Horsemanship Day 2 - Riding Review

Day two at Homeplace Ranch went off without a hitch, as all our riders got back into a comfortable rhythm saddling up their horses for a day of riding! Today featured a review of the basics, a ride around the pen, and a short trail ride close-by the ranch.

Starting off the day, Homeplace’s Mac had a review of yesterday’s assignment! Everyone brought in the information they gathered about a famous individual’s horse. Next, Everyone went out for more brushing, and to saddle up their hardy steeds. Using teamwork and communication, everyone was extremely swift, creating rumblings of a possible trail ride later in the day.

Once all saddled up, everyone made their way to the riding pen to warm up their skills and their horses. Everyone was tasked with helping their horse concentrate on an obstacle in order to get over it. It is important to be patient and give one’s horse the time and space to appraise any situation, but also to give them a firm helping hand to achieve the goal. Once all warmed up, the riders headed out to shake off their trail-riding skills with a small loop around the property.

After a noble adventure, the day at Homeplace wrapped up with some de-saddling, brushing, and lunchtime! Today was all about listening to instructions and executing them to plan, not only for our riders, but our horses too! We have to use certain non-verbal techniques to give our horses the instructions they need, so making that communication very clear and precise is an important skill for all of us to have.