Sarah Zeman Horsemanship, LLC

12/22/2024

12/17/2024

WOW it's that time already!!
I will be taking in bookings for training horses for the summer months! May and June are already full but I am booking out for July August and September.
Rates are $1,200/month 5 days/week guarantee and private paddocks/shelters/auto waterers/great hay under a netted bale barn. I only take in 2-3 horses a month.
I do not start horses anymore but I'm more than happy to put in all the groundwork/prepwork, otherwise horses that need tuneups or more body control, balancing type work and occasional trail rides if I feel they are ready for it.

ALSO booking for clinics!! I will have at least one a month at my farm, but let me know if you'd like some closer to your farm!

Send a message to learn more

11/08/2024

Sonny was NOT about to miss breakfast this morning! 😂

11/04/2024

Took Finan to a 2 day Working Equitation clinic for obstacles and cow work and he didn’t disappoint! So thankful for a wonderful group of friends to do fun horse things with.

10/16/2024

Raising up the next generation! Shay watches me do this stuff and she figured out how to ask Sonny to side pass all on her own! I try really hard not to over teach so it never becomes a burden to ride. This was my first time ever seeing her do this so I told her that she had to stop and do it again so I could get that for my memory book! 🥹🥰

10/16/2024

Oh my goodness, yes!! There’s so many people I teach that are almost bracing for me to point out everything wrong or what they are doing wrong and are surprised when I encourage them instead. It’s learning! You don’t learn by being perfect right away! Celebrate the process and take the struggles without getting down on yourself because after the struggle comes a victory!

Every perfect movement you watch in dressage is the result of hundreds of imperfect tries, of riders who never gave up, and horses who slowly learned to trust. Celebrate every crooked halt, every almost-there half-pass, because they are the real victories. The path to excellence is paved with mistakes, but also with perseverance and love.

10/12/2024

There is always an underlying reason for “girthiness” in horses.

Gone are the days where that horse at the riding stables was “just grumpy” when you tightened the girth. The practice of “just do it up quickly and watch their teeth!” is archaic, insensitive.

There are so many potential reasons for girth line sensitivity, so before attributing to bad behaviour or making a joke out of the grumpy faces your horse makes to tack up… please consider these and have all avenues fully investigated:

🤍 Digestive discomfort - ie. ulcers
🤍 Pain memory - ie. previous uncomfortable experience with girthing. The primary cause of this behaviour must be proven to be completely resolved.
🤍 Muscle hypertonicity - ie. tension in pectoral muscles and associated structures which make touch in this area painful. This can even be caused by something like poor foot balance. If your horse is even reacting to touch in this area before you even put a girth on, something is amiss.
🤍 Poor girth fit - ie. girth shape does not suit your horses conformation, often causes discomfort after exercise in acute cases and chronic dysfunction in long term cases.
🤍 Faulty tack - ie. cracking to girth leading to pinching.
🤍 Unsuitable girth position
🤍 Poor saddle fit - can lead to referred pain patterns through ribcage.
🤍 Injury - ie. horses that skid to stop in front of a jump, or do the splits when they’re having a little too much fun in the field can strain the thoracic sling structures.

This list represents a selection of different reasons, and whilst not being completely exhaustive it provides a starting point to investigate your horses girth line tension.

10/06/2024

As usual, I didn’t get enough pictures. Feel free to post more in the comments if you have more! I had a blast in Sparta today with this awesome group. It was the last clinic scheduled for the year! We worked on some body control work in the morning to get them ready to take the obstacles with ease in the afternoon. Thanks ladies for a fun day!

10/04/2024

Had my last ride on Amari today. Look at those dapples!! It’s been a great month with her, and a great final training horse for the season.

I was blessed with a FULL training and clinic season. Thank you so much to everyone who trusted me with their horses this year. It’s humbling and exciting to get to work with such a variety of horses and people.

For those that don’t know, I’m a stay at home homeschool mom as well so I keep my training season from May-September and just do lessons and the occasional clinic in the winter. So thank you for being patient with me as I take a break from training for a few months!

09/21/2024

What a great weekend!

09/19/2024

I don’t get too many picture or videos of my arena training because I don’t think about it until after my rides. But I got a couple today! One thing that I really enjoy doing with my training horses is getting them out on the trail and away from the arena. Putting those arena skills to use in a different setting is very valuable. You see the holes that you are missing and you see ways that arena work has helped. I love having my kids be able to help me train! 

09/03/2024

Meet Amari!!
She’s my last training horse for the year! The kids and I had our first day of school this morning and when we got done, I went outside to have my first day with this cute girl. I am looking forward to the next month or so that she is here. We will be working on some fine-tuning, softening, and balancing work, helping her figure out how to move her body optimally! Bring on the cool days of fall!

08/31/2024

There’s something to be said for a group of horse riding friends. It’s a great bond and it’s especially fun when I get to have private clinics with friend groups like this. They have been riding together for many years and they have learned from each other and with each other and been through it all! It was a great obstacle clinic with a wonderful group.