MJ Equine

14/08/2024

Joker said that when he grows up he wants to be a Fireman👨🏻‍🚒

Thank you to Alyssa Giamartino/Haven Harbor Stables , West Monroe Volunteer Fire Department and OnCART for hosting an Emergency Response Drill tonight! And shout out to Joker for making friends with half the station and demonstrating multiple types of halters and how to use webbing for lifts.

29/05/2024

Hello everyone! I am back for the summer officially and I am starting back up and running with weekly lessons starting next week! Make sure to touch base with me to confirm your slot, and we will make it happen!

23/04/2024

As we roll into pre-season full force, some of you have asked about apparel. It is still up and running! Here is that link.

Buy merchandise from MJ Equine Apparel. Featuring Black Classic Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA.

30/03/2024

Hello everyone! Spring seems to be trying its best to get here! With that said, I have begun filling my books for this summer! I will be completing my internship local and will be home from late May to late August I plan on taking on three more weekly lessons and a couple more training horses. There has been some contract and pricing updates so ALL clients (new and current) will need to have signed contracts to me before continuing services😊

Below is my updated pricing and availability.

25/03/2024

Oh Chata🤩

This is only one of less than five lope throughs this mare has had! When I got my hands on this girl, she was a walk/trot horse for a year or so, super hesitant about footing, not willing to lope for much more than a couple circles, and would bolt out of confusion. I was able to put some rides here and there on her in the fall and a solid 30ish rides since early winter. We worked on stamina, trusting her own feet, and balance. To say it all clicked today is an understatement!! I cannot wait to see where she goes this summer.

24/03/2024

Spring break ended as close to perfect as it could ever get!
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An absolute fantastic first ride for Mr. Cas and Autumn! You’d think he’d been ridden everyday his whole life.
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Flame and Jozaya had a great lesson focusing on rhythm and balance through turns and bends!
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Chata made Cassi and so proud today with a beautiful lope through on the pattern!
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It takes a village and boy to I love mine! Thank to you all for supporting me and trusting me with you and your four legged partners 💚

24/01/2024

Well another break has come and gone and this happens to pop up on my feed! This is exactly what everyone’s ponies worked on this past month and a half with me! Please read through this, and if you’re one of my lesson riders, be prepared to work on these skills this spring 😊

22/01/2024

17/01/2024

If all my people could please read this 😊

The bookend method…. Take two qualities you want simultaneously, but can only do one at a time, and sandwhich them!

One of the best examples is that any time you increase collection do you want to be sure you can immediately return to relaxation. The easiest way to do that is to make sure you work on relaxation before the collection.

 Another classic example is that maybe there is a quality you have in the trot that you do not yet have in the canter. Let’s say you can get your horse to stretch forward and down while trotting, but not so much in the canter… so go back-and-forth between a stretchy trot, and a few strides of canter, and return immediately to a stretchy trot.  Initially you’ll probably just be working on returning to stretchy trot as quickly as you can because just having done a not so stretchy canter might make it harder. Or maybe it’s more difficult to pick up the canter from a stretchy trot. However it plays out, you will end up working on whatever ingredients it is that you need to get that stretch in the canter. 

Too often people keep trotting around, pulling in cranking and trying to get the horse to do something …. maybe flex right. Walk and get it. If that doesn’t work, halt and get it! Then walk a few steps, halt, flex right, walk a few steps, halt, flex right. Soon you’ll get it in the walk no problem. Then trot a few steps, walk, flex right, trot,… you get the idea.

What two qualities can you do individually, but would like to get simultaneously??

08/01/2024

Here is a great post on bend, and an even better visual for those who learn through looking! It’s a piece by piece process but once we have that round from nose to tail we have a supple horse that bends and “wraps” its self around a barrel. This is what your horses have been working on this winter with me and they’re getting the hang of it for sure!

“losing the shoulder”
“shoulder falling out”
Are you confused by these terms?
When beginner riders start to learn bend, us instructors are not looking for perfect bend….. WE STRUGGLE with “perfect” bend!!!  So initially, we are just happy if our students can steer the horse’s nose separate from steering it’s shoulders.
So if your horse looks like the sketch on the left while going left, but no longer looks like this while going to the right, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 🎊🍾🎉
That’s a huge accomplishment.

But then, eventually, you take a clinic, or your instructor gets pickier, and you start hearing phrases like “his shoulder is falling out! You are losing his shoulder!” Since you just spent the last six months learning how to tip the horse’s nose towards the inside of the circle, without the entire horse spiraling into the middle of the arena, the shoulder going out kind of sounds fantastic to you!

But as we get pickier, improve the horse’s balance, and prepare to learn new movements, we don’t want the horse to over bend at the base of the neck. Instead, we want the horse to “bend” through the rib cage (what is technically happening is axial rotation, not lateral bend, but it feels and looks like lateral bend, so don’t worry too much about the semantics) and lateral flexion at the poll, BUT NOT much lateral bend at the base of the neck.

If the horse is straight in the rib cage and straight in the neck, but practically hinged where the neck meets the spine, it gives the feel/appearance of the shoulders bulging outward. To fix it, we start to utilize inside leg to outside rein connection.

This is when the magic starts to happen in your riding!!!! It’s not the easiest stage to understand but stick with it. You are now at the point that you can start to really influence the horse in a positive way.

Instead of taking from the horse, you are soon in a position to really give to the horse, and make them feel better in their body!

06/01/2024

Hello Everyone!

Don’t forget you can grab some MJ Equine Apparel at anytime! Youth and Adult Sizes Available, both unisex😊

Buy merchandise from MJ Equine Apparel. Featuring Black Classic Unisex Tees, professionally printed in the USA.

20/12/2023

Well the Central New York winter is not sure if it wants to stay or leave, but I’m here until late Janurary!

I still have a couple of lesson slots open for the month I’m home and still have a discounted price when you pay upfront! If you are thinking about the summer season already (believe me, I am too!) get in touch with me to secure your spot for June, July, and/or August!

16/12/2023

Apparel is now open! Grab some to represent MJ Equine this summer!

Create your custom shirt campaign for free. Upload art or design your shirt online & sell to your community for a good cause or for profit. Launch today!

10/12/2023

Christmas is right around the corner and what else would you get the horse lover in your life? 🐴🎄

🎁 For a LIMITED time only!
🎁 Must be paid in full before 12/25
🎁 Private lessons can only be used on one(1) participant, and good for four(4) lessons while I am in town, up to two(2) lessons per week
🎁Group lessons can be used for one(1) participant for four(4) lessons OR two(2) participants for two(2) lessons

10/12/2023

Hello Everyone!! I have set up a temporary apparel online store until I find the perfect fit with more options. The store opens up on December, 16th at 9am! All items will be printed and delivered to you directly!

Here is the Link:

Create your custom shirt campaign for free. Upload art or design your shirt online & sell to your community for a good cause or for profit. Launch today!

28/11/2023

If there were to be apparel who would be interested and what type? The circle main logo would be back and the other would be front chest or a name. Comment if you’d be interested and what type you think! I’ll do some looking around for places! Most likely screen print over embroidery for less costs but if you’d prefer on your comment😊