Cardinal Ridge Equestrian Center

06/01/2024

Hahaha so true 😅
credits: Pinterest

03/19/2024

03/02/2024

Ok friends, let’s be real… We’ve all seen some ISO ads lately that would make any true horseman stop in their tracks…

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ISO Unicorn

Absolutely no spook, quirks, vices, maintenance, special needs. 100% safe.
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Thank goodness they are shopping for unicorns and not horses, because a good horseman knows that is absolutely impossible from a horse.

Personally I spooked at a squirrel yesterday, and I have better vision than a horse and am not a prey animal.

No one can guarantee any activity in your life is safe—-not soccer, not baseball, not tennis, nothing. Those are the choices you make and the risks you voluntarily take on to participate in the activity you’ve chosen and to live your life. We all try to make the best choices we can of course, but any seller that promises any facet of your life is guaranteed safe is selling snake oil.

As for the horse’s quirks and special needs? I’ve owned hundreds of horses in my career and worked with many hundreds more. The five best horses of my career were as follows:

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Horse #5. Vices: Cannot pull mane or body clip without heavy sedation. Must be in front when hacking in group. Why it’s worth it: Horse of a lifetime for his rider.

Horse #4. Vices: Free because he failed his PPE so badly at 5yo. Needs $800 shoes from a top farrier every 6 weeks. Why it’s worth it: Competed at the upper levels of eventing very successfully and reliably for 11 years.

Horse #3. Vices: Poor mover in the trot, extremely hot, needs a very kind rider. Why it’s worth it: Evented through advanced level, national champion at intermediate.

Horse #2. Vices: May rear and buck. Kicks and bites on ground. Will not go in any wash stall. Why it’s worth it: Never once dropped his rider. Evented through advanced level.

Horse #1. Vices: Incredibly spooky, poor mover in trot, chip on X-rays. Why it’s worth it: Successful and prolific advanced horse, sold and exported to a European Olympic team.

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Our horse shopping advice to you? Be a good horseman.

If the horse makes you smile every day, who cares if it’s tough to pull its mane?

If the horse takes the best care of you, who cares if it flinches trotting past a trash can? Use your inside leg.

If the horse does the job you need it to do, who cares if it needs a good farrier? They should ALL have good farriers.

If the horse saves your behind every time you don’t see a distance, who cares if it cribs on a feed tub?

Good luck, happy shopping, and for the love of unicorns, stop seeking things that don’t exist or you’ll never find it.

—Megan Moore, Verona Equestrian
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(Welcome to share, please don’t copy paste.)

02/25/2024

Rogue, lol

02/22/2024

I have seen horses thrive barefoot.

I have seen horses that need a supportive boots/shoeing package to maintain quality of life.

I have seen horses thrive on a grass-free track system.

Equally, I have seen horses flourish when taking them off the track system and into a more 'traditional' management setting which includes grass.

I have seen horses unwind when they are given the opportunity to hang out with conspecifics.

I have seen horses that are so poorly socialised that they need a rehab plan and careful management to help them to feel safe and develop positive associations in a herd-based environment.

I have seen horses that visibly sigh with relief when their exercise schedule is reduced.

I have seen horses breakdown at the reduction of their workload intensity or routine.

I have seen horses graciously carry their terrfied human around a trail ride.

I have seen horses come completely undone at the slightest hint of tension from their rider.

With all the horses I have had the privilege to meet, I have NEVER seen a horse do well out of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Whilst gold standard for horses might look like one collection of traits or variables, gold standard for your horse might not be that for your horse at that particular moment - or ever.

Recognise your horse is an individual, with needs that are founded upon their in-utero, early life and day to day experience.

And surround yourself with professionals that do the same too ❤️

02/18/2024

In German, there is a saying: “Reiten lernt man nur durch Fegen”, which translates as “Riding is only learned by sweeping”. I have often thought about this saying.

Wherever there are horses, there is a lot of work to be done: Cleaning, sweeping, brushing, feeding, repairing…It’s not only the fun sides of pushing yourself off the ground and into the saddle. Learning to ride takes commitment and discipline, and we might have to do a lot of things which are not very glorious. Sweeping teaches us humility and keeps us grounded.

For me, this saying is also about apprenticeship. You start at the bottom, you sweep, you get off your high horse and you become open to learn. You admit to yourself that you don’t know everything. Sweeping is good for our ego. If you are an apprentice, the master can afford be honest to you. You don’t pay for lessons and s/he has nothing to loose if s/he scares you off. And that kind of honesty we need if we want to develop.

When we do chores around the barn, we also have the chance to develop a more natural kind of relationship with our horses, or with horses in general. We are not directly focused on them and can observe how they interact and what they are doing.

Sweeping is also my zen practice. Whatever my troubles are, I usually feel better after the morning chores at the barn are done.

02/05/2024

A week ago today I swung my saddle onto the back of a five-year-old quarter horse under the watchful eye of Tom Curtin.

The horse took a few concerned steps as my stirrup swung over his back. I looked up to see Tom’s grin under the brim of his hat and he said,

“You were thinking about saddling that horse, weren’t you?
You need to think about that horse while you saddle him.“

Last week I spent the week with Tom and his wife, Trina. I noticed a reoccurring lesson throughout the week.

The everyday activities I have done my whole life with horses took on a new meaning. “You were thinking about brushing that c**t, you need to think about that c**t while you brush him.” And, “you were thinking about bridling that mare, you need to think about that mare while you bridle her.”

Tom said, “No matter what you do, never forget that horse”.

So there I was, playing cowboy for a week, learning about c**t starting, riding young horses, checking cattle, but deep inside it all, learning how to be with a horse in a very intentional way.

It’s a sort of contract, you see. You’re not demanding that your horse give you their attention without an even exchange. Asking a horse to bring their attention to me now feels more like saying, “Remember I’m right here, thinking about you… In exchange can you think about me?”

The gift of Tom’s c**ts was that they already knew the feeling of being kept in mind, and they were good at telling me when I’d lost track of them. The calm that came over these horses when I thought of them as I went about my daily routines was just wonderful.

All it took was being mindful of their existence and attentive to their needs. We typically have some sort of goal with our horses that can provide a wonderful sense of purpose, but the goal is meaningless if we lose track of our partner in the process.

I hope in reading this you can be as inspired as I am. When you go out this week and do whatever you do with your horses, whether it be jumping fences, working cows, dancing in a dressage arena, chasing hounds, etc, see if you can go about your business with purpose, but never forget your horse.

~ Justin

📸 Erin Gilmore // Erin Gilmore Photography

01/25/2024

I was having a conversation with a fellow last night and we were talking about how things in our lives have changed. How life has forced us to have “priority shifts”. How we used to be “barn rats”.

Fast forward to now. She works a corporate job and is crazy busy with quite a bit less barn time. I run two businesses and have chronic pain and illness, so between work and my own body saying “NO”, I am lucky to make it to the barn 3x a week, let alone every day.

I used to want to ride all the time, show every weekend, want to take my horse up the levels in Dressage on my own. Now I enjoy just trail riding when I can and spending time on the ground with my horse. And that’s OKAY. It’s okay if your priorities with your horse have changed. I used to feel guilty about it, like somehow I wasn’t doing right by my horse if he wasn’t being ridden or I wasn’t taking lessons every day - but here’s the thing - your horse doesn’t care if he or she is being ridden or not. They care if they are getting their natural needs met. Being with other horses, turnout, basic exercise, food, water, etc. Your human needs have nothing to do with that.

So if you find your priorities changing along your equestrian journey, no matter what that shift is… just know that it is okay. Just take care of yourself, take care of your horse, and the rest will fall into place. 🖤

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

01/17/2024

Sometimes on a farm....

Sometimes you bring 300 feet of garden hose in to your bathroom every night to thaw so you can water livestock

Sometimes you have to plug the tractor in for 18+ hours before it will finally turn over and fire up

Sometimes the milk pump freezes multiple times in the middle of trying to milk cows

Sometimes the temperature reaches -20 degrees and the wind just won't quit

Sometimes you break open waters for them to freeze back over 10 minutes later

Sometimes the tractor gets stuck when you're just trying to put hay out

Sometimes the frustration freezes to your face as it leaks out of your eyes

Sometimes you call the vet and it still doesn't fix it

Sometimes you go to bed wondering if tomorrow will be any better

Sometimes your heart gets broken

Sometimes all your hard work feels like it doesn't even matter

But sometimes you stand outside under the stars when the winds finally calms and all you hear is the crunch of hooves on the snow and munching of hay. And sometimes the sun comes out the next morning and you feel like it's getting better.

The one thing that is always true is that we were chosen for this life. Farmers were entrusted with this responsibility because we are strong enough to keep going when it gets hard and have the faith to know that we are doing what we are called to do. So as we hang up the coveralls and coats and dry the gloves and hats and warm our cold skin, we crawl into a warm bed and rest to wake and do it all again tomorrow.

01/17/2024

Here’s to the owners who are outside every couple of hours to monitor their horses’ health in these frigid temps.

Here’s to the owners who are checking waterers for ice. Here’s to the owners who are freezing their fingers to hang up their hose, or bringing hoses inside their house to keep from freezing.

Here’s to the owners switching blankets, double blanketing, or cleaning out shelters for their unblanketed horses. Here’s to the owners who are worried if their horse is staying warm enough with or without their blanket.

Here’s to the owners who are throwing countless flakes of loose hay out while making sure the round bale feeders don’t go empty.

Here’s to the owners praying that equipment starts, and hydraulics work smoothly. Here’s to the owners who figure it out when the equipment fails you.

Here’s to the messy mud room, filled with winter bibs, charged heated vests, boot dryers plugged in, and headlamps charged. Here’s to the countless pairs of gloves you have to swap out each time you venture outside.

Here’s to the rigorous training schedules, riding lessons, and busy barn coming to a halt. Here’s to putting the health of the animal’s first.

Here’s to the part of horse management that isn’t so glamorous. Thank you for all you are doing for the safety and wellbeing of your horses during this time.

Here’s to all of us ❄️🩵

01/08/2024

This white stuff might be pretty but I still don’t want it!
Stopped by to pray for a speedy arrival of Spring on my way to do barn chores.

12/31/2023

Our lesson program is highly regarded and led by a team of licensed instructors with expertise in all levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced - with an emphasis on the standards of excellence and safety for both horse and rider.

12/29/2023

Sharing

12/29/2023

❤🐴

12/28/2023

💚🌿

07/19/2023

Sharing

07/19/2023

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Funny Cide, winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and Hall of Champions Resident. The champion passed away Sunday, July 16, due to complications from colic. He will be greatly missed by his friends at the Kentucky Horse Park, Sackatoga Stable, and all his devoted fans.

The Hall of Champions barn will be closed today.
Formal obituary to follow.

07/19/2023

This weekend

Hardwick Farmers: We carry Livestock, Horse Feed; Pet Supplies, Food; Lawn, Garden Supplies, Clothing

07/19/2023

Good article, I have had many horses in my lifetime that were quite sound but if you looked at an x-ray, you might think otherwise. Considering the job and workload is very important. If I were flexed today, I would not be sound, lol.

07/18/2023

👊🏼🫡

07/16/2023

Not too many things beat a beautiful Summer day on the farm.

07/15/2023

Honor horses by learning about their history, beautiful features, and excellent talents.