Happy Hiccups Equestrian LLC

12/01/2025

Biosecurity is crucial to our herd’s health - be sure to wash your hands and wear clean clothes before coming to the barn, ESPECIALLY if you’ve been around any other horses recently!

12/01/2025

A very good point and a good example. It will feel hard in the beginning, but then with some practice we should be able to get that same result without the dramaticizing and overwhelm. Focus on the mechanics you want to utilize and the result you want from the horse - don’t focus on how much effort you had to put into it to make it work the first time!

Don’t make it harder than it is!!!!!
Shoulder in is pretty new for this student, and this is her first time on this horse (who is lovely but NOT easy!)
When students first learn a new movement it feels like A LOT!! “Sit to the inside, drop left seat bone, turn shoulders, but keep hips straight, outside rein against the neck, inside hand open, but not too much, time your left leg with the horse’s inside hind,….” IT’S A LOT!!

Often I see students “get it”, but then…..
Suddenly, the student starts doing weird s**t! 😱
They lean, they twist, and they over exaggerate every instruction I’ve ever given them!!!!
Nooooooooo.
WHHHHHYYYYYYYY?!???!??

I know why - it’s because when they first learned the movement: when they first learned to step into one stirrup and do a little spinal rotation to match their shoulders with the horse’s, shoulders, and their hips with the horse’s hips, and put their hands in the right spot,….. It felt hard!!! Initially it felt like a contortion. It’s not that these movements are ever big, but in the beginning, they felt very foreign!!!
➡️ Once the student gets used to the position it feels WAY TOO EASY!!!!!!
They remember when it felt so difficult and they are trying to match that feeling again because they can’t believe that in just two or three rides, it went from feeling almost impossible, to feeling second nature. So they exaggerate their body until it feels uncomfortable again. 🙈

This student had it in her head that shoulder is difficult! And so, she was trying to make it feel difficult. All I told her was to sit back and stop exaggerating…. I think at one point I said “just sit there!” (and if I didn’t say it to her, I’ve definitely said it to many other students. Lol.) But anyways, the second picture was only a few steps later.

My job now is to teach her that once she knows the mechanics of shoulder in, it should honestly feel effortless!!
She no longer has to shove her body into some weird foreign position. Her body KNOWS shoulder in position now! It’s no longer foreign. It’s no longer hard. A couple more lessons and she won’t even have to think about where her parts go… it will just be easy! ❤️❤️❤️

11/24/2025

A pretty spot-on assessment of horse ownership - my students know how ‘high maintenance’ their horse can be!

11/24/2025

😂

11/24/2025

In this season of giving, please help feed the herd at Fox Lea Mini Horse Rescue! This is the wonderful little rescue where we got Bellatrix, and where we’ve taken some of our students in the past to volunteer. Please support them so that no mini goes hungry!

11/19/2025

For those unaware, there is a nasty virus spreading through the US horse community. Please help keep our lesson horses safe!

If you’re visiting our barn, wear clean clothes, wash your hands, and clean the UNDERSIDE of your shoes before coming out to the barn. Please inform Coach Maddie if you visit other barns/horses at this time.

(Remember, if you are around another horse with potential infection and then get in your car, your car interior can be carrying around that virus EVEN IF you change clothes and wash hands, and suddenly our herd is at risk).

EHV-1 has everyone in the horse world on high alert right now, and understanding the facts can help bring clarity instead of panic.

What many people don’t realize:

EHV-1 spreads through:
• Direct horse-to-horse contact
• Respiratory droplets
• Contaminated surfaces
• Shared water or feed buckets
• Human hands or clothing that touch an infected horse

This is why limiting exposure helps — but eliminating all risk is impossible.

So while deciding what events to attend is important, it’s just as important to remember that every person’s situation, barn setup, and risk tolerance is different.

What we can all do:
• Practice good biosecurity
• Wash hands & change clothes after visiting other barns
• Don’t share buckets, hay bags, or grooming tools
• Monitor temperatures daily
• Stay home if your horse seems “off”
• Respect others’ decisions, even if they differ from yours

At the end of the day, we all love our horses and want to protect them. Fear doesn’t have to turn into division.

Be safe. Be smart. Be kind.
We’re in this together — and prayers for every horse, owner, vet, and barn crew working through this right now. 🤍🙏🐴

11/17/2025

New things are supposed to be hard, and messy, and imperfect. That’s all a part of the journey of learning and improving!

11/15/2025

The flatwork is where advancement happens. The jumping is where you reveal how much work you’ve done so far - and how much more homework you still have to do!

When trainer Geoff Case watches riders flatting their horses, he sees a lot of the same thing: people lapping the ring, zoning out, and missing a huge opportunity. “It’s one of my biggest pet peeves,” Case said. “People just go around the outside, staring off into space. That’s not riding. That’s exercise.”

In Case’s eyes, flatwork isn’t just something to do when you’re not jumping—it’s where you actually become a better rider.

To Case, a good flat session should feel like a jumping round. “You should be riding lines, bending, adjusting your rhythm,” he said. “Every step is a chance to make something better.”

He encourages riders to ride patterns and turns with purpose. “Don’t just stay on the rail,” he said. “Use the whole ring. Make a circle, ride across the diagonal, do transitions in different places. Ride like you’re setting up for a jump.”

That kind of thinking builds skills that directly transfer to the show ring. “When you ride with that much attention, the horse gets sharper, you get straighter, and suddenly your distances show up easier,” he said.

The flat, he added, is where you learn timing, balance, and control without the distraction of fences. “If you can’t organize yourself between the jumps, you won’t do it over them either.”

For Case, good riding starts with details: straightness, rhythm, transitions, and connection. The riders who stand out to him in the warm-up ring are the ones who treat flatwork like an art form, not an afterthought.

“You can tell the difference between someone who’s just getting around and someone who’s actually training,” he said. “It’s in the way they ride their corners, how they prepare for a transition, how the horse looks in the bridle.”

That difference shows up in competition. “When you’re in the ring, it’s too late to be figuring those things out,” he said. “If you’ve already practiced being precise on the flat, it’s automatic when you’re showing.”

Case also pointed out that judges can spot the riders who do their homework. “Even in a jumping round, you can tell who spends time on the flat,” he said. “Their horses are balanced and adjustable. It’s obvious.”

Many riders, especially less experienced ones, rely on the rail for security or spacing. Case urges them to break that habit. “The rail becomes a crutch,” he said. “You stop steering, you stop thinking. You let the wall do the work for you.”

Instead, he suggests riding off the track, staying a few feet inside the rail to keep both you and your horse accountable. “When you come off the wall, suddenly you have to ride,” he said. “You’ve got to keep your line straight, keep the horse between your leg and hand, and make the turns yourself.”

At first, this can feel uncomfortable, but that’s exactly the point. “It’s supposed to feel different,” Case explained. “That’s how you know you’re actually doing something.”

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/11/15/get-off-the-rail-creativity-and-focus-in-flatwork/
📸 © The Plaid Horse

11/14/2025

Such a great visual and explanation for those trot-to-canter transitions!

11/10/2025

I LOVE this visual! 🤩 Keep your feet under you when you ride, y’all, and engage those belly muscles!

11/10/2025

Our lesson horses try so so hard and do so much for us - we, as riders, should keep striving to improve ourselves in order to make the riding better FOR THE HORSE. ❤️

“Confessions of a Riding School Saint”

Hello, human.
Yes, you — the one still trying to find the correct diagonal.

I’m the riding-school horse you meet once a week. You call me “steady,” “safe,” or, when I don’t immediately burst into extended trot, “lazy.” I’ve carried hundreds like you — some with bouncing enthusiasm, others with a death-grip on the reins and a look that says, “Please, not canter.”

Every rider brings their own style. Some kick like they’re starting a lawnmower. Some perch like a baby giraffe learning ballet. One even tried “natural horsemanship” by whispering at me for twenty minutes. (I admired the effort, but grass would have been more persuasive.)

I do my best to translate. But it’s tricky when one person wants me to go forward, the next to collect, and the next to “just feel the rhythm” while clamping both legs and pulling on my face. You’d be confused too.

Sometimes, when the messages get too loud or too mixed, I tune out. You call it “lazy.” I call it “self-preservation.” You see, my job isn’t easy — I must keep everyone safe while pretending your seat bones aren’t trying to send Morse code in three languages at once.

I’ve met every training philosophy going: “forward fixes everything,” “never use the leg,” “ride from the seat,” and my favorite — “just sit deeper!” (Usually shouted as the rider performs a mid-arena levitation.)

But I’ve also met kindness. The quiet rider who remembers to breathe, softens their hand, and says “good” when I try. That’s when I lift my back, stretch my neck, and remember what partnership feels like.

I don’t care about levels or ribbons. I care that you try to understand me. That you see me not as a piece of gym equipment but as a partner — one who has to process your nerves, your posture, and your Spotify playlist of contradictory aids.

So before you call a horse lazy, ask yourself: am I clear? Calm? Consistent?
Because the truth is, I’m not stubborn — I’m exhausted from reading mixed signals.

If you listen, I’ll listen. If you work on you, I’ll meet you halfway — maybe even with a flying change if I’m feeling fancy.

After all, I’m not just your ride. I’m your mirror, your teacher, and occasionally, your unpaid therapist.
Now, pat me. I’ve earned it.

Author: Gary A Diplock

11/06/2025

Love this thoughtful approach to sharing our lives with our equine partners!