W.S. Farms

06/02/2023

Great advice to keep our best friends safe and healthy! 🐴

🐴Some helpful reminders and tips for navigating the hot summer temperature with your horse!🐴

⛔️IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO COOL DOWN YOUR HORSE CORRECTLY- DO NOT RIDE/WORK YOUR HORSE!⛔️

☀️Horses feel and regulate heat worse than humans do, therefore if you're feeling hot- they are feeling much worse!

☀️Plan your activities around the heat. Come earlier in the morning or later in the evening.

☀️Trailering in the heat can be extremely dangerous and also lead to overheating

☀️Be prepared to change your plans depending on the temperature, especially if you have to ride in the afternoon. The safety and comfort of the horse is *MORE IMPORTANT* than whatever ride/goal/plans you had hoped to achieve that day

⛔️IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO COOL DOWN YOUR HORSE CORRECTLY- DO NOT RIDE/WORK YOUR HORSE!⛔️

💧Untack your horse as quickly as possible and immediately hose with cold water, after riding in the heat. Your tack can be put away later!

💧Allow your horse to drip dry- do not scrape access water off*

*it is a MYTH that evaporating water creates heat on the horse

💧Don't ride your horse to cool them out. Get off once immediately done and cool out by hand with a loose girth*
*if possible- best practice is to quickly untack, hose, and walk out after. Reapplying water as needed

💧Offer your horse a drink of cold water immediately after riding*

*it is a MYTH that cold water after exercise causes colic! Your horse needs that cold water to bring down enternal body temperature and restore the fluids lost from sweating

💧While the sweaty areas seem to be the most obvious to hose off, it's critical to not forget about the legs! The tendons of the legs can be permanently damaged when over heated*

*this is also why it's never, ever a good idea to boot or wrap your horse in fleece, neoprene, leather, nylon, foam and other non breathable materials. Trapping heat into the legs should be avoided at all costs. If its absolutely NECESSARY to boot- make sure you are using a super breathable mesh boot. Only put on directly before its needed, and take off immediately after. Boots and wraps are tendon cookers and need to be used carefully and only if absolutely necessary

🌡We don't all carry thermometers in our back pockets! So when do we know they're cooled down enough?
💧A good rule of thumb that I follow, is when the water stays "cool" when on the horse, the horse is at a safe temperature. If the water is still heating up quite quickly after being applied, keep applying. You might be applying water anywhere from 5 to 20minutes depending on how hot your horse is.

💧Hose your horse before trailering somewhere, if it is very hot. Have all windows (and top doors depending) open, and stop frequently to offer water to drink, and sponge more water onto your horse. Better to arrive with a soggy horse than a sick one!

⛔️IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO COOL DOWN YOUR HORSE CORRECTLY- DO NOT RIDE/WORK YOUR HORSE!⛔️

Feel free to share- stay safe and healthy!

03/25/2023

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:

1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

*thank you to whoever wrote this! Not my words, but certainly a shared sentiment!

03/21/2023

Make Them Carry Their Saddle

A father of a darling girl and I were talking last week and he said that he wanted his daughter to ride more and not have to do the work part of the catching, grooming, and saddling. I smiled as I explained.

Riding horses is a combination of strength, timing, and balance. Kids in this country are physically weak (unless they are actively involved with weight training and physical conditioning 4+ times a week.)

When you walk out to the field, you are clearing your stress from being under fluorescent lights all day; feeling the sun soak into your bones. As your body moves on uneven surfaces, it strengthens your legs and core.

When you groom your horse (especially currying), you are toning your arms and stabilizing your core.

When you carry your saddle, your arms, chest, and back are doing isolated strengthening work.

Being near horses, calms and makes you tune into the splendor of these empathetic animals.

When you ride at a posting trot, it’s equivalent to a slow jog calorie burn wise.

After a lesson, the riders are physically tired and mentally quiet and balanced.

Horses feel your heart beat and mirror your emotions back.

Riding large and somewhat unpredictable animals makes you resilient and pushes your expectations.

Working with horses is so much more than learning how to ride.

So parents, make your children carry their saddles. Don’t do the hard parts for them, as long term it actually hurts them. To advance with their riding, they must get stronger. You can help by doing the high parts.

I love having you all at the farm, and am so grateful to get to share these fascinating animals with you.

02/25/2023

“Horses are so expensive.”

I agree, they cost me a lot everyday.

Horses cost you your selfishness.

Having horses means everyday you are alive you must consider someone’s needs before your own, multiple times a day. Even when you’re away from them arrangements must be made, this builds character and gives us self worth.
Horses cost you your ego.

Right when you think you have it figured out, you will undoubtedly be presented with a humbling experience either in the arena or out. They will force you to reach out for help when your expertise is maxed out. If you are wise, you will realize life is like this too. Maybe we should reach out for help more frequently and we would get further.

Horses cost you your laziness.
You will never progress with an equine partner by leaving it turned out, just as you will never progress by staying checked out. Do the work and you will get somewhere.

Horses cost you your heart.
They never fail to find a way to touch us deep within even (and especially) when we are feeling cold to the ways of the world. There’s something special about getting to interact with a being that becomes softer when we soften. We should learn to respond to one another similarly.

Yes, horses are so expensive. But everything they’ve ever cost me has also made me 👏🏻

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02/20/2023

Happy family day weekend, from our goofy farm fam, to yours!

01/06/2023

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01/01/2023

Happy new year to all from us here at the farm!

12/29/2022

But he’s OUR problem 😂

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12/29/2022

A wonderful illustration of the aids!

12/23/2022

Have a safe and merry Christmas, from all of us at the farm! We will see everyone in the new year!

12/17/2022

12/14/2022

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