All about horses

Experience

If you love horses, you will want to know all about them .

I have studied horses and have had a long-time relationship with over 200 of them each with their distinctive personalities and characteristics.

We will visit different topics and reveal what the many hours of relating to the horse has taught me…

I began riding as a child growing up in England in the summertime with lead line lessons and riding on the land preservation known to me as “ the Commons”in County Suffolk.

This was a magical place for me as there were many fairly flat and sandy tracks and farm lanes .

In that open country place there was always a view of the North Sea not very far off and the scent of heather and gorse filled the air at that time of year.

I rode along side of my instructor Miss Galleon ,who was an expert horsewoman and she would take notice of my being very keen to ride .

I remember that was such a huge confidence booster as a young child of 8 years .

I held her in such high regard because of her very well trained horses and ponies.

She would take me out leading my pony from one of her mounts that she mostly named with a “J”.

Jasper was a beautiful tall bay with a big white blaze on his head and then there were Jaunty and Jill .

Goldie was a palomino of course !

She was beautiful and shiny like a penny and had a bright white mane and thick tail .

I never forgot Miss Galleon and this early time period in my life lead me to want to ride horses here in the USA later on .

I was in middle school and high school when I ventured out to purchase my first horse at 16 years old .

What started as a boarding situation with my first horse named”Cat Ballou” quickly turn into a buying and selling venture when a met my friend Debby .

Debby was fortunate to have her own small farm and we sold many a horse , getting them from the local livestock sales and doing some rehabilitation and training .

I was the rider and Debby was the salesperson.

We made a great team and only got into a little bit of trouble with horses that were not a good fit for riding !!!

You do learn a lot by working with different horses . We enjoyed it and even bought some foals as projects to start from scratch.

Sometimes the horses were very thin and sickly with worms so we learned to take care of the health by meeting with the local veterinarians and with the farriers to take care of their hooves.

Training and rehoming horses was a great way to learn about the different personalities of each individual .

This would also include matching the horse to each rider .

We wanted to make sure that everyone was safe and satisfied including the horse .

Then came the purchase of my own farm and I had to say goodbye to my friends and start my own stable yard .

Horses being my main obsession and lifestyle, I set out to get a more formal education.

I went back to the UK and after several months of sometimes intense studies and riding I finally managed to complete The Horsemasters and Preliminary Instructor certification.

A very good program from the British Horse Society.

This program helped in many aspects.

The course was very helpful in teaching me how to be a good instructor which has been remarkably valuable for my fellow riders here in the U.S.

The BHS course was concerned with educating the students so that they could manage all aspects of running a small equestrian business so that each horse had the medical and every day maintenance care that was required.

I learned a lot about minor ailments ,signs of ill health and when to call the veterinarian.

This training had helped me to be confident in my decisions where the business was concerned.

On returning home I was now equipped with the knowledge to start a professional service from my family farm.

Lessons were available in an enclosed outdoor ring and the stabling consisted of loose box stalls in several outbuildings.

The old chicken house was repurposed into a tack room and feed room .

Horses and riders experienced enough could also go out on the trails in the park directly behind the farm .

Nice water crossing and natural obstacles gave everyone practice for upcoming shows and events that were held here and at other local horse farms.

Those were early days for combined training and dressage in our area.

In 1982 I as finally able to have an indoor riding arena constructed here.

The arena is a standard size for dressage and is a vital addition to the business as we can work horses and riders all year round .

Keeping everyone in training is important because horses thrive on consistent and repetitive work outs .

More later ….