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Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables It seems to be a common theme in the equestrian industry (and other animal businesses too for that matter) that volunteering and volunteer programs are pretty common, and expected even. And there is good reason for it. There is only so much time in a weekly lesson, and to get good at something or master something, you really need daily practice. Taking lessons more than once a week is often cost-prohibitive for many families, so what options are there for students to get that extra experience? The answer is volunteering. Unless you have horses in your back-yard, volunteering is an essential part of the development of confident and capable equestrians. Unlike other sports, you can't really practice in your backyard, or even at your neighbourhood playground or park. For those that have their own horse at home, youth still have a hard time getting lots of quality, safe supervised hours in if mom and dad are busy. Spending those extra hours at the barn are just as important as taking the lessons themselves. This past week we've been featuring our coaches on social media! A common theme throughout the coach profiles is that most of them started by volunteering and doing barn chores...
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the physical benefits of horseback riding for Youth: get your butt back in the saddle girl1/24/2023 Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables Although many may think that owning a barn must mean I ride horses whenever I want, often the exact opposite is true. In fact, since starting a horse business, I have never ridden less. There are lots of excuses. The main one being "there is always too much too do", followed closely by, "I'm too tired after spending a day working at the barn, the last thing I want to do is spend more time at the barn." However, now that I have a daughter, I am trying to make myself get out to the barn a couple times a week with her so that she can experience all the amazing benefits of horses that I experienced as a young girl. Even at only 21 months old, after a couple of 2 to 3 minute rides with Zip last week (that's about all the attention span she has right now!), I could already see a huge a difference in her core activation and wanting to talk more. Amazing! Now, you could say this is just a coincidence and that at her age these are normal development stages. But I don't believe in coincidences, I'm all about science. So, I've refreshed and updated my list of research on the benefits of horse back riding to youth. The last few years I have really been focused on the research behind the mental health benefits of horses to people, that I forgot about the whole host of physical benefits they provide too, which are just as important to all of us. I haven't found any research dealing with children under 2 yet, but I did find some great research regarding youth, including youth with Autism and ADHD. My favourite is the case study written by Dr. Temple Grandin about her own experiences as a child with Autism. Although her research and fame is more well known in the cattle industry for bringing in humane handling practices in feedlots and processing facilities, her experiences and observations all started with horses as a youth. She talks about the benefits that horses provided her which came not just from riding, but also from the barn atmosphere, chores and friendships made there as well. There is even a movie staring Claire Danes all about her life (available on Crave TV I believe). Another study that had similar findings as Dr. Grandin is discussed in an article by Jasmine Root (2018). She talks about Dr. Ann Swinker's research that found that handling, riding, and caring for a horse or pony can develop a host of positive traits in a child, including responsibility, accountability, patience, level-headedness, empathy, kindness, and self-discipline. Another study by N. Ohtani et al. (2017) talks about what it is about horseback riding that helps stimulate our brains and bodies - it's the horse's vibrations that you experience when riding. These vibrations were found to improve children's self-control and ability to make good decisions. In a study by V. Chandler (2022) horseback riding appeared to have improved balance, posture, and core strength in children with ADHD and ASD, and anecdotal evidence from parents suggested many positive behavioral benefits as well. If you think about the amazing benefits that horses have for kids with physical challenges like ADHD and Autism, you know that horses can benefit any child or person in the same way. And now just think of the benefits I could be providing myself if I could get my own butt back in the saddle... Follow the link below to read these articles on the physical benefits of horses to children and youth. Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables Night check nights have me awake until well after midnight. It is my least favourite thing to do - drag myself to the barn at 9:30 or 10pm and do physically demanding work when all I want to do is relax after an already physically demanding work day on top of dealing with client relations. At least I don't do it every night anymore. However, it never fails that after I finish night check, I feel energized and can typically get in another 2 to 3 hours of work (or 2 to 3 hours of Netflix binging...). And here I find myself for the first time in several months being able to bring myself write something. January is nearly finished and I can feel the days are already starting to get longer. Time is moving slower compared to the fall, which seems to have whizzed by in a blur of exhaustion. Although the days of Covid shut-downs and regulations seem to be mostly behind us, covering for sick staff and the admin of dealing with constant cancellations and re-booking for sick clients and staff took a serious toll both mentally and financially. It seems like maybe others were also feeling the strain of the hectic fall too, and just like that, we were suddenly in the lowest registration winter session we've had since pre-Covid.
Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables This past weekend, our rescue pony Rocky, who has now been with us for 8 years, finally did his first birthday party! Thanks to a skilled and determined staff member who made the effort to lead him, he did great. Not only was it heart warming to see, but a huge relief. I probably should have, and could have, sold or given away this pony many times, but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to give up on him... It made me reflect on how hard horse ownership can really be... For most horse-struck girls, owning their own horse is a life goal. The idea of having a horse of their own to ride and care for, and have a special bond with, seems like a fairy tale. And for parents who have seen the amazing positive life changes horses and riding lessons have brought to their daughters lives so far, they are obliged to aid in their daughters dream and take the next step to own a horse. After doing research on the costs of owning a horse, and finding a qualified coach to aid in the purchase, I've seen many parents go ahead and make the plunge into ownership. And time and time again I've also seen the challenges that arise, that no amount of research can prepare the parents and horse-loving daughter for. Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables It had been a beautiful 10 days of no rain and hot weather, and I finished baling all the hay. The tractors air conditioner quit working the last two days of baling, so it was like driving around in my own personal Thermea spa; hotter inside the cab than outside! I tried to keep reminding myself that people pay a lot of money for this experience... The air conditioner break-down was nothing compared to the last month's series of unfortunate events however... It started about a month ago... I started up the tractor to feed some hay, but something sounded not quite right. I turned around to park the tractor, but as I did the noise got extremely loud! I turned off the tractor. Smoke started coming out from the engine! I grabbed the fire extinguisher but there was no fire... The tractor was dead right in the middle of the parking lot...  Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables I was out in the field on a warm sunny morning, helping my dad change some section knives on the haybine. Something we've done many times before, but I sill wouldn't be able to tell you what size wrench was needed... Skills and knowledge that I hope is going to stay retained in my brain somewhere until one day when I have to do it on my own. After spending 6 hours doing maintenance on the haybine and baler, including running to the dealership to buy $500+ worth of extra parts and lubricants, I started thinking about how there are lots of aspects to every business that people just don't understand how much work it actually is. The same is true for the horse business as it is the hay business. Hay is a big deal for stables, in terms of horse health and is second only to labour in terms of biggest costs of production. I would say having to buy hay has been one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of being a stable owner. However, making hay can be equally frustrating, something I think many barn owners and managers don't understand and don't have sympathy for when making hay purchases. As someone who has been on both sides of the fence, I have some important points to ponder when making hay purchases:
Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables It had been a busy day, but a good day. My husband was working off property, my daughter was at daycare, and I was getting things done! I was getting things done so well, I lost track of time, and was 10 minutes late picking up my daughter from daycare... After rushing to pick her up, and with my husband still not home, I suddenly realized that part of the reason I had lost track of time was because no one had showed up to do afternoon turn-in... Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables Do you have a love-hate relationship with going on vacation? Then you must be responsible for animals and/or own a business! For most people, vacations are one of those things that you try to do to relax and get away from your job and normal routines. However, if you are responsible for animals and a business, the preparation to go, the worrying during your vacation and the fixing of things when you return can be so stressful you are often left wondering if it was all worth it?! Chronicles of a Stable Owner are real-life stories about caring for horses and their people
Written by Dr. Gwen Donohoe, Owner/Manager at Sagehill Stables Have you ever... used a 1750 pound hay bale to cover mud in a gate entrance during a wet year? This was my first time, and I needed to use three! Note: In a year with hay shortages and extremely high hay prices, let me add that the bales had water damage and were of zero value as feed! We had record snowfall this winter, followed by a cool, slow melt in the spring. Significant rainfall before the snow had finished melting and before the ground had thawed caused overland flooding on our property that we've never had before. Our buildings flooded, pens flooded and gate entrances that have held up in the past did not hold up this year. |
