Hideaway Equine Services

11/09/2023

One of my favorite pictures from this fall!
Anthony’s smile says it all!❤️

10/05/2023

Summer 2023 was filled with smiling faces and making memories with the horses🐴💖

Here are some recent photos of our adventures!

03/20/2023

Happy First Day of Spring!

03/09/2023

March weather is sometimes unpredictable, during yesterdays lesson we contended with rain showers, wind, mud and sunshine! At the end of the lesson we had a calm moment in the late afternoon sun ☀️💛 the reward for riding through the tougher times!
Spring is coming, we’re gaining daylight and brighter days ahead!

02/05/2023

Great read! During lessons I am always asking riders to think from the horses point of view.

“I don’t want much, I just want to groom once in a while and go for an easy trail ride here and there”-

This is a statement folks often make, which makes perfect sense from a human point of view. It doesn’t require much time, effort or skill gaining, and the expectation appears low- for the horse to just stand quietly, or happily trod along down the trail.

From a riders perspective, grooming requires relaxing and enjoying brushing their horse. Trail riding usually involves relaxing and leaving the horse mostly alone to enjoy the outdoors and company.

From a horses point of view, however, this is not so easy a task. To ”just be brushed,” the horse has to have enough confidence to leave the herd, the skills to lead well to the barn, the ability to stand tied quietly for a length of time in isolation away from friends, to stay focused enough to stand despite the distractions and movement around them in the barn.
That’s a lot!

To “just trail ride,” the horse has to have the afore mentioned skills, plus load in a trailer, ride in the trailer and unload (those are all separate skills), leave friends quietly and ride calmly past all kinds of input and stimulus- they have to know what rider input to tune into (legs and reins), and which to shut out (rustling around to get a granola bar out of saddle bags, yammering to friends). They have to manage terrain with balance, leave or join other horses, or ride past other people, dogs, bikes, etc. They often have little guidance from a rider who’s expectations and attention to the horse is low (who is relaxing and enjoying company or scenery, not giving attentive communications to the horse).

That’s a TALL order for a horse, and quite a drastic difference in expectation between horse and rider in terms of education, attention and workload.

Think from the horses point of view. Don’t skimp on the education, the awareness, and don’t leave your horse to their own devices for “simple tasks.” A horse is a horse, and not a human- and they see our world very differently. It’s on us to prepare and guide them.

02/01/2023

🌟Welcome February 2023!

Some exciting news and updates:

It has been 8 years since the start of this page!! In February 2015 the Hideaway Equine Services page was created and I began sharing updates with you all about our horses and riding and I am humbled and grateful that it has grown to what it is today!

✨Riding Lesson Update for 2023✨

- Riding Lessons/Trail Rides are $40.00/ hour

*New rate is effective today February 1, 2023 (any certificates purchased prior to rate increase will be honored at original price)

We are a small family owned farm with limited availability due to winter weather over the next few months so our scheduling will reflect that. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

We are looking forward to sharing some beautiful Maine winter riding days with you however with the forecasted extreme cold temperatures this week we will not be riding 2/1 - 2/5. We will resume next week weather permitting!

Thank you all for your understanding and support over the years! Stay safe and warm and we will see you all soon! 🤍🐴

08/06/2022

~ This is my reason why ~

When I was little I only wanted to ride in wide open fields and woods. I was never really interested that much in showing. Fast forward to now and I still prefer riding in the fields and woods over an indoor arena any day. I have found there are others like myself and I want to be there for them! This picture shows the love between girl and horse right in my backyard. We were in the middle of a sunny summer lesson and both horse and rider were taking a little break. They had a moment together. It melts my heart seeing this because it doesn’t feel like that long ago I was that little girl ❤️❤️

08/06/2022

One of my favorite days was a picnic trail ride earlier this summer. We packed a lunch, saddled up and took a trail through the woods to a grassy field where we enjoyed our lunch and the boys were happy to snack! ❤️

08/06/2022

These sisters love riding together ❤️
Their smiles are the best!

08/06/2022

This summer we have been working on balance and confidence building.

04/18/2022

We kicked off April vacation week the best way we know how!
Spring riding lessons started today and we couldn’t have asked for a better day for it!
☀️🐴🤍

02/27/2022

** Update from the barn -

It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I wanted to take a moment now to let you all know riding lessons are still on hold for the time being (for weeks our riding ring was an ice skating rink!) 😬

I have been receiving messages about riding and believe me no one is more anxious than I am to get back at it but in order to keep horses and humans as safe as possible we are not going to be resuming lessons until Spring. Also, being quite limited with riding over the past couple months, once we are able to start back up we will be doing so slowly in order for my slightly older horses to get back in shape at a comfortable pace. So please be patient with us and our schedule.

As soon as conditions improve and we are able to get back into riding season I will be sure to update you all!

Thank you for your patience and understanding and we will see you soon. Springtime is right around the corner!!

12/22/2021

As I take a moment on this wintry day to reflect on a wonderful season I am feeling very thankful for each and every one of our clients, friends and family that has supported us this year. All the smiles, laughs, and memories made while riding are what keeps me wanting to share more great moments together with our horses and all of you!
From our family to yours we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/09/2021

❄️ Winter wonderland ❄️🐴🤍
Mother and daughter shared a fun ride in the snow yesterday!