20/20 Horsemanship

03/06/2024

Summer camp!

02/24/2024

And the coywolves are answering the sirens again….lol

02/13/2024

If you listen to this, let’s chat about it!
I teach all of these things. It is a very different experience for a student when they’ve come from another barn.
Horse’s are our partners. I don’t know about you, but I want my partner to like me, & enjoy being with me! I wouldn’t treat a friend like many folks treat their horses.

‎Show Horse Chats, Ep 0986: Allecia Evans 2 LC - "Ten Things You Must Do Before You Interact With Your Horse To Have The Best Communication" (Listeners' Choice) - Feb 9, 2024

02/10/2024

Scottie: GOALS

02/01/2024

01/08/2024

Love Gerd!

Gerd Heuschmann, German vet and author tells us:
“In my opinion a dressage saddle on a three-year-old’s back is nonsense, like a driver’s license for a five-year-old kid. Keep the back free, let them go forward, let’s develop the muscle systems. What we are usually doing is making a good looking outline, we produce that by using our hands, and with our new better bred horses with better conformation, this makes it easier. The dressage trainer of the Klimke family, General Paul Stecken said to me, ‘Gerd it is nice what you say, but how can you explain to our young riders that they can’t accept the wonderful necks we are producing on our young horses these days. They are not allowed to put them up and make them beautiful – they must first make them long and unspectacular…’ This is one of our biggest problems.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/02/gerd-heuschmann-in-australia/

01/04/2024

Offering new courses and classes in 2024!

The Art of horsemanship series part 1

Begins on Sunday January 14! Small group of 6 will meet on Sundays at 5pm! Register now!

How to know if this is for you?
If you answered yes to any of the questions below, then this class is for YOU!

Do you love horses?

Desire to better understand horses?

Have you always wanted to learn about horses and never had the chance?

Do you ride, yet feel like something is missing?

Do you desire a connection with the horse?

Just click the link and register today!

20/20 Horsemanship 's Online Store

01/02/2024

“Argue for your limitations and sure enough they’re yours.”

Richard Bach, from the book, ILLUSIONS
The adventures of a reluctant messiah.

12/16/2023

The best Buck quote ever !

"Until you can walk, trot, canter AND gallop on a loose rein with direction and purpose collection is a JOKE. It's not collection, it's containment for an insecure rider. Containment and paranoia. It's pulling and holding and you're just calling it collection to sound noble." -Buck.

12/01/2023

Revamped our website to (almost) perfection! 🎉🌟 Enjoy a cleaner and more user-friendly experience, with easy navigation to find what you're looking for. While we're still fine-tuning certain features (thanks, iPhone limitations!), we're here to serve you!

Fall classes are still available. It is a spectacular time of year to ride and to be outside enjoying nature.

11/30/2023

10/28/2023

Nice graphic to hang in the barn!

When horses are housed outside, exposure to wind can dramatically lower the ambient temperature. Be sure to take wind chill into consideration when looking at daily temps. The hair coat’s ability to retain heat is reduced when it is windy.

The easiest and most effective way to keep your horse warm when the temperatures drop is to feed additional forage.

A sedentary mature horse will need 2% more high-quality forage for every degree the temperature falls below the lower critical temperature.

Begin feeding additional hay 24 hours before cold temperatures are expected.

10/04/2023

Absolutely!

09/16/2023

I love this!

Dressage forms the base from which you build, much like the foundations of a house.

The dressage horse is developed mentally and physically through methodical and gymnastic training so that he can perform any exercise to the best of his natural ability.

Not every combination will reach the dizzy heights of Grand Prix competition, but understanding the basis of dressage will create a happy, supple, balanced, and confident equine athlete that is a pleasure to ride.

Through using systematic, correct, and fair training, you will end up with a horse that is cooperative, and willing.

In essence, we should all be dressage riders 😀

For more reasons, check out this post, 'What's the Point of Dressage?' - https://howtodressage.com/dressage-theory/what-is-the-aim-of-dressage/

09/14/2023

𝟱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵

1️⃣ Riding corners.
2️⃣ Practicing good mounting block etiquette.
3️⃣ Letting your aids go to 0.
4️⃣ Cleaning your buckles and stitching.
5️⃣ Replacing your helmet.

Read more: https://spriesersporthorse.com/5-things-youre-definitely-not-doing-often-enough/

09/13/2023

Lovely!

Your "training" doesn't have to look like anyone elses.

There is tremendous pressure, among professionals, owners and riders to "Keep Up With The Jones". That pressure to ensure our results with horses adhere to spoken and unspoken rules of what things "should" look like.

We make these lists for ourselves, of the sort of things we should be able to get our horses to do, and then sign a 1000 year contract with our souls to never change that.

What if the word "training" did not trigger one, and only one image in your mind? What if "training" triggered a multitude of options?

Training can be, preparing for shows and competitions.
Training can be, 30-60-90 day c**t starting programs for the public
Training can be, 30-60-90 day boarding and fine tuning for older horses.
Training can be, rehabilitation of rescue horses and forgotten horses
Training can be, riding.
Training can be, non-ridden and groundwork only.
Training can be, highly active and athletic.
Training can be, absolutely not athletic but instead meditative and therapeutic
Training can be, classical dressage
Training can be, cowboy dressage
Training can be, academic dressage
Training can be, jumping
Training can be, eventing
Training can be, recreational
Training can be, mounted archery
Training can be, in ANY tack that fits you and the horse and doesn't cause damage
Training can be, with food rewards
Training can be, without food rewards
Training can be, without touch, from behind the fence, and conversations of eye gaze, gesture, movement and the relational field
Training can be, for horse enthusiasts
Training can be, for newbies and only half interested past timers
Training can be, for life skills and retirement only
Training can be, for the ambitious and horsemanship lover
Training can be, for you and only for you
Training can be, for the public, for a universally understood result
Training can be, just for your kids, or friends, or family members
Training can be, for others to enjoy
Training can be, just for you to enjoy

I can continue.

Whenever I hear someone, who trains horses, say that they struggle to call what they do training, I understood that in their mind they may be in a prison of belief that training should look a certain way or exist in a certain context. This is often reinforced for colleagues and local culture who put pressure on professionals to be a trainer for the public and make it look a certain way and be a certain way.

Fact is, you are free. Whether you are aware of that or not, you are free. Free in mind, body and spirit. Free to interpret horse training in ANY form you wish it to.

And if you are a professional who delivers any service to the public, be that a therapeutic and non-ridden program, or short stay programs for preparing ridden horses for the public, ensure that you know who you are, can define your perspective on YOUR terms not others, and that your horses are an accurate reflection of what you say you are.

Training can be ANYTHING. It is everything. The minute a horse is aware of you, training has begun.

07/30/2023

Stayed tuned for lots of exciting things happening at 20/20!!

•Some horses in training, one will be for sale.

•Twice a month unmounted group horsemanship classes for current students only, included in regular price! 6 lessons for the price of 4!

•Twice a month workshops/clinics on topics pertaining to students and 5k other things! Lol

*Near future will be seeing workshops for women. Yoga for riders, isolating muscle groups. Becoming grounded, centered and understanding how this affects the horse. Liberty. Toying with ideas on how to add Tai Chi & Tae Kwon Do.

07/29/2023

Dressage in Hand really is like a dance between horse and human.
In this case, we are showing the exercise; "die Schaukel" (the rocking horse)

This exercise really feels like performing a tango.

The communication is between the horse's shoulders and the humans hips.

Who is leading who? The dance is leading both of us and only the two of us exist in the whole of the universe...

The benefits are tremendous, helping the horse to lift the thorax and tilt the pelvis, while the human loosens the hips. It is also a gateway for collection!

My book explains it all in very easy to follow and fun steps 🙂

Photo by Made By Jessy Photography

07/23/2023

The perfect sized pool for the 2 day old duckling! This is so far the longest living duckling we’ve had hatch! Key: do not put back in with mom, who squashed the remaining duckling last time. This one seems quite attached to Lauren!

07/14/2023

Marble must be stalking the voles!

07/10/2023

Summer Camp 2023
20/20 Horsemanship
in Leesburg!

Weeks of:

July 17 & 24th
August 7 & 14th

9am-1pm

$375

Some of the things campers will learn:

ALL ABOUT TACK
DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES
CONDITIONING OF HORSE & RIDER
RIDING THEORY
BASIC RIDING and handling skills
HERD BEHAVIOR
BODY LANGUAGE
HOW TO MOVE THE HORSE SAFELY from the ground
AND MUCH MORE!

Campers should bring: cooling towel, water bottle, lunch or snacks. They should wear breeches or riding tights and riding boots (paddock boots) and half chaps if they have them. We have helmets if you do not have one.
There will be 1 certified riding instructor, adult students & Jr counselors that are also my students.

17479 Dry Mill Rd
Leesburg, VA 20175
Contact: Loretta Arey @
703-973-0780 or email to:
[email protected]

07/01/2023

Blue is a changed man. This horse never does this. In 13 years. Goes to show you how bad ulcers hurt.

06/25/2023

Camp openings available! Grab a spot while you can!
9am-1pm
All horse activities
No more than 8 campers!

All of the camp counselors are adult students, as are Jr counselors.

Bring lunch and a refillable water bottle!

06/25/2023

06/05/2023

Well, looks like Mellie passes the tarp test with flying colors!

06/03/2023

So important to understand this! This is why telling the horse commands verbally, while riding, things like NO, Go, Move, Come on Ann Marie Spangler Tetreault etc do not really work. The horse may be trained to understand certain verbal cues, a n d w a l k, but the different things each student says will never help you. Think about what you do want. Picture it. Your body follows your picture. The horse will pick up your picture. And it’s like magic. And much more fun than struggling while telling your horse things he doesn’t understand anyway! You don’t tell a child to clean his room in a language he doesn’t understand do you?

Temple Grandin How Horses ThinkDenver, Colorado2019