Oak Hammock Farms

09/15/2021

Thank you and well spoken.

09/11/2021

07/10/2021

Yes, walk

An in between strategy is the vigorous walk

One way to avoid over-stress and the heightened chance of injury, without abandoning going forward in the conditioning process, is by taking your horse walking.

Before you poo-poo the walk as a fitness substitute, do this---You take YOURSELF on a vigorous one hour hike. Walk as though you mean it. Stride up those hills. Push it. See how YOU feel when you get home, see if you feel as though you have had a workout.

The old saying goes like this---"It is hard to hurt a horse at a walk.”

You CAN hurt a horse at a walk, sure. You can give him a saddle sore, a girth rub. He can step on a sharp stone, stumble and hurt his knee, nothing is totally safe. But those speed related injuries are not going to happen. And unless you are in seriously steep terrain, he won’t have his heart racing through the roof, won’t be gasping for air.

But he WILL be working, especially if you have trained him to hike right along, not lollygag like a lethargic sloth. In distance riding, it’s called the “get home in time for supper” walk, a walk with purpose.

Go for an hour---an hour and a half---Your horse will be ahead of the game for it, and you can be confident that you have avoided much risk.

07/10/2021

good read

Calm down for better training

Not so many riders seem to be enveloped in almost a cocoon of calm serenity when they school their horses, and we see that lack of emotional stillness reflected in the reactions of the horses.

Think about what we bring to the ride in our heads that is counter to calm---

One rider may be a little nervous, or even scared, another driven to excel, another is earnestly attempting to prove a point, this one is determined to improve the canter transitions, that one is thinking about the upcoming competition----It can be a long list---

Many horses are quite tuned into the emotional states of their riders, and many horses respond to tension, tightness, the lack of calm brought by the rider, by becoming tense and resistant right back.

The rider, already not in that quiet bubble of emotional neutrality, feels the horse get tighter, and responds in kind, and the daily downward spiral has begun yet again.

It is easy to ask---“How do I feel calm when I am not calm?”

Well, maybe start by trying to figure out the main sources of your anxiety. Are you trying too hard? Is your horse the right horse for where you are in your riding? Are you so focused on some hoped for result that you can’t feel or appreciate tiny improvements? Do you care too much about what others think? Are you a fiercely driven competitor?
There are many possibilities----

Start there? If serenity in training seems like a worthy goal, try to avoid the situations that trigger tension. Easier to say, I know, than to do, but so well worth the endless quest to bring our emotions into quiet states to help our horses.

06/28/2021

Good read..

Making Horses Last Longer

Some thoughts---
1. Let them grow up outdoors playing in fields..
2. Don’t pressure them at 2 and 3 and 4. Any work should be slow and mild.
3. Keep up on teeth, hooves, shots, worming, vet care.
4. Keep a healthy weight, not skinny, not fat.
5. Make sure they get exercise---(Doesn’t have to be fast and furious)
6. Avoid turning schooling into grinding pressure.
7. If you compete, be aware of risks of the sport, protect your horse.
8. Let them get out in pastures if you can, a minimum of several hours a day.
9. Always have a source of clean water.
10. Back off when things are not just right.
11. Be a horseman or horsewoman, with your first priority the best interests of your horse. If you do this, you are doing about the best you can.