"Home is where the horse is." Free Rein Farm is family-owned, nestled in the picturesque foothills of the Catskill Mountains, just 3 miles from HITS Saugerties.
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We offer customized board options for the horse & rider.
*We do not offer guided trail rides, summer camps or riding lessons.*
We've got some lovely✨ horses available for lease ON-FARM here in Saugerties, NY!
Sorry folks, they're not for keeps, and they're not available to lease at your farm!🚫
If you're looking to take a leisurely ride, give your kids pony rides, potentially do some showing, while continuing to further your horsemanship - one of our special unicorns may be a good fit for you! 🦄
Send us a PM for more info!
My baby lovess meee 🥹
Happiness is green grass & sunshine.☀️
We’re currently FULL!
But if you’d like to join our boarding waitlist or pay us a visit to see what we’re about, send us a message or visit www.ridefreerein.com
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🦄♥️☀️
The most beautiful morning view 🦄🩷☀️
Come join us!
www.ridefreerein.com
Rest assured, our 🦄’s will be hanging in the shade & under their fans during the days, and munching out on the pasture at night this week! 🩷
If you’d like to join our barn family, send us a PM! We’ve got room for one more!
🥵Heat Wave Tips
💦 Provide shade, airflow (use fans) and free access to clean water during hot weather.
🚫 Avoid riding your horse when the combined air temperature (F) and relative humidity is over 150, especially if the horse is not acclimated to the heat.
💧To cool an overheated horse, sponge it with cool water. Repeat this until the horse is cool.
If near a water source, use a hose to spray the horse continuously with cool water.
🩺 Contact your veterinarian right away if you suspect your horse is having a heat stroke.
Credit: University of Minnesota Extension
Golden Hour 🍑
We have long-term, short-term or overnight space available!
Located in Saugerties.
www.RideFreeRein.com or PM us with questions!
Quiet evening in the pasture 🌱🦄
Happy horses🦄🩷
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There are people that inherit wealth and privilege and may never know what it takes to carve something out of nothing.
Some folks get big ranches left in their name, fancy horse breeds, and spreads to “lose money” in for taxes.
But there’s a different kind of inheritance; one that only you have, know and experience through your own life’s journey. It’s you.
Maybe your riches are knowing who you want to be because you’ve seen some very messy times, but you come out better for it.
Maybe you know the wealth that slowing down your life has because you’ve seen it fly by too fast like a runaway horse.
Maybe you know the richness of the story behind the memories of your grandpa’s saddle you still ride with pride.
Maybe you know there isn’t enough money in the world to buy more time with your loved ones.
Maybe your inheritance isn’t all the money in the bank, but it’s you, your experiences, and what you’re doing to leave this world a better place.
Because there’s a difference in just living and living well.
The richness is in the life you bring to your experiences, your children, family and friends.
If I were a betting gal, I’d bet on that rangy bay in the corral that needs more time and work than a fast thoroughbred on the race track. Because that rangy bay will fill up your heart in the long run with the things money can’t buy.
Leave a good inheritance behind, Cowgirl. One full of a life well loved and lived.
Happy Trails-
Heather Countryman ©️
“Home is where the horse is.”
Come join us!
We have one space available currently for long term, layup, or overnight for the horse show.
www.ridefreerein.com
Half the herd enjoying spring so far!
🦄🌱🩷
Morning Memo 😶
As barn owners, living on-farm allows us this beautiful view, and you the peace-of-mind knowing that your horses are just steps away for anything that may need!
We have built a strong rapport with many local vets, farriers and professionals in the area, who are happy to provide us with a wonderful reference.
With a simple, private setting, we make a great home for any riders, and also specialize in retirees and senior horses.
We have availability beginning May 1, and would love to meet you & your equine partner!
www.ridefreerein.com or feel free to to message or call us for more info!
Strait Outta Spots, “Maverick”
Happy Birthday to my best boy,
My silliest goober, My reliable partner,
My biggest expense and accomplishment.
You’re 8! 🎉
Enjoy your Ulcergard cake.🤣
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HOW TO TELL IF A TRAINER IS TOXIC
Positive trainers DON’T:
❌ Put down trainers who don’t train exactly the same way they do.
❌ Gatekeep methods or traditions.
❌ Put moral judgements on differences in training approaches.
❌ Shame professional trainers for ‘doing it for the money.’
❌ Use shame or fear to motivate others.
Positive trainers DO:
✅ Support other trainers who are committed to continually evolving their horsemanship.
✅ Acknowledge that different horses and scenarios require out of the box thinking.
✅ Acknowledge that making a living as a trainer is a business, and it’s OK to approach it as such.
✅ Use positive reinforcement to motivate and inspire others.
We have a few unicorns available for lease!
Some on-farm in Saugerties, some available off-farm.
Looking to ride and compete? Got it!
Want to ride for fun & leisure? You’re in the right place! Have a horse crazy kid? We can help!
Just want to spend time on the ground & loving on a sweet equine? Have that too!
Send us a message for more info!
Free Rein Farm in Saugerties, NY will have 1 full-care board space available beginning May 1!
Short- or Long-term!
Our happy horses, along with outstanding professional, vet and farrier references speak for themselves.
We specialize in retirees and layups, but welcome riders of any discipline and offer on-site instruction.
Come visit us!🦄🤍
www.ridefreerein.com
Blanketless and enjoying a good roll!🦄☀️
Fresh stone 🚜
This!
The more we travel to shows the more overwhelmed I am by the amount of money required to play our sport. My daughter thrives in the jumper ring so I need to make this work. I asked around and came up with a list of things I wish I knew/did 10 years ago, so I figured I would share…
Volunteer for everything and do a great job, it opens doors and creates relationships.
Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice - most would love to chat and share their experience, be ok if they are too busy. Always ask, always be ok with the answer being no.
Read everything, or if you’re not a reader listen to podcasts, audiobooks, always learn
Learn German or Spanish, trust me.
Get a subscription to ClipMyHorse.tv for 149 Euro/year. Not only can you watch an awesome amount of international shows BUT they have an Academy that is included in the subscription. Tons of mini lessons from the best in the world.
Work the hardest (body clip, braid, muck stalls, etc) - it’s seen and appreciated by those that count
Become obsessive with your horse and its care. Obsess about their feed, their feet, their condition, make the horse you have the very best it can be.
This is silly but valid… make a note on your phone of what coffee order folks want. Nothing better than someone walking up during a long show day with your favorite drink. Relationships matter.
Be thankful to everyone. Thank the ingate, the jump crew, the course designer, the steward - their job is under appreciated and without them no one can be successful.
Help load/unload your shavings and hay deliveries. Please. I hate when folks sip lattes watching others sweat.
Find a side hustle in the horse business. We started Millbrook Leathers - there is a ton of customers out there, start small but start, every dollar counts.
Tell your fellow competitors good job, clap for them, become a friend and a supporter. It’s ok to have friends outside your own barn.
If you’re waiting for a jump, help the trainer on the jump adjust it - go up 2, go wider - you’re anyway just standing there waiting, be helpful.
No hoof, no horse. Ask questions, chat with your farrier.
When I was 16yo I braided enough manes to afford a flight to Switzerland. I worked my butt off for free, and it changed my life. People always say going to Europe is a dream, it can be a reality. 
Show up as the person you needed when you were growing up.
This is the hardest one… say hi to people when you pass. Lots of times I think they have no idea who I am, so I just look at my phone, look the other way. If you’ve met them or had some sort of interaction chances are they remember you. Make eye contact, say good morning, develop all the relationships.
Get a dog. That’s just general life advice, get a dog.
If you’re a woman, ask for opportunities, be ok with the answer being no. So many men are at the top of the sport and I swear it’s because they actively ask for opportunity while women tend to work hard and passively hope to be noticed. Ask. All they can say is yes or no, it may start a conversation and who knows where that will lead.
Dont get so busy chasing dreams that you forget the fun.
If you’re moving up a level or just need to work out kinks, do the blue ribbon rounds or school on Tuesdays/mornings if allowed. Division classes are $$ and if you’re not ready to be competitive why not do the same height in a no pressure/less cost situation? I feel like these options are too often overlooked.
If you’re a working student, be first in last out. What you lack in experience and talent make up for in work ethic. Talent is everywhere, dedicated horsemen are a rarity.
Someone is ALWAYS watching. The good and the bad.
Get the VIP. Trust me, I was never this person. But now I budget that into my savings plan - scrimp elsewhere to splurge there. VIP is where folks are sitting and relaxing, some of the most influential conversations I’ve had have happened in VIP because people had the time to chat.
Be kind and grateful to the office staff. They get all sorts of rude behavior thrown at them. They want you to succeed and your paperwork to be easy. Appreciate them and if there are issues work through them with patience and kindness at the forefront. Also, bring them cookies or cake because they are locked at that desk – who doesn’t love snacks?
Always watch the warm up, listen and learn, the warm up is the best place to be.
Talk to the course designer, ask them what's hard in their course, what's easy in the course, why they did it, etc
Walk the small classes and the big classes, then see if they ride how you thought
If you see someone needing help, go help them - this should be obvious but…
Talk to the grooms in your aisle, bring them coffee, they have so much knowledge and are so undervalued.
Look outside the box when traveling to shows. Do you have to stable on grounds or is there a trailer in option? Our horses stay in a beautiful field in Wellington for $10/day, yes it means we drive back and forth a lot, but $10/day…
If you’re a USEF member you get 10% off at Dover
Even if you aren’t a hunter, watch the pro hunter ring. Just watch trips. Many of them. In the jumpers there are fairly obvious moves made to accomplish goals. In the hunters you start to see the tiny, minuscule adjustments that add to super consistent pace and get an incredible jump out of a horse. All of these adjustments are useful tools.
Your horse’s stomach health needs to be focused on more.
Unless you have uses for hauling other things, do not get a truck and trailer to save hauling money. If you are taking less than 3 horses to every show it will rarely even out.
Be grateful. Always.
If outside hay/shavings are allowed, bring them or go to local Murdoch’s/Tractor Supply avoid paying the mark up. Always go to the gas station for ice.
Clinics! There are so many clinics out there, if you can’t afford to ride in them then audit them.
USHJA offers Emerging Athletes Program, Gold Star Clinic, etc – try to join this pathway, it’s invaluable access to some of the industry’s top professionals.
And last but not least, always pet the pony.
What would you add?
Saugerties, NY
12477
| Monday | 9am - 6pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 6pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 6pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 6pm |
| Friday | 9am - 6pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 6pm |
| Sunday | 9am - 6pm |
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We made it through another NY winter! 😄 That means it’s about time to start acclimating all of the unicorns to grass🌱 a few minutes at a time, so that by the time, so that when the summer pasture is ready, we have much lower risk of laminitis & colic! ⚠️Be sure to discuss with your vet & barn-owner ahead of time of time to plan for your horse, as every horse is different in their sensitivity and needs!
Let your daughters (and sons) grow up to be horse kids🩷🦄
Thirsty Fox Stables at Bowdown Farm
Shear Road
Thunder Crest Performance Horses
John Shults Road
