|
|
Freedom Farm, Inc.
|
|
| Spring Newsletter | April 2013 |
|
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
Thanks to our volunteers and those who came to enjoy the festivities, last month's Easter Egg hunt was fun for all involved. We donated the proceeds to Peninsula Therapeutic Riding (see the Thank You letter from them below-it is the last article in this newsletter).
This month, weather permitting, we'll have a Trail Ride and picnic in Robin Hill Park. Then, Hoof Beats members get to go to the Bainbridge Island Saddle Club mid-month, and participate in a practice show here at the farm later in the month.
This month we're also hosting our monthly Cowmanship class and an Adult Workshop.
We're super excited to announce our new YouTube page. Check it out!
atFreedomFarm YouTube page
And in case you missed links sent out before, check out some of the great photographs being taken at the farm by Rick Crimmel and Kip Tulin:
Don't forget that we now have a Google Calendar that lists Farm events. You can view it from the Calendar page our web site. Click an event to view details about it in a popup window.
You can view the archive of past newsletters from the Downloads page on our web site.
Be sure to Like us on Facebook!
Mary
CONTACT INFO:
Mary Gallagher
(360) 457-4897
freedomf@olypen.com
freedom-farm.net
|
|
Hoof Beats Activities  | | photo by Kip Tulin |
This month's Hoof Beats activities include: Trail Ride & Picnic
Saturday, April 7
10 am - 1 pm
(weather permitting)
Bainbridge Island Saddle Club
Saturday, April 13
Away all day
Freedom Farm Show Practice Saturday, April 20
10 am - 3 pm
|
|
Cowmanship Class
Sunday, April 21
Noon - 3 pm
Working cows gives your horse a job to do, and is so much fun! Join us, and then enjoy the transformation in your horse that becomes evident in all aspects of his or her training just from this one activity!
 | | photo by Grace Lambert |
Contact Mary for more information, or to let her know you'll be riding.
(360) 457-4897
freedomf@olypen.com
freedom-farm.net
|
|
Adult Workshop
Sunday, April 28
Noon - 2 pm
 | | photo by Kip Tulin |
Our adult workshops are always fun and informative. We learn new and fun ways to support our horse while we are on the ground and in the saddle.
To sign up, contact Mary via
email or by phone.
(360) 457-4897
|
|
|
Rider Fitness Class (Boot Camp)
 | | photo by Rick Crimmel |
The Rider Fitness Class (Boot Camp) helps riders balance their horses by working on their own balance off the horse. In only a few short weeks of working out, we have seen riders make significant changes in their riding that would normally take months, if not years. (Check out the great article below about the changes riders notice, written by Hannah Crouch.)
Dedicated riders come for a morning work out at 7 a.m. on Saturdays at Anytime Fitness, in Sequim (gym membership not required). Our coach is Exercise Physiologist and Personal Trainer, Kenny Hall. The routines he developed for the circuit focus on core stability, balance, and strength training specific to riders. Workouts last approximately 50 min-utes, and whether you are a beginner or advanced rider, this program will help you achieve your riding goal. Click here to view and print a registration form. Contact Mary if you are interested in joining us. |
| |
Rider Boot Camp Report
by Hannah Crouch
 | | photo by Kip Tulin |
Why would I get up early and head to the gym twice a week, when my friends are all still in bed? Because it is really worth the effort! The Saturday and Monday Rider Boot Camps have really helped me become stronger and improve my riding. Before I started working out, I was too weak to even do a push-up or a plank! I didn't realize how much that physical weakness affected my riding until I actually experienced the difference.
Before the Boot Camps, I could barely pick up the left lead on Mikey, the little horse I've ridden the past two years. Mikey never liked his left lead, and I was never able to help him with it, though I tried hard for a long time. But as the workouts really helped my core become stronger and my balance become better, my problem with the left lead improved very quickly. When I have ridden Mikey lately, I have been able to successfully use my form to set him up for the correct lead, without having to attempt it over and over again like in the past.
I can really feel the improvement in the effectiveness of my supporting leg when I ride Bill. When I first started riding him, I could barely keep him from running through my leg. It was difficult just to ride a straight line! This has really changed because working out has helped me become more aware of my muscles and how to use them. That has transferred to my riding by making my use of my supporting leg stronger. My straight lines on Bill have become amazingly better, and I don't have near so much trouble with him running through my leg.
My halt and downward transitions have also really gotten a lot better as I've gotten stronger. I was always really weak in my core, but now my core strength has really increased. I have been able to use the same newly-found core muscles that I use in my downward transitions to get a slow, controlled canter out of my horses. That canter feels awesome!
The workouts designed by Kenny Hall are awesome for riders. I feel so much stronger and am more aware of my muscles now. If I'm having trouble with a certain position on my horse, I can visualize how I do the corresponding exercise at the gym, and it really helps me find that position on my horse. New opportunities are opening up for me in riding. I know my horses are happier, too. Thank you, Kenny Hall and Mary Gallagher, for making this possible!
|
| |
Inspiration
by Michelle Coleman Grimmer
Mary asked the other day, "Where does Michelle go for inspiration?" Well, that opens up a big can of worms right there. Inspiration is everywhere! I have been very fortunate in my life to have access to some great riding instruction from the very beginning, in 1981, to the present time. Each instructor has given me things to think about, techniques to add to my Rolodex of horsey knowledge. Some items are used in my daily riding and teaching, and some items are filed away for possible future use. Some are immediately filed under the "NEVER EVER do this" heading. There are always new things to learn!  | Michelle Coleman Grimmer
|
One of the things that I find tricky out here on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula is that we do not have easy access to large varieties of top-level educational opportunities in the form of instruction, clinics, and seminars (Freedom Farm is the exception). I was very spoiled when I lived in Toronto. There, internationally competitive riders and trainers in a variety of equestrian sports reside and train, PLUS visiting instructors from all over the world are there to give clinics almost year-round (except in the coldest months). One month I could go and ride in a clinic with Andrew Hoy (AUS), the next month Leslie Law (GBR) and George Morris (USA) would be in town doing a coaching seminar. For ten years, I was like a kid in a candy store! Of course, as with many things in life, there was a trade-off... Here, life is good, and inspiration is found in other places and other ways. Thank goodness for Freedom Farm, books, and the internet! At Freedom Farm, it is wonderful to see and experience the foundations being laid in the riding and horsemanship department while the love of horses and 'why we do this' is preserved. Educational opportunities abound in a variety of disciplines. Books like Centered Riding, by Sally Swift, and How Good Riders Get Good, by Denny Emerson, give valuable nuts and bolts tools for riding itself, and exploration of the psychology of how we progress in our sport. How do we get from here to there? It is extremely beneficial to have constructive things to think about while riding our horses! What would we do without the internet? The internet has an immense amount of information which the equestrian world "powers that be" are often extremely generous to share. I'm quite fond of visiting the website of the United States Equestrian Foundation. It posts HOURS of riding seminars which are available to everyone (for free). In addition to the seminars, on the USEF Network you can watch hours upon hours of many kinds of horse showing. (I usually stick to dressage, jumping, & eventing.) You can also look to other websites. Each national organization for each equestrian sport has its own website and educational materials available (some not free, but available with a subscription). One word of caution: If you go to the internet, make sure your 'common-sense filter' is working. Just as with other information found on the internet, make sure that you are viewing material from a reliable source. Lots of crazies out there! I love to watch other riders ride. I love to watch other instructors teach. Watching what others do is extremely important for everyone's riding education. We cannot exist in a bubble when there is so much to know! Someday soon, I would like to be able to bring more of what inspires me out here to the Olympic Peninsula. Then, I can have my cake, eat it too, and share with everyone! P.S. Here's more inspiration: The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, April 25-28th. |
|
|
Saddle Fitting Report
by Marilyn Crimmel
In early March, Freedom Farm hosted Dawn Anderson, of Anderson Equine Saddle Fitting Services for those of us looking for a saddle to purchase. As stated on her web site, Dawn is a Qualified Saddle Fitter as registered through the Society of Master Saddlers in England. She analyzed the conformation of each horse to be fitted and custom sized and fit each saddle accordingly. This was an amazing process to watch. She drew up a schematic of each horse going through the fitting. She explained the muscular structure of each horse and how that structure affected the horse's way of going. She also explained how a properly fitted saddle would help the horse develop a more balanced frame by not interfering with the shoulder muscles and the back. All of the saddles she recommends have an adjustable tree and can, therefore, be refitted for a different horse if the rider moves up or on to another horse. In addition to the adjustable tree, wool stuffing is added appropriately to accommodate each individual horse's conformation. Dawn brought with her jumping saddles, all purpose saddles and dressage saddles. She watched each horse move first without a saddle, then with a saddle and then with a rider. The entire process for each horse took approximately two hours. When finished, you felt confident that the investment choice you made was the right choice for your situation. If she has one available, she will leave you with a loaner saddle to use while you wait for your saddle to arrive. When the custom saddles arrive, she will return to Freedom Farm to refit each horse and make adjustments, if necessary. She will also return again some time after that for an additional session, to insure that all is going as it should with the saddle, horse and rider. All of the information she gathers for each horse and rider is stored in her computer for easy reference and future use. In all my years of riding, I never knew that such expert saddle fitting services existed and feel very fortunate that, along with everything else we enjoy at Freedom Farm, we had this opportunity to work with Dawn and get a saddle just right for horse and rider. |
| |
|
Lesson Notes:
What Really Matters to the Horse?
by Mary Gallagher
Respecting what really matters to the horse is what horsemanship is all about.
We find out what really matters to horses when we observe their behaviors. Let's say we take a horse out of his/her herd and we notice the emotions come up while leaving her companions. How do we respond? That is horsemanship. If we continue without addressing the insecurity that arises in the horse, we are losing an opportunity to help the horse.
Horses will forgo comfort to define safety. I say 'define safety' because how safe they feel depends on how much they trust you. As the horse gets further away from the herd he becomes more uncomfortable and reacts accordingly. He no longer cares about comfort, all his thoughts are on getting to where it is safe, back with the herd.
As horseman we could set things up so that the horse can see the comfort outside the pasture before we take him away from the herd. In this way, the horse sees the safety in our leadership and we bypass the unwanted behavior. Horsemanship is all about understanding what really matters to the horse and setting the horse up for success.
Wishing you the best as you develop your horsemanship,
Mary Gallagher
|
|
Thank You Letter
 | | I've got the mail! |
Hello Mary,
Your place is so beautiful and the kids were really doing some neet stuff ! I love your horses ! ('specialy the spotted ones !) I just wanted to thank you so much for 'Freedom Farms' donation of $107.00 to Peninsula Therapeutic Riding (formerly Native Horsemanship.) The funds will be put toward a scholarship applicant who is disabled and their family cannot afford the therapy on horseback. May every good wish be yours, Yvette TwoRabbits, L. Pres. PTR
|
| |
Arena Schedule
Here is a schedule that might help you plan your time at the Freedom Farm arena.
Sunday - Open mornings until 11:30 AM. Afternoon and Evenings reserved for FF activities and Pony Club practice.
Monday - Open all day.
Tuesday - Open all day.
Wednesday - Open all morning. Afternoon reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats
from 3 - 5:30 pm.
Thursday - Open all Morning. Afternoon reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats
from 3 - 5:30 pm.
Friday - Open all Morning. Afternoon reserved for Boarders & Hoof Beats
from 3 - 5:30 pm. Evening reserved for Port Angeles Equestrian Team
Saturday - Boarders and Hoof Beat members only 9 am - 5:30 pm. Evening reserved for Sequim Equestrian Team.
If you have any questions please contact Mary.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
New Members:
TAKE 10% OFF
Your First Month's Hoof Beats Tuition!
(Current members may take advantage of this
discount by referring a friend to our program) |
| |
|
|
|
|
