Sweetwater Ranch Antelope Valley

11/22/2024

I know my students get so tired of me nagging at them to move their hands to follow the walk or follow the counter, but this is a really graphic example of why it is so important.

11/20/2024

Cool cat!!!

11/18/2024

Tending in the right direction

Nosebands made optional and compulsory breaks for young horses in welfare-led rule changes

Read more via link below

11/11/2024

Refresh your knowledge

11/11/2024

To develop the horse symmetrically in body and limbs you can use gymnastic exercises.

*** CORNERSTONES ***

The core of the gymnastic exercises consists of the circle, shoulder-in and haunches-in. All the other exercises are derived from these cornerstones.

🐴 The circle is used to develop the Lateral bending of the body and spine, the Forward down tendency of the head and neck and the Stepping under the center of mass of the inside hind leg (LFS).

🐴 Once the inside hind leg can step under, this hind leg can also start to take weight. To do so we use the shoulder-in and counter-shoulder-in. These exercises are designed to school the hind leg in function of the inside hind leg. As a result of taking the weight, the horse will bend the inside hind leg more and free the outside shoulder.

🐴 Once the horse can bend the hind leg as an inside hind leg, we can also start to school the hind leg as an outside hind leg. To do so we use first the haunches-in (travers) and later on the renvers. In the renvers the horse can lean less against the wall/fence with his shoulder, so it's a bit more difficult than the travers, but as a result he really supports himself with his hind legs.

*** ALL EXERCISES ARE RELATED ***

All exercises relate to one another and differ slightly:

🐎 The only difference between shoulder-in and counter-shoulder in is the position of the fence/wall. The same applies to the haunches-in (travers) and the renvers, also there the only difference is the position of the wall.

🐎 The difference between shoulder-in and renvers is the bending in the spine, which is the opposite. In these exercises the same hind leg has the opposite function ('inside' in shoulder-in, 'outside' in renvers). The same applies to counter shoulder-in and the haunches in.

🐎 The half pass is 'just' a haunches-in over the diagonal, and the pirouette is 'just' a haunches-in on a small circle. Both half-pass and pirouette require support of both the inside as the outside hind leg. Therefore in both exercises the shoulders must lead to be able to keep the center of mass in front of the direction of the hind legs, only then both hind legs can support the weight. So both the half pass and pirouette also relate to the shoulder-in.

*** NUMBER OF TRACKS AND DEGREE OF BENDING ***

Now all exercises can be done on 3 or 4 tracks, or 2,5 tracks or 3,75 or 3,99 ;) and your horse can have more or less bend in his spine. Now there is no 'perfect' number and the exact degree doesn't matter. What matters in ST is that you choose the number of tracks and degree of bending where your horse can support his body and center of mass best with both hind legs. And that depends on the conformation of your horse: if he has a long back or a shorter one, if he has long legs, or shorter ones, if he has a long neck or a short one. So choose the degree of bending and number of tracks where your horse can move in optimal balance and with most quality.

*** HOW TO DEVELOP THESE EXERCISES? ***

First start the circle, then after a few training sessions add the shoulder-in, and the moment the the horse can do this exercise for 66,6% of quality, add the haunches-in. From there you can start practising the variations.

**** HOW TO DEVELOP THE HORSE EQUALLY? ***

To develop a horse equally in body and limbs all exercises need to be done to the right and to the left (or as they say in English: on the right rein and on the left rein).

When doing these exercises there will always be an 'easy' side and a difficult side. To develop the horse equally, do the 'difficult' side a bit more often and it's also an idea to start with the 'difficult' side and to end with the 'difficult side'.

The moment the horse starts to feel more equal, switch to train the exercises 50-50.

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Click here for more information:

Circle:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/circle

Shoulder-in:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/shoulder-in

Haunches-in:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/haunches-in

Renvers:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/renvers

Half pass:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/half-pass

Pirouette:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/pirouette

Lateral movements:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/lateral-movements

Ladder of exercises:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/a-logical-system-of-ever-increasing-exercises

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11/08/2024

Attention , due to a power outage at Vincent Hill Station Restaurant & Saloon since yesterday, there will be no Karaoke tonight! Vincent Hill Station will be closed. Thursday instead! Sorry for any inconvenience! — at Vincent Hill Station Restaurant & Saloon.

10/29/2024

Rachel Trani
Maybe we need to get a custom Rachel mask for anybody who babysits your child L O L

10/29/2024

10/28/2024

New Research Shows Horses Have 'Super Intelligence:'

Horses are far more intelligent than most people realize, with cognitive abilities that place them among the smartest animals.

They have demonstrated skills in problem-solving, emotional intelligence, memory, and learning that rival those of many other species. For example, horses are known for their cleverness in opening stable doors or untying knots, showcasing their capacity for strategic thinking.

Emotionally, they form deep, empathetic bonds with humans and can sense feelings like pride or shame, often mirroring their human companions' emotions.

Their impressive cognitive skills also allow them to recognize symbols, communicate preferences, and adapt to complex situations, such as responding to commands in therapeutic environments.

One study even revealed that horses can adjust their communication based on whether humans are aware of hidden food, increasing visual and tactile signals like looking or nudging when their caretakers were unaware.

This ability to understand and respond to the knowledge state of others—previously thought to be unique to primates—illustrates the sophistication of horse cognition. Horses actively attempt to communicate with humans in much the same way they would with their herd members, making horse-human communication a true two-way street.

While horses may not match the intellectual capabilities of elephants, they are often considered more intelligent than dogs or cats in some areas, excelling in equine-assisted therapies where their sensitivity to human emotions makes them invaluable in psychological treatments.

10/27/2024

The Saturday morning group riders went out for a nice trail ride today. 

10/26/2024

Mark your calenders for the 2025 show season. Our 2025 season will be going back to Sunday shows, all shows will be WRHA approved and all rules will follow WRHA rules, if the rule can't be found in the WRHA rule book it will follow the AQHA rule. All shows will have day awards, but we will still offer series awards, you will have to sign up for them, they will be given in each division that has 3 or more riders. Judges have not been confirmed, but I will post them as I get conformation from them. We will still offer the Walk Trot classes for 12& under, and Open Limited, if you ride limited you can not cross enter into 3 gait classes.
Here are your dates: March 16th rain date 23rd. April 13th, May 4th, June 1st.
See you all in the spring.

10/25/2024

I would really encourage all my students who are interested in jumping with their horses to compare this rider with most of the modern videos we see. This is classic old school over fences equitation. An absolutely beautiful ride! The fact that the rider also happens to be 70 years old. Makes it all the more impressive.

10/25/2024

My day began with loading 10 bales of hay into a borrowed pick up truck because mine is in the shop and I had promised to loan hay decorations to the Childrens Center.

I admit to being rather pleased with myself that that I was able to load up this truck and then help unload it.

And then in my morning lesson with Rene and Desi, the horse that I thought would never have any quality of dressage style movement suddenly delivered this trot! It is completely unforced and we’re working around MIM which is the new name for PSSM2 and he just continues to shine.

At the end of the day working with Robin and Meredith on their Gymkhana and enjoying a beautiful sunset. Not a bad day.