Hoof to Heart Equestrian Center

29/08/2024

Ground work kinda nite 💜💜💜

26/08/2024

Thank you Bright Eyes Equine Massage for making the ponies feel their best!!

26/08/2024

DO SOMETHING!!! 
It’s dusk and the horses in the field are frolicking, and you know your horse might act a little silly. TACK UP ANYWAYS!!! Go do some groundwork with your saddle on. Maybe everyone will settle down and you’ll end up having a great ride, or maybe things get really wild and you’re glad you’re on the ground. Either way, it’s a win!!! 

You bought a horse that’s too much for you and your trainer is riding it????  Go take lessons on some school horses, get your trainer to teach you, ground work with your horse, if appropriate, and watch their rides with your breaches and boots on, and if things are going well, see if you can at the bare minimum, get a pony ride at the end of your trainers session. 

One of the saddest things that I see all the time is that as people get older or weaker, or their non-riding life beats them down, they never actually make a conscious decision to quit riding, but they do make excuse, after excuse, after excuse, after excuse,….. and now this amazing horse they own is getting little to no attention. They cling to the idea of riding again, but the writing is on the wall.

If instead they made a conscious decision- sell the young horse to someone younger, and buy the step down horse, or lease your horse out to someone who will enjoy him while you take lessons on school horses. Find a way to stay involved because you know you want to!!!

If you need a break, take a guilt free break! I’ve taken oodles of them, and I am still overall chugging right along with my horse goals. But when it’s time to get back in it, I jump back in wherever I can. I’m not too proud to do a week of groundwork with a horse that scares me a little bit. And honestly, I tend to get way more done those weeks than the times that I just ride a horse through whatever issues are creeping up. But what I don’t do is let my comfort zone get so small that I quit doing the things I love!!!!

22/08/2024

21/08/2024

21/08/2024

18/08/2024

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎

14/08/2024

Cowboy Revolution Apparel Co. is a Veteran-owned apparel brand that blends military and western styles while focusing on the principled message of the Cowboy Code.

14/08/2024

Instructor thoughts...

The more I see and teach the more I believe in the need to be more conservative on what I'm asking my horses working in a lesson program to carry. I want to do my best to extend their career longevity and increase well-being while balancing ethics and student progress.

I've definitely had my stance on this evolve DRASTICALLY over the years. The evolution has changed due to teaching and watching thousands of lessons and working with hundreds of horses and students and owners in the personal, show, traditonal, and adaptive realms.

I think a lot of people (including me in the past) and vets/other professionals set weights with more of a mindset of traditonal riding/personal horses in mind....and not looming through the "lenses" of what we're actually asking our lesson horses to do week after week.

A horse being ridden 5-7x a week by the same 1-2 riders who are also active and riding several times a week and (hopefully) staying practiced in their riding skills.......is not the same as....
A horse being ridden 5-7x a week by 5-7 different riders who ride once or maybe twice a week and have typical physical and cognitive abilites.......is not the same as.....
A horse being ridden 5-7x a week by 5-7 riders who ride once a week and also have additional factors of physical or cognitive challenges....

The stressors and physical demands placed on the horse and what/how the rider is impacting the horse is drastically different in each general situation listed above.

What we manage as instructors is a balancing act with pieces that are always changing.
I'll be the first to admit it's not easy...but we shouldn't shy away from difficult though exercised or decisions because we want to avoid the hard decision now. Really we're just pushing the hard decision down the road and it will manifest in a different way...usually relating to our lesson horses career or behavior.

I do think we can ethically and responsibly work alongside our equine partners in mounted lessons.....but there is so much we need to consider and balance..... and we may not like what the answer is the closer we look.

Context:
These thoughts are in response to some questions about why I have different weight limits for each horse depending on rider ability/support needs/gait, why my weight limits are "low" compared to the industry average, etc.

08/08/2024

Rainy day can turn into a training day.

Umbrella obstacle ☔️☔️☔️

08/08/2024

This! 🤠😇

Let’s talk about the lack of quality coaching and lack of standards in the equine industry. For example, kids learning with someone who claims to be an "coach" and all they learned is how to see-saw a horse's head down and chuck their body over a fence like a champion. All coaching is not equal.

But what happens when you have a good coach? One that opens their program to you, takes you under his/her wing? Becomes invested in your success? When you essentially become part of the "family"...

Eventually, something will happen...

Coach tells you that you are not Karen O'Connor 2.0, and not ready to make the move up to the next level.
Coach says you need to go back and fix some holes in your training.
Coach says you have developed a bad habit, and it needs to be fixed before you can accomplish your goals.
Coach says you need to make sure that your horse is being ridden (not just hanging out at the barn).
Coach says you need to dedicate more time to studying the sport, not just riding.
Coach says it isn't a "horse" problem, it is a "you" problem.

People have become increasingly more reactionary. More easily offended. In lieu of everyone getting a trophy, it is so hard to hear these words from people you admire. Some of the best coaches will be the toughest. Not ones that tear you apart constantly, but coaches that aren't afraid to have the tough conversations with you. Or conversations that you may not have wanted to have.

But remember, a good coach is in YOUR corner. They want YOU to achieve success. They dedicate so much more than an hour of time to your growth not only as a rider but as a horseman. Maybe you are burning the candle at both ends (and in the middle), and you need a reality check that this sport requires more of your time and focus.

These conversations can hurt, but while it may sting at first.... take a second. Think about why your coach is against you moving up right now, why your coach is saying to wait until the summer to be a working student, why your coach is saying that you should not enter the show until the homework and flat work is done.

By Courtney Waskiewicz

07/08/2024

07/08/2024

06/08/2024

26/07/2024

Thank you Bright Eyes Equine Massage for pampering the ponies!!

26/07/2024

Unpopular opinion: Know when to back off.

Horses are not machines. Make sure you find a trainer that knows when to push, and when to back off.

Get you a trainer that pays attention to your horse and their needs.

Some horses are such people pleasers, such hard workers, so trusting and willing, that they'd follow people into their own breaking point; and the wrong people will push them past it.

Make sure you find a trainer that recognizes the limits in your horse and doesn't try to experiment with their mental or physical soundness for faster results.

Like it or not, sometimes days off teach your horse more than constant daily pushing will.

They cannot speak, but the right trainers can still hear them. Make sure they listen.

- Good Secret Horsemanship

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography

22/07/2024

Every step matters! Don’t think of your warm up as simply walking around til it’s time to do the “real” work- the warm up is an essential phase to introduce good range of motion, correct joint flexion and connect mentally and physically to the horse. From the first step away from the block, have awareness of how and why and what you’re doing.

18/07/2024

Good riding requires that we re wire our natural instincts. When we get afraid, we tip forward, or clutch, or pull. We stop breathing, and somewhere deep down we hope the horse will adapt and take care of us. But a good steward takes responsibility: it is our duty to practice honing our reflexes. It is our job to practice controlling our position, our breath, and learning to create a productive mindset.

It is the hardest thing in the world to do to control our natural instincts- but it is the most important. And expecting the horse to adjust to us without the necessary skills is folly. Take the time, put the hours in, get a good coach and an appropriate horse, and master your body and mind.