Proper Horse Care and Barn Management

Have you been to a riding facility that was dirty, the horses were dirty, skinny and straggley, the tack was a mess, and the feeling was overall busy/chaotic? I have. My equine education has taken me all over the country, and I have witnessed close to perfection to downright unfathonable. I know what is right from what is not, but have never found a facility as well run and orderly as the barn where I am fortunate to now teach.

The grounds are immaculate. Everything is kept clean, including the horses, tack room, kitchen, bathroom and tack. The horses are well fed, healthy, kind and gentle. It is 165 acres, not overpopulated with people or horses, and the feeling is peaceful. An oasis that I cannot wait to visit every day.

I teach horseback riding lessons there - primarily dressage, with some jumping and basic equitation thrown in. I also volunteer to care for and train some of the rescue horses, which fills my heart. These beautiful horses were once headed for slaughter, and are now on a journey towards a loving home.

Horses are to be treated like the majestic animals they are. They deserve our respect and love. They are not a commodity, like many of the barns I have visited and worked for in the past have treated them. They have a heartbeat, and a heart, just like us.