StarLight Farms and Feed

StarLight Farms and Feed We are a small, laid back boarding facility that offers, full pasture and medical board...not to ment Please contact us for available riding times.

We offer beginner-experienced horsemanship and riding lessons...including grooming, saddling, handling as well as riding. Once you are comfortable riding, we will gladly take you out on trail. We are not a "show" barn but we do compete it NATRC (Long distance Competitive Trail). We like to make sure we have well rounded horses, so we train them a little bit in multiple disciplines. We specialize in regaining a rider's confidence and helping horses and riders overcome their anxiety.

08/16/2025
07/22/2025

Ask - Tell - Demand, might be the lowest common denominator among horse trainers, I mean real horse trainers. As an example, we want a horse to move off our leg. The left picture shows a rider applying calf pressure to cue a horse to go forward. This is "Ask".

The center picture shows a rider putting their toe down with their foot parallel to their horse's spine, which will not cause the spur to make contact with the horse. Instead of the spur, this rider is applying the edge of the heel of their boot to the horse's side. This is "Tell". With the toe down the rider can "grind" the edge of the boot heel into the horse's side by making small circles with their toes. This is a stronger cue to have the horse move forward than the calf.

I don't allow my students to wear spurs until they have mastered precise control of their foot position. Applying the edge of the heel is a good place to start learning precision. If the horse does not move off from the edge of the heel pressure, then it is time to "Demand" that the horse go forward. With my students "Demand" means applying the crop as shown in the right image.
Ask, Tell, Demand is a defined sequence of applying the aids. The concept behind this sequence is to get the horse to move off the "Ask" calf pressure. If the horse fails to do so, we go to the heel pressure because it is uncomfortable for the horse. We make the horse uncomfortable in order to teach the horse that if they ignore the "ASK" calf pressure, discomfort follows. We want them to avoid the discomfort of the heel pressure by moving forward off the calf.

Likewise, if they ignore the heel pressure, the consequence is the crop's "Demand". In this case, we want the horse to avoid the crop by moving forward off the "Tell" heel pressure. By repeating this regularly, until the horse learns to avoid the "Tell" and "Demand" cues, eventually the horse listens to the calf pressure because it is easier and more comfortable for them than enduring the Tell or the Demand cues.

Some people might think that the center rider could go to using the spurs instead of the crop as the "Demand" cue. I don't recommend this because spurs are not intended to be the gas pedal on a horse. Spurs are best used as instruments of high precision. For example, in a bend, the inside spur can be used much like the point of a compass to define the center of the bend in a turn. Spurs can increase a rider's precision in many movements, but it is best to learn first how to control one's foot position at all times.

There is no reason to kick a horse to make them go forward. I see plenty of riding instructors telling students to kick dulled down lesson horses in order to make them move forward. This both disrespects the horses, and it teaches the student riders to immediately go to "Demand" without first Using "Ask" or Tell" first, which is incorrect riding instruction.

Next time we paint ponies, we will add a bit more historical meaning. Love this.
07/18/2025

Next time we paint ponies, we will add a bit more historical meaning. Love this.

05/27/2025

This is a handy chart to have

❤️ 🙋

“Love Isn’t Enough: Why Letting Your Horse Walk All Over You Isn’t Noble—It’s Neglect”Let’s get one thing straight:Lovin...
05/08/2025

“Love Isn’t Enough: Why Letting Your Horse Walk All Over You Isn’t Noble—It’s Neglect”

Let’s get one thing straight:
Loving your horse doesn’t make you a good horseperson.
It makes you… a person who loves horses.
And that’s a great place to start.

But love without leadership?
That’s just chaos in a halter.

Your Horse Doesn’t Need a Best Friend. They Need a Guide.

They don’t need you to whisper sweet nothings while they back their haunches into your ribs.
They don’t need cupcakes, kisses, or ten minutes of you crying into their mane about how “energy work is hard when you’re an empath.”
They need boundaries.

And no — boundaries are not “abuse.”
Telling a 1,200-pound flight animal, “Hey, don’t trample me” is not dominance. It’s self-preservation.

Let’s Talk About That Flag You Hate So Much.

No, it’s not a weapon.
No, it doesn’t “scare them into submission.”
It’s a tool — like your reins, your tone of voice, your timing.
And like all tools, it’s only as harmful as the hands that wield it.

You don’t build trust by never saying no.
You build trust by showing up with clarity, fairness, and the courage to guide your horse through discomfort without falling apart yourself.

Because here’s the kicker:

Horses Crave Leadership.
They don’t want a roommate.
They want to know who’s steering the ship when the wind picks up.
And if that’s not you?
They’ll decide it’s them — and that doesn’t end well for anyone.

Barbaric Isn’t Boundaries. Barbaric Is Letting a Horse Live in Confusion.

Letting your horse:
• Bite you because “they were just playing”
• Kick at the farrier because “they had a bad day”
• Drag you to the grass because “it’s natural for them to graze”

Isn’t love.
It’s enabling.

And enabling a horse to feel powerful in their anxiety is not compassion — it’s cruelty dressed in softness.

Pressure Isn’t the Enemy. Unclear Expectations Are.

You’re not protecting your horse from trauma by avoiding pressure.
You’re ensuring they never learn to handle it.
Which means the first time the world does apply pressure — a vet, a trailer, a gate they don’t want to go through — they fall apart.

Because you didn’t teach them how to cope.

You taught them they never had to.

Let’s Be Honest: You’re Not Being Gentle. You’re Being Afraid.

Afraid they’ll stop liking you if you set a boundary.
Afraid you’ll break their spirit if you redirect them.
Afraid of being seen as “harsh” if you step up and train.

But horses don’t fear firmness.
They fear inconsistency.

They don’t lose trust when you say, “Don’t come into my space.”
They lose trust when you say nothing — until you explode, or freeze, or call them dangerous after three years of never saying no.

Soft Hands Still Hold the Line.

True softness isn’t weakness.
It’s calm, clear, and confident.
It’s knowing when to apply pressure and — here’s the art — when to release.

And release isn’t a reward for doing nothing.
It’s the moment you say:
“Yes. That’s the right answer. You’re doing well.”

So What’s the Goal?

Not control. Not dominance.
Not never saying no.
Clarity. Safety. Partnership.

The kind of relationship where your horse knows:
• Where they stand
• What the rules are
• That you’ll show up steady, not sentimental

Because your horse deserves more than just love.
They deserve to be understood.
To be guided.
To be safe in a world that doesn’t bend to their every whim.

Final Thought:

If you’re still convinced that boundaries are cruel and discipline is domination, ask yourself this:

Do I love this horse enough to help them succeed in a human world?

Because if the answer is yes?

Then it’s time to stop whispering “I love you” and start saying, “I’ve got you.”
That’s leadership.
That’s trust.
That’s love — the kind that holds up under pressure.

The kind that actually helps the horse.

We had so much fun last year. Let's do it again!!!!
04/25/2025

We had so much fun last year. Let's do it again!!!!

04/17/2025
More exercises
04/16/2025

More exercises

Here are some exercises for equestrians. If you dream of competing with the best, you need to be working as hard as your horse.
These are not the only exercises you can do. A quick online search will net you dozens of different exercises. There are also some equine-sport specific programs you can buy/join.

100%
04/15/2025

100%

Most riding students today start their lessons at a discipline centered barn. Few of these barns begin with the fundamentals of general riding such as balance. Instead, these discipline focused programs teach the forms and positions of their specific discipline. This leaves voids in their training that they discover many years later when they try to switch to some other discipline or type of riding.

The best way to teach riding begins with teaching the fundamentals of horsemanship. In addition to riding, driving or other activities, authentic horsemanship includes teaching basic elements of horse care and horse training. For example, the first thing I teach new students about horse training is that we are always training or untraining a horse when we ride. Regarding horsemanship horse care, I teach basics like getting a horse out of a pasture, how to safely approach a horse, hoof cleaning, careful saddling and bridling, as well as how to do a simple assessment of a horse's condition and state of mind that they are about to ride.

Effective riding instruction begins with having the student add new skills or tools to the student's equestrian toolbox. Balance comes first. Much later, when a student develops an effective balanced seat, we stop adding tools and refine their use of their acquired tools so as to help them achieve unity of balance and movement with their horse.

Once they achieve a degree of unity, we stop adding new tools unless new tools are required for specific discipline. Much later, when the student learns to ride consistently in unity, we optimize the use of their acquired tools to allow them to do more with less. Optimization of their acquired tools eventually expands the range of some tools' applications such that the applications overlap with other of their tools' uses. This is when we begin to remove tools from their toolbox because they can do more with fewer tools.

I believe that the elevated fear and the many injuries riders experience today are the result of having never learned the fundamentals of balance and shared movement with a horse. Instead, they learned to be a Hunter Jumper, or a Reiner, or some other specialty without ever establishing a solid, effective, balanced seat. They are rightfully fearful and get hurt because balance is essential, and it should be established before learning specialized methods.

basic related post on safely approaching a horse -

www.facebook.com/BobWoodHorsesForLife/posts/pfbid02sP2HpSPwofCPTcoa6J9ziob4Y1dhbvUWpfBiA9bJUZmADwQBqRKn6VjMUjqxtpcYl

related post beginning riders stirrups length -

www.facebook.com/BobWoodHorsesForLife/posts/pfbid02973AXNj7tcRCTrr6s9WQASUtLA3rJSGmSnXc6gwyFasQTtMyQWdivRsd63htxJidl

related post for advanced riders -

www.facebook.com/BobWoodHorsesForLife/posts/pfbid02tfc9K6eQSzFgRzigsGUnvypafbnsFhf4PBNqjrEnFR9eo2daoaMnkbFY1Af9zQBdl

Shims can be used in the right situation...but definitely not in this situation.
04/08/2025

Shims can be used in the right situation...but definitely not in this situation.

Address

759 Yarbrough Rd
Tuskegee, AL
36083

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+17069758414

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