Gold Farm Equestrian

03/20/2026

I’m not into that customer stuff, Stonewall Ponies- Emily Elek writes.

You know what I mean. There are so many in this business who refer to their “customers.” And the customer is always right…right? Except the barn is not an outlet mall. Our customer support team is run by small ponies with an agenda.

And I’m not the general manager. I’m the trainer.

In my program, you stop being a customer the minute you sign your boarding agreement. That monetary exchange pays for your horse’s room and board, so to speak, and serves as a promise that your animal will have a safe, comfortable, and healthy living arrangement.

But with everything else, you are a student and an athlete. I am your teacher and your coach.

I believe this is an important distinction to make, because it sets the tone for the relationship moving forward. I see the people who board and ride with me as students first and foremost. All good equestrians, including professionals and trainers like myself, need to be lifelong learners. Every barn should have the mantra, “Be a learner not a knower” blasted above the entry. Because it’s here where you open your mind and accept your vulnerabilities in the pursuit of learning alongside the ultimate teachers—horses.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2022/01/19/you-are-a-student-not-a-customer/
📸 © Andrew Ryback Photography

03/02/2026

For many riders, the obsession with “finding a distance” can turn into a daily battle. We walk into the ring convinced that every jump is a test of whether we can see that perfect takeoff spot. But at Balmoral, the philosophy is different. Instead of chasing the distance, the focus is on rhythm, pace, and track. When those pieces are correct, the distance takes care of itself.

At its core, riding to a jump is about presenting the horse with the same canter stride again and again. Rhythm is what makes that stride predictable. Horses are creatures of habit, and they thrive when the canter feels like a steady drumbeat. A consistent rhythm keeps the horse relaxed, balanced, and mentally prepared for the effort ahead.

When riders change the pace every three strides—slowing, kicking, pulling—the horse is left guessing. That uncertainty often leads to missed distances, chipped jumps, or long, weak efforts. Rhythm, on the other hand, builds trust. The horse knows what’s coming, and the rider can focus on steering and balance instead of panicking about “seeing” something.

Rhythm doesn’t mean slow. In fact, one of the most common corrections at Balmoral is asking riders to go forward. A plodding canter rarely produces quality jumps. Instead, the horse needs impulsion, the power from behind that creates a strong, jumping stride.

Think of pace as the energy within the rhythm. The right pace feels like you’re riding forward to the base of the jump, not crawling or rushing. It gives the horse the power to push off the ground and the rider the ability to stay with the motion. Without pace, rhythm falls flat; without rhythm, pace becomes chaotic.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2026/02/26/the-power-of-rhythm-why-pace-and-track-solve-distances-2/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

02/26/2026

I’m not sure what’s been harder, raising five crazy kids or finding the right trainer for my daughter, Jamie Sindell writes.

My oldest, now fourteen, has been with several trainers. Finally, two years ago we found the right fit. We now lease a horse with this trainer and keep the mare in full training.

Did I make mistakes along my child’s equestrian journey? Absolutely! However, with each mishap, I developed the confidence to know exactly what I was looking for in a trainer match.

Here were my priorities for finding the right trainer for my kid.

1. Safety

If safety isn’t the trainer’s priority, this is the biggest red flag. I’ve seen and heard countless stories of developing equestrians riding inappropriate lesson horses. An adult friend of mine who recently began riding was put on a green Thoroughbred during a lesson with her daughter. This friend was bucked off and severely injured her back. Thank goodness it wasn’t her six-year-old daughter.

A few years ago, I took my daughter for a trial lesson with a local trainer. During the lesson, young kids were jumping around on their own. A child fell off twice when her pony refused. The trainer nonchalantly told her to get back on and continued teaching my daughter. This scenario disturbed me on many levels.

Beginners jumping alone is unacceptable. Similarly, putting novice riders on stoppers or runaways isn’t “teaching them” how to be better riders. This is the time for learning the basics, not how to sit a buck. I refuse to look past an unsafe environment.

2. Communication

I’ve learned the hard way that if a trainer is unwilling to listen to concerns or opinions, that trainer isn’t right for my family. I’m not suggesting it’s cool to undermine the trainer’s authority, but it’s critical to feel comfortable asking thoughtful questions and offering input. The ability to have a dialogue is what makes any relationship flourish.

I’ve had a trainer insist my daughter was struggling because she didn’t have the grit or drive to lesson. Over and over, my daughter told her the pony was misbehaving. She needed help! In hindsight, it is clear the instructor didn’t have the time or energy to listen and discuss.

Under the wing of our current trainer, the pony was put in boot camp to correct his habits. Though it took time for my daughter to regain confidence, she is flourishing with a trainer who honors what we have to say. Even if her trainer disagrees with our perspective, at least we feel heard.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/02/01/trainer-shopping-a-moms-perspective/

02/12/2026

02/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1E8cAGumcJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/28/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FkR8L2tMF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

As we continue to monitor the current outbreak of the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus (EHM) infection, let's take this opportunity to discuss once more the importance of biosecurity measures to stop disease spread. We recommend the following biosecurity precautions for horse owners, particularly if their horses have recently traveled to horse shows or were exposed to horses that have traveled:

1) Monitor horses for clinical signs (including fever, discharge from the nostrils, toe-dragging or a lack of balance) and take the temperature twice daily. Temperature greater than 101.5 F is considered a fever.

2) Immediately isolate any horse(s) showing clinical signs. Equine herpesvirus is an aerosolized virus and is spread through shared airspace, direct contact, and contaminated caretakers or equipment. A good isolation area is a separate barn or shelter that does not share airspace with healthy horses.

3) Implement movement restrictions until the situation is evaluated.

4) Contact your veterinarian to evaluate your horse and to propose a comprehensive biosecurity protocol.

5) Increase biosecurity measures that include extensive cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and equipment that come in contact with affected horses: wash or sanitize your hands between interacting with horses; take time while filling water buckets and feed tubs, do not cross contaminate; minimize the use of shared equipment and tack.

6) Make sure your horse is up to date on vaccinations.

7) Establish communication with all parties involved (owners, boarders, trainers, etc.).

More resources and information regarding biosecurity are available on the Equine Disease Communication Center's website at https://equinediseasecc.org/biosecurity

To learn more Equine Herpesvirus (EHV), visit: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/equine-herpesvirus

01/27/2026

01/27/2026

Horse industry : the math is not mathing

I have had a bunch of clients inquiring about horses lately, coming for trials, asking us to arrange shipping and ending up bailing out because they couldn’t afford the board at the place they intended to take the horse to. Or for people to complain because board is now $900 or $1,000 or $1,200 and that it’s insane and the trainers are just price gouging.
So here is the actual break down.

Client math :
Shavings : $150/month
Hay (Florida prices here) at $18/a square small Bale : $270/month (2 to 3 flakes AM/PM)
Grain : $150/month
Barn help salary ($15/hour for 30mn/day) : $225/month
Total : $795
So with a $1,000/board that’s a $205/profit per horse x 20 horses boarded = that’s $4,100 for the barn owner to work all day with horses and have a dream job.
Then clients thinks wait a minute, I will buy my own farm and I will have 2 of my own horses and I will have 8 boarders and the boarders will pay for my horses and I will pay no board. Genius.

Now here is the barn owner math:

All the above and actually more in labor… but for the sake of the discussion let’s keep those numbers
Then comes all the 4 digits invoices that keep on showing up to maintain said farm.
So for me this month at my farm it has been
$1,200 to replace 4 tires on my dually
$1,600 for pads, rotors, brake fluids, alignment and oil change, and DEF on said dually
$500/payment on tractor because my old tractor died last year (RIP Johnny).
$1,200 to buy new rails for the jumps (I bought the last batch 5 years ago).
$160 for a Tire for my Gator
$118 for a new battery for the hydraulic jack of my 2+1 trailer (I know I could buy a crank one and save money but this is the best money spend, I hate cranking)
Those are just extra bills for this month.

But there are more over the past couple of months: Bookkeeper, mowing guy, w**d killer, seeds for the pastures, refill for the fly spray system, motherboard for the sprinkler system to water the ring, sprinkler heads, drain guy company to unglog the pipes because apparently p**p and sand going down the pipe is not productive to good drainage (who knew?), culvert replacement to prevent flooding, loads of road base to fix driveways and potholes, washer (hair and dirt clogs drains)… broken boards, broken stall doors, leaky hose, I could had so many more to this list. It never ends…

I currently have 9 horses at my farm, so with all the bills just from this month each horse would have technically cost me more than $1,325. And I also have more than one person working for me, so my payroll is way higher than the client’s estimate quoted above. At this point I still haven’t paid myself, I haven’t paid my mortgage or rent. Let’s not forget the insurance…
And I’m “lucky” that besides the tractor everything else is paid off (so truck, trailer, gator payments). So if you factor those other expenses ($4,000 mortgage, $1,400 truck payment, $800 trailer payment, $1,300 insurance) so about $835/horse.
So just to cover the running cost of the farm it’s about $2,160/per horse per month with a big fat $0 in the income column for me.

So do me a favor when you write your check for the board this month, do it with a big smile.
If you are considering having a little hobby farm and board a few horses to offset the cost of everything, DON’T DO IT… it’s a trap. There is not such a thing as getting anything free with horses, you will just give the money to the drain guy and the tractor dealership instead of your lovely barn onwer/trainer. And you will need to add a $30 Tylenol maybe a $30 Lexapro budget for all the headaches and anxiety that having a horse farm might induce.
Don’t get me wrong I love my farm and wouldn’t picture any other way to live. But the proceeds of the horses’ sales is what is keeping the dream of a once little 10 year horse crazy girl who dreamed to work with horses alive.

I would like to dearly appologize to my fellow professionals who like me put their head in the sand and pretend that these numbers don’t exist, and again I would like to tell all of you we are boarding to go hug your barn owners/trainers. Well ask them first about the hug thing (I’m personally not a hugger and it can get very awkward and uncomfortable), maybe go for a high five!