Salty Horse Ranch

01/15/2025

I don’t think that competition is the end I’ll be all to owning horses but I think that if you were going to work with competition Horses you had better understand and have ridden this!!

“ if you have not been in the competition pen, you have no idea what it means to make that horse do it NOW.”

01/13/2025

For those of you that may be newer to our business I have actually been doing videos for eight years. I started out making small videos like this one and I am working on uploading them to a channel on YouTube
This is one of my favorites because the question always gets asked about how long you should ride your horse and often times when giving a riding lesson I may have accomplished what I needed to with the Horse And rider in 35 minutes but they paid for an hour. But don’t overwork your horse! Pick one thing make it a little bit better today and then let him go back to doing what he likes to do best which is hanging out and eating! Have a great day!

01/11/2025

Why trainers PUSH horses TOO FAST

Klaus Balkenhol explains, "Although breeders have created a better horse, the market has created a demand for a stronger, healthier, more powerful horse. It's easier to sell a horse that looks like a carefully developed eight-year-old, and not like a three- or four-year-old just beginning his career. If you force it, you can get a three-year-old to physically look like a developed eight-year-old. Too many c**ts remain stallions which, if approved, promise breeders higher prices as three-year-olds. Now 250 to 300 young stallions are presented each year, when only 40 or 50 will be approved.

Few breeders have the sense to geld the yearling stallions and leave them on the pasture to mature naturally. Instead, yearling stallions are brought into a stall, fed too much grain, and at three, look like six- or seven-year-olds. They have muscle mass, but not enough bone structure to support it. They look mature from the outside but aren't . . . and when started to work, degeneration sets in. Competitions also create pressure to push horses too fast as competitions are now scheduled throughout the year without any breaks."

Common Mistakes In Pushing Too Fast
Tightening the noseband: "A horse resists by sticking out his tongue. Tightening the noseband too much puts pressure on the nose and on the poll. If it is necessary to tighten the noseband very tightly, then something has gone very wrong in the basic training of the horse. The horse cannot be relaxed, the first step on the training scale," warns Klaus.

Specializing too early: "Drilling every day in the indoor arena is too intense for the young horse. It's very important, especially in the first two years of training, not to specialize the young horse. Training should include a variety of activities, including trail riding, which is good for the mind as well as building strength with hill work. It should include jumping, either free or low jumps under saddle, including small natural obstacles on the trail, and cavaletti. A variety of work will allow the horse to stay mentally fresh and to enjoy his work. Only when the horse is happy can dressage become art."

Not checking tack frequently: "Saddle and tack need to be checked constantly for proper fit and adjusted as the horse's body changes with growth, and as his fitness improves with the training. If the noseband gets too low, for example, and the skin between the noseband and the bit is rubbed and becomes sore, this causes the horse discomfort and loss of relaxation. Regularly check for sharp edges and bit problems in the horse's mouth and teeth."

Working too long: "The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller. Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse."

Riding when the horseman is tense: "Horses are particularly sensitive to the rider's mood. A rider shouldn't ride if she is under undue stress or doesn't have the time to ride. If the rider has a bad day, give the horse a rest day or go for a relaxing trail ride; don't work in the arena. The horse mirrors the rider's mood."

Not praising the horse enough: "The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing. If the horse offers piaffe, for instance, because he's excited, praise him for it. You shouldn't stop the lesson at that point nor make a big deal out of it. If you don't want piaffe, quietly urge him forward into trot, but you should NEVER punish him for offering the piaffe. - Klaus Blakenhol
📸 Kim Kupec

01/09/2025

I was asked a pertinent question by a client yesterday and it jogged my memory a bit and many of you should also be willing to ask people in the Equine industry for a list of their credentials and licenses!

But anyway the client asked what got me started and how did I learn what I’m doing today.
I really had to think about it, I have been a very fortunate individual that I was born into horses and I have been blessed to be in the right place at the right time to ride with some very notable names prior to even being 10 years old.
But my pivot point I would have to say happened in 2012. I was helping to set up the Western Dressage association of North Carolina (WDAA) and was asked if I would ride in a symposium with renowned Veterinarian and dressage master Gerd Heuschmann. I rode with him as the first rider to represent Western Dressage with him. I have lots of funny recollections of the training days prior to the symposium and his questions about why I needed a western saddle 😂 I was riding “Justa Gun Swinger” who is 23 years old this year and had retired from the Cutting pen as a pretty decent money earner. Gunner was quick and “squirrel-ly” and far from a dressage horse. But in that clinic for the first time I was truly in introduced to classical dressage and it’s physical therapy benefits for every horse not just ones that you plan to compete in the dressage ring.

For 5 years after that I rode with Gerd a couple of times a year whenever he was in the area. And the In 2017 Doug and I hosted him for a full symposium at our farm including using Doug’s horse Pete as the painted horse to demonstrate muscles and how they move as the horse moves.
It it was a great symposium because we also had a good friend Pam bring up a full horse skeleton and many of the bones from her bone room (also a great place to visit in Aiken!)

The two books that I am posting pictures of, written by Gerd, are books that I feel anybody should read from cover to cover and revisit all the time. The information in it will help you to understand how the horse works physically and what you can do to help your horse further.
I have several mentors in the body work arenas for horses and slowly but surely over the last few years I have been booking my hours with different clinicians. And what I have found is that I have a unique knack for being able to sit on a horse and ride and feel imbalances in the horses body. That couples with the fact that I have ridden and train horses across many disciplines and many breeds. Also helps that from a young age I have an involved in breeding and starting horses. But anyway this would be where I would say my pivotal point was that got me started on this journey of education I’m learning for the betterment of the horse.

This is also good timing because Gerd will be in the Charlotte area within the next few weeks and I will be attending his lecture and hopefully riding with him. I have included a picture that has the information for the two people you should be reaching out to if you are interested in attending. 

01/09/2025

We hosted Dan James (Double Dan Horsemanship) for our first International Liberty Horse Association Clinic in April of 2021.  and I will tell you it was not what I thought it would be at all and it made significant changes to the way Doug and I train horses. Since then we have participated in educational clinics both here and in Kentucky with Dan to pursue our education in this area.
We have by no means made a speedy ascent to the top of the liberty world but every day we are using it making huge impacts on the horses that we rehabilitate and train.
You don’t have to go on to be a great liberty competitor to see the value in the techniques that Dan is passing on.
In a couple of weeks we will offer an intro to liberty clinic here at our farm where you will use our horses. We will hope to follow that up with you bringing your own horse! Please don’t worry about not having a round pen to work in we will show you the techniques that you can do at home using the resources that you have!

🎉✨ Happy New Year! ✨🎉

As we head into 2025, we want to thank YOU—our incredible community—for making this past year unforgettable. 🐴💖 Here’s to new goals, exciting plans, and celebrating the beauty of Liberty together in the year ahead! 🌟

What’s your New Year’s Liberty resolution for you and your horse? 📝🐎 Drop it in the comments! ⬇️

🥂🎆

01/06/2025

We got a lot going on down here! Lol and apparently the best is yet to come so this is a quick precursor for the upcoming weeks videos! Lol

01/05/2025

The week ahead will be a trying week for those taking care of horses. I know that many of my northern friends may laugh because they don’t think that this is bad. But this is again my reminder to make sure that your horses are getting electrolytes because they do not like to drink in this weather. Please also remember that your horses muscles are colder than they usually are so even if you have an indoor arena take your time in your warm-up to reduce injuries.
Unfortunately this is the time of year that I see people take their cold and frisky horse out and let it gallop around on the end of a lunge line to wear it out.
I would like to encourage you to take this time in the winter to learn some groundwork exercises so that you can more efficiently gain a hold of your horses feet and mind before riding and without galloping around .

There is a very important organ in your horse’s body called “fascia” in this weather you could take the time to go read about the function of that special organ and then challenge yourself to think about how it’s function might be impacted by cold weather 😘
I will even give you a link to a woman’s page that does a great job with With nice easy Laymans terms to help you with equine anatomy. You’re welcome!
https://www.horsesinsideout.com/post/fascinating-fascia

01/04/2025

Here at the Salty horse ranch we focus on breeding and raising our own quarter horses and secondly we offer medical and rehab rehabilitation Boarding. Our hope is honestly you never need us because if you need us something bad has happened. But if you do need us one of the things that we really focus on is returning your horse back to you in better condition than it came. I’m not saying your horse was in bad condition but while they’re here they do get groundwork training, some basics of liberty training And every horse is different so we focus on finding the least disruptive technique to treat your horse. We do not hire any staff so every single day it is myself or my husband Doug or our daughter Carter that is handling these horses. Horses love consistency and that includes consistency in handling. And that is right down to stall cleaning. Stall cleaning is an excellent time to work on some Basics of groundwork! **tstarting

01/03/2025

It is no secret that it is a complete and total blessing for me to spend almost every single day following my passion and getting to spend it with my two girls!

One of my only regrets is that three years ago when we helped Carter start her first horse “Boone” 11 years old, that I didn’t video every day. Looking back on it I think I somewhat took for granted that getting Horses started is just something that we do and something she needed to learn. But in that I don’t think I realized what an opportunity it was for me to watch her grow.

I am not making that mistake with letting Charlee start her first horse which will be Moose. 🫎 Moose with be 2 in April this gives me a chance to take time to show Charley how to start Horses correctly. Every horse is different and I think this one will be special.

So in that, here is session 2 and we are glad to have you along in this journey and hopefully it will be a fun and possibly funny journey and maybe we all learn a little something !

01/03/2025

Video of Session #2 of Charlee and Moose Moose is being edited to post this evening .

We will also upload the series to YouTube. This is a series that will document us teaching our 10-year-old daughter Charlee how to officially start her first horse. I helped my daughter Carter start her first horse that you are probably familiar with “Salty Little Boone” when she was 12 and I really wish that we had documented the whole process from beginning to end so we are going to try and do that this time and maybe some of you in watching it can pick up some helpful hints and we are certainly open to questions as to why we do it the way we do!

**tstarting

01/03/2025

Don’t forget about these online shows folks! Get your test in get some constructive feedback from judges without having to leave your farm! If you need help with filming we set our dressage rang up and film here and we’re glad to help if you want us too!

The WDAA Test Filming Sheet for the 10th January Open Show is now available online to download. This is only a requirement for the Western Dressage Classes.
Click the link to get you copy
https://dressageshowonline.com/wdaa-test-filming-sheet

01/02/2025

Negro Amaro aka “Nitro”
May 7, 2024 KWPN x Freisian

I just can’t keep them all 😢

This c**t is absolutely spectacular in every single way. I own his mom and I rode his brother “Jolamar” who I brought along in dressage and was absolutely an amazing.

He is for sale because I need to admit to myself that I am supposed to be focusing on our AQHA breeding program. Nitro is amazing and everybody loves him in every way. His mother has produced several premium babies and several that have gone on to dressage careers and sire, Friesian stallion Tjaarda 483 was a very accomplished dressage stallion himself. You would need to go look up his personal page to see all of his accomplishments. On top of that everybody that I have talked to about that stallion has raved about his temperament and for me that is everything.

Nitro is stunning but he is all c**t and he is all energy! In the nicest kindest possible package. I have reluctantly put a price on him and to the right person that wants to call and talk to me and give him the best possible home I am willing to negotiate or set up payment plans. But my standard is pretty high for the new home for Nitro. ♥️ because the sky is easily a stallion prospect or somebody’s next upper level prospect.

He has been minimally handled but he gets his feet done and he leads and you can give him his dewormer and you can halter him easily.

If you are interested please reach out to me.
There are pictures of him and his mom and his dad and his brother in this post .

I have posted some pictures from when he was nice and sleek this summer but please be aware right now he is an 8 month old very fuzzy baby that likes to roll in the mud!
🔟 🥕 s

12/31/2024

The last day of 2024, according to the meteorologist that they put on the television lol is supposed to be the warmest day we are going to see for about 14 days! So this will be the most pleasant that you see me as we plunged down into the teens and 20s Here in North Carolina!

12/27/2024

In the beginning, we have many people ask how we manage to keep up with the rehab rehabilitation schedule when we don’t feel that the horse is suitable for extra weight on its back. There are three ways that we do this here. Number one and the reason that I can keep eating pizza and beer at my age as we do the hand walking and jogging by hand. Yes, in hand! The second one that we do is that we teach the horses to long line and I can do almost as much work in the long lines as I can do on their back and probably better and more balanced work. Increasing a horse is flexibility and strength prior to writing is an excellent way to make sure that they do not re-injure. The third way that we do this and is most useful once the horse is cleared for cantering is by using a pony horse. Meet “Frank”! Frank is our home bred Irish Draught Sport Horse that has retired from eventing and dressage and I will find a picture of when Doug and I started Frank by ponying him which is pretty cool!!