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What To Expect....
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Safety Rules
To start with, we place a great emphasis on safety. Everyone is required to wear a safety helmet while riding. We also require proper boots (no sandals or flip flops allowed near the horses). Long pants (breeches or jeans are reccomended) also required - this protects legs from scratches out on the trail and rubbing on the saddle. We also strongly reccomend gloves. If you are new to horses, you will be escorted while on the grounds to ensure your safety. There is also no running or shouting near the stable, as it can startle the animals. Smoking is also prohibited near the barn. Although these rules may seem strict, they are for everyone's protection. If you would like a complete list of our rules, or have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
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If it is your first lesson:
If you have never ridden before, here is a brief description of what your first lesson with us would be like:
We believe that it is important to learn all aspects of working around the horses - not just riding. To begin, we would take you to meet your horse, and show you how to interact, and then help you lead it down to the barn. We would then teach you how to groom (brush) the horse, and how to tack up (put the saddle and bridle on). You would then put on your helmet and gloves and lead your horse out to the riding ring. We then teach you how to get on, how to sit in the saddle properly, and do some exercizes to make you comfortable on the horse. After that, we would teach you how to hold the reins and do some basic steering exercizes, and finish up with teaching you how to dismount. After that, you will lead your horse back to the barn, untack and brush your horse again, before returning him/her to their paddock. For your first lesson, this will be quite alot to take in. It is important to note that for your first lesson, you will probably only ride for about 20 minutes, as their is alot to learn about grooming and your equipment that we feel is just as important. For subsequent lessons, you will normally ride for around 30-40 minutes.
We also have a pamphlet available for beginner riders which covers some of the equipment, anatomy of the horse, grooming, and basics of riding - please email us if you would like a copy!
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If you have ridden before...
Even if you have ridden before, we still feel that it is important for you to get your own horse groomed and tacked up. Why?
1. If you have not worked with this horse, grooming is a great time to learn it's personality and develop a working relationship. It will also help both you and the horse relax.
2. If you already know the horse, you can judge what kind of a mood it is in while you are grooming. It is important to remember that horses can have bad days too!
3. Grooming is about more than just getting the horse clean. This is when you check for cuts, ticks, missing shoes, etc.
4. While tacking up, you should be inspecting your tack. While it is our job to maintain the tack, before you use it, you should double check! If someone used a piece of tack in the lesson before you, and we havent had a chance to check it yet, you may find something that we havent.
Basically, it boils down to you being thoroughly familiar with your horse and equipment!
Aside from tacking/untacking, the rest of your lesson will be tailor made for you with regards to your experience level and interests. If you have ridden before, your first lesson will most likely be review, to give us an idea where you are at and to give us a "jumping off" point and establish riding goals.
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Coming for a Trail Ride...
When calling about trail rides, you can expect us to ask things like your height, weight, and experience - please dont take offense to that, we are simply trying to match you up with the best horse to suit your needs and your safety.
If you decide to come for a trail ride, we usually ask you to arrive about 15 minutes early - there is a liability release which you must sign, and we will fit you for a helmet, introduce you to your horse, and if you haven't ridden before, give you some basic instruction before leaving on the ride.
We understand that if you are here on vacation and are coming for a ride, you might not have all the necessary safety equipment. We will require you to wear a helmet - no exceptions to that rule, but we do have them available to borrow - and we also require you to wear long pants and closed in shoes (no sandals or flip flops - work boots or hiking boots are preferred if you dont have riding shoes, but at a minimum, sneakers will do).
For your ride, we will take you through Nickerson State Park, as well as some of the surrounding conservation areas. Rides last around an hour, sometimes a little longer. Cameras are welcome, but we will suggest you leave them at the barn if you are new to riding and may it will interfere with your control of the horse. (In that case, we will be glad to take a picture of you and your horse when we return). Please keep in mind that we do not allow double riding (ie, with children) - it is a serious safety hazard, especially if you are a beginner rider and new at controlling a horse. As a rule, we generally do not allow children under 10 on trail rides. Exceptions may be made if they take lessons regularly and are experienced. Another option that we offer is for a "walker" to accompany a child under 10 - one of our staff (availability limited, an extra fee applies) will walk beside them to ensure their safety - and if that is not an option, we also offer pony rides and lessons for younger children. All of our rides are tailored to the individual party who books the ride, and we ride at the speed that is comfortable and safe for the least experienced rider (if you have a beginner in your party, the whole group will walk). We also take into consideration that some of our trails are a bit rocky, so we try to take it easy on most rides anyway so as not to hurt the horses' legs. We do try to have fun however, and will try to accomodate any special requests that you may have. Please let us know if you have any questions.
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