Fox Hollow Farm Equestrian Center

09/26/2025

🩷 Let Them Have a Horse...

Let them have a horse, let them ride,
Let them learn with dirt stained pride.
Give them reins and room to grow,
Show them truths only horses know.

Let them feel the morning chill,
Boots in stirrups, heart be still.
Let them fight for what they earn,
Through every fall, let them return.

Let them brush and braid and mend,
Make the barn their second home.
Let them whisper, laugh, and cry,
Beneath the endless, open sky.

Let them know the work is tough,
That love alone is only one part.
That feed needs hauling, stalls need cleaned...
That dreams are earned by hands that work.

Let them feel the wind in their hair,
And the freedom only horses share.
For horses teach what words cannot...
Strength, respect, and all they’ve got.

So when they ask, don’t think twice,
The price is high, but so’s the gain.
Because without a horse, they’ll never know, the kind of love that helps them grow.

❤️ Michelle | Born In The Barn

09/14/2025

Another beautiful day for a fun group of riders and horses!!
💞🐎💞🐎

09/03/2025

While the Short Stirrup division is a beloved tradition, it is driving up the costs associated with all ponies. What’s supposed to act as a gateway and foundation to horse shows for young equestrians has done the opposite. A Short Stirrup pony that costs less than a division Pony Hunter is going extinct. And so many potential equine candidates for the Short Stirrup are jobless. Why?

Because judges expect kids in an entry-level class to do lead changes.

Short Stirrup riders lack knowledge and experience to ask for and execute proper lead changes — that is literally one of the reasons they are in short stirrup. They both don’t know how to land the leads and also they don’t have the mechanical skills to ask a pony for a lead change properly. So when they are judged on the requirement of a lead change, the answer is simple to many trainers: their ponies have to have an automatic one.

But there are only so many full-package packers, and the Children’s Pony and division Pony Hunters are hungry for them too. Exceptionally made ponies can often increase in value the smaller they are. Producing a quality small pony (standing at 12.2 hands – about 4 feet – or less) requires a small person to do the training. And tiny professionals or well-educated teens willing to pony jockey for the years it takes to truly make them up for children are even rarer than the ponies themselves. It’s a supply and demand issue — everyone wants ponies that check every box, so they’re expensive.

Reading a recent ISO ad posted on Facebook:

“I need a small/medium learn to canter and jump pony. Don’t mind ancient. Would love something that knows its job. Auto change is ideal. This is for a tiny tiny kid to do X-rails – 2ft on.”

Only a handful of ponies fit that description, and yet, there’s a multitude of ponies who, aside from an automatic lead change, offer everything you could want in a Short Stirrup mount. There is little market for such a thing. They are reduced to little value. So many lesson horses – who are rarely automatic but have the most to teach – could be the best (and most affordable) Short Stirrup partners, but requiring a lead change disqualifies them.

Outside of pure aesthetics, there is no merit in having lead changes in the Short Stirrup. It’s not beneficial to the rider, who should learn to land from the jump and sit up, balance, collect, and recognize they’re on the wrong lead so they can transition to a balanced trot before picking up the correct lead again, demonstrating a planned and organized simple change. If their pony does the change automatically while they sit still and hang on and learn nothing from it, they lose an understanding of good basics and how to ride every inch of the ring. The ponies that take a ridiculous amount of labor to produce also do not need a kid giving them confusing or incorrect signals for a lead change and untraining them because they don’t know any better.

🔗 Continue reading Marley Lin-Gonzalez's article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2024/09/04/short-stirrup-shouldnt-require-lead-changes/
📸 © Heather N. Photography

08/23/2025

❤️ Little girls and horses…
It’s never just a childhood phase.
It’s the start of a foundation for life.

Horses don’t just teach riding.
They teach patience when nothing clicks.
Responsibility when stalls must be cleaned before play.
Grit when a stubborn pony refuses to cooperate.

They show that trust isn’t given...it’s earned.
Through consistency.
Through respect.
Through time.

Every little girl who swings a leg over a horse learns:
Falling doesn’t mean failing.
It means getting up, dusting off, and trying again.

Discipline isn’t punishment...it’s commitment.
Kindness isn’t weakness...it’s strength.
Confidence isn’t being loud....it’s showing up, even when you’re scared.

Horses shape little girls into women who don’t quit when life gets hard.
Women who know sweat and sacrifice come before reward.
Women who carry themselves with grace,
but aren’t afraid to dig in and fight when it matters.

It’s the 6 a.m. feedings.
The cold winter rides.
The tears after tough lessons,
and the laughter after small victories.

It’s brushing a horse in the quiet of the barn,
realizing responsibility never takes a day off.

So yes…
little girls may grow out of braids and pony bows.
But they never outgrow the lessons their horses taught them.

And maybe that’s the greatest gift of all.
❤️ Michelle Knutson | Born In The Barn

08/18/2025

08/15/2025

08/12/2025

We totally agree with that 😍