Magnolia Farm

06/21/2024

I have a Friday 9:30am lesson cancelation. My horse or yours. Can also do 9am and/or 10am.

Send a message to learn more

06/13/2024

I had a lesson go a little south a few weeks ago and I couldn’t figure out why it bothered me so much. I’ve replayed it all in my head several times.
While saddling, the student asked her friend if any of her tack was twisted on her side (the student had a friend tag along…it’s summer, so I was fine with it). The friend answered, “it’s good enough”‼️ GOOD ENOUGH? Those two words are what has haunted me. I am not a good enough type of person. I aim for perfection knowing it will never be perfect.
So, if you have a “good enough” mentality then I am not your person.

06/13/2024

05/23/2024

“Moonpie” has progressed nicely and is getting ready to go home. We started from scratch on this 2yo….ground work to riding. She’s far from perfect but she’s earned a little break until fall.

05/08/2024

My favorite quote! “There are horse people and then there are people with horses.” Big difference!

05/08/2024

The problem with horse training is that society is set up to believe that you can buy a service and have things the way you want in a certain time frame. People look at horse training as if they're spending their money on a product. And yet even the best horse trainers will tell you the horse takes its own time, and no one can guarantee a horse will be doing what you want from it when you want from it.

The other problem is that even if your trainer can get it done with your horse, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to. Getting a horse right takes an amount of commitment on the owners part to develop the same type of relationship that the trainer has, otherwise how can you expect from your horse for yourself what your trainer gets, when it's they who have put in the hours, the and sweat, the patience and the desire to get along with that horse? You aren't spending money on a tune up for your car that you can take home and drive.

The fact that money is involved leads people to believe they deserve something for what they paid, and they do, but, it happens in the animals time, not the humans. I think any good trainer would say they would do this for free if they could, just to help horses and people. And yet, we all have to eat...

Edited to add Author… Amy Skinner Horsemanship

04/30/2024

This 2yo is taking in all the things!!

04/29/2024

Helping improve horses one person at a time!

04/24/2024

We will have one training spot open starting May 1.
Message for details!

04/15/2024

The Bogie sisters both picked up rodeo checks this past weekend!

ST BLONDE BOMBSHELL picked up 3rd at Macon, MS

AHH MAZING placed 5th at Roanoke, AL

04/05/2024

Read this twice, maybe three times❤️ if you have any interest in Horses at all !!

‘𝑻𝑶 𝑹𝑬𝑷𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑬 𝑨 𝑮𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺𝑬’
This was sent to us, not by the author, but by someone who believes ‘Every word of it rings true”.

‘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.

* We've since found out this great article was written by Craig Moore, Moore Horsemanship.

04/03/2024

HOW TO TELL IF A TRAINER IS TOXIC

Positive trainers DON’T:

❌ Put down trainers who don’t train exactly the same way they do.

❌ Gatekeep methods or traditions.

❌ Put moral judgements on differences in training approaches.

❌ Shame professional trainers for ‘doing it for the money.’

❌ Use shame or fear to motivate others.

Positive trainers DO:

✅ Support other trainers who are committed to continually evolving their horsemanship.

✅ Acknowledge that different horses and scenarios require out of the box thinking.

✅ Acknowledge that making a living as a trainer is a business, and it’s OK to approach it as such.

✅ Use positive reinforcement to motivate and inspire others.

04/03/2024

We are busy enjoying the beautiful Spring weather!!🦄🤩🐥✝️🤠🌺🌼🌤️

03/28/2024

We love a week night jackpot close to home!

3/14/24 Boogler Productions at 4R Arena

I entered 2 geldings!!! They both ran great.

03/04/2024

Saturday, Gage and I only took one horse each to the barrel race, which is odd for us. We enjoyed a big outdoor pen with friends and fellow Magnolia Farm horses!

The two Blondes made solid runs and were top 5 in the open.

ST BLONDE BOMBSHELL - 4th
MISS RARE BUGS - 5th

03/04/2024

We picked out Famous for a variety of reasons as a 2yo. I won’t use the term, untouched, but a very clean slate (which I like). Her breeding and looks didn’t hurt my decision to buy her. She’s enrolled in several incentives as well.

Her time with us has come to an end. After countless hours of training, she left broke and loping a solid pattern as a 4yo. She was kept futurity eligible in case anyone wanted to go that route with her. That wasn’t a goal of mine during her training process.

I hope to update her album during the next chapter of her career/life.

03/04/2024

As we head into March, this Chic has 60 days behind her! She loped for the first time yesterday and caught her leads both ways! 🥂here’s to a great 60 more days!

Good job Moonpie!!

03/03/2024

Happy Sunday!

‘𝑻𝑶 𝑹𝑬𝑷𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑬 𝑨 𝑮𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑺𝑬’
This was sent to us, not by the author, but by someone who believes ‘Every word of it rings true”.

‘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.

* We've since found out this great article was written by Craig Moore, Moore Horsemanship.

02/29/2024

It’s Thursday but it’s our Friday! Wrapping up another week of all things horses!!

02/29/2024

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!