Moon Window Riding Lessons at Double Flush Stables

We’ve gone quiet because we have sold our facilities and have decided to move to green pastures in Tennessee.
I stopped offering lessons after spring of 23. Only 1 stayed because they have been here for 5 nearly 6 years.
Today novi tried her first schooling at a new barn.
She was nervous but god well. Better days are ahead
Thank you to Lisette for welcoming her

https://www.facebook.com/DiSciascioEquineSolutions?mibextid=JRoKGi

We are not hosting this year. But resistance is. Contact them asap to reserve your spot.

Another rant*
Boy I’m just feeling it lately

I can’t say this enough… every time I hear someone call a trainer or stable manager “crazy”, I see them in the same light as I see a man who calls his ex crazy and my response is “well what did you do to make her crazy?”

Now that’s not to say there aren’t some just awful trainers/managers out there, because there are. However more often than not it’s usually a 20 year old kid who went to a couple shows at their local fair grounds as a teen who is NOW calling themselves a trainer or Mom and Dad gave them a barn.
Then parents and owners are mad that things are being ran worse than a YMCA peewee league rec team with all of the drama from all of the seasons of Real Housewives of whatever wealthy ass community in America.
Hence why it’s important as parents and owners we do our due diligence in getting recommendations from SEASONED horse people -not just your run of the mill Facebook Moms group.
However I digress and that entire topic above is a conversation for a later day, because holy crap there is more.

Back to the opening statement… managing so many personalities to include that of each horse itself and trying to cater to everyone’s individual needs is not an easy feat. It’s not easy when you have a kid who loves the sport but the parent asks if you can do it for cheaper but are totally unwilling to pick up any chores around the farm- or parents and clients constantly asking for Unicorns… y’all know the type… from those wanting “3’ hunter, must be flashy, no blemishes on x-rays… oh and by the way they can’t afford shoes but must have a 14 page USEF record. Free lease with option to buy at a whopping but oh so generous offer of $0.00” to the very beginner asking how long it will take them to learn basic horsemanship in my program. The nuance of horsemanship is indescribable, and those who live it understand. There is no secret formula and you cannot teach feel.
but what’s crazy is most of these people asking for all of the above aren’t even truly ready! For most people, horses are cost prohibitive yet for one reason or another trainers and stable. Managers are expected to afford your hobby, for you!
However YOUR trainer is kindly allowing you or your kid to jump in their schooling horse and attempting to push your abilities dancing on emotional threads for all 3 of us (me you and the horse) because clients are fickle creatures.
We know you don’t like doing boring fLaT wOrK, but -do you think your trainer enjoys worrying about if they’ll lose you as a client because they aren’t placating to your ego? Yes… I said it… YOUR EGO.
Your trainers stay up at night thinking about you and your horse… about y’all’s goals, your dreams, ways they can help you, but yet time and time again they are accused of charging too much and doing too little.
PSA: ITS EXHAUSTING TO ALWAYS BE THE VILLAIN.
Especially when all they’re trying to do is help you.

To my trainer friends remember this always: No good deed goes unpunished. Set hard boundaries from jump and this will allow you to protect your hearts and herds.
Repeat after me: "It is not my job to subsidize other people's hobby."
And get rid of the "I'm trying to break even" mentality.
It is perfectly acceptable to be compensated on some level for your time, the responsibility you take on, providing the facilities, etc. No other job would be expected to not only work for free, but come out of pocket to pay for customers use if expenses went up.

Horses are a luxury. Full stop. Barn owner and trainer guilt about horses being expensive is not sustainable.

If you’re offended by this… GOOD
because it’s your entitlement and ego that I’m calling out directly. I’m not going to argue with you, I will just allow you to stay triggered.

* rant

It’s not just a hard year. It’s not just because hay prices are high . It’s not just because it’s difficult to find staff. It’s not just because we need a change in government.
The horse industry is on a downwards spiral in terms of sustainability and it is unlikely going to be recoverable.
One of the biggest immediate contributors to this is the labour market. Nobody wants to muck stalls. Barn rats don’t exist anymore the kids who ride turn up in their $$$ riding outfits looking like Smartpak models with perfect hair and manicured nails. No, college kids don’t want to muck stalls either. Even if you do find someone willing to show up, they are unreliable. Or incompetent. Or they just don't care.

Owning and operating a boarding barn is one of the most labour intensive businesses out there and we don’t have the labour force anymore. Barn owners cannot sustain an unreliable labour force as long as other business owners can because we cannot simply close the doors on days when we don’t have staff. There are next to no daily tasks that ‘can wait until tomorrow.’ The reason for the type of labour market we are seeing now isn’t Covid and it isn’t the government. It is societal. It isn’t going to get better, it’s going to get worse. Nobody wants to do hard outside labour when they can earn more money exercising their fingers inside.

It's not even just the daily chores. It's the bigger jobs too. Horse barns constantly need repairs and construction and the construction industry isn't up for helping us with "small" jobs anymore. Even the notoriously "cheap" labour is no longer cheap. ISo we have to try and do it all on the house with our already unreliable and scant labor and daily “can you please also do this” clients.
Stable rates must be competitively low. In total disregard to the high overhead. Most barns barely cover costs. And in my case I haven’t taken a paycheck from my barn in 3 years! Infact in the 10 years Ive owned and operated my facility Ive been “paid” for less than 1 year. Building up and maintaining is difficult and most quit. With 14 stalls I’m small time, but only if all my stalls are full of full care paying boarders do I come just barely over even. Equaling $200 a week! A pretty demanding hobby if you ask me!

The second biggest threat to the equine industry as I see it is a result of the first. That is, agriculture as we know it is dying too. Farmers cannot get laborers either. Hay farmers in particular are up against it and if you look around at your local hay farmers, they are beginning to look like a dying breed. Nobody wants to be a hay farmer. High workload for low returns. A high production hay baler will cost between $500,000 and a million. Baling is stressful. Something always breaks. You are fighting the weather. And above all else, farmers can’t get the reliable help they need. Their kids are not interested in following suit, because they went to college and they can get a lower stress job which will earn them more money. Personally I don't know a hay farmer under the age of 60. This really worries me. Who is going to be baling around here in 10 years time? Soon enough, the big tech firms will be the “farmers” and large “farms” will be AI operated. Unlikely anyone is going to but much money and focus into baling hay for horses. What’s $6 in the field passes through so many hands that by the time it reaches my barn is nearly 10x more!

The third biggest threat is the actual horse industry. The shift in focus from horsemanship to competitionmanship. Kids are not taught to ride horses they are taught how to win competitions. Even ammys are buying and riding $100,000+ horses to take to a 2’6” hunter class or starter level eventing. It means that competing horses is no longer about riding skill. It’s about money. The rider with the most money to spend wins. This makes the sport not really a sport anymore. It is a Beauty pagent for the super rich. It is unattainable for most and is pricing most out. Kids and parents alike just can’t keep up most the time. And are embarrassed to start at the beginning.

Twenty years ago, owning and operating a riding school was viable. A lesson horse could earn you money. Today, it is not viable. A lesson horse costs more to keep than it can possibly earn. Riding schools are not viable businesses. This means only wealthy kids can ride because to be able to ride you have to own a horse and due to increasing costs of keeping horses only the rich can own them. It used to be the case that a low-income family kid could muck stalls at the local riding school to earn a weekly lesson- which I still push hard to do but kids now prefer to bury their nose in light up screens. But if they worked hard at their riding skills, they could earn their way as an exercise rider because riding skills and horsemanship were valued. This is no longer possible. Only winning competitions is valued and low-income family kids can’t afford to enter competitions. There is no way to “skill” your way up the ladder now as I was able to do when I was that low-income family kid thirty years ago. For this reason, we as an industry are not becoming better riders. In fact, we are becoming worse riders. I see kids that have never ridden outside of an arena being thought of as good riders because they can point a $200,000 pony at a fence.

And lastly, in my opnion -as a result of the point above, we are ruining our horses. Horses are not allowed to be horses. They have to be show machines. They don’t get enough turnout, they don’t get enough hacking if they get any, they don’t get enough socialization with other horses because scrapes happen. They are being kept in million dollar show barns with no expense spared and yet their basic needs are not being met. They are developing increasing physical and mental aliments because their needs as horses are not being met.

As depressing as all that sounds, the point of this is not to make you throw your hands up and throw in the towel. The point of this is to ask the question, is it too late? Or can we turn this around?

What a weekend! A mix of lessons from all kinds of riders. One lesson veteran took her turn at a trail lesson. Another student new to me but not to our awesome Double Flush Horse’s got to work on confidence. Lastly, a brand new student got her go, she is very eager to learn! So much fun is happening here at Double Flush. Come join us!

Ashley Panni Riding Instructor (305)323-7145

This weekend student Elizabeth and Mrs.Ashley went for a lovely trail ride. Elizabeth has worked hard on improving her confidence in the saddle in order to earn the trail ride!

Getting the basics right is crucial. Whether you’re an experienced horse rider or a beginner, nerves can affect anyone at some point during your horse-riding career. Elizabeth has been taking lessons to help not only with confidence in the saddle but in everything. Cowboy has been a great help with that.

To inquire lessons contact Mrs.Ashley Panni (305) 323- 7145

Focusing on the riders body.
This gal was here for our spring camp. She was a bit rusty but regained her confidence in a few brief minutes.

Lessons today
-horse training in 5 easy steps.
#1 be as patient as you’d like your horse to be
#2 be as brave as you’d like your horse to be
#3 be as careful as you’d like your horse to be
#4 be as willing to work as you’d like your horse to be
# 5 be as forgiving as you’d like your horse to be

To inquire about our lesson program , please text 954-815-8459

🐴 Trail lessons give us an opportunity to practice what we’ve learned without the monotony of arena circles.

Its a privilege watching this young lady growing into such a kind and compassionate horsewoman

To get on the schedule text
Riding Instructor Lizz (360)401-5130

Camp kids get to go on trail today. Horse life isn’t always circles in the arena.

Just hangin out. Alfie is an ugly boy with a heart of gold. He eagerly waits to be pet by everyone who arrives.

It’s a hot summer. The horses enjoyed the big tub to splash in while working at camp.
A bit of riding. Some trivia. Horse baths and lunch. Then the kids got to watch a dental being done on some of the horses.
Lots to learn.