Behind The Scenes: What Happens Before Your Lesson Begins

While you’re getting ready and driving through the hills and curves out to the stables, we’re preparing for your arrival! Come take a behind-the-scenes look at what is done each time to get ready for your lesson.

Set Up Time:

It all starts with prepping the tack and equipment we’re going to be using. Things are carried to the barn from the tack room. Saddles, saddle pads, bridles, and more are cleaned and readied for our horse time. 

Next, I’ll head out to set up the arena or area where we’ll be working, so it’ll be ready for the lesson I have planned for us to do. Sometimes this means setting up patterns with poles and barrels, or bringing out supplies for our horse ‘games’. Other times this might mean checking over fences in pastures or riding down trails we’ll take to make sure all is in order for us to have the best time possible! And safety always comes first.

Horses are then brought in from the pastures if they’ve been out grazing. Once we’re inside the paddock gates, I’ll do a quick wellness check and feed everyone some hay, so that all horses are happy and healthy before you pull in the driveway.

The Warm-Up: 

Everyone needs a minute to get ready and get going, and horses are no different. While my girls are usually coming in from the pasture and not just from a stall, the warm-up is still a huge part of preparing our horses - mind and body - for their time with us. This is super important for our older horses, but also beneficial for our younger ones as well. The amount of time we spend on warm-up varies by the season and the work they’ll be doing. In the spring, we do a little extra, since they’re not getting as much turnout and need more movement. In the summer, we keep our warm-ups short and simple to avoid overheating. Autumn, we benefit from a warm-up that is smooth and purposeful. In wintertime, warm-ups are simple, but longer to make sure we’ve fully warmed the muscles to prepare for work. The purpose of a warm-up is to increase blood circulation, to stretch out muscles, to help joint flexibility, and to improve the range of motion, in addition to helping the mind calm and focus. Our goal is always to set our horses up for success, and this is a small part in helping us do that.

The Movement:

The warm-up begins with all in-hand work, meaning the horse is in a halter while I lead on the ground. We always start with a walk, the kind they would naturally do while moving in the pasture. We then add turns and maybe some pole work. We do some patterns, varying in lengths, before bringing it up to a trot while I jog alongside. If they’re doing well and ready for more, we’ll do some fast trotting and even some slow loping. We do lunging, small and large circles to really work the entire body.

The Massage:

Back inside the barn, I will tie them at the fence, with another portion of hay for them to munch on, while I do some simple massage on them. While I don’t have a lot of actual training in equine massage, I’ve learned some through reading and online. I’ll kick it off with long, slow strokes down their whole body, starting at the neck and shoulder and moving down their sides to their hips and hind legs. I repeat this on the other side. Next, I’ll do some targeted muscle work, rubbing a little deeper in spots that felt tense. Once they understand the process, horses are actually incredibly good at letting you know where they want and need to be massaged. I’ve found they mostly need it in their necks and hips, but they can sometimes surprise me by asking me to work along their spines, chests, or upper legs. My goal is to listen as I move, let her guide my hands. It becomes a wonderful connection time for both of us. 

The Stretches:

The final step is some equine stretches that really round out our lesson preparation. Now that our horses’ muscles are fully warmed up and relaxed, we can help them stretch out. I use treats to guide them and help position them. (If the horse is new to some of these moves, I will also use the fence to encourage the correct bend as well.)

So, holding a treat in my hand, I’ll lure her nose to follow me as I move to stand about halfway down her ribcage. This puts a deep curve in her neck that stretches out her entire spine. I’ll slide my hand just a little further away to get that last little stretch before letting them eat the treat. We make sure to do this on both sides to get the full benefit. Next, we do what we call the ‘Carrot Stretch’. This begins with a treat to lure the horse's head downward and then encourages them to reach their head between their front legs, without moving their feet. This is another excellent spine stretch that also helps loosen the shoulders. We can stretch the shoulders even more by picking up their front feet and stretching them out, one at a time, in front of them, with a slight circular motion. The back legs can also be picked up and stretched forward for a good hip stretch. (Be careful with this stretch, to not cause any strain.) Our last usual stretch (though we sometimes do others too!) is the tail stretch, another great spinal stretch, that can also benefit the hips. We do this one by moving to stand directly behind them (only do this with a horse you trust and that has been trained for this!). We then gently, but firmly, grip the tail and begin applying some horizontal pressure, letting it build until we put a good amount of weight into it. Looking at this from a dog or cat's point of view, this may sound and look like a terrible idea! But you’ll find that most horses genuinely enjoy this stretch. They will even start pulling against you to give an even deeper stretch than we can do on our own. That said, this is not an every-single-day stretch. I always let the horse decide if they want this one or not. By getting into position and applying a tiny bit of pressure, they’ll say “Yes!” by leaning into it, usually followed by a big sigh. Or they’ll simply say “No, not today,” by taking a little step sideways. I always try to leave room for my horses to give me feedback on what they may or may not need at the time. And when we give them this space, we’ll find that they are ready and willing to have that conversation with us each time!

 I hope you enjoyed this quick look at what is going on here with the place and the horses before your lesson. Each lesson and every student is so special to me! I love getting to plan and prepare for each one. And here at Amazing Grace Stables, we want to take good care of our horses and riders alike, because that is the foundation of good horsemanship for everyone!