R & J Farm and Stable

03/22/2024

The WALK - mother of all gaits

Most riders spend little time at the walk outside of "cooling out" or "warming up".

Not realizing it is the gait that BIRTHS everything you do, and REVEALS everything you may need.

"The FEI rule book once stated that it was at the pace of the walk that imperfections of dressage are most evident"

Every issue can be felt and seen through the magnifying lens of the walk.

"François de Lubersac, a master from the legendary School of Versailles in the 18th century, recognized that in dressage training, the first gait in which to train is always the walk.

Remarkably, de Lubersac, trained his horses only at the walk, and when he decided that they were ready, his horses were able to do everything at all gaits."

The walk is an anchoring gate. To teach and refine the horses balance, collectabilty, lightness, refinement, propreoception, suppleness, relaxation, lateral gymnastics, and understanding of aids... just to name a few.

There is no better gait to school these concepts then the walk. Testing things up the ladder of movement; trot and canter, and then anchoring back to the walk to fix, progress, or prepare.

The walk is the gait you "polish the stone" of all these qualities, more than any other gait.

It is the gait you come back to again and again, where the root of it all lives.

And remember, as with any gait, there is more than "just ONE walk".

Tempo, balance, stride, and frame can change in so many ways within any single gait that it lends itself to many "changes of gait within a gait", based on what that horse needs at any given moment.

In my opinion, a classical rider can easily spend an entire ride at the walk, and the higher up they ride, the more time they may spend at the walk...polishing the stone.

Mindful footfalls live in the walk.

What is your walk telling you?

03/22/2024

02/14/2024

This!!

Pat them. Pat them pat them pat them. If your horse even thinks about thinking about how to think about the thing you want him to think about, PAT HIM. Praise every right thing, all of the time.

DO NOT ‘make the right thing easy and make the wrong thing hard’.

JUST MAKE THE RIGHT THING EASY, and forget about any botched efforts or wrong answers. Don’t take it personally if the horse doesn’t get it right first time. He doesn’t speak your language. He doesn’t understand your ambitions. He doesn’t understand conflict through the lens of human interpretation. He just knows how to horse, yet he is willing to learn, adapt and change for YOU. Make sure you do the same for HIM.

Horses are the only animal on the planet willing to try for us and to give us everything they have, for absolutely no return for themselves whatsoever.

If you do not foster the horse’s desire to try, you will lose this most precious gift.

02/05/2024

“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.

01/31/2024

Rick and I are so excited!!

We are excited to welcome back Jessica Hayes as our Western Dressage Clinician for this year's Indiana Equine Roundup!

Jessica's focus is on Dressage and Ranch Riding and we know you'll learn a lot from this nationally recognized clinician!

If you would like to participate in one (or more) of Jessica's Clinics at the Roundup, please email Danisa Lewis at [email protected].

01/21/2024

A little long but I ask you to read all the way.
We have truly seen it all over the years at our farm!! We have pulled frozen calves, we have had the tractor stuck in the pond trying to break the ice, every injury to man and beast possible but this was a 1st!!

He is ok… God was good and he was only in water to his belly. His hind legs are cut and swollen but vitals are all good and he is eating and drinking. So he will be ok!!

Now, all I had to do was walk out on the ice, put his halter on and say “step up” may 2 or 3 times. We teach everything on our farm on obstacles and that is the word to walk forward, step on the bridges and pedestals, and even used to load. He jumped up out of the ice, which was already refreezing around him and we walked back to the barn. And start the long process of getting warm, dry and bandaged. But he will be ok!

I beg all horse owners to teach their horse to “step up” on to things on command. That simple instruction took this from a disaster to caring for an injured horse that will be ok.

07/26/2023

Bunker and obstacles!! He’s a rock star!!

07/26/2023

Super excited for 2023 Makeover Hopeful Bunker Hill Road and Elsie to compete this year!!

07/22/2023

So excited to be at Antebellum Farm for the combined test today! 2022 Makeover Graduate Super strike and Autumn Seymour warming up for their 1st dressage test of the day!! 2021 Makeover Graduate Workin It and 2023 Makeover Hopeful Cowboy Diplomacy show later this afternoon!!

Thank you for keeping us moving our best!!

07/09/2023

Last Sunday we did an outing with 3 Makeover graduates and 1 Hopeful Cowboy Diplomacy! They were all wonderful! Thank you Joyce Brinsfield and Ballyhigh Show stables for a fun show for the 1st outing!!

07/04/2023

Great read!!

Lameness can be the result of imbalanced feet, a chronically irritated ligament that isn’t addressed until it’s a bigger deal, or even stiffness.

06/25/2023

Let me introduce Cowboy Diplomacy one of our 3 RRP Makeover Hopefuls and team members Elly West and Bre Mood!! We are loving this guy! Had a field trip 2 weeks ago to a dressage clinic with Eugene Abello and he was a rock star!! Cowboy had an injury that may have ended his racing career but he’s doing fabulous with the help of .

Thank you to Pocket Aces Racing for such a great horse!!

We currently have all of our TB Makeover Hopefuls and Graduates on LubriSynHAProducts!! If you have any questions please ask!! We would love to brag on our boys and how LubriSynHAProducts have helped us! Www.lubrisyn.come

05/25/2023

04/23/2023

Incredible auction of Arabian and Italian Greyhound original artwork! And fine antiques! Located in Richmond KY

https://www.facebook.com/100029087448411/posts/949330809379825/?d=n

https://hayesgroup.hibid.com/catalog/445140/april-30th-online-only-fine-antiques-and-equine-art/?cpage=6

04/02/2023

My hope is that I am part of this definition!! Love this!❤️❤️

03/04/2023

2 weeks until we head to !!Rick and I are so excited to be clinicians this year!! As trainer for the Asbury University Thoroughbred Makeover Teams, I am so excited to be taking 3 of my 2022 Makeover graduates to demonstrate Western dressage and obstacle work!! Huge THANK YOU to our sponsors Circle Y saddles and LubriSynHAProducts!!

01/22/2023

Due to family member passing away I now need to move 2 or 3 of my OTTBs quicker than originally expected!

Reluctant to sell but he needs to find his forever person! Are you an AA ready to slow down and enjoy your TB partner? I have your guy! He prefers a kind and smaller frame rider as his partner. Lovely 16.1-2 Dark bay TB G 8yr old. We did dressage and Competitive Trail at the Makeover in 2022. He is a fun horse and lovely mover. He is for a low level forever home! I truly wish that was our program but it is not. He is sound with maintenance, no vices, LOVES people and gluten! Preferably donuts! PM with questions. Price reflects limitations and won’t sell to a beginner or child rider.located in Central KY 45 minutes from KHP. Serious inquiries only and again PM.

01/18/2023

Love this!!!

Truth, Grace or somewhere in the middle?

Where do you stand👇🏻
Are you a truth teller?
Are you a Grace giver?
Do you stand somewhere in the middle?

Take a moment and seriously answer that.
———————Now Read On———————

What I’m going to share with you is tremendously profound and impactful on both our partnership with our horse and our every day lives.

To being at our best for our horses, our family, our work, our community and all things important to you I believe we must take care of ourselves every day and every week on a mental, physical, emotional and spiritual level.

So where did you stay you stood?

Now where do you think Jesus stood?

Was he a truth teller, a Grace giver, or somewhere in the middle??

What do you think..?

Fact is he stood exactly where we must stand with our horses, our children, our spouse, anyone we interact with.

Jesus stood exactly wherever the person he was serving needed him to be.

He didn’t label him self as one or the other or right in the middle- he stood wherever he was needed.

At times that was in a position of Grace, others it was in a hard truth teller stance and sometimes in between.

Our horses, children, spouse, students- everyone we serve- need us to stand right where they need us.

And doing so is true Servant Leadership.

This is what changes lives, what leads to the best results and how we can serve at the highest level!

And you don’t have to be perfect, you just got to try and do whatever you can to get better!

Have an incredible day.

-Colton Woods

01/13/2023

Agree with this!!

I've heard numerous things over the last few months that seriously make my heart break. I have been to horses that have been in pain, and clearly being trying to convey this yet I'm being told some reputable trainers are telling the riders to 'show them whose boss' , 'they're just being naughty', and encouraging the use of bigger spurs, bigger bits, harsh gadgets and even one person suggesting to use spiked bit rings... What the actual?!
Most of my clients are amateurs, they're amazing, they seek guidance from professionals and act on it. But when that guidance is of the above nature it saddens me. Thankfully the ones I've spoken to haven't taken the advice, and instead sought help from me, but why in the 21st century is this 'advice' being dished out when we know so much about horse behaviour and it's link to pain?
Instead, why are we not saying:
'oh your horse is a little strong today, let's work on your seat and communication'
'your horse is a little unresponsive today, lets work on your leg aid'
'Your horse isn't flexing very well, let's work on suppleness exercises'
'Your horse is showing adverse behaviour/ struggling which could be a sign of pain, lets get him checked out'
A horse doesn't 'misbehave' for no reason. It's either in pain, scared or doesn't understand the question being asked, they're not vindictive.

So please, can we start listening to the horses, educating ourselves and stop looking for quick fixes.

You wouldn't tie your child up and smack it with a whip, kick it with spurs if they weren't 'listening' or didn't understand what you we're asking so why do we feel that is acceptable for our horses.

And to owners, parents, riders, if you are given this sort of advice walk away, there are plenty trainers out there who are there for the welfare of the horse, these are the people you want teaching you. If you want to read more about the horse pain ethogram follow the links below
https://youtu.be/hrZgtrqbMVI
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eve.13468

lastly, Thank you to the compassionate trainers out there ❤️

01/12/2023

01/07/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100057579634510/posts/617482343514415/?d=n

Reflection from 2022 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover!

The Makeover process and experience is difficult to put into words. Teaching and watching the students learn not just how to communicate with their horses, but the nuances of that communication is inspiring. The students are in the beginning phases of their training and developing their own style and the thoroughbreds respond dramatically to their rider, good or bad, so riders are given instant feedback from their horse. It can make the learning process a bit of a rollercoaster ride but the journey is well worth it.

The reoccurring theme this year was redemption and as I and some of the students reflect, the essence of redemption is appearing both horse and human. Something beautiful but broken or spent is being remade into something more beautiful. Transforming into something new. We take a retired racehorse and all the baggage that comes with them, and teach them to trust and be obedient. They inturn teach us to be kind, patient, attentive to the details, respectful, discerning and to love on good days and bad. The process teaches us patient, perseverance, problem solving, communication skills, to face our fears, how to break old habits and how to develop new ones, self control, how to find joy in the smallest of victories and how to show grace in the greatest defeats.

For our horses, this is just the beginning to a new life. The off track thoroughbred has so much to offer in a new career. They are smart, sensitive, adaptable and so much fun! The horse industry has its ups and downs and the OTTB has been passed over as valuable for second careers. The Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover has a mission to end that thinking and show that an OTTB can be the perfect mount

These horses and this process teach our very souls! They teach us to be bold, to be fierce and kind and gentle all at the same time! We may be teaching these horse new skills so they can have a wonderful life after racing but what they teach us is how to be better trainers, people and Christ followers.

01/04/2023

Rick and I are so excited !! Will be a fabulous weekend for fun and learning! We are both clinicians at this expo!

01/03/2023

12/23/2022

Love this advice! Fundamental and I do my very best to follow and teach this advice!

This is fundamental advice regardless of the discipline in which you ride, I have built my method and career around all of this, if you
Study the greatest horsemen in the world you will see all of the points in action. This was said by one of the best modern horsemen bill steinkrause.

“No. 1. Get your tack and equipment just right, and then forget about it and concentrate on the horse.

No. 2. The horse is bigger than you are, and it should carry you. The quieter you sit, the easier this will be for the horse.

No. 3. The horse's engine is in the rear. Thus, you must ride your horse from behind, and not focus on the forehand simply because you can see it.

No. 4. It takes two to pull. Don't pull. Push.

No. 5. For your horse to be keen but submissive, it must be calm, straight and forward.

No. 6. When the horse isn`t straight, the hollow side is the difficult side.

No. 7. The inside rein controls the bending, the outside rein controls the speed.

No. 8. Never rest your hands on the horse's mouth. You make a contract with it: "You carry your head and I'll carry my hands."

No. 10. Once you've used an aid, put it back.

No. 11. You can exaggerate every virtue into a defect.

No. 12. Always carry a stick, then you will seldom need it.

No. 13. If you`ve given something a fair trial, and it still doesn't work, try something else—even the opposite.

No. 14. Know when to start and when to stop. Know when to resist and when to reward.

No. 15. If you're going to have a fight, you pick the time and place.

No. 16. What you can't accomplish in an hour should usually be put off until tomorrow.

No. 17. You can think your way out of many problems faster than you can ride your way out of them.

No. 18. When the horse jumps, you go with it, not the other way around.

No. 19. Don`t let over-jumping or dull routine erode the horse's desire to jump cleanly. It's hard to jump clear rounds if the horse isn't trying.

No. 20. Never give up until the rail hits the ground.

No. 21. Young horses are like children—give them a lot of love, but don't let them get away with anything.

No. 22. In practice, do things as perfectly as you can; in competition, do what you have to do.

No. 23. Never fight the oats.

No. 24. The harder you work, the luckier you get."

~Bill Steinkraus

12/06/2022

The 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover Rulebook is now available at the Retired Racehorse Project's website!

Note that revisions are marked in red, while clarifications are marked in blue. If you're interested in applying to the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover, make the Rulebook your first stop to learn more about the event and what makes the Makeover a unique retraining competition!

Read the rulebook now athttps://www.therrp.org/wp-content/uploads/Rulebook-2023.pdf

12/06/2022

Interesting read!

https://paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/bramlage-racing-and-training-2-year-olds-reduces-their-risk-of-injury-heres-why/?fbclid=IwAR0iWNSzhD_RM022SGZBBcqaGl4M3byL9jflEyPyQFFNwKTCNMgAp6IaE7A&fs=e&s=cl

Before most horse racing jurisdictions shut down across the country and threw the economic balance of the sport into question, the industry's biggest problem was its need to reduce racing and training fatalities. Veterinarians and scientists are still learning about the causes of catastrophic injuri...

08/17/2022

Praying for safety and health for all involved!!

This year’s final entries!! 2017 Electric Mayhem dressage and competitive trail, 2018 Super Strike dressage and competitive trail, 2015 Grind Line dressage and competitive trail, 2019 Slow Down Sam Ranch horse and competitive trail, 2018 His Heirness Ranch Horse and competitive trail!!

Team members Josie Wooldridge, Emma Whitis, Autumn Seymour, Rebecca Hedman, Martha Bruckner, trainer/coach Jessica Hayes and farrier/coach/“dad” Rick Hayes

WE ARE ALL SUPER EXCITED AND NERVOUS!! We still have expenses to cover if you’d like to help us out in any way go to http://www.asbury.edu/retiredracehorse.

We greatly appreciate your continued support!!

07/13/2022

Most of don’t stop and figure out what’s inside us! We all have triggers and excuses for our actions! Excuses or results? You can’t have both!

When something makes you mad or upset,

the most powerful thing you can do is STOP, pause, reflect and ask

Why has this made made me mad or upset??

Look to the root of the issue.

Most stop at surface level and blame the other person, the social media post, the horse, the other driver etc.

No! Examine yourself! Take a deep look at your own beliefs! Your own perspective!

That’s where the issue lies. In you!

When you become emotional over something you have no control over- right then you know you have a weak link that needs strengthened!

Become bullet proof. Examine yourself and fix whatever weak link is inside of you.

To live your life by the whim of your emotions is to live your life uncontrolled!

Do the dirty work. Look inward and take inventory. Find the spot and get to work.

Then whatever initially upset you now has become the very thing that’s allowed you to grow!

That’s why I love haters 😉

They make me better and fuel my fire!

07/08/2022

Even in the easy times these are good words to live by!

06/07/2022

Needing his stall!! Negotiable to right home! He deserves a forever home! He’s so fun on the trails!!

Fox hunter or trail rider!! 2013 Bay gelding by Curlin 16.1+ OTTB Super kind, in your pocket. Earned $78700 last race 8/2020. He’s been started back going w/t/c. He loves to ride out on the farm or trail ride!! Would make someone a wonderful hunter pace or hill topper. He does have an old injury that limits his career. Low Mid fours to perfect home!! He is ready for his forever person!!

45 minutes south of the KY Horse Park