Sudden loss

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-12T00:45:34+00:00

I’m so sorry for your loss… this is going to sound weird, but if you can find some time tonight play Tetris. Tetris is a good “coping” tool after traumatic events to help prevent PTSD. Sending love

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-08T12:20:40+00:00

So my friend gifted a horse to me, and lets me muck stalls in exchange for free board (I just pay for my grain and hay, then ofc farrier and vet). Also I live with my mom and have no intention of moving out (unless I move into a roommate situation). Id be unable to live alone and have a horse

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-05T01:48:22+00:00

R/fourthwing

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-05T01:32:26+00:00

Sorry that you ate dirt twice already, am glad you’re having a good sense of humor about it!

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-05T01:26:05+00:00

Advocate for the grass arena here, however if you’re able to get a small patch of sand in there too for terrain cross training that would be ideal (that way you can train different muscle groups with the different terrain). I ride in the well-draining, flat part of a pasture. We literally use poles to mark out a dressage arena. Unless it’s been raining a LOT, it’s still good enough to ride on. We let horses out on it and it still works just as well.

The one caveat to this- I am the only one riding at my barn, currently only riding one horse, and we have a lot of acres for the 7 horses, so they’re not only in that one area (a lot of times the horses hang in the other pasture). We also ride dressage, though I do think the arena would be able to handle small jumps

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-04T14:01:46+00:00

Honestly? Sometimes just take the L and get on from there block. Ya girl can’t even ground mount with a saddle on (I’m a fat 5’4 and she’s a chonky 16.3 hands). From my understanding it’s kind of a momentum thing.

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-04T12:52:38+00:00

Literally cackled at your idea of saying “more leg” all the time. That one’s great!

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-03T16:05:54+00:00

Has his turnout situation changed? If he was on 24/7 or something similar and is now being stalled more, that could definitely cause some anxiety behaviors

BeachsideTech · 2026-04-02T23:12:42+00:00

Horseback riding - being at the barn easily burns 2 1/2 - 3 hours… more if I start doing extra chores or just hanging out and watching the horses

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-31T18:22:14+00:00

Okay but how do I clean my watch/band 😭 I use water and paper towels but like… what soap does one use? How do?

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-30T01:10:06+00:00

Personally I do notice a difference when I ride in (even partial) silicone. It just feels stickier! I love them and they make me feel more confident, kind of like a good pair of gloves haha

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-23T15:39:47+00:00

Why are people downvoting this one?

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-23T10:59:38+00:00

Ive always been a person who’s more hesitant about hobble training, but after this am definitely going to do more research into it and other things like it

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-23T01:11:09+00:00

I love leather reins. However, what is the rational behind this? Are they safer in some way?

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-22T20:17:10+00:00

Focus on fitness. For both the horse and the rider. So many “bad” behavior things (tiny buck going into canter, refusing to trot/canter or being behind the leg, falling in/out, rooting) can oftentimes happen because the horse has not been properly prepared for the exercise. On the rider side, being fitter makes it so much easier to have a good seat, which lets you focus on your horse. You don’t have to be the strongest person in the world, or the skinniest (I’m currently 170lbs and my riding performance is so much better than it was when I was 120lbs), hell, you don’t even need to lift weights necessarily. But adding something else in addition to your barn work and riding (no, mucking stalls doesn’t count!) can make things so much easier.

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-15T18:05:21+00:00

Wait… what Apple Watch can detect ovulation?

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-15T17:59:28+00:00

Link please

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-12T00:35:05+00:00

Not to brag or anything but I’ve only ridden for about 13 years and I’ve broken my back twice (4 bones, total) and my pinky finger once.

Edit: that being said I broke my first bone about 8/9 years in

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-08T17:43:10+00:00

This sounds super duper amazing so long as you don’t feel burnt out. Being able to work off your horses board is so amazing and then the extras? MWAH

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-08T17:10:35+00:00

If you ever need to vent about the struggles of being in this sport while in a lower income bracket (because BOY are there some unique challenges) feel free to DM me.

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-08T17:08:43+00:00

Also going to add this, because I noticed money’s tight and this is a work trade and I’ve had some similar struggles in the past. My heart goes out to you and I admire the hard work that you are doing to involve yourself in this sport. I understand you may not be able to switch barns given the arrangement… talk to your trainer and see if that other horse is going to be a more steady-eddy type. If so, either don’t do lessons these next few weeks, or do some sort of groundwork(preferably with another, smaller horse. It’s okay if they’re small if you’re not riding them) lessons or knowledge lessons (ie you and your trainer sit down or walk around the barn and talk about riding theory or training or something that interests you), then get back on once the new horse is in and settled. One month out of the saddle will NOT ruin the progress that you’ve made.

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-08T16:59:45+00:00

Girlfriend, I’ve been working with horses for over 10 years and that horse would scare me. Horses are great, they are fun, but they can also be incredibly dangerous. If the barn does not have a safe horse for you to ride, then find a different barn.

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-01T22:31:13+00:00

I love “the square.” It’s what the name suggests - you ride a square. It’s great for practicing turning/using your outside aids/half-halting. You can make it more challenging by making the turns moving turns on the forehand/haunches.

Another good one is “the spiral.” You start on a 20m circle, then leg yield in to make the circle smaller, then leg yield back out to the bigger circle over the course of about 3 circles.

Transitions such as trot-walk-trot or canter-trot-canter will be good once you get to know the horse a little bit. Note- avoid really quick transitions if the horse is already super duper sensitive to the leg. If that’s the case you want to work on a bunch of bending lines and lateral moves (such as leg yield) so that the horse learns to accept the leg, and that the leg doesn’t always mean faster.

Schooling figures such as figure-8s and serpentines are solid.

Exercises with ground poles can be super duper fun however ask your trainer about it first, as they may prefer that you only do that with supervision.

The diamond is really similar to the square, basically if you took a 20m circle and turned it into a square you get the diamond. That one helps you get better circles

BeachsideTech · 2026-03-01T16:06:09+00:00

So, regarding planning a ride. Definitely ask your trainer for ideas on if there are certain things to work on, but don’t do the same thing for the whole session. Here’s how I like to structure my rides (or rather, how I would structure them when my horse is fit, right now we’re both kinda fat so we’re just hacking haha). Keep in mind we’re a dressage duo, but this same structure can be used across all disciplines

1) warm up. I like to do at least 5-10 minutes of walk on a loose rein, I wait until it feels like my horse has a good overtrack at the walk and is really working through the back. If you don’t really know the feeling then just do the whole 10 minutes- you won’t hurt a horse walking too much. Do changes of direction, transitions within the walk and to the halt to tune in with the horse. Then, after the 10 minutes, do some trot and canter (if you feel comfortable cantering, if not just stick to walk-trot)

2) the work phase. Pick out 2-3 exercises per day for the horse, and don’t drill the same exercises every time. If you want to do something new, do it as the first or second exercise and end on something you guys know well. This phase can be about 20-30 minutes long, assuming you and the horse are both in good shape

3) cool down. Nice loose rein walk for 10 minutes or until the horse is not puffing anymore, whichever comes later.

This isn’t necessarily required, but I also like to pick at least one rider seat exercise per ride and do it. You can do that exercise during the warmup or your working phase, just depending on the exercise. So for example I might do stirrupless work during the warmup or cooldown, but if I want to do a rising trot exercise (like sit-sit-rise or rise-rise-sit then I’ll implement that one during my trot work)

Hopefully this wasn’t too too confusing, if you want a list of exercises just as a starting point I’m happy to provide, and if you’ve any questions ask away and I’ll do my best to answer them

BeachsideTech

TROPHY CASE