Horsemanship Day 1 - Ranch Rules

The week of horsemanship arrives at Homeplace Ranch! Day one always covers the basics of ranch rules, saddling, brushing, and communicating with your horse.

The first part of every session at Homeplace is about ‘catching’ your horse! This is all about picking your horse, making them comfortable, and getting them out of the pen. Here, everyone is learning how to let the horses know that everything is okay, using non-verbal communication to convey how each feels.

Once everyone and their steeds were comfortable, it was on to brushing! This is all about making sure the horse’s coat is nice and shiny, free from any dirt. Additionally, Mac, the owner of Homeplace ranch, had everyone clean and brush their ‘sinches’. These are the parts of the saddle that wrap underneath the horse, and it is crucial that this is smooth, so they aren’t uncomfortable while out on the trail.

Lastly for the day, everyone saddled up their horses and got some important practice. Everyone here is fairly experienced, but it’s never a bad thing to reinforce the things we have learned! Additionally, Mac sent everyone home with an assignment to research a famous person and their horse! What was Gene Autry’s horse? Or General Robert E. Lee?