Dozing Away Farms

05/26/2024

🇺🇸 Memorial Day Weekend: Honoring Our Heroes 🇺🇸

As we enjoy the long weekend with family and friends, let's take a moment to remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Their courage and dedication have shaped the nation we live in today.

Whether you're attending a parade, visiting a memorial, or simply enjoying a backyard barbecue, let's carry the spirit of gratitude in our hearts.

Ways to Honor This Memorial Day:

Visit a Veteran’s Cemetery: Pay your respects by visiting a local veteran's cemetery and placing flowers or flags on the graves.

Participate in a Moment of Silence: At 3 PM local time, join the National Moment of Remembrance to pause and reflect.

Support Veterans: Consider donating to organizations that support veterans and their families.

Educate and Share: Take the time to learn about the history of Memorial Day and share the stories of fallen heroes with the younger generation.

Wishing everyone a safe and meaningful Memorial Day weekend. Let's remember and honor those who gave everything for our country.

01/13/2024

As a storm threat of freezing rain and snow marches across the U.S. and Canada ❄️🌨🫧🌬, below are some tips for keeping your horses safe during extreme winter weather events…

Stay Safe Friends!

12/25/2023

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the stable
All the creatures were cozy, to the best I was able.
The stalls were all bedded, and horses had hay.
The waterers all working, and the tools put away….

Merry Christmas to all & to all a Good Ride! 🐴🎄

12/13/2023

Today we celebrate the National Day of the Horse!

We reflect on the contributions the horse has made to the economy, history & character of the United States! Most importantly, we reflect on the joy they add to our lives! ❤️

05/29/2023

Memorial Day- Honor and Remember... We are thankful for the sacrifices so many men and women have made for our freedom.

03/07/2023

“How much weight can a horse carry?

In my experience, a horse can carry an infinite amount.

They can carry the weight of broken hearts, broken homes, and broken bodies. Countless tears sometimes comb their tangled manes. Moments when parents and friends cannot be there to help and hold a person, horses embrace and empower. They carry physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. They carry hopes and dreams; and they will carry the stress from your day when you can't carry it anymore.

They carry graduations, they carry new careers, they carry moves away from everything familiar, they carry marriages, they carry divorces, they carry funerals, they carry babys before they are born, and sometimes they carry the mothers who cannot carry their own baby. They carry mistakes, they carry joy, they carry the good and they carry the bad. They carry drugs and addictions, but they also carry the celebrations.

They will carry you to success when all you have felt is failure. They will carry you, never knowing the weight of your burdens and triumphs.

If you let them, they will carry you through life, and life is hard, life is heavy. But a horse will make you feel weightless under it all.”

02/03/2023

“Farm work doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make you anything. It reveals you.
There’s gym strong and then there’s farm strong. They’re mutually exclusive. The toughest women you’ll ever meet spend their days on a farm.
There are more uses for twine than you can possibly imagine. You can tie up a hole in a slow feeder, fashion a tail strap for a horse’s blanket, mend a broken fence and use it as a belt.
“Well that certainly didn’t go as planned,” is one thing you’ll say quite a bit.
Control is a mere illusion. The thought that you have any, at any given time, is utterly false.
Sometimes sleep is a luxury. So are lunch and dinner. And brushing your hair.
If you’ve never felt your obliques contract, then you’ve never tried stopping an overly full wheelbarrow of horse manure from tipping over sideways. Trust me, you’ll find muscles that you never knew existed on the human skeleton to prevent this from happening.
When one of the animals is ill, you’ll go to heroic lengths to minimize their discomfort.
Their needs come first. In summer heat and coldest winter days. Clean water, clean bed, and plenty of feed. Before you have your first meal, they all eat.
When you lose one of them, even though you know that day is inevitable, you still feel sadness, angst and emotional pain from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. And it’s a heaviness that lingers even though you must regroup and press on.
You’ll cry a lot. But you’ll never live more fully. You’ll remain present no matter what because you must. There is no other option.
You’ll ask for so many miracles and hold out hope until the very last.
You will, at least once, face-plant in the manure pile. You’ll find yourself saying things like, “we have maybe twenty minutes of daylight left to git ‘er done” whilst gazing up at a nonspecific place in the sky.
You’ll become weirdly obsessive about the weather.
You’ll go out in public wearing filthy clothes and smelling of dirt, sweat and p**p. People will look at you sideways and krinkle their noses but you won’t care.
Your entire day can derail within ten seconds of the rising sun.
You can wash your coveralls. They won’t look any cleaner, but they will smell much nicer.
Farm work is difficult in its simplicity.
You’ll always notice just how beautiful sunrises and sunsets really are.
Should you ever have the opportunity to work on a farm, take the chance! You will never do anything more satisfying in your entire life.”

12/22/2022

Wishing our fantastic clients and barn family a wonderful Holiday Season!

12/21/2022

Wishing you all a warm Winter Solstice! Lighter days lie ahead! ❄️

12/14/2022

𝒩𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝒟𝒶𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒 🐎

“ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏʀsᴇ. ʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ɴᴏʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏuᴛ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇɪᴛ, ғʀɪᴇɴᴅsʜɪᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴇɴᴠʏ, ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴠᴀɴɪᴛʏ. ᴀ ᴡɪʟʟɪɴɢ sᴇʀᴠᴀɴᴛ, ʏᴇᴛ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀ sʟᴀᴠᴇ."

12/09/2022

✨GRADUATION ALERT✨
Congratulations to Popcorn for completing her 60-day tune up! Miss Sadie as well… with all of her hard work & determination, she and Popcorn will continue onto their next adventure together!

*permission to post*

12/01/2022

With temperatures dropping, here are some tips on proper care for your horses this winter!

11/26/2022

I want to share something with y’all, I’ll try to keep it short.

A parent asked me the other day “about how much it cost to have a horse to ride or race” 😂😂🤣😅
I replied “don’t do it, unless she is serious”
He said “ hell I figured you’d try and convince me to get her one now”

Here is the thing. I absolutely love horses but so much of my time, my life and my money (oh my lawdddd the money) goes into this and I wouldn’t change a thing but here is what people need to understand. This applies for people with horses currently as well.

See this p**p fork. It’s made up of several tines to create a working rake. If one tine breaks or is out of place the unit will not correctly work as it should. It may still be “ usable” but it won’t be pretty, it may still kinda work but it won’t work correctly.

Imagine each tine is a something to do with a horse.
One tine is nutrition- proper feed, hay, water
One tine is farrier - good feet are a must 
One tine is vet- maintenance is a MUST
One tine is you- horsemanship riding ability
One tine is the horse- how’s he feeling? Did you handle the first three, vet, farrier, nutrition
One tine is TACK- bits, bridles, proper saddle, proper pad, sport boots etc. (all these are needed and cost thousands)
One tine is - extras and misc - trust me these things will pop up just when you think you’ve got it all figured out.
One tine is a trainer for both you and the horse (you can never know too much)

The point I’m trying to make is it takes a lot of individual pieces to make a great horse and rider! You may find a unicorn that stays sound and doesn’t require anything but that is why they are called unicorns. They are very rarely seen. Most all horses require maintenance. Say you’ve never done anything strenuous in your life, I bet money you’ve taken medicine, been to the doctor, etc. EVERYONE AND EVERY HORSE NEEDS MAINTENANCE!

I feel like this needed to be said. I see nice horses all the time being je**ed on, whipped, or sold because they didn’t win lil Suzie a buckle. But you didn’t do your job and listen when your horse was trying to tell you something.

Okay I’m done now. Thanks for reading this far if you made it. I could go on and on and on. A horse will change your life but it ain’t for the faint of heart and if you treat em right and keep them happy, they’ll give you their life every day!!!!

Enjoy this photo of my p**p scoop!

Horses are so humbling and rewarding. But they are not just a hobby.

11/24/2022

Wishing all of our friends & barn family a Happy Thanksgiving! We are blessed to have you all in our lives! 🍁
Cheers!

11/07/2022

10/19/2022

Atticus shared a friendly reminder…💨💨💨

“horses should not be exercised at AQI readings over 100-150. People should take their own health into consideration, too, as riding can be a physically demanding sport. Follow EPA recommendations for outdoor activity, and err on the side of caution.”

📸 Emily Evans

10/15/2022

The Spiral

How to ride it: Move from the outside of a large circle to the smallest circle possible by spiraling in toward the center; then spiral back out.

Perks for you: Improves your spatial sense of circles; improves your go-lateral cues.

Perks for your horse: Improves his bending and collection, plus his responsiveness to your outside leg and rein (to spiral in) and your inside leg and rein (to spiral out); keeps him supple and limber and engaged behind.

Success tips: Focus on maintaining a consistent speed.

Change it up: This is challenging at any gait; stay at a walk until you get the hang of it, before attempting it at a jog or lope.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/14/2022

Off the Rail Rectangle

How to ride it: Rather than staying directly on the rail, ride a parallel path, about 8 to 10 feet to the inside of it.

Perks for you: Teaches you to keep your horse straight between the reins—with no rail to guide or support you or him.

Perks for your horse: Teaches him to rely on your cues, rather than “coasting” on the rail.

Success tips: Start at a walk, then move to a jog, then trot, then lope.

Change it up: Make it more challenging by varying your speed along the straightaways.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/13/2022

Snaky Serpentine

How to ride it: Make a series of connected S’s back and forth across the width of your arena.

Perks for you: Forces you to focus on each new turning point, changing your rein and leg cues at each change in direction; really sharpens your horse-bending skills.

Perks for your horse: Improves his lightness and flexibility as he bends, changes direction, and listens to your cues.

Success tips: Try to make each loop the same size and shape

Change it up: Keep it simple by making only two or three loops. Up the ante by making four or five narrower loops. This exercise is very challenging at the lope, where you must repeatedly change leads on each straight line, or ask your horse to counter-canter (lope on the “wrong” lead) around every other loop.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/12/2022

The Loopy B

How to ride it: Go down the long side, turning the corner as if to make a circle, but instead angle back to the rail. Go straight a stride or two at the rail, then angle back out and circle around toward your starting point.

Perks for you: Improves your precision in bending and straightening your horse.

Perks for your horse: Prompts him to “listen” rather than assume he’s to make a full circle; if you two-track him (see “Change it up,” below), it improves his lateral flexibility.

Success tips: Try to make each end of the loop the same size and shape.

Change it up: Keep it simple by staying at a walk and trot. Make it more challenging by riding it at a lope and changing leads on the straight line in the center. Up the ante at any gait by using your outside leg and rein to move your horse laterally back to the rail in a forward-and-sideways leg-yield.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/11/2022

Big Circle/ Little Circle

How to ride it: Go down the long side of your arena, making a smallish circle in one corner, then a larger circle in the diagonally opposite corner.

Perks for you: Enhanced ability to bend your horse to varying degrees.

Perks for your horse: Increased suppling thanks to the smaller circle; teaches him to balance on circles of varying sizes.

Success tips: Choose “landmarks” around the arena to help you circle at the right point for the correct size circles.

Change it up: Vary which corners you ride the small and large circles in. Make it more challenging by varying your speed, or lope the large circle and jog the small one.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/10/2022

The Basic 8

How to ride it: Make a figure eight, using the straight line of the center (marked X) to change your horse’s bend before heading in the new direction.

Perks for you: Improves your ability to bend your horse, guide him precisely, and keep him straight between your reins (“straight” on a circle, meaning bent to the curve of the circle).

Perks for your horse: Encourages him to bend equally both ways and stay attentive to your steering.

Success tips: Focus on keeping your circles round and equal in size. Pay attention to the amount of rein and leg needed to get the right bend. Add a cone at the arena’s center for a visual cue.

Change it up: Keep it simple by staying at a walk and jog. Make it more challenging by varying your speed, changing gaits at X, or riding it at a lope and changing leads at X.

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THESE EXERCISES:
🔹 Be sure to always ride each exercise in both directions.
🔹 Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel. Use your outside leg just behind the cinch, plus your outside rein against his neck to reinforce his bending. Use your leg at or just behind the cinch and the same-side rein against your horse’s neck to ask for lateral movement.
🔹 Work to make your cues as light and subtle as possible.
🔹 Look ahead to where you’re going (not down at your horse or at the ground).

10/10/2022

You’ve got the arena to yourself, so you settle your horse into a nice warm-up jog, moving along the rail. Soon, you reverse, jog in the other direction, circle a few times…and your mind begins to wander. Schooling in circles can be boring—for you and your horse. And if your mind is wandering, chances are, theirs is too.

Break out of that rail rut with arena exercises that will freshen your workout and your horse’s outlook. Use them to ease into your regular training sessions, warm up before your classes at a show, or get the “fresh” out before a trail ride. As you break the monotony, you also improve your horse’s responsiveness, suppleness, and muscle tone, plus polish your own horsemanship skills.

Join me over the next 10 days to review different arena exercises that you can use when riding!

10/08/2022

Oliver helping coach morning lessons 🐈☀️🐎

10/06/2022

With our Fall show season approaching, don't forget the importance of tail ribbons (when necessary)! Here is a cheat-sheet for y'all!
*Ride On*