at a time, you are not a failure; you have to believe in yourself and Chester.

Her main two goals this year was to canter confidently on her own boy and compete in a show, jumping 18”. To some that’s nothing, but to us, it was jumping the moon.

Yesterday she did it, at Happily Ever After Horse Show Series, no goals of ribbons, just her and her boy having a fun positive time.

It’s not often you get me to sing to you “ head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees, and toes”

This is what I live for, I am so stinking proud of you!!!

11/01/2024

Head and neck position

10/29/2024

10/24/2024

SLOOOOOW DOWN!

SLOW your walking down to 1 step per second with and without your horse next to you.
SLOW your hand movements down as you touch or do things.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your pulls and pushes down on the leadrope.

SLOW to FLOW!

Humans are WAAAAY to fast for horses and this is one of the leading causes of reactivity and opposition reflex in horses.

Speed = stress.

Let me teach you what speed does...

When the brain perceives a threat, it causes the body to release the stress response hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels and speed go hand in hand.
Cortisol provides the body with the fuel it needs to flee a scary situation or fight against it.

The thing with the mind-body relationship is that the brain feels an emotion such as fear, which create a physical response in the body, but the body can also move at a certain speed or in a particular way and create an emotion in the brain. It can be reverse engineered.

This is how special the intimate relationship is between the brain and body.

The other thing to remember is that, collectively as a social animal, when speed is noticed by another mammal (no matter the species), it alerts the unconscious brain to threat.

Speed is an alarm system in a social system (consciously and unconsciously).

If you walked down a road and everyone started running, you'd find it hard not to run even if you didn't know what the cause was. You are noticing that others are running and in a direction, so you mirror them to increase your chances of survival. You don't need the reasoning part of your brain for this. You just activated your primal (survival) part of the brain.

One other thing to remember: HORSES CAN SMELL CORTISOL. So not only does your speed act as a visual alarm system to your horse, it also acts as an olfactory one!

Would you want to interact with someone who caused you to feel constantly on alert?

These little things are the beginnings of what ripples into chronic stress in both humans and horses.
You spend enough time around someone who is fast in their movement, your nervous system will condition itself to being on high alert.
HELLO 👋 CHRONIC STRESS!!!

Slow your movement down = slow your thoughts down.
Slow your movement down = lower your cortisol.
Slow your movement down = feel connected with yourself, the world and others in it.
Slow your movement down = slow your alarm systems down and eventually they'll turn off.

Slow down so much that it is uncomfortable. It won't be uncomfortable for long, I promise 😉

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 🙂

10/17/2024

Every perfect movement you watch in dressage is the result of hundreds of imperfect tries, of riders who never gave up, and horses who slowly learned to trust. Celebrate every crooked halt, every almost-there half-pass, because they are the real victories. The path to excellence is paved with mistakes, but also with perseverance and love.

10/13/2024

Take that breath, even laugh about it.

Every time you feel frustrated because something isn’t working, take a breath and remember that your horse doesn’t know the goal you’ve set. They don’t understand tests or scores—they understand partnership. It’s not about doing the perfect canter transition today; it’s about showing your horse they can rely on you, no matter how long it takes

10/11/2024

The Northern lights out at the barn!! 😍