For those wanting to start showing horses
New horse? Grumpy or sore horse? When asking a vet, horse friend, or google about it, it seems like the first recommendation is to get your saddle checked out, which typically leads to a rabbit hole of conflicting information. When I was a kid, saddle fit wasn’t a thing with the ranchers or old school …
Although ranch horse events are very casual, there are some things you need to know before heading to your first show. This guide is not necessarily true for all ranch horse/ stock horse organizations. Always, always, always double check with the organization’s rule book. A general rule of thumb is stick with “traditional”- functional and …
Continue reading "Ranch Horse Events: A beginner’s guide to dress code and tack"
The horse show world is intimidating, especially if you didn’t grow up in it. Silver plated saddles, bedazzled show vests, perfectly tight hair buns, slick and oiled horse ears.... it’s a lot and requires a lot of investment. So if you’re like me and have a craving for horse showing but the “typical” horse show …
Continue reading "Ranch Horse Versatility, as “real world” as you can get at a horse show"
Tips on trying a horse before purchase and pre-purchase exams.
Finding the right horse to buy can be stressful and exhausting. Here are some tips!
Purchasing a horse for the first time or after being out of the horse world for a while can be daunting. Marketing has completely changed from word of mouth, contacts, auctions, and classifieds to facebook, websites, and google searches. At this point you probably know your discipline of choice and a trainer to help. I …
When you imagine yourself having fun and riding horses, what does that look like? Are you calmly exploring the mountainside horseback with some friends or are you showing your horse's ability to fly over a jump flawlessly? This image should be your basis for choosing a discipline, a trainer, and a horse. As a disclaimer, …
ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRAINER. Whether you have a horse or not, find a trainer who does lessons for adults. You’ll be surprised how many of them only do lessons for kids from 9am to 4pm. Start by traversing google and facebook. Googling something like “western horse lessons ThisCity, State” should bring up some …
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