What horses can teach us about ourselves

🎶Hay bales and sand piles and newly framed run ins... 🎵Skid steers and clean pens, and new metal roofing... 🎶great friends and clients...🎵 the best husband too... 🎶these are a few of my favourite things! 😁 Thank you to everyone for all your help and hard work the past couple weeks. And thanks for supporting us as we take some time away from lessons to take care of our hard working ponies before winter. 🐴❤ #Events #horse

Finally! Spring is here and our horses are almost tuned up, cleaned up, and ready for lessons again. Riding 4 Life has a handful of spaces for beginner riders in our private lesson program as well as some space for new clients in our therapeutic program schedule. Contact us for more details and to book your spot now! #Therapeutic #Lessons #Programs #Beginners #Services #horse

While mounting blocks are absolute musts for some of us (myself included considering I'm only 5'2 and two of my ponies are 16hh), they can be very beneficial for everyone looking to mount up no matter what their horse's size or their physical ability. #1) Using a mounting block causes less wear and tear on our tack. When I was in pony club I was taught to rotate my english stirrup leathers from time to time because the left leather can become stretched from mounting. The s

I often say that I was born on a horse when I describe my life long horsemanship education. And yes, there are several pictures of me as a child precariously perched on my mom's horse or astride the neighborhood pony while the adults around me momentarily stepped out of the picture. By no means does this mean I was actually able to ride a horse independently - nor was I taking riding lessons. I didn't actually have my own horse that I could handle on my own until I was ne

Compared to her mare Sugar, Hannah is kinda small. But size doesn't seem to matter too much for Hannah now that she's learning all about the basics of ground work. Some people call these techniques 'natural horsemanship.' While I was growing up I just called it horse sense. Either way, learning how to read your horse's behaviour and use body language to direct them is crucial to your safety, success, and enjoyment when horsin' around. One of the first skills I like to teac

Many of my clients have considered if and when they should purchase their own horse. They also wonder why riding lessons can be so costly and if owning their own horse might bring down the costs of their riding lessons. The answer to that question is: "that depends." Unfortunately, the purchase and subsequent care of a horse is significant and needs to be thought through carefully. Riding lessons can be one of the less costly items when it comes to horsin' around. Conside

The other day I was talking to one of my clients about the progress she's made since she started learning how to ride just over a year ago. She was talking about how there seems to be no end to what there is to learn about horsemanship. And how true indeed! I've been riding since I could walk and teaching since the age of 14 and I still feel the same way. I suggested she start a horsemanship journal so she can track her progress and remind herself of just how far she's c

There's no doubt that horses can be a lot of fun. But did you know that riding can also improve your physical and mental well-being? The results are in and the more researches seek to know about the benefits of horsemanship the more we learn about all the ways horsin' around can improve our lives. PHYSICAL FITNESS Every spring when the weather starts to thaw and I start riding regularly again the first thing I notice is the soreness in my core muscles. Maintaining my balan

Therapy in disguise - that's what my horse habit is really all about. Many of my nutty horsey friends will agree too. Instead of visiting a typical therapist to address our psychological and emotional issues, we visit the barn. And instead of a couch we find hay bales and a saddle. Joking aside though, there is now some very compelling research that confirms what many horse enthusiasts have known for years - horsemanship has great therapeutic benefit. And Equine Assisted

Whenever I tell people that Riding 4 Life offers therapeutic riding most folks assume that many of my clients use wheelchairs or have significant physical limitations. In reality, I rarely work with anyone in a wheelchair and most of my clients with disabilities aren’t visibly identified as having one. Therapeutic riding can describe an enormous range of activities that benefit an even larger and incredibly diverse group of people. It often refers to activities designed to

Most riding lessons geared toward beginners aim to teach more than just how to do the actual riding. As your instructor, I want to make sure you learn how to do all the basic things needed to handle and ride a horse on your own... as if I weren't there. Each riding lesson will introduce basic safety while handling your horse from the ground - not just while mounted. It's also important to learn how to saddle your horse and check your equipment for safety. Most riding lesson

While it's true that riding horses can be dangerous and does carry some risks, it is still a relatively safe sport as long as you have the right safety equipment and some good information. First of all, nothing can reduce the risks of horsin' around as much as proper professional guidance. For beginners, it is crucial to seek some reputable instruction to get you started right. I've heard many "I rode a horse... once!" stories and they usually start out with the line, "a fr