Pine Trails Ranch

11/17/2025

This is true. We want to have fun, but we must also consider safety and the welfare of our horses.

Fun crusher

As a teacher, my number one job is to keep my student safe. The second is their horse's wellbeing. Usually, hopefully, these two goals are accomplished together.

So when I listen to their goals and desires, this comes forefront in my mind. Sometimes their goals and desires are nowhere near my priority of their safety.

I work hard not to step on toes or hurt feelings, but sometimes making sure the student is safe means curbing their desires, which can of course feel like rejection. It's important for the student to understand here that they are not being rejected but actually deeply valued - enough to rise above maintaining your money, your adoration, and any other thing that is significantly less valuable than your life and you as a person.

If a student can understand this is not rejection but being called up - if they can adjust their goals and learn to internally align with what will serve them best - they can begin the road to developing the basic building blocks to get to their new goals, preserving their safety and horse's wellbeing, and of course, develop finesse and get results sometime through that process too.

But a lot of it will be tedious. Practicing techniques, making mistakes, and sometimes even being correcting is not super pleasant. It requires some tenacity, some resilience, and some self reflection sometimes.

I think it's important to understand sometimes it isn't all fun, and it's ok to be bored. It's ok to not love every second. As long as you can find a way to give yourself permission to be human for a minute, I find students come back to the process so much more readily -

if they get bogged down in shame or denial that it MUST be enjoyable, they struggle. I think some of this is a messaging that you MUST enjoy the journey - and I think this is a well meaning message. But If it must always be joyful, pleasant, and fun, we are unable to continue when our horse struggles in a moment of problem solving, or is a little tired, or we struggle, or feel ashamed, or whatever the case.

I know teachers have to make a living, and we cant afford to lose students - but if they are constantly placated and given the fun, can they be blamed for being confused when that doesn't happen? In an environment where the beginning to end is rarely shown honestly, where struggles are not shared, and where students are shamed for making mistakes, it's obvious the climate is not conducive to the real work of practicing scales, and sometimes not having fun - to make sure our goals are aligned with what we really need and not what we want

11/17/2025

Hi everyone. Looks like we could staff an advanced beginner week of Camp November 24, 25, 26. It would be 9am to 4pm for $290. Please message us right away to get your spot! Looks like the weather will be good to us! Just five spots, so call 530-756-2042 or message us here right away.

11/15/2025

Just taking your horse to have a little grass for 5 or 10 minutes before a ride can help keep them healthier and happier. Of course if they just ate you don't need to as the tummy is full.

11/14/2025

Don't miss out. Come ride! The rainbow is almost right over us.

11/13/2025

A lovely client sent this to us and I wanted to share. Ford came to Pine Trails when he was just 2! He is such a wonderful horse and has taught so many and we are blessed he is still with us and sharing the love. Our little riders are so empowered when they see how carefully he listens to them.

11/13/2025

It's that soggy time of year! Please remember that horses and instructors still need to work and earn a living. We have a covered arena and we can do classroom lessons that help keep us safe and help our students care for their horses better! As we have said, lessons must be canceled 36 hours ahead if you can't make it or we have to charge. If you miss more than 2 weeks in a row, you may loose your spot. The schedule is quite full and clients are waiting for spaces to come available. We try to be fair to everyone! Please help us keep things working so our instructors can do a good job for you!

11/08/2025

We are getting going on what may be our last show of the season. Proud of our kids who are testing themselves with a show off ranch. Good way to see how strong your skills are getting.

11/03/2025

Call 530-756-2042 or click to learn more

10/28/2025

This is why we teach people to ride. Riding will teach you how to stick with it. It takes grit to fall off and get back on. Be successful my friends.

10/28/2025

Hi everyone. Want to give a thanks to all the folks who have been helping out at the barn. Heather painting poles, Terry helping get some of the gardens under control, students taking horses out to walk or graze, and so many others who have taken the time to help out. I really appreciate the help, especially now while I have been stuck in medical treatments. I picked some persimmons from our tree, and I hope all will take some home to enjoy. And happy Halloween.

10/27/2025

How many times I have to ask people to lift their hands. Please read to better understand.

👌It’s B and here is why…

Many riders are told to ride with low hands, often justified as being “softer” for a green horse. But this isn’t about these specifc circumstances, it about how biomechanics shows that low hands usually create more problems than they solve.

This rider always felt like her arms were too short trying to put her hands down and she was unsure oh where her hands should be.

👉 When the hands drop (A), the elbow extends and the wrist normally pronates, removing the elbow’s spring-like function. Consistent rein tension becomes harder to maintain. The trunk should naturally brace to compensate for a change in arm position but many riders either get pulled forward, lean back to counterbalance or tense their ‘core’ (ie bracing wity their abdominal) . In all three cases, the hands end up being used for stability, not communication.

👉 Low hands also turn the wrist into a pulley. Instead of subtle finger aids, the rein load redirects around the wrist, over-recruiting muscles like flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU). This creates forearm tension and can lead to golfer’s elbow or carpal tunnel strain. Contact becomes harder, less elastic, and more fatiguing for both rider and horse.

👉 Research shows rein angle matters. Low reins increase downward pressure on the bit, while a straight line from elbow to bit distributes pressure more evenly. For the horse, low reins usually create poll flexion without lifting the base of the neck or back - producing an outline without true self-carriage.

In (B) the rider uses finger muscles correctly to adapt the bend of the fingers and change rein tension dynamically - no forearm tension, and the elbow can move forward and back on the same angle to the horses mouth as the horse moves.

It’s also important to remember that rider proportions and the horse’s movement influence how this looks. A taller rider will naturally have their hands higher than a shorter rider, and different horses with different head and neck carriage - altering optimum hand level.

The key is not that everyone looks the same, but that they function the same: elbows softly bent and spring-like, fingers in control, and a straight elastic line from elbow to bit that follows the horse.

Low hands may look “better” to some, but they mechanically disadvantage both rider and horse.

Want help with your hand and arm position in the saddle - book a Rider Physio session or sign up to the Video Subscription 🙌

🔗 www.pegasusphysio.co.uk

10/27/2025

If you have a saddle you need worked on, it will be even easier if you are in Southern California now.