Turtle Mountain Farm, LLC

Turtle Mountain Farm, LLC Private farm in Madison, VA Turtle Mountain Farm is a private, family-run facility in beautiful Madison County.

We offer boarding as well as the occasional horse or pony for sale. Feel free to contact us or visit our website for more information!

It was a beautiful weekend for a fall picnic on the farm. 🍁🍂
10/20/2025

It was a beautiful weekend for a fall picnic on the farm. 🍁🍂

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

Starting to feel like the end of summer.
08/31/2025

Starting to feel like the end of summer.

Duncan and the birds.
08/04/2025

Duncan and the birds.

Our chicks are all grown up and starting to lay—I love the little fairy eggs they’re leaving for us right now. Regular e...
07/30/2025

Our chicks are all grown up and starting to lay—I love the little fairy eggs they’re leaving for us right now. Regular egg in the center for size reference.

So nice to finally have a sunny evening after back to back thunderstorms all week.
07/03/2025

So nice to finally have a sunny evening after back to back thunderstorms all week.

We’ve purposely allowed some of our yard to grow wild this year and we’re already seeing a substantial increase in insec...
06/30/2025

We’ve purposely allowed some of our yard to grow wild this year and we’re already seeing a substantial increase in insect life and birds! Plus it’s that much less fuel/energy needed for mowing.

Our little rooster is growing into a handsome young man! Name suggestions welcome.
06/23/2025

Our little rooster is growing into a handsome young man! Name suggestions welcome.

Good sized crawdad/crawfish/crayfish (what do YOU call them?) in our creek and a raccoon print I didn’t even notice unti...
06/11/2025

Good sized crawdad/crawfish/crayfish (what do YOU call them?) in our creek and a raccoon print I didn’t even notice until later. Mr. Raccoon almost had swamp lobster for dinner.

Address

2234 S F T Valley Road
Madison, VA
22727

Telephone

+15403959361

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Turtle Mountain Farm, LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Turtle Mountain Farm, LLC:

Shortcuts

Share

Our Story

Turtle Mountain Farm is a private, family-run facility in beautiful Madison County. We offer retirement boarding as well as the occasional horse or pony for sale.

Feel free to contact us or visit our website (http://turtlemountainfarm.com/index.htm) for more information!