Chasing Dreams Equestrian LLC.

09/01/2024

http://www.FieldsandFences.com/

08/30/2024

Chasing Dreams Equestrian is proud to announce we’ll be active and participating in both IEA and USHJA Outreach programs this season and moving forward 😁

Outreach Festivals bring the excitement and thrill of a championship-level competition closer to home at an affordable price. Outreach Series are a collaboration of 10 or more Outreach Competitions hosted by two or more managers.

08/30/2024

08/30/2024

“Put the horse first.

Easy to say. Hard to do.

Putting the horse first requires commitment. It requires integrity. And patience. And energy. And money. And oh, does it require time.

Putting the horse first means earlier mornings and later nights. It means quality feed plans and the best hay that you can buy. And extra brushing so that coats gleam and manes and tails shine.

Putting the horse first means that you buy three extra bags of shavings for your stall at the horse show (yes, I know they're expensive!!), because even though you can "get by" with two, you want to do right by your horse. If you don't want to stand on concrete all weekend, why would she?

Putting the horse first means that you have a good working relationship with a quality equine vet. It means that every horse gets the best quality of care that you can afford to give it. Your performance horse is an athlete. Treat her like one.

And when your vet says, "Rest her for 10-14 days," be generous and give her the 14. Even if it's inconvenient. Even if you've aleady paid your stalls and entries. Even if it's the last thing you want to hear.

Putting the horse first means that if you've been rained out of the arena for two weeks and your horse isn't fit, you don't haul to the horse show. You choose to be fair to the horse and keep her home, instead.

It also means that if you haul three hours to the horse show only to find that the ground is dangerous, you load up and go home. It takes discipline, but you don't jeopardize what you want in the moment for the long-term confidence, health, and soundness of your horse.

Putting the horse first means that no saddle, no halter, no buckle, no trophy, no paycheck comes before the well-being of your equine partner. No matter what.. And it ain't an easy row to hoe.

Many will ride. Many will compete. Many will win. But few will be horse(wo)men.

Don't just be a competitor. Be better”

written by Jessica Lash

08/27/2024

🌟 Exciting News from Resale Row! 🌟

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our NEW page! 🎉

Why a new page, you ask? 🤔

At Resale Row, we’re always striving to improve and better connect with our wonderful community. With the change of the business name, we were not able to change it on our original page. With this new page we will be able to to provide you with more personalized content, from product spotlights, to exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at our resale inventory. 🐴✨

Stay tuned for exciting updates, special promotions, customer testimonials, and polls where YOU help shape the future of Resale Row! We want to make this space as interactive and valuable as possible for you, whether you're a seasoned rider or just starting your equestrian journey.

Click ‘Like’ and follow us today to join the conversation and never miss a post! 👍 Let’s make this new page a hub for all things Resale Row!

08/27/2024

ISO
Lesson type horse for lease (preferably a care lease or low low lease fee). Looking at any age, breed, color, gender even with some light maintenance. The ideal horse will be suitable for beginners-intermediate and have a good walk/trot/canter. Small jumping is a bonus but not necessary. We’re located at a beautiful full boarding facility in Lemont that offers all day turnout (on grass weather permitting) and dry lots, spacious stalls at night, ample free-fed home grown hay and high end grain. Program horses are provided with daily supplements, weekly MagnaWave treatments, and monthly chiropractic care. Many many references available from clients, vets, farriers, and magnawave practitioners.
Willing to lease from/ship in from 200 miles of Lemont IL. Can stretch that farther for the perfect situation. Willing to do a lease to buy situation as well.

08/25/2024

Welcome Wish! Congratulations to the Bognet family on their new (and first!) horse!

08/24/2024

This! The “laying” across the horses neck and awful Eq has been driving me bonkers!

08/20/2024

🌞 Limited time offer! 🌞
Take advantage of our incredible deal on select sun shirts! Buy one, get one on 75% off sun shirts.
Grab yours before they are all gone.

08/19/2024

Have a couple spaces available for lessons, training, and have a couple shareboard horses (h/j) as well! Feel free to reach out!

08/19/2024

Truth!

08/16/2024

When someone leaves a comments or a like here, I often click on their name to see their riding images on their page. I do this to keep track of what today's typical riding looks like. I see all kinds of riding. Some images and videos show very good balanced riding. What seems to be a common riding flaw that I see recently is with head position. So many riders post pictures of their riding with their eyes looking down. This might seem a minor issue, but it is not.

When your eyes are down, your horse can feel that your balance is forward, more over the forehand. This will put your horse onto their forehand. When your eyes go down, your head that weighs 15 pounds (7 kg) goes down and forward, and usually your shoulders fall forward as well. The fact that your head is up high at the end of an effective lever that is your upper body, multiplies the forward weight that you place over your horse's shoulders.

The negative effects this has on your horse show up in several ways. It makes both upward and downward transitions more difficult for your horse. This is because Horses need to push off or reach under with their hind, and you have shifted their balance off their hind. Lead changes become more difficult for the same reason.

Worst of all for riders, looking down makes it more difficult to develop "feel". I briefly had an argumentative student who insisted on looking down. She would argue with me when I said "eyes up", saying "I like to see what my horse is doing". I'd explain that with eyes up you can feel what your horse is doing and that makes all the difference.

If you look down when riding, just stop doing that. If you have to look down, move your eyeballs, not your head. If you do this, many improvements will follow. You will sit the canter better because your head and neck position will no longer interfere with your hips swinging to the 1-2-3 beat of the canter. "Eyes up". It's simple and fixes a lot of things.

08/06/2024

Use your Mother Loven Flippen dog forsaken corners!!!! 😂 No seriously though. It makes a huge difference.

08/05/2024

“Too many kids have been taught that the goal of showing is to win. Here’s the truth, the goal of showing is to be a better person, a better horseman, a better communicator, a better worker, and to enjoy being a kid who loves their horse. You’ll never get this time back… so enjoy it win or lose.”

08/03/2024

Can’t love this enough! 🤣🤩

07/31/2024

It’s here! Horse Spot is launching an Advocate Program! Engage with like-minded peers to shape the future of technology within equestrian sports through our 5 programs! Go to about.horsespot.net/advocates to learn more and get signed up today.

🗓️ Join Virtual Town Hall Meetings with breakout idea sessions and hear from special guests (our first one is Thursday, Oct 3rd).
🐎 Run a “just for fun show” through our Pilot Program
👀 Shadow a Pro at a show! Sit with a judge, join Grand Prix riders on course walks, design a course, and more!
🫶🏻 Build community as a Social Ambassador & earn Horse Spot SWAG
📱 Join our private Facebook group, “Horse Show Huddle” to share ideas, pose questions, and get exclusive product updates!

🔵 Who is this for? 🔵
Exhibitors, riders, trainers, parents, equine-related businesses, horse enthusiasts, spectators, judges, managers, and other horse show staff of all ages are all welcome to join! All disciplines and backgrounds are invited. No tech skills are needed —just your ideas and a passion for horse shows! 🏆

We’re excited to see this program grow. At Horse Spot, our mission is to help equestrians compete, celebrate the community, and promote growth in our sport at every level. We can’t do this without you. Join us today and let’s change the future of horse shows, together.

07/28/2024

07/13/2024

The problem with softening the horse too much in the bridle before stabilizing the hind end is not only a biomechanics problem but a safety problem.

I just got done riding a new horse for the first time. Based on the weak hind end and bulging in the neck in the wrong spots, I had a good feeling he would break behind the vertical quite frequently.

When the horse breaks behind the vertical, it drops the back and negates correct use of the hind end. Over time, the horse becomes weak and wobbly while simultaneously developing painful arthritis and fusions.

So, that's the basics of the biomechanics problem.

The safety aspect is that a horse that is too light in the bridle and breaks behind upon first contact does not have the correct relationship with the contact. I believe the reins should connect to the feet and aid in correct flexion and bend.

When the horse evades the bit, you've got nothing. Sorry pal- this ain't a safe place to be.

This is why often horses that are taught this require a lot of holding together by riders that are used to riding in such a way.

And if you want to improve the horses relationship with contact, then be prepared for a long haul of conditioning and riding with little rein.

It can be done, but it should be done with knowledgeable riding with no time constraints. It's a whole thang.

Edit to add:
This photo is NOT mine. I'm grateful it was created and my favorite part is the "ah thank you!" Because of how freely forward the horse is 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/anjakyart?igsh=MXNnN21uZm13cDRlYQ==

07/12/2024

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

07/09/2024

CDE Horsw Camp July day 1! Largest group we’ve ever had!! Thankful to my counselors and participants! 😍❤️

07/08/2024

https://youtu.be/aC3gbof7Fvc?si=6iq5kUYQARb_7MDC