Moonshine Stables and Riding Academy

07/27/2024

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎

07/11/2024

https://thehorse.com/1128705/how-dietary-management-affects-glandular-ulcers-in-horses/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHYOe2LCvqgF5P6UOeR8JQBC3fb3yxxbrtlnnc7TA-fk2IPz4LBeelXeMYg_aem_IIWNrx3EzTcfcWnPkHzZPg

Researchers believe adding alfalfa pellets to your horse’s diet might help manage and prevent ulcers in the lower region of the stomach.

07/10/2024

Still digesting all of the moments of wisdom from Helena Stormanns in the latest Equestrian Voices episode. And, a reminder that good jumping comes from excellent flatwork!

Here are our five favorite quotes from the episode:

“If I see a partnership have 10 rounds with 4 faults, I know they’re on the verge of something spectacular.”

“I think once you really get into flatwork, you realize it’s the biggest tool in your box, and you get addicted to it.”

“Whatever happens in our sport, the horses are not at fault, the people are at fault. Once (a trainer or rider) realizes this, they must look to themselves for the mistake and not blame the horse. That’s my biggest belief: It’s not the horse’s fault.”

“I compare all horses to people… They have their own character, and they have their own likes and dislikes. One needs to sit a little longer on his homework, and one will be done early because he’s a quick learner.”

“It takes a year for a new partnership to form. So if you buy a horse today, and you want to be competitive tomorrow, I’m sorry, but you’re going to struggle.”

Listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/43eI8F2

06/29/2024

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

📝 Kimberley Reynolds

06/26/2024

We need to be way more appreciative of horses being willing to get into trailers for us.

Have you been in the back of a trailer while it’s moving?

It’s loud.

It’s rattly.

Cars come flying by.

It’s warm in the summer, even with windows open, plus the open windows make everything louder.

You constantly have to balance.

Even as a human with the context of why trailers are used, an understanding of their purpose and the capacity to realize we aren’t being trapped with the intent to cause harm, it is unpleasant.

Trailering is one of those regular skills that many humans just expect of horses.

It’s all too common to “teach” horses to load through really coercive and harsh methods instead of a rewards based mindset.

Horses who don’t want to load in a trailer possess an intelligent level of self preservation because it is that unpleasant, scary and dangerous feeling.

Going into a small, dark, hot, rattly box that teleports them to somewhere new and scary isn’t something any flight animal should want to willingly do.

Their choice to fight going into it and attempt to advocate for themselves is a normal one that should be expected from a flight animal.

So, us humans need to be gentler.

More appreciative.

More understanding of the absolute trust and sacrifice the horse is offering us by getting into that trailer.

Just because we view it as a necessary skill doesn’t mean that the horse understands it.

Nor does it justify anger, frustration or roughness in the event the horse doesn’t want to load.

So be patient.

Be more rewarding.

We are asking them of something that goes against ever fibre of their being and deliberately asks them to do something that makes them feel unsafe.

We need to be more grateful of what horses are willing to do for us and more understanding of why they say no when they do.

06/22/2024

🐴 Aquí hay 15 hechos interesantes sobre el cerebro de un caballo:

1. El cerebro de un caballo es relativamente pequeño comparado con el tamaño de su cuerpo, y representa sólo alrededor del 0,1 % de su peso total.

2. A pesar de su pequeño tamaño, los caballos tienen cerebros muy complejos, con una corteza cerebral altamente desarrollada, la parte del cerebro responsable del pensamiento consciente, la toma de decisiones y la memoria.

3. Los caballos pueden aprender y recordar tareas complejas, como navegar por un curso de salto o realizar una rutina de doma, a través de un proceso llamado aprendizaje asociado.

4. Como los humanos, los caballos tienen un hemisferio izquierdo y un hemisferios derecho en el cerebro, cada uno con funciones especializadas. El hemisferio izquierdo es responsable del procesamiento de la información lógica y analítica, mientras que el hemisferio derecho está más involucrado en el procesamiento emocional y el pensamiento creativo.

5. Los caballos tienen una gran memoria y pueden recordar personas, lugares y experiencias concretas durante muchos años.

6. Los caballos pueden aprender por observación, y a menudo pueden adquirir nuevos comportamientos y habilidades simplemente observando a otros caballos o humanos.

7. Los caballos tienen un sentido del tacto muy sensible y pueden detectar incluso la más mínima presión o movimiento en su piel. Esto les ayuda a responder a las sutiles señales de tu motorista o guía.

8. Los caballos pueden procesar información visual muy rápida y precisa, permitiéndoles evitar posibles peligros y navegar por su medio ambiente con facilidad.

9. Los caballos son animales sociales y dependen de la comunicación no verbal para interactuar con otros caballos de su manada. Esta comunicación es facilitada por el cerebro del caballo, que puede interpretar cambios sutiles en el lenguaje corporal, expresiones faciales y vocalizaciones.

10. En última instancia, como todos los animales, los caballos tienen una personalidad única y rasgos individuales que se moldean por sus experiencias, genética y entorno, todo lo cual se refleja en su función cerebral y comportamiento.

11. Los caballos tienen un fuerte sentido del olfato y su bulbo olor, que procesa los olores, es relativamente grande comparado con otras partes de su cerebro.

12. El cerebro, que es responsable de coordinar el movimiento y el equilibrio, también es relativamente grande en caballos. Esto se debe a que los caballos deben ser capaces de moverse rápida y eficientemente para escapar de los depredadores o navegar por terrenos difíciles.

13. Los caballos tienen un umbral de dolor muy alto, que se cree que está relacionado con cómo sus cerebros procesan las señales de dolor. Aunque esto puede ser beneficioso en algunas situaciones, también puede significar que los caballos no muestran signos obvios de dolor, lo que hace más difícil para sus cuidadores detectar y tratar los problemas de salud subyacentes.

14. El hipocampo, una parte del cerebro involucrado en el aprendizaje y la memoria, está particularmente bien desarrollado en caballos. Esto les permite recordar no sólo experiencias concretas, sino también conceptos y patrones generales que pueden aplicar a nuevas situaciones.

15. Finalmente, los estudios han demostrado que los caballos, como otros animales, son capaces de experimentar emociones como el miedo, la felicidad y la ira. Se cree que estas emociones están mediadas por el sistema límbico, un grupo de estructuras cerebrales interconectadas que juegan un papel clave en la regulación del estado de ánimo y el comportamiento .

06/08/2024

🩷🩷

Everything comes with a price

A sensitive horse is going to be sensitive to both light aids AND your accidental aids and mistakes

A quiet school horse is going to give you room to fumble with your hands and legs, and they are also likely to ignore them when you mean to use them.

It isn’t fair to want the reward without the price. It isn’t fair to take from a horse without giving- and it all comes down to working on ourselves: our expectations, riding abilities, mindset, and awareness. You can’t have a perfectly performing horse without putting in your own work. A horse is not a computer or a robot- they rise to, or fall to, the level of the horseman.

Photo by Melinda Yelvington

05/30/2024

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.

05/25/2024

05/25/2024

9 Facts About Perfectionism: A mindset that must be unlearned or will ultimately bring your riding down 🧠

1. Every rider makes mistakes, even the best of the best.
It’s an unavoidable, universal experience and all a part of the sport.

2. Mistakes are learning opportunities.
You can grow from them and become better because of them.

3. Hyper-focusing on mistakes helps them happen.
They both become a self-fulfilling prophecy and take your focus away from your ride.

4. Mistakes mean you’re on the right track.
You can’t improve, learn, overcome challenges, and level up without them.

5. It’s not what happened but how you move forward from it that matters the most.
Moving on from the mistake matters more than the mistake itself.

6. Mistakes are temporary.
Work to fix and put them in the past instead of dwelling and allowing them to stick around.

7. Mistakes don’t define you.
You may have had a bad ride, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad rider.

8. Social media only shows highlights.
Everyone is struggling whether they post about it or not.

9. Perfect doesn’t exist.
It’s impossible to meet unattainable expectations.

A perfectionist mindset and a lack of an ability to accept mistakes will do much more harm than good for an athlete’s mental performance. Mistakes are a normal part of sport and life. Everyone makes mistakes no matter how talented of an athlete they may be. Since perfect doesn’t exist, holding yourself to an unrealistic standard will only set you up for disappointment every ride. Instead, give yourself permission to make mistakes, using them to your advantage by viewing them as valuable feedback and learning opportunities. Refer to this post whenever you begin to feel hard on yourself, and remember that you are not alone! 🏇🏽💭✨
www.mindalignperformance.com

05/18/2024

Super cool summer event!
🐴 🐷 🐐 🐑 👇🌟🍀

05/10/2024

Equines of America Registry was launched just a few months ago, and the response has been nothing short of amazing! We have issued registration certificates to numerous incredible horses!

Our premium division includes horses with known pedigrees, while our stock horse division includes horses without pedigrees.
To ensure the identity of each horse, all horses entered into the stock horse division are examined by a licensed DVM to verify age, dna, height, and microchip.

All horses are treated equally, regardless of breed or background. ❤️

Please help us spread the word by sharing this post and informing your friends about our registry.

As an added note, we also work with several other breed registries helping to issue registrations for the horse's proper breed.

04/23/2024

https://horsetrailertrader.com/horse-trailer.aspx?stock=322264

Used 2007 Elite Trailers Horse Trailer Sandia TX (322264) for sale from Private Party Listing. Hitch type: Gooseneck Load Type: Slant

04/19/2024

Do you know what the activity level is of your horse? Reputable feed companies use the NRC’s (National Research Council) Nutrient Requirements for Horses when formulating diets and determining feeding rates for horses in certain levels of work.

Here are the parameters lined out in the NRC manual:

Maintenance: pasture potato (my words, not theirs)

Light exercise: 1–3 hours of exercise per week (40% walk, 50% trot, 10% canter). Examples: recreational riding, starting a training program, some show horses.

Moderate exercise: 3–5 hours per week (30% walk, 55% trot, 10% canter, 5% low jumping, cutting, etc.). Examples: school horses, recreational riding, show horses, polo, ranch work.

Heavy work: 4–5 hours per week (20% walk, 50% trot, 15% canter, 15% gallop, jumping, etc.). Examples: ranch work, polo, frequently showing horses, low-level eventing, race training.

Very heavy: variable hours per week. Examples: racing, endurance, elite three-day event horses.

Why does this matter? Feeding directions should be designed to tell you how much needs to be fed for your horse’s normal weight and level of work to meet minimum vitamin/mineral requirements basis the guaranteed analysis, not to maintain weight.

Want to learn more about evaluating a feed label? Check out https://bluebonnetfeeds.com/blog/find-a-feed or the Feed Room Chemist Podcast #54 “How to Choose a Feed” or reach out with questions any time!

04/16/2024

🩷🖤🩷

04/12/2024

Monday's motivation!

As said by the amazing Denny Emerson of Tamarack Hill Farm

04/09/2024

1st show of the season with Lone Star Youth Horse Association LSYHA is in the books! Avery showed her new Friesian sport horse prospect for the first time and Bailey moved up into the 11-18 W/T division and they both showed in some of the biggest classes of the show. The girls placed in almost every glass they entered and lots in the top 4! It was a great start to the season 4 weeks till the next one

03/25/2024

🩷🖤🩷

Mares aren’t always well liked and for the same reasons strong women aren’t.

Opinionated? Those opinions are not without good cause and maybe you can't figure them out or maybe you just don’t like her opinion of you. Change it and she will always be on your side.

Stubborn? She just won’t let you bulldoze her. Treat her with respect and her resilience will be an asset to you.

Difficult? You just can’t handle her. You don’t have what it takes.

Stick with geldings then, and leave the mare for someone who understands her and appreciates the same qualities society has subtlety taught you not to like.

Here’s to mares, to strong women, and to those who CAN and DO appreciate them!

~ The Evolving Equestrian

03/02/2024

Equines of America LLC, all breeds, all discipline horse registry.

10/06/2022

10/06/2022

10/03/2022

Myth: Pellets make horses choke.

Fact: Horses can choke on a variety of feedstuffs. Horses who aggressively bolt their food (eat it very quickly) and don’t take proper time to chew and allow the food to become moist from saliva are more likely to choke. Large group feeding situations increase the likelihood that a horse will become aggressive in eating their food, which in turn increases the chance of choke. Dentition-related choke is also very common. If a horse’s teeth are not properly maintained by an equine dental professional they are more likely to choke due to tooth eruption (young horses), missing teeth (senior horses), or improper alignment (all ages of horses). Feeding very large foodstuffs such as apples, carrots, and horse treats can also lead to choke if a horse does not fully chew before swallowing. Horses with a history of chronic choke are 9 times more likely to develop complications such as aspiration pneumonia and tracheal contamination, according to CSU researchers. Some tips for preventing choke include: offering meals in shallow troughs or pans with large smooth stones that the horse must eat around, feeding hay before grain/pellets, soaking grain/pellets prior to feeding.

03/09/2022

First South Texas Horse Show Series - STHSS show of the season!

03/08/2022

02/28/2022

“He’s 1100 pounds of baby fat, he eats too much and too often. The only reason he doesn’t eat more is because he’s too busy sleeping. He only does what he wants to do, exactly when he wants to do it. He lays against the back of the starting gate like he’s in a hammock in the Caribbean. When he finally does get out of the gate, it takes him forever to find his stride”

He became one of the greatest race horses that ever lived. Take your time to find your stride, believe in yourself and have faith. You could become one of the greatest.

02/16/2022

Dear Young Rider - No one outside of your family and friends feels sorry for you.

Now that you hate me, let me expand on that… for everyone outside of the equine world, riding horses is a frivolous, elitist activity that is reserved only for vacation adventurists and the wealthy. No one cares that you feel limited in your ability to meet your goals because your parents won’t buy you a $250k horse.

And with that unfortunate reality out of the way, let’s move on to those of us inside the horse world. We also don’t feel sorry for you.

While you complain about your lacking budget, crappy horse, bias judges, inattentive trainer, subpar footing, distance to shows, inopportune ride order… or whatever other obstacle you face, we counter with one response - RIDE BETTER!

Having a bad show? Horse acting up? Feeling unappreciated? How about you RIDE BETTER?

Believe it or not, very few people competing in equine events have unlimited financial support and no one wins all of the time. Though money does help, most riders have to work for years to be good (much less the great). They sacrifice everything else they have in their life to pursue this crazy obsession. They get second mortgages, run up credit cards, work seven days a week, have side gigs and hustle to ride anything, anytime, anywhere just to gain experience and exposure. They ride to exhaustion and then pick stalls and fill water buckets. They cancel their hotel and sleep in the tack room because they need new boots. They feed other people’s horses to pay their nomination fee. They miss their families and often ruin personal relationships. They do all of this and more just to be able to RIDE BETTER!

If you are lucky enough to get to go to any horse show, watch these people who ride 6, 10 or more horses. Watch how little they rest, how quickly they move between tasks and how well they ride. Then emulate that work ethic.

Be the kid who will ride anything and will learn from every ride. Be the kid who is at the barn early and leaves last. Be the kid who will ride all day and then clean, groom and help others. Be the kid who analyzes videos of your rides and learns from others. Be the kid who always smiles and is ready to go back in the ring. Be the kid who asks for the opportunity to catch ride. Be that kid and you won’t need to buy a $250k horse… someone will eventually bring that horse to you!

When you RIDE BETTER you will be recognized and rewarded. You won’t always get the placing that you want or even deserve but I can guarantee you that riding well will bring you its own awards. It may take you longer but if you truly are a great rider, people will notice you and opportunity will be brought to you. And you will know you have learned to RIDE BETTER when you no longer want anyone to feel sorry for you.

02/15/2022

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, enjoy some fun facts about the horse heart!

🐴 Did you know?

❤️ The equine heart, on average, weighs between 7-10 pounds.

❤️ Secretariat had a heart that weighed an estimated 22 pounds -- the largest ever recorded!

❤️ During exercise, a fit horse pumps almost 20 gallons of blood through the heart each minute!
❤️ While a horse’s resting heart rate is quite low at 28-32 beats per minute, during exercise, it can commonly exceed 180 beats per minute!