Highway Stables

03/21/2024

💯

Please share with your horsey friends!

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".

02/19/2024

🎯 🎯

It takes hundreds of hours of SLOW, methodical work to be able to do the fast things consistently well.

02/15/2024

Please share with your horsey friends!

12/26/2023

You all know my saying, “new direction, new brain” 🧠

When working with your horse, you need to act as if you have two separate horses. Learn more about the Downunder Horsemanship Method and our training resourc...

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas from Highway Stables 🎄 🐴

11/16/2023

🎯

There is a real relationship between the real coaches and the best players.…

10/25/2023

Perfect explanation! 👨‍🍳 💋

Bake the bread!

I have a lot of students in the 1st/2nd level phase where they are really starting to touch on true collection. I think the hardest part of collection is that the rider has to set clearer boundaries and not allow the horses energy to escape and flatten out which can feel a bit restrictive to the rider at times.

I try to explain collection (and roundness in general) as baking bread. When baking bread, as the energy causes the bread to rise the bread has to fill in all the nooks and crannies of the pan. This gives it a round appearance since the “energy” needs to go somewhere but can only expand in certain directions due to the parameters of the pan.

Think of your contact as “the pan” and your leg and seat as the energy used to expand the dough. As the horse learns collection the “pan” gets smaller and smaller and the horse gets rounder and taller.

If you take the exact amount of dough and put one in a smaller pan and one in a longer pan you will end up with two very different loaves of bread. This is the same difference in the outlines of a training level horse and a upper level horse.

Just some food for thought (see what I did there?! 😉)

10/21/2023

💕 🐴 💕

I am a lesson horse.
I am a horse that isn’t as recognized as the top hunter jumpers, the best western pleasure horse, or the 1D barrel horse, I am a lesson horse. I am the backbone of the foundation to do all of those things. I am a lesson horse.

I am not loved by one person. I am loved by several people. I don’t have my person, I have my people. I am a lesson horse.

I will teach your child and yourself more than just to ride. I will bring your child out of their shell. I will teach your child about life. I will be yours and their shoulder to cry on. I am a lesson horse.

I will bring my family the joy of teaching kids. I will bring my families business growth. I am so loved by my family, even if they don’t express it everyday. My family allows others to show me love and enjoy me. I am a lesson horse.

At the end of your childs’ journey on a lesson horse, they will out grow me. They will find one that jumps higher, a horse that is show quality, a horse much faster than me. But, I will never outgrow being a lesson horse. I will be the one that loved your child and helped your child grow into the rider and person they are. I am a lesson horse.

At the end of my time as a lesson horse; I will be covered in grey hair. Each grey hair came from each hour I spent as a lesson horse. I will be in a field of green grass, I will be taken care of as I was when I was a lesson horse. I will watch your child from across the pasture love her new horse. But, I will love your child more than any horse can. I will be the backbone of the business, the family, and your child. Don’t forget about me, I am a lesson horse.

I am a lesson horse.
*stolen from a friend *

10/19/2023

🙌🏼 Anyone who has ridden with me knows how to make the tent! ⛺️

10/15/2023

💯

10/09/2023

10/03/2023

Beautiful boys enjoying this weather 🍁🍂🐴

09/07/2023

🙌🏼🙌🏼

Please share with your horsey friends!

08/25/2023

When riding onto a circle, imagine you are on a ramp in a parking garage heading up to the next level. You ride your horse UP and around the circle. Never pull the inside rein down and in, because you will be taking the horse’s inside shoulder down and in with you. Especially on smaller circles (like 8 or 10 m) I picture a ramp taking me up and around with an outside retaining wall, so my horse can’t bulge through the outside shoulder. Thanks Susan DiFelice Design for this gorgeous illustration!!
🌀 🐎 ↗️ 🚗

08/21/2023

🙌🏼

08/14/2023

A Bit of Knowledge

What is the best Bit to use on your Horse ?

Everyone has an opinion on Bits they use, I thought I would share mine.
I see more and more credit and excuses given to Bits in the Horse world lately than ever before.

My Opinion:
The best Bit to use is the Bit of knowledge. (Ken May)

The older I get the more I realize the problem is not in the Horses mouth it’s in the body.
Releasing the stiffness in the body correctly then the mouth will automatically become soft. Learning techniques to soften the body and take tension out will make the Bit feel better.

I start my colts in a halter then loping hackamore then snaffle then you can go to a curb Bit. Even if my Horses are advanced in the Curb bridle I will ride them in a snaffle at times. I want my Horses to not have to rely on one particular Bit.

A truly soft and advanced Horse should be able to carry anything in their mouth.
Some Horses accept more leg than rein an some desire more rein than leg Yielding. Horsemanship is so much more important than Bits.
Don’t get me wrong I have a preference on quality of Bits that I use.
A good Bit can enhance your good feel or your bad feel.
It’s important that a Bit has a job to connect to the Horses feet. When your timing is off on communicating this to your Horse, it is easy to Blame the Bit.
The more Knowledge you Acquire the less Bit you will use.

I hope this gave you a Bit of information that you needed.

Hat Company Feeds, Inc. #5 Star Equine Products Arena Specialists C Ranch

08/04/2023

🐴☀️ 𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙴𝚁 𝙷𝙾𝚁𝚂𝙴 𝙲𝙰𝙼𝙿 ☀️🐴

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August 16-17 9:30 AM-1PM
Ages 6+

Campers will enjoy:
🐎Equine Education
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🐎And More!

Highway Stables
Warsaw, NY
Call or text 585-310-4599 to reserve your spot!

08/01/2023

Trust your horse to go forward

Probably one of the biggest sticking points for many: horses crunched up from a rider who is afraid to let go- and when they are let go they are snatched back up. Fear! It’s insidious. There is no judgment here of the human for being afraid

But

How can a horse ever trust a person who cannot learn to let go of them?

The reality is, a horse in forward motion is far safer than one being restrained. A horse restrained perpetually is a horse set up for implosion. Now THAT is scary

And a horse in BALANCED forward motion is the safest place to be on the planet

Do the work to create the balance
And then trust it, and let the horse move