Tails of Redwood Trails

01/25/2025

Get your family out of the house and into the saddle this year! Click this link for anything you could possibly need about our program! https://docs.google.com/document/d/11s6mk75_7p2FwIzdWrg1-DQRoTgAjQNTcncbNkVShKc/edit

01/23/2025

📣 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝘂𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁:

👉 𝘕𝘪𝘦𝘶𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘳 1 𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 2025: 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘶𝘳 𝘵/𝘮 𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦 𝘡𝘡-𝘡𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘳

Per 1 april 2025 gaan de reglementswijzigingen voor onder andere de discipline dressuur in. De komende tijd brengen we je hiervan op de hoogte. Eén van de wijzigingen is dat er tot en met de klasse ZZ-Zwaar bitloos met zowel paarden als pony’s gestart mag worden.

Meer info: https://www.knhs.nl/nieuws/nieuw-per-1-april-2025-bitloos-starten-in-dressuur-tm-klasse-zz-zwaar

📸: Arnd Bronkhorst Photography

01/22/2025

Friendly reminder that all riders tuition is due on or before January 31st! Please join us Friday Jan 31 for awards ceremony at upper arena at 5pm!

01/15/2025

01/15/2025

Farm camp sign ups for spring and Summer break are live now! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLDyVuANzNGHG8_tIBfxwmnSrUmHWgGgNXIAe698C9o/edit

01/14/2025

It’s not too late to take advantage of our “RIDEON” promotion! 1/2 off a lesson, day program ir ride for new or returning students. Book here! https://tailsofredwoodtrailsllc.schedulista.com/ include discount code “RIDEON” in appointment notes to redeem discount

01/14/2025

This week we’re finishing out our Vaulting Lessons and moving onto a trail ride on the beautiful Olympia Loop!

01/13/2025

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!

01/08/2025

If you donated your Christmas tree this new year, Thank you from our goats! They love them

01/08/2025

We’re learning all about vaulting this week! New and returning students get 1/2 off your 1st lesson or camp this January. Add code RIDEON in your Schedulista notes for 1/2 off!

01/05/2025

The use of horses historically should be a clear sign that we can, in fact, force horses to do our bidding and that the creation of the society we live in today was largely reliant on that.

People like to claim that you cannot force a horse to do something they don’t want to do.

This implies that if we can get them to do something, I means they wanted to.

This is a dangerous connotation because it justifies any means to an end, provided the horse complies.

Horses didn’t “want” to go to war.

They didn’t “want” to work in mines.

They haven’t “wanted” to work through injuries and illnesses, which you can bet they absolutely had to back in the day as work horses and still do today even in their use as animals for leisure.

They are animals that want to choose the path of least resistance and try to seek harmony.

They often initially do try to communicate their lack of desire to do certain tasks by balking, bolting, bucking, rearing, refusing, trying to avoid being caught etc…

But, if the response to this by the human involves the horse being more scared, more forced or more uncomfortable in the absence of compliance, they pretty quickly realize that complying is the more comfortable route.

Aka the path of least resistance.

This isn’t to say horses cannot give a willing yes to certain tasks.

But we need to be honest about the fact that you can absolutely force them to do things they don’t want to do and that this has been proven again and again historically.

For hundreds and hundreds of years.

Humans have capitalized off of the docile nature of horses and how easy it actually is to force them to do our bidding, oftentimes without severe injury on the part of the human.

There are a lot of animals that would respond to the level of force imposed on horses with aggression if we attempted to handle them that way.

Horses seldom opt for aggression and this has been of major benefit for people because it makes them easier to exploit.

So, yes, you can absolutely force horses to do things they don’t want to do.

And, if anything, that just further exemplifies the gentle nature of the horse.

Let’s not take that for granted.

And let’s most certainly not let ourselves off the hook by taking the easy way out and pretending that any time a horse does something for us, it means they wanted to do it.

This mindset can and is used to justify a lot of abuse, whether you personally handle your horse in an abusive manner or not.

Perpetuating this sentiment can be used to push the logic that if the horse ends up complying, the pressure to get that compliance cannot be abusive because if the horse didn’t want to they wouldn’t.

Horses have done a lot for humans against their will.

We can show our appreciation for this by acknowledging that sacrifice and appreciating the nature of the horse, while being more cognizant of our horsemanship

01/05/2025

Enrolling in spring and summer camps NOW!
Do you have a child ages 5-13 who loves the outdoors, crafts, animals and socializing? Maybe you have a kiddo you need to get out of the house and away from the Xbox or tablet? Do you have a child that could stand to brush up on those life skills such as: leadership, responsibility, respectfulness, resourcefulness, independence, communication, or self control ? Horse and Pony farm camps may be just what your family needs!
Click this link to learn more and sign up for camps!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLDyVuANzNGHG8_tIBfxwmnSrUmHWgGgNXIAe698C9o/edit

01/05/2025

WHO is a returning student? A returning student is any rider who has ridden and registered with our program in the past, but has not been out for a session in over 60 days! Don’t miss this killer deal!
Enrolling level one riders NOW!

01/02/2025

🐴Ride into the new year with this super sale!🐴
1/2 off 1st lesson for NEW or RETURNING students!
Use this sale for kids camps, lessons, adult rides!
Schedule here using promo code RIDEON In appointment notes for 50% off! Schedule here!

https://tailsofredwoodtrailsllc.schedulista.com/
Great reviews, located 95018 women owned and operated, celebrating 8 years In business 🐴

01/02/2025

Level 3 Graduates! Leif V.- Gemma S. - Eliana L. - Melania D.- Annea L.
Great Job hard working students ! These riders will be moving up to level 4! Please join us for the graduation ceremony on Friday 1/31 at 5pm

01/02/2025

Looking for a fun date experience or a special day with your kiddo? Guided trail rides at Tails of Redwood Trails is the way to go! Book here!

Book an Adult Guided Trail Ride with Kristina Nielsen.