Riding a horse "in frame" is one of the things I hear horse people say a lot but often it is not the kind of frame that we want our horses to have. My intention for this blog post is to serve as a reminder (or wake up call) for those who want their horses moving in a way that not only looks good, but is healthy for horse and rider. The kind of frame I want every horse of mine (including lesson ponies) to move in, is a soft neck (due to relaxation) and engaged back and hind quarters, I want them stretching their backs and necks and bringing hind leg under. This is a very broad  definition because depending on the fitness of the horse and knowledge and strength of the rider, the shortness of the frame will vary drastically-but what remains the same is all of the above, no matter what! Even when you see the upper level dressage riders w their horses polls up above the wither-the horse is still (ideally) stretching to the bit, and as relaxed as possible (within reason). This is what gives their movements fluidity, makes the trot comfortable, and it also keeps them sound longer. If you're not sure if your horse is properly or improperly in "frame" AKA in to the contact, moving over its back, through, stretching to the bit, in the bridle etc... here are some questions for you to think about (consider their head set, body, and demeanour when answering questions).

1) What happens when you lengthen reins while in w/t/c?
2) What happens  when slow your horse down or do a half halt?
3) What happens if you try to push your horse forward? 

Who knows the correct answers to the above questions? Ie. What SHOULD happen when you do all of these things? 

Exercises to help your horse properly move into bridle:
1) Get your horse wonderfully obedient to right and left leg and both legs together
2) Get your horse obedient to body/weight aids and reins for half halts and halts
3) Get your horse soft through poll by gently flexing in and out 

Who's brave enough to comment below? I'll post answers in next blog post <3 

If you want to be as kind to your body and horse as possible I recommend body work until your spine and muscles are used to being in alignment. Straightness is imperative for both horse and rider but we can't feel our crookedness after a while as it becomes normal to us.  Chiropractic and Massage are my favourite for both horse and rider for restoring straightness. These modalities are especially important if you always find yourself sitting on one side of the saddle or your horse can only pick up one lead reliably. If you can't afford these options due to time or money I recommend chiropractic and consistent yoga and riding. If you've done all of the above and still need help, then contact me for a lesson (once covid allows me to teach again!)

Common rider positional errors and yoga poses that can help
1) Rounded shoulders
The obvious potential causes are poor posture and resultant tight muscles through the front of chest and shoulders. The goal is to open the chest (and the heart chakra) by pushing chest forward and bringing shoulders back.

• My favourite yoga poses to accomplish this are: camel, cobra and puppy pose. 

Side note: rounded shoulders can also be caused (from personal experience) by tight low back and hips which leads into my next point...

2) Tight hips
Sounds simple but so many muscles are involved in the hip joint, and so many different ways we can be tight. I'll cover the most common ones for riders but I recommend experimenting with your own range of motion and finding which positions are the most comfortable and which are the least. Work on the ones that are difficult (with kindness!). 

• For tight inner thighs./groin: frog pose
• For tight hip flexor and/or outer hip: mermaid pose
• For tight hamstrings: forward fold (try using table top if you're especially tight) and downward dog (try one leg downward dog to compare right and left side). Keep chest and bum pushed out so as to maintain arch in the back and not put pressure on disks in lumbar spine
  • ​Downward dog also helps to stretch calves which is helpful for riders who can't put their heels down

3) Weak Core
Self explanatory! Boat pose and Plank 

This is a very short list but powerful nonetheless. I recommend (not a doctor) doing yoga DAILY and once already warmed up- after a hot shower or after riding/walk/barn chores.

Happy Yoga-ing! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sRCfGiSmgk
My meditation I created for riders! ^
​
At this point, I think we all know the benefits of meditation, whether it be first hand knowledge or just a nagging thought that we should really start doing that...I hope the meditation I created can help push some of my fellow equestrians to take the leap. Through my own experience I have found my riding has become much "cleaner" once I was able to really focus in on my body. Without distracting thoughts, the sensations in the body become much stronger, and so the feedback mechanism between you and your horse becomes much clearer. Think of listening to music in a crowded room (your thoughts) vs. listening to music in a quiet room, with your headphones on. My mind is clear and so my commands are clear and so, my rides become much more controlled and effective. Training takes less time and when resistance comes up in a ride, I can see exactly where it came from, thereby placing "blame" where it is warranted and figure out ways around it (or through it) the next time I ride. If you can't write out what exactly you did during your ride and where things went right or wrong, then I suggest meditating before (and during!). Meditation has removed those frustrating rides from the past where everything went to sh*t and I had no idea why me and my horse were both so sweaty at the end of it! There are no more unnecessary power struggles or frustration (at least on my behalf). This doesn't mean every command is immediately obeyed and there aren't rough patches, it just means when they come up I have full confidence they will subside again because I deeply understand what has happened and WHY. I start to identify the horses strengths, weaknesses, and their triggers CONSCIOUSLY. I have noticed a lot of riders (myself included in the past) unconsciously avoid our horses triggers in an attempt to keep the horse happy and the ride easy. This is one of the biggest problems, and why so many horses are hopelessly (not really) crooked. Once you are able to get a clear mind, you'll be able to consciously work through your horses weak spots and issues and catch yourself BEFORE you adopt or act out of  habit. I often have my students say they don't know what to work on when not in a lesson and I totally understand (especially with the way I teach-a comment every couple seconds sometimes!). I feel however, that this comes from lack of clarity in the mind. Every time I sit on a horse I just ask questions...I gentle close my calf, do you want to listen to a gentle aid today and go forward? I listen for the horses answer and go from there...that is how the ride continues until I feel accomplished. I understand that is very vague but I think you get the point- just stay totally present and your horse will show you what needs working on that day-theres only so many movements you can do on a horse- forward, back, and to the side. Play with each until you find something that isn't perfect and work on perfecting that one thing and then check and see how sweaty you and the horse are- simple! 

Summing up this year without saying something cliche is nearly impossible at this point, so I've opted for a moment of silence...And practically have decided to take a couple weeks off of teaching to absorb the lessons we have learned this year. 

2020 priorities

1. Family (or friends that are family)
2. Gratitude
3. Health

We have been so lucky to be largely unaffected by the virus in a practical sense, which is a level of privilege that is hard to appreciate in the midst of it, but I try. But I have realized the people that I want on my side are the ones that are there no matter what, for me that is my family and I am eternally grateful I was born into somewhere I belong. I have experienced what appears to be "losses" this year in a personal sense but I have to be grateful for those too. Every loss helped to make space for bigger and better things, which is a sign of growth! Shedding skin and letting go of dead weight were major themes for myself and our farm this year. It can be so painful while it is occurring (because we are often attached to things that we aren't meant to have forever). But when you can be brave, if you can surrender to the discomfort, it is the same sensation of liberation, of taking flight, and I am happy to say that I feel much more free now, than I did at the start of this year. Another facet of 2020 was the necessity of focusing on my health out of interest for myself but also others. What a beautiful thing to bring into focus, how you care for yourself, but also how caring for yourself is caring for others. For example, if I don't get enough sleep, take my vitamins, meditate (whatever it is you believe makes you healthy) not only do I endanger myself but I also endanger my loved ones. This is always true, especially when it comes to mental health which I have a much greater appreciation for also. Having the time off when COVID first hit, was such a god send for me. It gave me the space and time I've never allowed myself to have (because of my unconscious grind mentality that I have subsequently realised can be toxic and the root of a lot of my own and others suffering) to do what I REALLY wanted to do, which is care for myself (yoga, meditation, diet, exploring my creativity etc.). The time off really gave me space that I hadn't been giving myself and in doing so opened up different parts of myself because I now had the space and time to explore them and let them out of their confines. Confines that are created by our work obsessed culture, fear, and insecurity. I've heard it said many times that the root of the pandemic is fear not the virus, which I agree with. But beyond that, the pandemic has been going on for many years before the virus, in that we live our lives often out of fear. Whether that be the fear of inadequacy, abandonment etc. they are countless but they all often result in addiction, overworking, overeating etc. there are just as many ways to escape fear as there are reasons to be fearful. The time off with COVID allowed me to step outside of my own bubble and see how fragile our reality is. One especially virulent virus stopped the whole world in their tracks...and now what will we do with this new "freedom". How ironic that freedom for me came when so many of our freedoms were removed. Personally, many of the freedoms we had before (eating out, going out, etc) were not freedoms that I valued all that highly already so I was happy to let them go, it was a weight off my shoulders to not feel obligated. Obligation, which again is another fear. We limit ourselves constantly and we are totally innocent in the process. But 2020 definitely revealed to me the freedom that is always there should we be brave enough to consider, to open up to the endless possibilities. This state of openness however, is only possible for me when I am relaxed. A state that I found during the lockdown and has opened my eyes to the life I really want. I don't want to operate under fear and illusion ( I have to do this because..., I can't do that because...). I want to be open to my personal and professional evolution. I want to remain open to the lessons I am here to learn, so I can continue to provide the best for myself, my family and friends, and my clients. Thank you all for allowing me the freedom to evolve, grow, and become more of myself than I ever have before. I am excited to see the possibilities that are opened up for us in the future, whatever they may be. I hope you all have experienced similar openings into yourself and reality. Thank you so much for reading and being here with me and supporting our business and I hope to see you soon :) 

I wanted to take some time here to expand on what we're about here. It relates to the summer camp because there are so many summer camp options for children and they all have wonderful things to offer. Our camp is extraordinary but not because of the beautiful facility we are lucky enough to have, though of course that helps ;) The most important things to me are making sure my campers have fun and learn but I also want them to see how to treat other people and animals. I want them to learn the basics very thoroughly, I want them to feel safe (horse and rider). I want my campers to take the lessons and internalize them to help them to create an idea of what it is to be a good horse person, and by extension, a good person. When we can work with horses we are given a mirror to for us to see ourselves in. A nervous, disobedient, or excitable horse has much to teach... and that is something I try not to forget. I am the coach but most of the time I am the student to my or my clients horses... what does the horse have to say? I want to show my students how to be humble in the face of such a large creature by showing them how to take their time, to be careful and diligent. But I also want my students to see how to be the guiding light for themselves and their horses, to be strong enough to lead and strong enough to follow. 

Show season is just around the corner! We are hoping for an even better year than last and better weather too (please no torrential down pours mother nature). We're very excited to have our amazingly generous and loyal sponsors helping us out this year including Todd Equipment, Victoria Feeds Horse and Hound, Hubble & Son Agcom, and M&J Plumbing, and some new sponsors, Cover Tech, EQcentric Equine Services, and Better Mechanical. We are so thankful for their help in running our 2019 series. 

We've been running this show series for years now and have prided ourselves on running an affordable show series to make it accessible to all riders, especially locally. We know how hard it can be to participate in competitions when the prices can be so high. This year we have realized that we have to increase the show fees in order to keep running our series and we hope you all understand! The prices have been the same since our very first show, so it was time. Exact prices can be found on our updated entry forms. 

See you all Mothers Day Weekend!

The warmer weather is on its way and that means camp and show season is just around the corner! Make sure to check out the new dates for this year so you can plan you summer around them. Also a reminder that early sign up for  camp means a discount so don't miss out. We will be posting the new 2019 forms for camp and shows soon. Looking forward to the best year yet for shows and camp. If you or someone you know is interested or looking for more information please contact me at ericaflak@skyhavenstables.ca, follow us on Facebook at Sky Haven Equestrian Centre or text/call me at 705 772 3524 :) 

We're already getting excited here for March Break! We will be hosting a camp, very similar to our summer camp that everyone loves. There will be daily riding, arts & crafts, learning about horse care and communication, and natural horsemanship. Kids should look forward to easter egg hunts and tobogganing!

Sky Haven Equestrian Centre will be hosting Winter Sunday Schoolings. Our barn will be opened twice a month for indoor jump schooling. Schoolings include access to use our heated barn- equipped with heated washtall, tack room and washroom. Keep your horse in shape over the winter and ready to show once the warm weather comes back! $50 per horse or $200 per barn (up to 5 people), up to 3 people riding at a time. Dates: Nov 13, Nov 27, Dec 4, Dec 18, Jan 15, Jan 29, Feb 12, Feb 26, March 12, March 26, April 9, April 30. 

Yay! Summer is getting closer and that means warm weather and more importantly, CAMP! Here are the dates for this year- Kids camp: July 11-15, 18-22 and Teen camp: July 25-29 and August 1-5. Sign up early for discounted price! All camp payment is to be done through e-transfer please :) For more details please look at the "Summer Camp" tab under "About".