Valkyrie Ranch

09/21/2024

Heading into day 2 of the Pippa clinic in NC. Had a great lesson yesterday, Junior has really made a lot of progress this year! 🥰

09/18/2024

Last week and weekend, 2 members of Bit N Bridle attended the Virginia 4-H State Horse & Pony Show at the Virginia Horse Center, and what a great show it was! Savannah and Lila spent the five days partaking in Hippology, Horse Bowl, Horse Judging, Hunters, Equitation, Ranch, Trail, and Western classes.

Individually,

Savannah & Primas Conclusion were:
🍀 Ranch Trail- 1st
🍀 Western Showmanship- 8th (out of 23!)
🍀 Western Horsemanship- 4th
🍀 Western Pleasure 1st Go- 4th
🍀 Western Pleasure 2nd Go- 4th
🍀 Working Western Horse & Pony- 4th
🍀 Western Trail- 3rd
🍀 Ranch Ground Handling- 8th
🍀 Ranch Horsemanship- 7th
🍀 Ranch Riding- 7th
🍀 Ranch Rail- 5th
🍀 Art Entry- 7th Place
🍀 Western Pleasure Classic Pattern- 6th
🍀 Ranch Rail Classic - 8th

Lila & Hickory Hollow Miss Jasmine were:
🍀 6th - Equitation O/F (2') Sm/Md Pony (Jr.)
🍀 7th - Sm/Md Hunter Pony (Jr. & Sr.)
🍀 9th - Limit Hunter 2' (Jr. & Sr. Out of 20+!)
🍀 10th - Hunter Pleasure Pony (Jr.)

We are so proud of Lila and Savannah!

Thank you to the Virginia 4-H Horse Program for all of your work in putting on a successful and wonderful end of year show for our youth!

09/18/2024

A little late posting but I think it's taken me this long to recover 😆!
I am so incredibly proud of the job these two girls did at the 4H VA State Horse Show. They both worked hard before, during & after the show. I could see them grow as riders over the 4 days as the realized how important some of those little details are (like using your seat for downward transitions instead of your hands 😉). They both earned success in the show ring- I believe Savannah & Emma's proudest moment was the Ranch Trail Junior Champion! And Lila & Jasmines was completing a beautiful, clean hunter over fences round which earned her a ribbon amongst a huge class of over 20 riders!
As both their riding instructor and 4h leader, the thing that I am most proud of is how these girls maintained an attitude of kindness towards their horses even in the moments when things were a little rocky.
I'll also share the posts from their families which includes more pictures and all of their placings but here are a few of my favorites.

09/16/2024

Leo & Molly love to play King of the Mountain and fight over the pile of dirt 😆

09/15/2024

This was cool to see, I never really knew how they made the buckles

09/15/2024

Toe length and base proportions are vital for creating equilibrium, but what does that mean?

There are big debates at the moment on the importance of toe length, some suggesting its not as important as we make out. Some suggesting it doesn't matter in laminitis, others suggesting toe length doesn't matter in locomotion.

But there seems to be a lacking of understanding of the importance of creating correct strain share between the tendons and ligaments of the digit, AND the importance of maintaining a level hoof on soft ground when the weight of the horse moves over the hoof (midstance). Both of these being a state of equilibrium which basically means a state of balance between opposing forces.

This understanding of the physics involved in the digit has relevance in the treatment if laminitis and in every day shoeing and essentially maintaining a healthy digit.

I will be doing an introduction to digit biomechanics, with The study of the equine hoof, where I will look to explain these things in simple and easy terms to allow for everyone to be able to assess the different theories from a more educated place.

3rd October 7pm BST
Get your tickets now...

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/digit-biomechanics-101

09/13/2024

Happy Fall everyone, I hope you've had some opportunities to enjoy this beautiful weather!Please review the September schedule above, we've had quite a bit of moving things around this month so we've scheduled in some extra days to make sure everyone gets plenty of riding time. We've had to cancel lessons for Wed the 4th, Thursday the 5th, and Laurens lessons will be cancelled on Thursday the 19th. If you normally ride on Thursdays or Wednesdays please look at the options we have available and schedule your make up sessions at www.vagaro.com/valkyrieranchllc. Yes, it will ask for your credit card information if you do not have a card saved on file. No, it will not charge you!Saturday the 21st Liv has afternoon openings for private lessons, she also has open spots on Wednesday afternoons if anybody wants to jump in on the 18th or 25th.Lauren has added a group lesson on Friday the 27that 6:30 and private lessons that afternoon, as well as the morning of Saturday the 28th. Our Large Group Class this month will continue with the groundwork theme! The Large Group Classes are included in your Private or Group Lesson Tuition. Please register at www.vagaro.com/valkyrieranchllc

If you are interested in joining our program we have a few spots open for regular attendees on Monday evenings & Wednesday afternoons!

09/05/2024

We made it right on schedule last night!
It's going be a looong next few days but looking forward to watching Lila & Savannah perform, they've both been working hard towards this!

08/28/2024

Any rider who struggles with anxiety, fear or self doubt should jump on this webinar! I'm sure Paul will be sharing some great information!

08/23/2024

The last of our series of articles debunking common anatomical misconceptions looks at the trapezius muscle and the posture in the area just behind the scapula.It’s common to see horses with hollows at the back of the shoulder blade, and you’ll often hear people say that it’s caused by atrophy...

08/19/2024

Hey homeschoolers! Valkyrie Ranch in Locust Grove has openings for English & western riding lessons with our beginner riding instructor on Wednesday afternoons. I also have a couple openings on Monday afternoon for intermediate- advanced riders learning horsemanship, French classical dressage, western dressage, Ranch riding & all around western! Message me for more info!

08/18/2024

Yep, give 'em a job & put 'em to work! 🤠

Immature Horses

We all know large families with 8 kids who grew up in a modest home. That oldest child, by the time they were 12, could do laundry, cook supper, change diapers, make sure their siblings were doing their homework, and feed babies. They had expectations and responsibilities and rose to the occasion. They probably had really good grades too and were immediately successful when entering the job market. They matured.

The youngest child of that same family didn’t have to take care of others, they were taken care of. They didn’t have to MEET expectations, they HAD expectations that they demanded to be met. The oldest moved out and made a home quickly. The youngest lives with mom and dad until they’re 32.

Obviously, I am poking a little fun here, but there’s enough truth here to have some meaning. The expectations and responsibilities placed upon you, or NOT placed upon you, have a direct effect on the level and rate of maturity. Horses, dogs, and llamas are no different. Would you like to know how many 8-14 year old horses I have worked with over the years that are still green and immature?

What you expect from your horse you tend to get. If you expect to have trouble bridling them, you will. If you expect a c**t on its 4th ride to handle the chaos of a branding pen and drag a dozen calves to the fire, they will. If you’re ok with your horse not taking the left lead, or going too fast most of the time, or not standing still when you ask them to stop, they will. If you place some weight and responsibility on what you ask, they’ll respond to it.

There’s a whole lot of progress that’s been made in the animal welfare department over the last decades. Not everything we have arrived at is good though. The average horse owner these days is pretty passive about their horse’s behavior. I see horses that have been “rescued” from a bad situation and then given 2 years of no expectations to decompress? Why? What’s that going to do?

My particular journey and place in the world of trainers is a little odd and lends itself to a somewhat unique perspective. Time and again I have had the spoiled horse brought in to learn to become a solid citizen. They might bite, buck, run over you, or any number of other issues bad enough to bring them to me. I don’t let them decompress. I establish some boundaries and consequences immediately. Many of these horses have a pretty dramatic turnaround, and pretty quickly.

I’ll be pretty firm and flip on its head the level of expectations placed on that horse. Time and again, the owners who spoiled that horse will come to see them and the horse will pay them no mind. He’s hooked on me.

If you think you're going to ruin your relationship with your horse by being firm or having high expectations, you're wrong. If you need permission to do enough to get results, permission is granted. Do enough. Get results. It's ultimately the kindest thing you can do for your horse.

Two things that I wish everyone who owned or rides horses knew are demonstrated above. First off, have high expectations for your horse and do not shy away from giving them tasks and responsibilities. They will learn that there are goals, tasks, and jobs to accomplish. That leads to partnerships and maturity. Secondly, free rein is not what horses want, figuratively. They want structure. They are herd animals, which is to say that they expect to live within a hierarchy and one with rules. They are innately wired to follow rules. They do not like or feel safe in boundless worlds. They want structure. They require it to feel safe and know their place. Shy away from those truths and you do your horse a disservice.

08/17/2024

You are a woman, 35 to 45 years old. You have completed school, got a job and a promotion or two, maybe three. Finally, your life is getting more comfortable. You now have discretionary income. Men at this stage in life often buy a boat. Few women do. Both men and women join a golf club, but you never liked golf. You rode a little as a kid and liked it but never mastered riding. With your bills up to date and with some extra money every month, you decide to ride horses.

Many women of this description came to me to learn how to ride over the years. The results were mixed. Perhaps I can help you with your journey and save you some time with my recommendations. You have made a good decision to ride. Now you need to find the right instructor and the most effective learning environment.

First, even if you can easily afford it, don't buy a horse right away. Purchasing a horse is not like buying a car where they all pretty much operate the same. Horses can be very different, and you must first understand what you want in a horse. Until then ride lesson horses or lease a horse until you know what kind of horse works for you. And please, when you do buy a horse, don't make your decision based on looks. With horses, it's "handsome is as handsome does".

Next, define your goals. What are your priorities? Exercise? Expanding your social life? If you were an athlete as a youth, maybe it's a desire to return to sports. There are many reasons to ride. Understand your reasons so you make the right choices.

Unfortunately, today most opportunities to learn to ride are segregated into disciplines. If you rode as a kid years ago, that was not as true then. There were lesson barns that still taught all-around riding and horsemanship to teach students the fundamentals that prepare them for all kinds of riding or any discipline. If you can find one of these barns, I highly recommend this kind of instruction to start. (not easy to find)

Beginning with the most prevalent opportunities for instruction today, the most common lesson barns today are Hunter Jumper show barns. Maybe you first learned at one of these as a child and enjoyed horse shows. I have to put a warning label on these HJ instructional programs for adults. I have had adult students who wanted to return to showing as an adult and found that most shows were for kids, and that the show experience was no longer interesting to them as adults.

Secondly, show barns never have their students ride outside an arena today, and that cuts off many future possibilities for you. Many adult women want to fox hunt or play polo, and ring riding is not the best basis for these pursuits. Plus, show barns can be very focused on entertaining children with constant costume parties, stall door decorating, horse painting and other "fun" that might drive an adult a little crazy when they go to the barn to ride.

Dressage might look interesting to you. The clothes are stylish, and the riding is not too fast and always on the flat. My advice on dressage instruction is to be careful. Some dressage has become a blend of a maze and a minefield, some of which have become exploitative of horses to the point of normalizing abuse. These are the big money dressage barns and are not for everyone.

Having given my warning, dressage is a good place to start if you can find the right dressage barn. Authentic dressage is centuries old. Its roots are training military riders to ride in the most practical and effective manner. Authentic dressage is the pursuit of unity of balance and movement with a horse. This is the basis of all riding. If you can find this, do it, maybe not forever but to start.

I do have a word of caution when you interview dressage instructors. Some of the best dressage riders and instructors are perfectionists. They don't believe in "close enough". These dressage officianos might have you work on holding your reins correctly for a few months until you long for an opportunity to watch paint dry. Life is too short.

My message for adult riding students is to find an instructor who teaches the basics, who believes in effectiveness and who will make you a safe rider in any circumstances. These instructors might be anywhere, at a polo barn or at a barn focused on some of the new equestrian pursuits like working equitation.

Be sure to explore European instructors who have not been contaminated by the American commercial model of "horsemanship". Or consider western barns even if you rode English as a child. While some western riding instruction is very narrow like Western Pleasure or Reining, many western barns are based in fundamental riding principles, which is what you need.

Lastly, don't demand that a teacher panders to you to make you comfortable and avoids telling you the truth in your lessons. You have a late start, and you need to progress in a steady manner. A demanding coach can shorten your learning process. Good luck!

08/16/2024

How does your horse's welfare add up?
Honestly, in real life most horses aren't going to be full hearts with everything, because reality and budgets make it hard. But we should always be working towards improvements and supporting good welfare.
https://www.empoweredequines.com/blog/welfare-assessment

08/10/2024

08/06/2024

I say it all the time- people who think rolkur is ok must have their heads buried under a rock! There is so much evidence & scientific studies about how harmful it is. It's not an opinion. It's not just what I'm saying, it's a proven fact!

I’ve seen a LOT of claims that it’s just the “arm chair trainers” who are concerned about horse welfare in upper level sports and that there’s no reason to think elite sport horses have any welfare implications.

But, that’s not true.

The concern for welfare and desire to reform horse welfare in sport is evidence based.

There have been many studies showing trends of stress, many of which repeatedly being linked to the same factors.

There’s also been evidence that horse people, as a general rule, aren’t accurately reading horse behaviour and often misinterpret stress as “excitement.”

Even professionals.

The push to make evidence based changes to modern horse sport isn’t coming from a lack of experience.

Or made up beliefs.

There is merit to it.

Sources:

Effects of different head–neck positions on the larynges of ridden horses

https://wiley.scienceconnect.io/api/oauth/authorize?ui_locales=en&scope=affiliations+alm_identity_ids+login_method+merged_users+openid+settings&response_type=code&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Faction%2FoidcCallback%3FidpCode%3Dconnect&state=Dps2IO0LOrpSUAYYguc7KtuRrf28v6p%2BGQvmml7isNKO0VnuBDd35w6GCizpVGErUtI4QyX%2BZcnMNMLj97hGCMvzOnDpuKx%2BMLPIip2%2BY0nAIScrXBD3nhnhbfu8SqyYeqSHqcd4bg1nyrqmNf%2FBRQ%3D%3D&prompt=none&nonce=GKquhZCnqBQuiWMSI6MrsYR1vTcedRyg7%2B3IjVv9t4U%3D&client_id=wiley

Is the welfare of sport horses assured by modern management practices?

https://agro.icm.edu.pl/agro/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-288b0b64-bb47-4837-add7-fce405e4b318

Indicators of stress in equitation

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159117300692

Determining International and National Equestrian Expert Opinions on Domains and Sub-Domains Essential to Managing Sporthorse Health and Welfare in the Olympic Disciplines

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/21/3404

Tools of the Trade or Part of the Family? Horses in Competitive Equestrian Sport

https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/22/4/article-p352_2.xml

Investigating Equestrians' Perceptions of Horse Happiness: An Exploratory Study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34416986/

Untangling the Complex Relationships between Horse Welfare, Rider Safety, and Rider Satisfaction

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08927936.2023.2176589

Horses Could Perceive Riding Differently Depending on the Way They Express Poor Welfare in the Stable

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080620302975

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293195838_Potential_Effects_of_Stress_on_the_Performance_of_Sport_Horses

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293195838_Potential_Effects_of_Stress_on_the_Performance_of_Sport_Horses

Equestrian partnerships: A qualitative investigation of the relationship between horse and rider in elite equestrian sports

https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/equestrian-partnerships-a-qualitative-investigation-of-the-relati-3

Comparison of head–neck positions and conflict behaviour in ridden elite dressage horses between warm-up and competition

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159124000509

New insights into ridden horse behaviour, horse welfare and horse-related safety

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159121003269

Does work affect personality?:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3036583/

Conflict behaviour in show jumping. Horses:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080617300552

Do horses enjoy jumping:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787812001931

Effect of horse age and number of riders on horse behaviour:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787820301362

Stress and temperament affect working memory: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213004302

Conflict behaviour in elite dressage and show jumping horses: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787814002226

Ridden horse pain ethogram: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787822000685

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787816301848

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787816301848

Objective Pain assessment in horses: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023318306245
Conflict behaviour in dressage horses: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787822000843

Influence of stress level on performance: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0034528817308305

Welfare improvement in sport horses: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159120300502

Effects of hyper flexion: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938414000419

Ridden horse welfare: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159121003269

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749073910000659

Correlation of common training gadgets and conflict behaviour: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S155878782100157X

Assessment of ridden horse behaviour: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787812000779

Can pain be determined by facial expression?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300199

Bit related studies on discomfort:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787822001344

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090023308003316

Comfortabilitt to new stimuli socially transmissibale: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159118301059

Welfare improves rider safety: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159121003269

Impact of stress on performance: https://vet.arioneo.com/en/blog/stress-in-horses-what-impact-on-health-and-performance/

Equitation science minimizing risk/:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4810043/

Detecting welfare in non verbal species: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/8/2249

07/22/2024

07/20/2024

Just keep showing up

Consistency. Progress. Fundamentals.

07/20/2024

07/15/2024

Belle🌹 is a 2 year old Arabian X Luisitano mare. Expected to mature around 15h.
Belle is sweet & thoughtful! Sessions with her are peaceful, she gives you her full attention and really thinks everything through. She makes conscious decisions instead of just reacting. She has been raised as all babies should- with lots of love, boundaries and passive desensitizing! She has grown up in a mixed herd & is lower down on the totem pole. She is comfortable with all kinds of farm animals (cows, goats, turkeys, ducks, dogs, barn cats underfoot, she even lives with a llama!), tarps, cowboy curtain, bridges, teeter totter, trailers, saddles, ties, etc. She has been ponied out on trail and through water crossings, knows the very basics of lunging and has had natural barefoot hoof trimming since just a few months old. She has correct conformation, feet to die for, and floaty gaits that will be the envy of any ring!
While her kind personality would suggest that one day she will be lovely for any level of handler, due to her age and training level she will only go to an experienced horse owner at this time.
These pictures were from last fall, she looks the same but bigger and slightly lighter 😜
Sire has successfully competed in Sport Horse in Hand, Western Dressage & Endurance.
Belle would EXCEL in working equitation, dressage, western dressage, competitive trail, etc.
We have so enjoyed raising her but it is time for her to find her own person to bond with!
7🥕🥕🥕 Located in central Virginia.