M&K Equestrian Center

07/09/2025

Have 1 training spot available Aug 1.

07/09/2025

🖤

07/04/2025

07/01/2025

Things your riding instructor wants you to know:
1. This sport is hard. You don't get to bypass the hard…..every good rider has gone through it. You make progress, then you don't, and then you make progress again. Your riding instructor can coach you through it, but they cannot make it easy.

2. You're going to ride horses you don't want to ride. If you're teachable, you will learn from every horse you ride. Each horse in the barn can teach you if you let them. IF YOU LET THEM. Which leads me to…

3. You MUST be teachable to succeed in this sport. You must be teachable to succeed at anything, but that is another conversation. Being teachable often means going back to basics time and time and time again. If you find basics boring, then your not looking at them as an opportunity to learn. Which brings me to…..

4. This sport is a COMMITMENT. Read that, then read it again. Every sport is a commitment, but in this sport your teammate weighs 1200 lbs and speaks a different language. Good riders don't get good by riding every once in awhile….they improve because they make riding a priority and give themsevles opportunity to practice.

5. EVERY RIDE IS AN OPPORTUNITY. Even the walk ones. Even the hard ones. Every. Single. Ride. Remember when you just wished someone would lead you around on a horse? Find the happiness in just being able to RIDE. If you make every ride about what your AREN'T doing, you take the fun out of the experience for yourself, your horse, and your instructor. Just enjoy the process. Which brings me to...

6. Riding should be fun. It is work. and work isn't always fun.....but if you (or your rider) are consistently choosing other activities or find yourself not looking forward to lessons, it's time to take a break. The horses already know you don't want to be here, and you set yourself up for failure if you are already dreading the lesson before you get here.

7. You'll learn more about horses from the ground than you ever will while riding. That's why ground lessons are important, too. If you're skipping ground lessons (or the part of your lesson that takes place on the ground), you're missing out on the most important parts of the lesson. You spend far more time on the ground with horses than you do in the saddle.

8. Ask questions and communicate. If you're wondering why your coach is having you ride a particular horse or do an exercise, ask them. Then listen to their answer and refer to #3 above.

9. We are human beings. We make decisions (some of them life and death ones) every day. We balance learning for students with workloads for horses and carry the bulk of this business on our shoulders. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Of all the sports your child will try through their school years, riding is one of 3 that they may continue regularly as adults (golf and skiing are the others). People who coach riding spend the better part of their free time and much of their disposable income trying to improve their own riding and caring for the horses who help teach your child. They love this sport and teaching others…..but they all have their limits. Not all good riders are good coaches, but all good coaches will tell you that the process to get good is not an easy one.

📝 Kimberley Reynolds

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography

06/30/2025

As fair season is upon us! It is time to start planing already for next year! We have 3 lovely horses available for partial as well as full lease. These leases are available starting mid August.
Leases are also available to come with us to local
Horse shows. (Some limitations apply) For our leases, we do require a commitment from our lease families. While we do understand things come up, we do require a certain level of commitment in order to take our horses to fair/shows.
Jackson,Kota and Darryl all ride English as well as western. They are not available for speed or jumping. If you would like to learn more, please message us!

06/26/2025

Kota seems to enjoy his new roll as a kids horse ❤️❤️

06/25/2025

Meet Claira. Our newest edition to the “mouse patrol” pack. We figure she’s 7 or so weeks old. And is still pretty shy till you grab her and hold her. She has the biggest purr button rivaled by none in the barn ❤️❤️

06/24/2025

Thank you! Leslie Bryan Gesse for the popsicles today! They were a welcome treat in this heat!

06/20/2025

☀️ 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭: 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞

A significant heat wave is on the way, and it’s more than just uncomfortable, it poses a real threat to horse (and human) health. When both temperature and humidity climb, a horse’s ability to cool itself becomes compromised. The signs of heat stress can be easy to miss until they become dangerous, which is why it’s critical to go into these hot days with a science-based plan. Knowing how to reduce risk through smart management, recognizing the early signs of trouble, and understanding how to respond quickly and effectively can make all the difference. Prevention is always easier than treatment, so let’s stay ahead of the heat.

The first thing to consider is when it is acceptable to work your horse. There are two heat indexes commonly used: one was developed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and takes the sum of the temperature (°F) and relative humidity (%). The other was developed by the National Weather Service (NWS) and uses a more comprehensive formula. Considering the NWS guidelines are more conservative, I tend to follow their recommendations out of an abundance of caution.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐖𝐒 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬:
🟢 125: Use extreme caution and avoid any exercise or activity while implementing preventive and vigorous cooling measures.

While these recommendations can guide your decisions, remember that many individual factors may influence heat tolerance, including fitness level, age, hydration, ride intensity, and acclimation.

𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬:
💧 Provide unrestricted access to clean, plain water ideally between 59–77°F (15–25°C)
🌳 Ensure shade is available
🧂 Add salt or electrolytes to the feed per manufacturer’s recommendations

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞:
🌅 Restrict activity to early morning or late evening hours
⬇️ Reduce ride intensity
🚿 Cool horses by continuously applying cold or cool water, do not scrape it off

⚠️ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 — 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬.
• Panting or flared nostrils
• Rapid or labored breathing at rest
• Elevated heart rate that doesn’t recover after exercise
• Lethargy, dullness, or unwillingness to move
• Dry, tacky, or dark gums
• Muscle tremors or incoordination
• Increased re**al temperature

If you see any of these signs, act immediately, move the horse to shade, apply cool water continuously, and call your veterinarian if the symptoms persist.

Let’s be proactive, not reactive, and make sure our horses stay safe and supported during this extreme heat.

Stay cool everyone!
Dr. DeBoer

06/20/2025

Lessons are cancelled through Weds as of right now. Heat index has reared its ugly head already