Cross Creek Equestrian Center

07/04/2025

On Friday evening June 27 Sarah sustained a significant brain injury while at a horse show near Columbus and lost consciousness. She was taken by squad to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and within minutes was rushed into emergency brain and skull surgery. We are hopeful for a positive outcome with...

07/03/2025

You want your kid to move up in horses ?
BUY OR LEASE and here is why !

Our lesson horses are here for you to learn the basics and get confidence.

The skills your kid learns when they only ride two days a week is similar to just being a passenger on a super well trained horse.

If a child is learning to jump on lesson horses there is a small window only for this .
They get the confidence and need to move onto their own horses as we cant have our lesson (older) horses jumping hard and a lot- they are the stepping stone to riding - they can’t be jumped and ridden harder .

When you first learn to ride you are just learning to hold onto the saintly lesson horses we provide.
Once you know the basics well it’s time to purchase or lease your own.

They need hours in the saddle -
Hours to practice
Hours to make mistakes and learn to ride on their own in between lessons.

When kids don’t have their own horse, they are competing with the other lesson students over their favourite lesson horse. They have a hard time sharing the love they feel for that animal as they don’t get personal time with it.
Let them be proud and let them have one of their own horses that they call their own, and they learn to be confident in themselves with their own horse that no one else rides

My daughter is six years old and she has her own pony that no one else can ride. Why because it makes her feel confident and proud that she takes care of her horse and he neighs for her every single time she comes to see him. He knows who she is and he Pines for her only every single day.

The horse to buy -

They NEED a horse picked specifically picked out by the trainer to match their personality and ability.
Your trainer knows your child or yourself as a new rider .Yes, there are many cheap horses out there. But it takes YEARS of everyday riding to create a safe horse, and not every horse has the personality or will to want to do the job you want them to do … so pay the commission and ask a trainer to match you .

Why do we have to buy so many different horses ?

If you are learning to ride, you need a horse that basically sleeps and they are a kick ride, which means something that you have to push to go. Once you become more confident,stable and athletic, you learn the cues and the stability to become a confident rider that could ride different abilities.
I say to my clients it’s like buying shoes that fit.
This sport will have to continue to buy or lease different horses as the children or clients move up the Levels just as if you were buying shoes that fit….
If you choose to be the parent the tries to buy the pair of shoes that are three sizes too big the child can’t compete in those shoes at that time and they will begin to get frustrated,hurt, and likely quit .

Why do we have to pay commission to buy a horse ?

The trainer that you hire has spent countless hours, training, horses and clients their entire life . For example myself I can walk into a field of horses, watch them run around and just in moments, I could tell you who is hurt who has the best movement who has the kindest eye who is the most curious and who wants to have a job.
The trainer that you hire will help you with the vet checks and will be the middle person with the other trainer. They will know if your horse, the horse that you were looking at is lame, hurt, or athletic, or kind enough to do the job that you were looking for.
Pay a commission to Horse Trainer

It may be an expensive sport, but boy am I so grateful that this is what I love to do. I am outside and physical. I am with animals❤️

06/26/2025

✨There’s something about the sound of quiet chewing in the stillness.
🐎The way a horse just stands there — not trying to fix you, just being with you.
✨And suddenly, the weight you’ve been carrying doesn’t feel quite so heavy.

No one asks you to explain yourself.
No one hurries you along.
You’re just allowed to be — messy, tired, joyful, anxious, human.

The barn doesn’t care if you cried on the way there.
It welcomes you anyway.
And the horses?
They listen with their whole heart.

It’s not therapy.
But it’s a kind of medicine.
The kind that reaches places words can’t always touch💕

🧡🐴

06/26/2025

❤️

06/24/2025

Come join us THIS SATURDAY for a schooling show! Let's celebrate a break in this heat with lots of ponies and popsicles!

06/24/2025

😁 😂

06/22/2025

No kidding!

One for the thoroughbred fans: research has found they're just as good as any other breed at top-level eventing. Read more via link below

06/21/2025

*** 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!

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