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How To Know If A Trainer Is Any Good
The number one thing I can tell you about determining if a trainer is any good is about how they treat you, the client. Oh sure, there are other things to consider: that your horse is fed and watered and sheltered. Those are givens. And that your horse is progressing in their training. Those things…
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5 Things You Can Learn From Your Competitors
[social_warfare]When I first started showing, I would get really nervous and run a constant loop of my shortcomings: too slow in my circles, too timid in my lead changes, too stiff in my stops. I would compare all of my faults to what I imagined were my competitors glorious strengths . I’ve improved somewhat in…
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Shout Out To The Broke Rider!
[social_warfare]Show season is starting, and even though I’m not showing this year, I still think about what I want to accomplish with riding and how far I’ve come. Thinking about my riding made me think back to my only “show” as a youth. As the youngest of five kids, the fact that I even got…
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Five Useful Barn Gifts For Under $5 Each
[social_warfare]I saw a post last week on one of the horse forums I follow discussing gifts to buy for fellow boarders. I thought it was a great idea, but it could get expensive fast. I like doing nice things for people, but I can’t do Oprah style giveaways on a Jerry Springer budget. And like…
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No Stirrup November is No Joke: How It’s Kicking My Ass & Can Kick Yours Too
I’ve never been much of one for trends. I dismissed trends like a hipster before the term hipster even existed. If something was trendy, I would purposefully avoid it. Pretentious? Absolutely. But this little personality quirk of mine saved me from several terrible fads: the flippy mini skirt, wearing (or even owning) Ugg boots with…
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5 Tips For Finding Horseback Riding Lessons For Your Child
My brother and his family recently relocated to a new state and my sister-in-law found an equestrian center close to their new home. She wanted to sign my niece up for lessons and asked me what she should look for when seeking out a barn where her daughter could take lessons. I realized this is…
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How To Tell If A Horse Sale Ad Is Actually Full Of Horse Shit
[social_warfare]I like looking at horses for sale, I like to see what’s out there and I like to see the differences in prices and breeds by the different regions. After a while of looking at so many ads, I have to tell you, I feel like someone should write a Horse Buying For Dummies book,…
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Three Ways To Help You Ride Through Fear
I’ve been thinking a lot about fear lately. I read a post by Lauren Mauldin who writes a blog called She Moved To Texas and she was talking about the trust bank, a term I’d never heard before, and it resonated with me. The idea behind the trust bank is that for every positive ride…
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To Improve in Horseback Riding, Take Progress Over Perfection
Remember that post I wrote in March discussing the value of showing and that my satisfaction must come from progress not ribbons? Yeah, that advice is crap. A big steaming pile of horse manure. Not because it isn’t true, but because it’s damn hard to recall and abide by in the stress of the moment.…