Heavenbound farm LLC

06/22/2024

Heavenbound Farm , Rome, PA
We have all your needs to progress in dressage and combined training !

06/19/2024

Support, encouragement, motivation, tips, education for Dressage Amateurs.

06/12/2024

Why do we work on circles? They help you develop the horse evenly from back to front and they help build the bridge that carries the weight of the saddle and the rider. When riding accurately, they enable the horse to lift the sling which is the apparatus that suspends the trunk to the shoulders and is responsible for lifting the withers to bring the horse off of the forehand. This is crucial for topline development, balance and communication with the horse. (This can not be achieved using a leverage bit).

It can be boring to some but necessary for the long-term health of your horse.

If you would like help working on this, please contact me for a clinic near you or to set up a virtual lesson.

“What’s in it for the horse?”
Carl Bledsoe Horsemanship
770-403-4635
[email protected]

06/07/2024

Heavenbound Farm LLCis hosting FEI Instructor Ann Guptill Saturday / Sunday June 15-16th . Come out and audit Ann's excellent teaching of all dressage levels and breeds beginning at 12:30 on Saturday and 8:30 on Sunday may 12th. Contact [email protected] for details !

05/18/2024

05/17/2024

WHAT IS 'ON THE BIT'?

When a horse is described as being 'on the bit,' it means that a connection has been formed from the horse's hindlegs to the contact.

The horse is relaxed and moving rhythmically. He tips his pelvis under, engages his core muscles, and lifts his back as he steps further underneath his center of gravity with his hind legs. He stretches up and forward through the base of his neck while, at the same time, propelling the energy created by his hindquarters over his back toward the end of the reins, thus creating a connection to the contact.

When done correctly, your horse will create a beautiful arch over his back and neck as he stretches to the bit. He will flex softly at his poll and bring his nose closer towards the vertical, only coming onto the vertical in high degrees of collection.

'On the bit' involves your horse's whole body, and it is only possible through correct training.

05/17/2024

Detach yourself from the outcome
If you’ve been around for a while you’ll know I love to talk about how as riders we put so much of our self worth or how good we are as riders on that mark we get at a competition and it’s always frustrated me that so many of us struggle to see past that score and struggle to see the good parts of those bad tests and that perspective. But I’ve always struggled to word how I feel about this subject until I heard someone on a podcast talking about a completely different topic.
They said
We need to detach ourselves from the outcome and attach ourselves to the process
Detach your self worth from that final score
Detach your decision of whether you are a ‘good rider’ on that final score
Detach your conclusion of whether it was a good day or not on that final score
Instead attach it to the process. The progress you’ve made over the last few months or years, the journey you’re on, how much you enjoy riding your horse, how happy and healthy your horse is and how much they enjoy their work.
Let this be your guide instead and I promise you you’ll enjoy everything from training to competing to life so much better
//

05/15/2024

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.

04/22/2024

Motivation Monday……..

04/14/2024

Heavenbound Farm LLC, Rome, PA is looking forward to hosting Ann Guptill FEI trainer , instructor and owner of Fox Ledge Farm on May 11-12th and June 15-16th ! Ann is a wealth of knowledge with all levels of dressage riders and breeds of horses. We are open to auditors , contact [email protected]

04/03/2024

Patience.

03/22/2024

DRESSAGE TRIVIA:
Which two movements are basically the same, but are actually more different than night and day?

Do you know the difference between the trot loop and the canter loop? Besides the fact that one is performed at the trot and the other at the canter, there is a MAJOR difference between these two movements.

They are performed in the exact same pattern, or path, so how can it be possible that they are so completely different?

Well, you know...
🎶🎤🎵 "It's all about the bend, bout da bend, bout da bend..."🎶🎤🎵

The trot loop at training level requires a change in bend twice. And it must be smooth and fluid. The changes in bend come at you quick and you need to navigate and plan and think....😰

The canter loop at first level does not include any changes in bend, so you ride the path with no worries of that! BUT this is actually a harder movement because it's actually much harder to keep the same bend in the canter without breaking to trot or switching leads! Welcome to counter-canter territory...🫣

Regardless, both movements require planning and attention to detail. See the diagram below to help you visualize both movements😎

03/19/2024

03/03/2024

BY Daphne Thornton of Two Bit Training We call it Horse Show Math but, really, it is just Horse Riding Math. In many ways, you can think of a hunter or jumper course as a simple math problem that you and your horse solve together. Surprisingly, horses are pretty good at figuring out the “math”.....

02/26/2024

This week's Wise Words come from Ernst Hoyos 🗣️

Hoyos learned to ride in his native Austria on his father’s Icelandic ponies and racing Thoroughbreds. At 17, he was accepted at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna where he studied for many years. In 1993, he began working at Olympic Medalist Ulla Salzgeber’s stable in Germany, where the two continue to collaborate. He has worked with many other top horses and riders, including Lisa Wilcox, a U.S. Olympic medalist. Hoyos is featured in David Collin’s book, "Dressage Masters".

02/22/2024

What. Why. How.

The best riders are those who can use all of their faculties: reliable mechanical techniques that service their feeling or instincts. Rational riding is riding that depends on thought as well as feeling. It is systematic and progressive, mastering fundamentals and adding complexity methodically and appropriately. - William Steinkraus, “Reflections on Riding and Jumping: Winning Techniques for Serious Riders.”

02/14/2024

Training Tip Tuesday. This sequence of movements is excellent for helping the horse with his proprioception, coordination and concentration. The turn on the haunches helps the horse to step under the center of his body. The shoulder in helps increase the horse's carrying capacity and also encourages the horse to step underneath his center of gravity. It also serves as an excellent movement to stretch the horse and improve mobility. Consequently, this exercise is a great way to improve collection and the lateral flexibility of the horse.

02/08/2024

“I will not get upset with you for making a mistake, I’ll be disappointed if you chose to not learn from it.”

Let that one sink in. Coaches: understand the trust that this mentality establishes between you and your students. Students: realize that you’re holding yourself back by fearing making mistakes.

Your perception of mistakes can make or break your mentality as an athlete. Mistakes, by definition, mean something went wrong. We don’t mess up on purpose, we don’t wake up saying “todays the day I get it wrong!” When shortsighted, your mistakes can be devastating. No, you’re not winning the class. Yes, your trainer will give you constructive criticism and it might be uncomfortable but you need to hear it. Long term, this mistake likely won’t matter and you’ve just provided yourself an opportunity to learn to do it better moving forward. You have a chance to ask questions, seek learning. You found a weakness which you can now improve upon. Several potential causes for struggling with mistakes: perfectionism and people pleasing being common. Two big perception takeaways 1) state vs trait. You MADE a mistake (state) you are not MADE OF mistakes (trait). The former is empowering because it gives you room to improve, the latter holds you back because of your self-imposed feeling like a failure. 2) in shutting down when making a mistake, you make yourself uncoachable and inhibit forward movement. Instead of perceiving your mistakes as personal attacks, let down your guard to let in the learning that’s been knocking the whole time

01/24/2024

Courtney King-Dye explains how to cultivate this important tool for the simple act of turning or bending.

01/20/2024

FUN FACT FRIDAY! Are you familiar with the many adaptations that help your horse stay warm during the cold winter months?

🌾 Hindgut digestion of hay produces the most heat, acting as a small furnace inside of the horse. This is why free choice, good quality hay is so important in the winter.

💪 Horses have a huge muscle mass and muscle activity produces heat. This includes running and playing and even shivering if their body temperature starts to drop. It is important to remember that these activities also will result in a bigger caloric demand so free choice hay and in some cases, grain, is often needed.

🧥 To blanket or not to blanket is a constant debate but either way, as it starts to get cold your horse will grow a thicker coat. If you decide to leave your horse unblanketed you may notice that they look “fluffy”. This is due to a phenomenon called piloerection where the hair stands up to better trap air within. Two layers of the coat also help with warmth. The inner layer is softer and has air pockets to create an insulating layer. The outer layer is coarse and has oils that keep moisture from penetrating the insulating layer and keep the horse warm.

⚖️ Wild horses go into the winter heavier than ideal and the fat serves as an extra layer of insulation. However, if a horse is going to be kept heavily blanketed and in a barn during the cold weather months this is unnecessary and can lead to obesity related issues.

🦵Their distal limbs (below the knees and hocks) are made of mostly bones and tendons, tissues that are resistant to the cold temperatures.

🦶The hooves have an alternative route of blood circulation through larger vessels that can be used in low temperatures. This is why horses can stand in snow without detrimental effects.

👃A horse’s nose has a robust blood supply and is rounded so that it is less susceptible to frostbite than a human’s nose.
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Courtesy of the AAEP Horse Owner Education Committee