Cross Run Farm

04/16/2023

Cyril tailors uniquely designed training exercises using dressage techniques for riders starting in and competing in western dressage, dressage as well as those jumping in hunters, equitation, jumpers and the combination of all in eventing.

We have spots still available!

Please PM for more info!

03/28/2023

Sign up list starting NOW 👇

This will fill fast!

03/26/2023

Excited to be hosting this 🙌🙌🙌

06/24/2022

From one of the greats.

06/04/2022

Barn hack!!

Need to hang a box fan but can't figure out how?

Simple! Grab a nylon hay net, put your fan in it and tie the hay net. Works great for stall fronts, the tops of stalls or even for a easy weekend show set up.

Helps give your horse a little breeze and discourages flies

03/05/2022

Certainly has been several of our stories here at Cross Run. The starving skeleton 4 yr old 17 h. gelding, the broken 4 yr. old sweetest young mare with knee chips not addressed, the ridling (called gelding) but not totally with unexplained aggressive behavior, the old mare standing in bewilderment at auction..... Yes they all came here plus many others. All well loved and treated the best we could. ❤

I apologize now if this causes you to shed a tear 😢

Seven is the number of years I serve my owner, trotting, walking, loping, quiet, and gentle. I carry her children, husband, friends, neighbors. I have plenty of hay, horse friends, and time to myself. Green pastures, blue skies, I am at peace.

Six is the number of months I carry on in pain after falling. I do it for her, anything for her. She is impatient with me. I try hard to keep up, but the pain slows me down. Every step hurts. No one wants to ride me, a new horse arrives to carry on in my place. I do not know this word: "useless."

Five is the number of hours I stand in the small pen at the auction. I hurt, I do not know these horses, I do not know these people. I'm far from my pasture. I search for comfort, switching weight off my painful leg, the people notice. I do not know this word: "lame."

Four is the number of times my value is calculated by my weight. I don't understand their words but I can read their eyes. Hard stares. I try to be invisible, but they see me. I do not know this word: "slaughter."

Three is the number of sniffs I take of your face through the pen before deciding you are kind and safe. I like your eyes, they are soft. I like your hands they are gentle. Please don't leave me here. I try to pick my feet up for you, it hurts. I try hard. I rest my muzzle in your hand.

Two is the number of minutes it takes for me to pass through another pen. I am scared, I am trapped, I am alone, people are shouting, it hurts to walk. A man is talking, his voice echo's all around me, there are so many people watching me, hard stares. Suddenly it's over.

One is the number of hours it takes before I walk onto a trailer. I am alone, I am scared, it is moving. The door opens, I hold my breath and brace at the light. It's you!! I stand still and breathe slow. Kind hands, soft words, I'm not afraid now.

Two is the number of xrays the vet takes while I stand quietly for you, anything for you. Many days have passed. I have energy now, my pain is less. I like my new pasture, I like my new stall, I like my new hay. I don't know why we have a vet but I stand still for his visits. So many visits. I do not know this word: "rehabilitation."

Three is the number of months before the pain is all the way gone. I am relaxed with you, we start to ride together. I'm afraid the pain will come back, but you are gentle, so I try. I try hard for you, anything for you.

Four is the number of weeks I learn a new way of riding. Another person rides me every day. I'm becoming strong, I understand my lessons, I am proud to work, I feel you are happy with me, visiting me and learning together. I do not know this word: "training."

Five is the number of years I work hard for you. We travel to shows, we work cows, we ride with friends. We do hundreds and hundreds of miles together. You trust me and I trust you, I give you everything I have, everything for you, anything for you. I memorize your rhythm, your looks, your moods. I know when to be wild and when to be still. We are a team.

Six is the number of minutes I try to hide the pain after a fall, but you see through me. I stand for the vet, still as a stone. The pain leaves but I sense your sadness. I remember a word from before when I had pain, "useless", but you never say that word. You no longer ride me but I see you every day, for carrots and treats and long walks. I relax again, you will not abandon me. This is a new way of being together. I do not know this word: "retired."

Seven is the number of breaths I take in your arms. It has been many years, we have grown old and wise and slow together. I lay down like so many times before but could not rise. You came right away. I tried for you, but I could not stand. You say its ok, sink down next to me. I breathe slow. You are very close, holding my head, weeping, I feel your sadness so I put my muzzle in your hand one last time to comfort you, anything for you. I breathe out. Green pastures, blue skies, I am at peace. I know this word: "loved."

The End
**Shared from a friend's page...author unknown to me....

01/08/2022

The annual USEF Horsemastership Training Series began today with flatwork session taught by Olympic show jumper Anne Kursinski in which she emphasized the importance of dressage work for show jumpers, and the importance of patience in training and co...

01/08/2022

Pretty sure I missed a few....

01/07/2022

My favorite young rider ❤ on my favorite black Bold Ruler bred TB mare, Jamie.

01/01/2022

Quoted from Phyllis Dawson, "In the coming year, may you dream outrageously, live exceptionally, and embrace uncertainty. Meet your challenges with your head held high, and take joy in the doing of it. May you be brave enough to take risks, and have the determination to make your dreams come true. May you have confidence in your beliefs and faith in your potential. And most of all, savor each day, each hour, each moment, and enjoy the beauty of this amazing world around you."

So hear we go 2022.

📸

08/23/2021

Some great education, experienced advice.

08/13/2021

Thank your horse.

To All of the Horses who make our Dreams Come True ❤️🦄

“It’s absolutely mind boggling if you think about it.

Your horse gets absolutely nothing out of being competitive for you. Not a darn thing. Of course horses are bred for specific jobs, or they’re bred to be athletic to a certain degree. However, horses don’t wake up thinking about chasing cans, or cows, or flying over jumps.

They have no idea how much money is added to the pot. They have no idea that this is a qualifier. They have no idea that this is the short go.

And DESPITE us... DESPITE our nerves, our flaws, our incorrect ques, our huge emotions, they get the job done to their very best ability. Even when we fail them by letting our emotions get in the way, they come back and they try again. For US. Whoa. Let that sink in. If only we could all be so understanding.

To think of an animal that is forgiving and flexible enough to put up with the repetition of practice, the intense nerves of the rider, the stress of hauling and still meet you at the gate for scratches is MIND. BLOWING.

If you haven’t done so lately. Thank your horse.

If you’re successful, thank the horses that put you there and made you. Thank the horses that gave everything they had for you simply because you ASKED them to.

If you’re still on the journey to success, thank the horses that made you fall in love with your sport and who have helped give you the confidence to want to learn more and be better.

We can never stop learning as horsemen and horsewomen, and by continuing our education every horse in our future will be better off.

Next time you head to the arena leave your ego at the door and thank your horse!”
~Samantha Roffers

📸 Janine Olson

08/12/2021

07/27/2021

Solid wisdom from the greats.

06/26/2021

Always good information

05/25/2021

True fact. Maybe they're born with that...
Not to say a person can't learn

03/30/2021

A lot goes into transitioning these TB's off the track. Giving each one the time and attention for their best success in future "career" Good information here. We do have a lovely grey mare from New Vocations. ❤

03/27/2021

As we look forward to a couple of shows of dressage and over fences being in our area this year; please if you can - volunteer if you can
Will be very appreciated. We are extremely grateful for volunteers.

03/23/2021

Why trainers PUSH horses TOO FAST

Klaus Balkenhol explains, "Although breeders have created a better horse, the market has created a demand for a stronger, healthier, more powerful horse. It's easier to sell a horse that looks like a carefully developed eight-year-old, and not like a three- or four-year-old just beginning his career. If you force it, you can get a three-year-old to physically look like a developed eight-year-old. Too many c**ts remain stallions which, if approved, promise breeders higher prices as three-year-olds. Now 250 to 300 young stallions are presented each year, when only 40 or 50 will be approved.

Few breeders have the sense to geld the yearling stallions and leave them on the pasture to mature naturally. Instead, yearling stallions are brought into a stall, fed too much grain, and at three, look like six- or seven-year-olds. They have muscle mass, but not enough bone structure to support it. They look mature from the outside but aren't . . . and when started to work, degeneration sets in. Competitions also create pressure to push horses too fast as competitions are now scheduled throughout the year without any breaks."

Common Mistakes In Pushing Too Fast
Tightening the noseband: "A horse resists by sticking out his tongue. Tightening the noseband too much puts pressure on the nose and on the poll. If it is necessary to tighten the noseband very tightly, then something has gone very wrong in the basic training of the horse. The horse cannot be relaxed, the first step on the training scale," warns Klaus.

Specializing too early: "Drilling every day in the indoor arena is too intense for the young horse. It's very important, especially in the first two years of training, not to specialize the young horse. Training should include a variety of activities, including trail riding, which is good for the mind as well as building strength with hill work. It should include jumping, either free or low jumps under saddle, including small natural obstacles on the trail, and cavaletti. A variety of work will allow the horse to stay mentally fresh and to enjoy his work. Only when the horse is happy can dressage become art."

Not checking tack frequently: "Saddle and tack need to be checked constantly for proper fit and adjusted as the horse's body changes with growth, and as his fitness improves with the training. If the noseband gets too low, for example, and the skin between the noseband and the bit is rubbed and becomes sore, this causes the horse discomfort and loss of relaxation. Regularly check for sharp edges and bit problems in the horse's mouth and teeth."

Working too long: "The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller. Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse."

Riding when the horseman is tense: "Horses are particularly sensitive to the rider's mood. A rider shouldn't ride if she is under undue stress or doesn't have the time to ride. If the rider has a bad day, give the horse a rest day or go for a relaxing trail ride; don't work in the arena. The horse mirrors the rider's mood."

Not praising the horse enough: "The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing. If the horse offers piaffe, for instance, because he's excited, praise him for it. You shouldn't stop the lesson at that point nor make a big deal out of it. If you don't want piaffe, quietly urge him forward into trot, but you should NEVER punish him for offering the piaffe. - Klaus Blakenhol

02/21/2021

02/21/2021

Take the horse "away" - can the rider still stand in their riding position? I think I'll start my exercise program standing in the position for increasing minutes a day until the winter is gone. :)

So this was just a normal kid jumping in California, in 1972. By "normal," I am talking about the way hunt seat equitation was "normally" taught back in those days, heavily influenced, I supect, by Bert DeNemethy's USET riders.

Her entire position demonstrates security, balance, lightness and harmony. Her heels are down, her eyes and chin are up, her lower leg is beneath her, her hip and knee angles are closed, and her hands and arms are allowing.

Clean, clear, precise and simple.

Unless you can't do it. Unless you hurl your upper body, throw your hands up the neck, look down, plant your face in the mane, let your legs swing back toward the horse's hips, and barf your way from fence to fence.

When did it go from this to what is now such a common "look" for so many American jumping riders?

And what will it take to regain this style, so that it is normal, rather than exceptional?

01/31/2021

*** 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.

01/15/2021

Some interesting material in here for upcoming foals....

What we are going to post about here is Revolutionary.

Maybe some of you have already heard this...but we just had this knowledge imparted to us last year.

When we learn better, then we do better...at least that is the hope. We certainly will change what we do from here on out.

Some of us have taken it upon themselves to learn more about hooves and the healthy keeping of them.

It is just so hard to find a knowledgeable farrier who improves the hooves on a horse.

Sometimes the best we can do is to find one who doesn't make things worse.

(and we aren't interested in debating shoes versus no shoes-just plain old information sharing here)

Some breeds in our rescue are especially hard to keep comfortable, and we always wonder why is that?

There are people out there who study horse hooves and how our husbandry practices affect them. . . How to help laminitis and navicular, and keep abcesses from forming.

In reading publications by one fella well known for this, we stumbled upon the following information, and we felt it was possibly an AH HA! moment that we have been searching for.

It is commonly thought that we are genetically breeding our horses into worse and worse feet, but what we are about to share may totally blow this theory out of the water.

Foals born in the wild must be ready and able to keep up with a herd moving 20 miles or so per day. Their hooves are hard wired to do this, and the foal hoof grows rapidly to keep up with the wear and tear of the nomadic lifestyle.

Foals born into domesticity have the same rapidly growing hooves, but not the ability to roam 20 miles per day. In fact, people (believing foals are delicate creatures) often keep them stalled until they are a bit older.

We are coming to find out that our foal keeping practices are setting the horse up to have crappy feet for the rest of its life.
Foals Need movement.

A lot of people know this already. But the following is where we at HOP have failed. They Also need to have their hooves competently maintained from the very beginning. In other words, a farrier must keep up with the rapid growth of the baby hoof, and keep it in shape if the terrain is not doing it.

This is the key thing to remember and it is truly revolutionary....
"While in a horse's later years, the coffin bone shapes the hoof, in a horse's earlier years the hoof shapes the coffin bone."

Oh my gosh!

So if a baby horse's hoof is not kept in shape, the coffin bone will actually begin to distort. And after about the age of 3.5, the distortion is permanent. A horse's hooves continue to widen until about the age of 5 by the way. So the sturdiest hooves are the ones that are allowed to grow, and have good trims and no shoes until the age of 5. (And are exposed to a very diverse terrain)
Therefore in racehorses, who stay out in those lovely grassy fields at some farms not being trimmed until they are yearlings, and then many times having shoes put on at 18 months or sometimes earlier... you can see how this may lead to hooves being difficult later! Whatever shape that coffin bone has come to be as the foal grew, a shoe is slapped on it that holds it in that shape, and by 3.5 it is permanently set to an unnatural state of being.

So here is what Pete Ramey along with 2 other hoof experts have to say...

"Foals are born with perfect, tiny hooves. If they are given living conditions similar to what a wild horse has, their feet and legs will develop with no problems. But most foals in captivity live in conditions quite different from what their feet actually need.
It appears that the first hour of a foal's life is critical to hoof health. In the wild, the mare moves the foal quickly away from the place of birth, because predators are attracted to the afterbirth and of course to the foal as well. So the soft foal feet, consisting mostly of raggedy frog tissue with a lot of proprioceptive (tells the brain about limb position) nerve endings, get about an hour of movement on hard ground before the foal ever nurses. Gene Ovnicek believes that this hour of movement is a "window of opportunity" which gets the hoof started towards a lifetime of correct shape and function.
In order to develop healthy hooves, foals should not be on soft bedding at all. Instead, from "day one" they should get 10+ miles (15+ km.) of daily movement on hard, uneven ground (not pavement). They should follow along with their mother, who should also be going 10+ miles per day for her own health and hoof care. You can arrange that they move a lot in their 24-hour turnout -- see Jaime Jackson's book Paddock Paradise. If a "track layout" is not possible, riding the mare and ponying the foal after several weeks is another possibility.

Foal hooves are nearly cylindrical at birth. It takes a lot of concussion on hard ground (which horses are designed for) to spread the hooves out into the shock-absorbing cone shape of the adult horse. In soft footing, and especially in bedding, the feet just sink in without flexing. Some foals soon develop a very contracted foot where the base is actually smaller than the coronet -- the walls are "inside the vertical." This is extremely difficult to rehabilitate.
Wild foals run with the herd on hard and often rocky ground. Wild horses move 20 miles (30 km.) or more every day, just getting food and water. Foals are "precocious" young, which means they are born able to keep up with the herd (different from other animals' young which must be carried by adults or hidden from predators).
Bone alignment in the leg depends on having sufficient movement on firm terrain. The pasterns are nearly upright at birth. They need lots of movement so that the pastern bones align into the harmonic curve which gives shock absorption in the leg.

The ligaments and tendons in the legs, as well as in the upper body, can only become as strong as the work they do every day. The toughest ligaments and tendons come from plenty of daily movement on hard or rocky ground. A horse raised this way will be able to handle the athletic demands of an equine sport without breaking down.

Dr. Strasser and Gene Ovnicek both note that the "problem" legs that some foals are born with, generally align themselves correctly within 2 weeks, without veterinary intervention, if the foal gets sufficient movement and is not kept on soft footing. A foal at my friend's farm gained good alignment and leg strength in this way within about a week.

A horse's feet continue to get wider until the horse has reached its full adult weight, at about age 5. The hoof gets broader as the horse gets heavier. The coffin bone reaches its adult size and shape at age 5.

"When a young horse is shod, generally at age 3 (or earlier in some cases) when training begins, it restricts the growth of the feet. The coffin bone is no longer able to grow into its correct shape, because the "wall of nails" around the edge of the shoe interferes with further widening. Shoes also begin to contract the heels. The coffin bone grows in a narrowed shape, and the heels curve in towards the frog.

I hope that people raising young horses will decide not to shoe them. The horse that stays barefoot will be more confident because, as it learns to do its job, it is able to feel the ground and know where its legs are. A horse raised barefoot is graceful. Its movement is glorious to behold. I believe that once we begin to see some adult horses, raised barefoot, we will realize what we've been missing in our athlete friends."

http://www.barefoothorse.com/barefoot_MoreTopics.html
So while we believe that genetics may play some role in the modern day hoof woes, truly, like so many other things about horse issues that are directly our husbandry practices, allowing and helping the hoof to shape itself early on will likely result in a much better foundation for the horse to function on.

For more in depth reading about the very fascinating information that these 3 have put together, please click on the link above.
(Of course we recognize that inappropriate feed, poor farrier care, lack of adequate minerals and some genetics factor in also but we can avoid majorly contributing to the other issues with this knowledge)

12/23/2020

A better ask.

We hear a lot about "respect," how a horse must respect the trainer, and how the trainer must respect the horse, but maybe we don't talk enough about what that means in real life---whatever "real life" is---

So, I have been thinking about some examples, based on ways that I think I used to do it badly, and how I think I now do it better---

Take quitting at a jump. I was taught, 'If your horse quits, hit him. His fault, your fault, nobody's fault, hit him."

So you hit him. So now he rushes. So now you grab his mouth to stop him from rushing. So now he is scared of his mouth and he is scared of getting hit.

He is scared to go, but he is also scared not to go. So pretty soon you have created both a quitter AND a rusher.

So, maybe start by trotting tiny little jumps, tiny so he is not scared to go, trotting so he is not wound up by speed to grab and go.

Get him used to calmly plunking along at the trot, and just as calmly plopping over the little cross rail.

This is like making a pact, a deal, with your horse.

"Hey, I won't hit you, but you don't quit."

"Hey, I won't grab your mouth, but you don't speed up."

If he does quit or does speed up, don't make a Federal Case out of it. Maybe a little tap, but no big deal. Come again. If he gets too quick, quietly ask him to slow down, take and give, no big deal.

Do this maybe once every, what, third, fourth day, not too many jumps at any one time, but enough so he starts to get the picture.

Usually they get better because you got better about how to ask,

12/22/2020

Happy Holidays!

All of us here at Cross Run Farm want to take the opportunity to extend a sincere heartful wish for a very blessed Christmas and holiday season. Thru out this year we have been extremely blessed with uncountable gifts. Not the kinds money can buy. But gifts of the heart. So many kind and super generous people have continued to help make this farm what I truly believe God and my wonderful earthy father have designed and destined Cross Run Farm to be. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank each and every one of you. Without the gift of love, time and many prayers, this farm would not be the gift from God. Thank You!

11/27/2020

We have horses for lease and for sale. PM for more information.

Building more than a horse farm. An opportunity to live and love horses. A place to learn, enjoy and share with others a mutual passion for this lovely creature called horse.

10/05/2020

Most people that know Cross Run Farm are quite aware of our great appreciation of the Thoroughbred racing horses. This filly proves the heart of a horse. Beating the boys, ran the 2nd fastest Preakness ever, just fractions of a second than the record set by Secretariat. Yay for the fillies 🐎🐎🐎

The world is still buzzing from Swiss Skydiver making history on Saturday.

It was something we don’t see that often — a filly entering into one of the biggest races for three-year olds in the country. Swiss Skydiver was brushed off by many people. Sure she was an incredible filly, but she had already been beaten by the Preakness’ second-choice Art Collector when she faced him in the Blue Grass (G2) and had finished second to a 15-1 longshot in the Kentucky Oaks. When the gates flung open for the 145th Preakness Stakes, Swiss Skydiver was at odds of 11-1.

She went into the first turn in fourth place, letting the Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and his stablemate Thousand Words show the way. But as they went around final turn, Robby Albarado asked his filly to move forward and she responded with ease. Swiss Skydiver flung herself through a gap on the rail to take the lead with her ears pricked — all she needed was a cue from Robby and she would go all out.

At the top of the stretch, all that was left for Swiss Skydiver was Authentic and he wasn’t about to let her have this win without a fight. The two of lined up and went down the stretch together, putting on an exhilarating performance for all who watched. Neither the c**t or the filly were willing to give in.

The rest of the field were far behind Authentic and Swiss Skydiver. As the wire loomed closer, the horses and their jockeys knew a final push needed to be made. It felt like it happened in slow motion, the pair coming under Pimlico’s wire together...with Swiss Skydiver’s nose in front.

She had gallantly fended off the Kentucky Derby winner in a time of 1:53.28, just .28 seconds off of Secretariat’s record. Not only did she become just the sixth filly in history to win the Preakness, she had run the second fastest ever.

Today & always we will celebrate this wonderful filly and her accomplishments. She proved all of her doubters wrong. What a filly! We are so lucky to have witnessed this incredible accomplishment. 👏💗



📸: Maryland Gov Photo, Flickr (Creative Commons)