Brook Ledge Farm

07/08/2024

A HUGE, ‘Thank you’ to Abby Laukka Hardy! We ran through a few Dressage tests. We even had some non-Dressage riders ride through Dressage tests. They may have converted! Abby helped us to understand her scoring after each test. A great afternoon had by all! Can’t wait for the r next one

06/07/2024

Sun burn…

I have conversations often with equine colleagues in regards to previous barn owners, managers, staff and trainers that we have worked under or with in previous lifetimes. Often they are a conversation in how we got our a** handed to us!! It is often followed with a chuckle. As it was more often than not a hard knock lesson within the equine industry. Which we thank them for.

These equine professionals have put their time in hustling, sweating and trying to learn the trade for next to nothing in return but experience and knowledge. These hours and LITERAL blood, sweat and tears from barn managers and trainers are completely thankless… Once you become a ‘professional’ the theory is that you gain clients that trust you with all of their needs as well as their horses.

A client as a boarder or a student needs to trust in their barn manager or trainers theories, in knowledge and in experience. You come to us for a safe haven for your horse. A place where you expect the farm to understand your horses quirks, make a diet for them, help with guidance as far as farrier, vet, etc. A place where you can be yourself, can treat the farm and staff as a therapist, a library, a friend. You come to us to ask for HELP!!

How often is it that a trainer or barn manager is met with resistance? Disrespect of facility, of time? Very few of us in the equine industry are able to pay our bills and ‘make money’. As staff, owners barn managers, trainers, grooms… Clients ask us to invest more and more into THEM but not us… Thankless is the lesser of any word I can find. Don’t ask for help day in and day out and meet us with complaints or pushback. Don’t BEG us for help then deny it and ask why no one will help you… We not only have to meet your horses needs but yours also. At OUR facility… where in our ‘free time’ we mow fields, tend fence, fix broken things that your horse or you have broken… If you are unwilling to understand our theories or have the time to watch our training in action, find somewhere else to go. Don’t complain! After all this is OUR facility. Boarders and clients will come and go. This is where we have to chosen to make our safe haven. Where we lay our own horses and our head to sleep at night.

Why are some trainers, staff, barn owners, barn managers sometimes short in their answers. Sometimes seem like their way is the only way? Because you as a clients can choose any facility. You can leave whenever you don’t like something. We cannot. Disrespect is made to our facility, our time, our knowledge and we have to suck it up and take it.

Thank you for the hard knocks from previous equine professionals. I thank you for the lessons learned. I thank you for your time. I thank you for your facility. I thank you for being a hard a**. I thank you for standing tall and telling clients to take a hike when needed. I thank you for the thankless job you do. I thank you for sharing your passion with me. I will meet you with respect as you tried so very hard to show me respect.

05/08/2024

Spring is springing! Grass is getting greener and trails are drying up!

04/19/2024

Can you tell we’re happy to be outside?!!

04/18/2024

Well deserved sunny days! ☀️

04/16/2024

Monday was a beautiful day for lessons OUTSIDE!

04/14/2024

Get out of the arenas…

As often as possible. Walking, riding, driving, lunging. Ask your barn manager and trainer where you can safely take your horse. Your horse should always respect what you ask of them regardless of the environment. If they never see it how can they understand what to do?

Practice walking, stopping, backing and turning.

04/10/2024

First tracks in the outdoor 2024!

04/09/2024

One pole a day keeps the vet away!

Set your horse and yourself up for success by starting with one and slowly add more over weeks time. Walking is just as beneficial as any other gait. You’ll find your horse is more aware of where each leg lands and when. We find it helps with top line muscles, spookiness and rider confidence as well!

03/28/2024

The lunge lesson!

My favorite to teach and my favorite to ride myself. Find yourself a school master, bombproof big horse that allows you find yourself. Riding is hard enough. When you subtract all the ‘stuff’ and are able to find your own balance and rhythm; it’s magical!

Lunging isn’t to get the bucks out of your horse… Please, help yourself and your trainer by teaching your horse to lunge so you can be lunged on them. It’s awesome to find yourself on the school horse. It’s even more awesome to find yourself on your horse.

03/14/2024

Good morning!

02/01/2024

A little late for New Years… but I wanted to talk about goals. Riding goals, lunging goals, walking goals, grooming goals- it may be anything personal or horse related. It’s a great idea to think and set goals. Full knowing it’s ok to NOT meet them. But they give you a great idea of what you may want to strive for.
Myself, Erin (Barn Manager and trainer) personally had some seriously huge goals for myself in 2023 and for my ‘adopted kids’ (Jan’s horses).
One was to earn my Bronze medal all in one summer using 2 horses. Well, some things got funky on the way…
BUT ‘Wonder Pony’ (pictured here) helped me earn a 67% and a 65.92% at 1st level and a 62.42% at 2nd level. Helping me get halfway to my Bronze Medal in one summer.
My goal of 300 rides fell short at only 267
My goal for 200 hand walk miles fell short at only 113.50miles
I surprised myself by lunging 180 times and teaching 243 lessons in 365 days.
If any of you have seen the ‘meme’ about horses that has a photo of a bike rider on straight line (what you expect your year with horses to be like) followed by the bike ride that drives over mountains and valleys, water and falls, basically comes out of the year broken and beaten (what your year with horses is actually like) knows horse reality.
2023 personal horse goals dropped me to my knees, broke my heart and showed me how I could shine all at the same time. I spent countless nights crying in the slums and crying tears of joy.
At the end of the year I realized how blessed I was and how hard I worked in one year at our beautiful, very small, pleasure barn. My goals weren’t all matched but keeping track of what I did do was really fun! I realized how creative I could be with my horse exercise programs. I read more horse books, watched instruction videos, participated in online courses, listened to every type of horse podcast and started following more horse related everything than I ever have before.
Though goals have ups and downs, it’s import to see yourself in different lights.
Set goals for yourself this year! Silly, simple goals- any goal is a great goal. You’ll surprise yourself as to what you can achieve!! And most importantly have fun with your horse. Through it all, I sure did have a lot of fun in 2023!

01/02/2024

Retirement may mean ‘out of work’. However, in order to stay out of trouble and respectful to handlers a horse needs to keep its mind active. For some that may mean hand walks or ride walks to new places. For others it may mean liberty or ground work. Find what suits your horses mind to stay young. After years of daily work under saddle or harness, it is a hard shift to complete retirement and be untouched. Within retirement your horse will still need to be seen by the vet and farrier. Help them by helping your horse stay meantlly available to be safe and respectful.

12/30/2023

Trying to steal your older brothers clothing… it’s just a little large through the shoulders 😂

12/28/2023

Some times I think the hardest part of horse training is knowing when to push and when to step back. When things get sticky in training ask the horse, “what can you do for me?” I think you’ll find less is more. Can you trust me to keep it simple? Can you walk, can you trot, can you canter? Contact, impulsion, throughness all comes over time. A long long time… A long time of asking the same simple questions each workout. If those get answered ‘correctly’ consistently- then add just one more question each ride. You’re teaching your horse each time you take them out- like it or not. It’s ok to ‘backtrack’ and start again to keep it simple and comprehensive.

12/20/2023

A beautiful day after a crazy storm. Lessons with the indoor arena doors open!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving! We can’t wait to eat!

11/22/2023

When the weather gets colder- this is the best sight!

11/19/2023

Interesting evening

11/10/2023

For those who know- You know 🤪😂

Polly and Prince are the “Frick and Frack” of the farm. Half of the time Polly (donkey) is loose... Thankfully, she doesn’t go far without Prince! At this point, the amount of lessons Polly has audited she could school 3rd level movements along with Prince!

11/05/2023

❤️

When you buy a horse, plan to take care of it in its old age.
Use it in such a way that the horse remains healthy in the long term.
When he grows old, see in him the one who was in his full strength, love him even more than in his youth.💙💙

Credit La Grand Refuge Spa

11/03/2023

Fall is HERE!

11/01/2023

OPPOSITE DAY: Use your non-dominant hand for daily activities.

Examples: Use your opposite hand to brush your teeth, mount on the opposite side of your horse or lead the horse on the opposite side.

The goal of this challenge is to head towards being equally strong on both sides of your body. We ask our horse to be. Why don’t we ask ourselves?

Plus, you’ll be entertaining yourself all day with how awkward some tasks may fee!

10/15/2023

What’s the most common comment from my favorite trainers?

Walk, walk, walk, walk. Everyday, walk.

Ride walk, hand walk, walk longe. Walk.

Why?

Horses are grazing animals. Which means what? They are intended to walk from place to place finding nibbles of food the entire day! Keep in mind, many other conversations come from remembering that we own grazing animals. But one to keep in the front of your mind is movement. Horses are pray animals. Casual walking takes a huge amount of practice. However, if a horse can casually walk with you for a mile or miles a day they are comfortable in their situation.

Walking is an easy workout for both you and your horse. The goal in horsemanship to have your horse calm but look to you if they need direction in any situation. Set yourself up for success by simply starting with and extra lap from the field. Each day add a few more steps. ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY! Boring is GOOD!

Go walk it out for 14 days and watch for results!

09/27/2023

Clipping season has started…

09/20/2023

We have some streakers!

09/14/2023

Appreciate your trainer.

They spend way more hours at work than you could even imagine. They are here six if not seven days a week every week. They work holidays. They work weekends. And just because their office is outside and they get to be surrounded by beautiful animals the whole time does not mean they aren’t working. The barn to you is your sanctuary. It’s your escape. It’s your place to vent. Your place to relax. Your place to unwind. That is not what the barn is to them. While they have moments of serenity when everything is quiet, this is still their job. they are still on the clock. They still need to be on their game. Always.

Their job is not just riding. They deal with all of you every day. Long before and long after they have come and gone from the barn. During dinners. During drinks with friends. During family time. On days off. They are here for you.

They care. They care more than you could ever know. Each and every horse is a part of their soul. They know their mannerisms. They meticulously watch their weight, their movement, monitor what they eat and how much of it, how much they work, whether they are happy doing their job, and how to make them go in a way that pleases you without jeopardizing them. They stay up late with them if they are sick. They write down every time they batted an eyelash wrong. And they remember what they need when.

They take pride in them going well for you. They listen to every flaw you find with them, even if it is in fact your flaw, and try to help them do their job better. When you are unhappy with how they go, they strive to never let it happen again, even if your expectations are unreasonable. They bend over backwards to make your horse perfect, even if what you’re asking for is a horse without spirit, or personality. They stand up for them when they can, trying their best not to make you upset in the process. They are their life’s work, and they know them inside and out.

They listen to you. Whether you are rational or not. They remain calm when you bring the stress of your day job to the barn and take it all out on your horse and on us. They pick up the pieces when you’ve been unforgiving with your horse, who was simply surprised by your lack of patience after a long day. They are your rock, your shoulder to cry on, and your horses.

When they go home, they still reply to your texts and your emails and your calls. They are never off the clock. They take in stride as best we can your rants of frustration when your horse or your riding isn’t exactly where you want it to be exactly when you want it. They take the blame. For you. For your horse. For everything.

And yet here they are. Still showing up. Still being here for you. For your horse. No matter how you treat them. Regardless of whether you deserve them. They are here.

09/12/2023

The EASIEST and most INEXPENSIVE way to add saddle time…

Show up early and stay late after your lessons!!!

If you can take 15 minutes before and after your lessons to walk on your horse; That’s 30 additional minutes in one day already completed. Get the most ‘bang for your buck’ by subtracting warm up and cool down time from your lesson. You’ll find your trainer getting closer to point sooner in each lesson if you’re already ready to go!

Your trainer will thank you and you will notice a difference in your riding faster!

09/07/2023

And then it was full.

Happy hay season is over! THANKFUL we can get all of ours during the summer and it will last until the next. It truly takes a team to get this completed but it is so worth it come winter!

08/31/2023

Everyone loves a thumbs up!

Make sure you LIKE and FOLLOW our page!

On a mobile device:
Go to your menu
Scroll to pages
There may be many pages of which you’ve been invited to like and didn’t know! Make sure you like us!

How high can we get our liked number?!?