Reflections Equestrian Center

06/18/2024

To replace a good horse!
The best horses are built over years of hauling, hard work, tough times, good times, bad times, big spooks, little spooks, their mistakes, our mistakes and continual love and care.

No, your breaker can not turn your young prospect into your old faithful in 30, 60, 90, or even 365 days. It takes years.

I’m plagued with the problem of trying to impress on people how long it truly takes to build that dream partner. There’s not a smooth paved path. Your green horse will embarrass you, frustrate you, and maybe even hurt you. For some of you, buying a $20,000-$30,000 horse is going to be worth it and SAVE you money. Even that more finished horse will take a year or more to sync up with.

Cheap rate for horse training is $1,000 a month.
1 year of training: $12,000
2 years of training: $24,000

Many of you won’t believe this but your dream horse is on the other side of two years of training. In reality, it’s likely around two years of training and two years of seasoning (hauling them to town). Will that horse still make mistakes? Yes, they all make mistakes until the day they die. But that horses mistakes probably won’t put you in serious danger and that horse will probably pack your grandkids around.

If you’re trying to decide between a $3,500 prospect or a $15,000 proven horse. My advice is to do an internal inventory and figure out what you want. Buying that prospect is like the first roll on the Jumanji board. You’re entered up, get ready for a journey of ups and downs (possibly quite literally!) If you’re buying that finished horse decide what you really want, get ready for a lot of shopping and painfully overpriced sh💩tters. Take a friend or a trainer on this journey with you and try to double your budget (that’s right, 30k). Be smart and buy something OVER 8 years old. Don’t buy that pretty 5 year old they only want 20k for. He isn’t old enough to be proven for you. Lots of horse traders are trying to flip horses, anything under 8 is likely twice as green as he looks in the video. Maturity, both mental and physical will be key when looking for a safe horse.

If you want a project and a challenge I’m not hating, that’s what I want in a horse too, so I buy young ones. If you need a safe one, bring lots of money and quit thinking you need a 6 year old. You probably don’t have what it takes to mentally support that 6 year old through new situations.

The biggest reason I bring this up is because as folks retire their old faithful they are so far removed from when that horse was green and did dumb stuff. They forgot how tough those two years were back when he was 4-6. They only remember the amazing horse he was when he matured. The 3 year old they just bought is YEARS from filling that horses shoes when it comes to training level and safety level. I see people hate on trainers because the trainer couldn’t make their young horse, “finished” in 90 days. It’s honestly the biggest reason I like taking colts for 30 or 60 days. The expectation is shockingly lower than when I take one for 90 days. It’s weird what people expect from a 90 day start. Most people should commit to sending their young horse out for a full year. Two years would be even better.

Green horses do green horse things, don’t blame others for the challenge you bought yourself. Accept the challenge or pay the price for one further along. No matter which path you choose with horses, it’s going to cost you.

(I didn’t write this one I’m not sure who did, however every word of it rings true)

05/03/2024

Tuesday Tip:
Remember, this horse showing and riding is supposed to be FUN! That's how most of us got started. Smile, enjoy your your horse and what you are learning. It's all a process. Some days you win and some days you learn! I have found that the more you have fun, the more success you make. Being overly critical of yourself or your horse generally works against you. Always find the good in everything first. Whether you are the rider, trainer, sponsor or parent be positive, be supportive. No one tries to do poorly! SO many riders beat themselves up and are critical of themselves. They don't need help at that! Focus on the positive and you will see much more positive results! Try it and see what happens!!!

04/21/2024

We will have one stall available June 1st for partial self care in Honeoye Falls.
You will be responsible to split afternoon and weekend chores with the other borders, all borders clean and bed their own stalls so it just entails turn in or turn out duties.
I take care of weekday morning turn out.
Rate includes hay, border is responsible for bedding, grain and any supplements your horse requires.
Most horses are turned out 24/7 in the summer months weather pending so chores are a lot easier.
Facility includes large indoor arena with heated lounge and tack room, large matted stalls, several smaller paddocks and a large grass summer turn-out pasture. There are also plenty of outdoor riding areas and trails.

$275.00 per month includes hay

Call (585)739-2681 for more information

04/15/2024

My Barrel Racing Shirt is now available with personalization to make it extra special for your little cowgirl!!

This Gender-Neutral Kids Tops & Tees item is sold by HoofprintDesignsLLC. Ships from San Jose, CA. Listed on Apr 14, 2024

03/24/2024

We will have one stall available April 1st for partial self care boarding.
We are located just outside of the village of Honeoye Falls and are a small low key operation whose focuses is on tranquil time with our horses and quality of care.
We have large matted stalls, lots of pasture options, an indoor arena, 24/7 late spring, summer, early fall turnout (weather dependant), riding trails and a very nice, small group of boarders.
Partial self care includes hay and daily turnout. Each boarder chooses an evening or two during the week to do turn-in and either a morning or evening on the weekends for either turn out or turn in.
Boarders are responsible for cleaning their own stalls, purchasing their own bedding, grain and any supplements.
We will teach you how to use our John Deer gator and all other chores involved in turn out and turn in.
You must be able to lift 50 pounds but since you have a horse thats usually not a problem.
We also have a few training horses on site so feeling comfortable handling different ages, breeds and training levels of horses will be helpful. We do not take in training horses with dangerous habits.
Monthly board is $250.00
If interested please contact Kyle at (585)739-2681

03/12/2024

Full Board Isn't Full Service

A friend asked me to write this a while ago..and I have been thinking on it for several months. So here is a go.

Full board Isn't full board. The average boarding farm with anywhere from 5 to 40 boarders is so much work. Just the daily grind of getting up, feeding, haying, checking water takes up a significant amount of time. Stalls, another massive chunk, then repeat pm feed.

Then you want the boarding farm to do blankets ( something I refuse to do. I worked for a QH trainer in the 90s and spent hrs every morning and night reblanketing all the horses under lights ...cured me ) , meds, you want night check. You want their weight and physical appearance monitored through their blankets.

Now all the extras : tackroom swept, aisle perfect, walls hosed down, no rodents, cobwebs , working washrack with drain that never clogs...

Then perfectly manacured fields , mowed, fertilized, weedwacking. Fences repairs etc....

Board or bored...when your horse is in the stall more for inclement weather , you need to get there to exercise it and prevent colic ( motion is lotion for guts and joints ! ). Full board doesnt cover checking every single inch of the horse ( though most of us do take a quick look, i have trained myself to look at all 4 legs both side every day ) for bumps, bruises, shoes with sprung heels , mysterious fungus that appears on its flank. Owners need to be present, take responsibility for their own horse, make coming out to groom that retired horse on a schedule....and always always be accessible for emergencies.

When you see something needs done, just do it instead of complaining about it. We have all seen the posts about the costs of boarding and basically, if you are paying less than $1000/ month, someone is subsidizing your board. So pick up a rake, a broom, be present. Run a hose, scrub the tub. Triple check your horse. Check on the horse whose owner is ill ( with their permission ) . Leave things better than they were.
Many barns have a person or 2 that randomly helps with some stalls....I guarantee you the barn owner appreciates that person. I used to have a students father who would clean many stalls while his daughter rode. I know I'll never forget him.

Holidays....most barns have 1 of 2 ways of thinking. 1. Don't come out at all. 2. If you do come out, plan to help with feeding, haying, watering turnout and stalls. I can speak from personal experience...I havent had a holiday off since pre 2001 except for 1 Christmas, an exceptional student did all the work as my gift. I'll never forget that act of kindness. Nurses get double time for major holidays ( and still get to take off a day for Christmas , heck even the local convenience store pays double or time and half on major holidays) , barn owners get nothing, most of the time not even a thank you... I recall a colleague who boarded horses ( and of course taught lessons, trained horses, sold horses and ran shows because boarding doesnt pay the bills ) saying one day she realized her life was like the movie Ground Hog Day....and that she has done the same thing every morning every night for decades. Her farm went up for sale and she now boards her own horses.

Education. Do you know what horses diseases are, understand deworming, know what ailments to watch out for. When should the vet be called ? Can you wrap legs properly, handle an abscess, recognize fungus, spot a colic ? If not, pick up a book, watch some videos. Horse ownership means you love horses and you want to know everything about them.

Anyway...full care isn't day care you drop your "kid " off too and never pick them up from again. Be present. Your horse will appreciate the attention and the barn owner will feel relief that you are watching out for your horse.

3/27/23 update. 212,000 views. 1400 shares. And I have gotten a few nasty comments. I cannot understand the nastiness . Bringing awareness is a good thing. If it doesnt apply to you , then move on. Every barn has boundaries. Apparently some people are mad that I wont do blankets...not sure why, as none of them board with me ! Boundaries are made out of clarity and self respect. Every barn , I hope , has rules and boundaries ! Best wishes to all . Horses are my first and longest love.

( This post was made to bring awareness. At least in my area, boarding barns are becoming fewer to non existent. If we want them to stay, we must change . I have seen mostly positivity come from this...i particularly loved the person who shared it and wrote " I go a bit the other way . I try to help in some way every day that I am at the barn "
I , of course, want all the horses in my care to have good, healthy lives too. I would like to think we all do. )

02/04/2024

Training 101...

01/16/2024

Another new decal available through my Etsy page! https://hoofprintdesignsllc.etsy.com

01/02/2024

✨️New for 2024!✨️

Saturday socials!

Come enjoy coffee and donuts and ride with others, all while getting some pointers!
Haul-ins welcome!

10am to 12
Ride for as long or as little as you'd like!

Discounted lesson rate of $30 and donuts & coffee provided!

First one will be January 13th!

PM or text me to sign up! 🤠

12/02/2023

We are looking for a new team member here at the farm to help with chores in exchange for board!!
Ideally hoping to find someone that can help M-F with cleaning 5-6 stalls and doing turn in before dark.
Must be able to work independently, lift 50 pounds and be very comfortable handling all different types of horses as we are training facility and do get youngsters in.
We are located in Honeoye Falls
Contact Kyle at (585)739-2681

11/07/2023

Hello, I would have never dreamed of doing this but it has gotten to the… Kyle Fairchild needs your support for Helping Lexi through difficult medical times.