EQUESTRICISE

11/10/2025

05/30/2025

Was asked some ideas for taking care of horses in the heat. Here are some suggestions:
If you don't want to be out working in it neither do they.
If it is above 90, seriously consider the workload for the horse. Perhaps a trail ride, lunge, turn out, or handwalk when the horses are sweating standing in their stalls.
A cool water rinse off is generally appreciated by the horses. If it is REALLY hot, 90+ or 100+, adding rubbing alcohol to a bucket of water and pouring that on will evaporate quicker and cool horse faster.
A fan or fan with misters can really help cool stalls.
Swatting flies and stomping legs tires and heats up a horse. Bug control such as fly spray systems, manure clean up, light fly sheet, bug leg wraps, SWAT ointment along tummy midline and in ears can be helpful.
Soak a mash for the horses. Wetted hay pellets, bran, senior horse, grains, maybe salt can be a great way to help them stay hydrated.
Make sure they have free access to a salt block. Make sure they have as much COOL water as they can consume. Maybe also a Gatorade bucket. If the auto water is made of metal or in the sun it can get so hot they will not drink from it. Some water lines even underground can get hot in midday summer sun. Check the temperature of your horses water midday to make sure it is cool enough to drink. If not, put a large trash can of water in the shade for your horse to drink from.
Hope these tips help you and your horses get through the summer comfortably.

01/25/2025

Our animals brighten our lives!!! Let our horses help your days be brighter too!! Come ride with us! English riding and horse care lessons, horse rehabilitation, and dressage and hunter training for horses available. Located at the beautiful and peaceful Ortega Equestrian Center in San Juan Capistrano. Text 949 400 5591 to schedule.

11/08/2024

Equestricise English Riding Lessons have a few spots available for YOU to learn to ride!! Beginners welcome, ages 6 and up. All aspects of horse care are covered. 40+ years experience. Located at the peaceful and serene Ortega Equestrian Center in San Juan Capistrano. PM to book your lesson!

08/27/2024

Things to think about to ride correct circles:

*The circle begins and ends in the same place.
*Instead of initiating the circle with the inside hand, press the horse into the turn from the outside leg. Helps to keep the horse from stiffening the jaw, loosing balance falling onto inside shoulder, and encourages the hips to not swing out. The less we use our hands the softer the horse will carry itself. Focus on steering from the legs.
*The second half of the circle most horses will fall in, turning their head slightly out, lean on his sholder and your inside leg to avoid bending, and decrease impulsion. All these problems are fixed with a more effective inside leg pushing the horse"out" towards the outside rein. Like a leg yeild feeling. Many people also drop their inside rein too low where their forearms are not parallel. Keep hands side by side. If you had a turkey on a platter on your forearms don't let it roll off one side or the other.
*The reason we use a circle to slow a galloping horse is the circle challenges their balance and helps to decrease speed. (Just as straight lines help encourage a lazy horse to move with more energy). Since this is the natural tendency, we have to ride with our inside leg to slightly increase energy to keep it at the same level as going straight when we do a circle.
*Inside leg has the most important job because it creates ribcage bending, keeps impulsion, presses horse out on the circle, and keeps the shape of the spine on the circle. Outside leg slightly back helps keep haunches from swinging out, and assists in keeping the shape of the bend. Outside rein is partners with inside leg in helping horse balance, assists in jaw flexion and head carriage, prevents overbending and aids in straightness, and is in charge of rythmn and tempo. Inside rein assists inside leg in showing the bend and jaw flexion.
*Accuracy and consistency in riding figures really helps horses understand the use of our aids. Remember their brains are the size of an apricot,
So breaking it down so it's simple and consistent will make it hat much easier to train them. Less is More with horses!!

Hope this is a helpful breakdown of the aids in riding a circle.