Using new toys!
Development of correct muscles to carry the rider, and for dressage, is important for our horses, no matter what age or fitness they are in. During the massage certification course, students were introduced to the use of multiple modalities to help the clients’ horses feel better and improve.
Serenity Farm recently got in two new tools, the EquiCore Bands and two of the slanted SureFoot Pads!
The EquiCore system was scientifically researched for years to develop the correct material at the right pressure to stimulate the abdominal muscles of our horses. While it looks like a belt, it is not a brace that lifts the belly muscles. Instead, it acts on the sensation receptors, reminding the horse that they have ab muscles and to use them. It is so effective that when first starting with the band, they suggest only the belly band and not the butt band and only for about 5 minutes at a time until the horse gets used to it. Over time, the horse can use the belly and butt band on the lunge line and under saddle for a few minutes during warm up to help remind them where their muscles are. Its kind of like when Kelly keeps telling you to pull your belly button to your spine again and again. Instead of a verbal reminder, its a tickling sensation reminder.
The other tool we recently received can be used for pain relief and for core muscle strength. Have you ever stretched a muscle just to the point of feel good and not beyond, and just held it for a while? Have you ever stood on a squishy balance ball and felt your core muscles tremble after a few minutes? The SureFoot pads do both of these things. They come in varying degrees of firmness, with the super squishy being for the horses who are used to the pads and have sufficient core strength and confident. They also come in slant for all the firmness as well.
Here Summer is demonstrating the way she prefers these pads for a bit of self release.
Adding tools to our tool box at Serenity Farm
Continuing education is important in every field of study, and the horse world is no different. We all know that our rider biomechanics can have positive or negative effects on the way our horses move. It can cause them to carry stress in their muscles, just like we do. While we work hard on and off the horse to make our bodies more symmetrical and stronger in our cores, Kelly has been studying ways to help the horses get some relief while we are working on that, which, by the way, is a life long pursuit for most of us. The past few months she has been studying the material provided by the Animal Rehab Institute out of Florida. We are happy to announce that after months of studying and a week long in person training, Kelly is now certified through the Animal Rehab Institute as an equine massage therapist!
Not only did Kelly work through a sports massage course, since the class size was small (thank you Covid) and the students in the class were very well prepared for the course, she worked hard on myofascial release, range of motion exercises, core exercises, work with Equibands, and experiment with different SureFoot pads and their results.
She is super excited to bring this back to our farm. If you’re interested in talking to Kelly more about how your horse can be helped with sports massage and/or myofascial release, please send her an email at:
SerenityFarmNWA@Gmail.com
Pond Guests
Some Canada geese came to hand out and watch Liz’s lesson today and swim in the pond. While they were swimming, Caper came over to investigate and the geese were a bit annoyed by him spying on them and ended their swim early. Does the return of the geese mean spring is on its way?
Hay Hay Hay!
Yay! 120 more bales of hay! That should be our last load of the season until the fresh cut hay smell once again fills the air! This family brings their skidstear to unload the hay. The farm truck had to jump start the battery for the trailer butt’s lift so they could drive it off the trailer. Jayden is inspecting the job and hoping for a taste!
Sherry Guess Clinic
Its that time of the month, time to practice some biomechanics with Sherry Guess and show off what we’ve been practicing since the last month! Seven riders participated in the clinic this month, with five haul ins and two horses from the farm. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Let's not do this again....
Do you see that? I haven’t seen numbers like this since I was in central NY early February! Now, the improvement is that there isn’t 3 feet of snow also on the ground…
It was a been a rough couple of weeks weather-wise. An hour later in the morning the temperature had dropped to an actual temperate of (-15)!. This was the coldest we are supposed to get but there were a few days before this that were in the negative single digits and even colder windchills. I was thankful that our farm wasn’t part of the rolling blackouts that many parts of county experienced. That meant we could keep the water tanks heated and horses got extra meals of warm mashes…and lots of hay….so much hay! They will be fat but they have been warm and healthy digestive systems ::knock on wood::
Does anyone know of any blanket repair places? The blankets are looking a little worse for wear going into the last part of our winter….send me an email at: SerenityFarmNWA@gmail.com
Jesse looked so cute, with his extra fuzzy hair with frosted tips!
Caper had a frosted beard! He was one of the least enthusiastic horses through this round of weather. When it was snowing, he wanted in the stall…when he was in the stall he wanted out with his friends…until he got to the barn entrance and refused to move any more forward.
Serenity Farm takes a trip to the Benton County Fairgrounds!
Since the weather has made the parking and arena footing less than ideal for a clinic situation, the whole clinic moved down the road to the indoor arena at the Benton County Fairgrounds! It was a new place for all the horses and they also had to deal with some fairground crew sweeping the bleachers
I am so proud of all the riders at our clinic today! With the three inches of rain last night, everything here was flooded so we headed over to the Benton County Fairgrounds indoor arena. For our horses who haven’t been many places this year it was a very different (scary) environment.
All the horses settled into work like professionals. It was a testament to the riders hard work in correct basics, kindness in their riding and horsemanship, as well as their respect for their equine partner that lead to such trust their horses put in their people today. Couldn’t have been more happy with them.
Wedding Day
Congratulations Shawn and Kelly!
The happy couple were married by a Justice of the Peace who lives around the corner on a chilly end of December day. The day started out cloudy and drizzly but about 30 minutes before the ceremony, the sun chased away the clouds and made for a lovely on the farm wedding! Jareth and the horses were witnesses!
Congratulations Annabelle and Mercedes!
Annabelle and Mercedes recently joined the Serenity Farm lesson program. This past weekend the pair went to Texas for both of their first ever recognized dressage show.
Due to Covid, there was limited amount of people to help them out but they found support with old friends and made some new ones. Both Annabelle and Mercedes had a successful and fun first dressage show, ending with two 70+ scores on the second (last) day and the High Point Thoroughbred Award. Mercedes handled everything like a seasoned pro and Annabelle has been bit by the dressage show bug!
So hot...
After a nice week of rainy and relative cool weather, we are back to the heat :(
How are we compensating for that with the horses?
-waters get refreshed in the heat of the day to encourage them to drink more;
-horses are enjoying soaked hay cubes or beet pulp in their dinner to get more water in them;
-electrolytes and salt are added to dinner to replenish what they sweat off just standing around in the shade;
And of course the horses have their own ways of cooling off…
Jack finding a cool spot in the nearly dried up pond…oh, and breaking the tiny tree that was growing there because he had a wicked belly itch!
Macchi loves being sprayed off during the afternoon water tank refreshing!
Summer enjoying one of the two fans in the stall.
Then there is always bobbing for fly masks….
We made the paper!
At the very end of our Sherry Guess clinic yesterday, a reporter showed up to talk to us and take some pictures. Thank you to CJ and Ken Foxx for sending us the picture from the newspaper!
Here is the link to the other pictures they posted: http://nwamedia.photoshelter.com/
Sherry Guess Clinic
5 riders braved the heat Sunday for a day of education with their horses and Sherry Guess. Everyone had good rides and left with exercises to practice until the next lesson.
Katie being a “hairy mirror” for what Liz is doing in her body. Sherry makes horses better by making the rider’s biomechanics better and increasing their awareness and education.
Big dark horse learning to take a stand break in the shade. Caper worked his heart out this morning, going forward and round!
Artemis had her first off farm clinic! The 4 year old WB owned by Kelsey was a super star from beginning to end. Kelsey’s smile says it all.
Summer splashing in the water like its summer time
Today was a bit warm, but really, not quite to the level as expressed by Summer. She has finally lost most of her winter coat, but still says she is hot. Stay tuned for a video of her in the pond last spring later in the week.
Everyone had warm beet pulp mash with their morning hay to help ward off that 20-degree windchill!
Even those who have never worn a blanket stood calmly in the cold wind to get one buckled.
We were ready for the weather change over night. After the rain changed back to a rain from a down pour, any horses who didn’t stand in their sheds cane into the stalls to be toweled off. As night came and temps dropped more, all 8 horses got blankets on (you know, because we shed off most their winter coats alread), in the dark with flash lights- such good horses!
Serenity Farm educational resources
NEW! With the current efforts of social distancing, lessons have been suspend in order to keep you, your family and our family safe (if I get sick, who is going to care for the horses…all my horse care equipment would be covered with the virus). In an effort to:
*stay connected;
*continue to learn or review skills;
*help students work on their riding while stuck at home (even though we can’t ride, we can work on our strength and flexibility for when we do get back into the saddle);
*offer something to break up the stay at home jobs and schooling;
*and, for full transparency, to help support the horses during their non working time,
…Serenity Farm has been developing some educational videos and presentations.
We will be posting material during April and May. If there is enough interest, we may continue through the summer months, especially if the social distancing guidelines are extended.
To do this, the material will be posted on:
Serenity Farm YouTube Channel
our YouTube Channel will have access to some fun free video material, subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Serenity Farm Instagram and Serenity Farm Facebook our Instagram and Facebook accounts are still being built but follow us in order to see what is happening around the farm!
COVID-19 causes suspended lessons
Good afternoon,
As coronavirus cases started to ramp up in Benton county the last couple of days, we at Serenity Farm have been keeping a closer watch on CDC recommendations, developments within our community, and the daily update by our Governor as well as being up to date on recommendations from the national and global equestrian organizational leaders.
I have reached the difficult decision that was reached to temporarily suspend lessons on Serenity Farm horses and use of shared tack/equipment until at least April 30th, in accordance with the new newest social distance precautions. While this was a hard decision to make, it is the right decision for public safety and family safety until the virus is contained.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be in email and/or text message communication with you or your family with updates and videos. As with the schools, Serenity Farm will produce some online content to get riders through this temporary suspension of riding lessons. You can expect, educational videos that cover topics similar to those for our off-horse lesson days- which will allow us to go more quickly to the practical part of those skills when lessons start back up. We will also share some exercises to help with skills and muscles. And, of course, we will share photos and videos of the horses as fun/cute moments are captured.
Thank you for your understanding. I look forward to seeing everyone back on the farm for riding lessons as soon as it is safe to do so. Thank you.
Sherry Guess Clinic
On Saturday March 7th, riders joined us for a day of education with bio mechanic guru Sherry Guess. It was a day of pushing boundaries of our bodies (i.e. some of us are sore in places that over the winter we had forgotten existed) and mind (how many of those check list items can you keep track of at once?). The weather was beautiful and everyone had a good time, each taking away multiple exercises for our horse and ourselves to practice with until the next event. Thank you to all who came out and to Sherry for teaching us for the day!
Welcome Capper!
Commandant RF “Capper” is a 16 year old Zweibrucker (RPSI) gelding joining the Serenity Farm team!
Flash (paint) and Capper (bay) became quick friends…only a few squeals.
Day 2 and we’re already settled enough for a ride.
Capper unloaded from the trailer and was chill about a new place. He sniffed poop and ate bites of hay between trotting around a bit. The other horses, who are very used to trailers coming in and out, were not so chill about the whole situation. Granted, it has been cold and they’ve all been a bit bored so Caper’s arrival offered an excuse for some rather quick paced antics.