Standards For Riding- How You Should Dress To Ride

(Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I had tons of school projects and tests)

Anyway...

Whenever I ride, I like to make sure that I look a certain way. My hair is pulled back (it gets it out of the way and is a sign of respect to your instructor), my boots are clean (again, looks nice and shows respect), I'm wearing riding gloves, and I'm outfitted in clean breeches and a riding polo. When you show up yo the barn, you don't have to be dressed in your sunday best, but you should look presentable. Dressing this way not only sends out a message to people that your stables are high-quality and respectable, but it also makes you feel better. Don't believe me? Just try it and you might see what I'm talking about.

-Juliet J.

Breed of the Month- Akhal Teke

I love these horses! I might be a little bias, but even so, they are amazing at jumping and dressage. This breed has an unusual color on it's side, it's a very distinct shade of gold not found on any other horses. They can be feisty, but if they're trained right they can be great horses:)

-Juliet J.

Ghandra's Goodies

These are the best horse treats ever people! I can 100% guarantee that you're pony will love them, and they're well made (hand made, to be exact). 

Click here to buy 

ttyl

-Juliet J.

The Importance of Shipping Boots

I've noticed that at my barn, some of the riders don't want to put shipping boots on their ponies when they trailer to other stables. Shipping boots are important people! If your horse doesn't wear them, he could seriously hurt his legs when there's a sudden movement in the trailer. Warning-make sure you give your horse time to get used to the boots before you stick him in a trailer, if you don't he'll be fussy.

Click here to shop for some good boots.

You Ask, I Answer #2

Q: Hey Juliet,
How old do you think is too old for a horse to be jumped? Specifically, the horse I ride is 22 yrs. old, and I'm worried that I can't ride him for much longer. Can you help?

A: Every horse is different, so that means that every horse is going to need to stop being ridden at different times. I would suggest making an appointment with your vet, and talking to her about whether or not you can continue to ride your pony. What she may say is that you can't jump as high, or ride for as long as you used too. Even if your veterinarian says that you can't ride your horse anymore, it's ok! You can still have tons of fun with him. If you can't get an appointment with the vet for a while, use your good judgement while riding your horse. Is he stiff? Does he seem to be in pain? Is he really struggling with the pace at which you're riding? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then dismount, and when you need to excersise your pony, opt for the lunge line or long walks until you can see the vet. And remember-old horses are anything but useless!
-Juliet J.

Cleaning Your Ponies Legs in the Winter

Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean that the sky stops raining. And with rain, comes mucky, muddy riding conditions. As a result of this, by the time you're done with your lesson, the horse who you were riding probably has mud splattered all over his legs. Mud is extremely annoying to get off, when I ride Bean sometimes I think it would almost be easier to make him completely mud-stained rather than spend hours making him clean again:) In the winter, however, it is even more difficult to remove this dirt, because you can't give them a shower and use quicksilver in 20 degree temperatures. So, what do you do?
Step 1. Let the mud dry (don't try to scrub it off while it's wet-it will only spread the imminent stain).
Step 2. Brush off the dried mud with a dandy brush.
Step 3. Use a curry to get out what you can.
Step 4. Repeat step's 2&3 as many times as necessary.
Believe me, this takes a while, but don't let it sit there. If the mud stays on, come show season you are going to have a very stressful day trying to get off month-old stains. When you see your pony all clean and shiny, trust me, it's worth it.
-Juliet J.

You Ask, I Answer #1

Q: My instructor doesn't let me jump in the stadium without wearing a cross country vest, even if the jumps are only tiny cross rails. It's not like I'm a beginner rider, my USPC ranking is a C-2. My horse isn't even that crazy. I don't want to be rude, but I feel like it's unnecessary to make me wear this big, bulky vest all the time, especially when it's hot outside (I live in California). At all the other stables I visit, nobody wears a vest while jumping, and I feel really stupid. What do I do?
-Emily Q.
A: Hey Emily, I know how you feel. My old instructor always made me wear a vest when I rode, sometimes even while I was working on dressage. Like you, I didn't want to be rude to her, so I never said anything, but I always felt unhappy riding in my vest, or least I was when I wasn't on cross country. But one day I was jumping Bean (the crazy Arab), and we were going over small verticals. He heard something in the woods, freaked, and bucked like 5 times. I fell off on the last one, and hit a standard. I landed on my back, and it hurt! Even though I could walk, my mom and dad wanted to take me to the ER just in case. I was fine, but the doctor said that if my vest wasn't on, I probably would have broken something. At that point I was really grateful that my instructor made me wear my vest. A few months after that, my teacher moved away, but even now, I wear my vest most of the time. I admit, I almost never wear it during dressage, but stadium and corss country are must's. Long story short- even though you don't like it, wear it, because it could save you alot of pain and broken bones in case something goes wrong.
Hope This Helps
-Juliet J.

Hey People!

Welcome to my blog! I'll try to share all I know about horses with you guys. Thanks for reading:)