May 6, 2008 by Capuce.

Rochester Trail Riders
Fun Ride!

• Date: Saturday May 24^th
• Time: 10am – We start to ride at this time
• Where: Genesee Valley Greenway - Brook Rd
• Level: Easy – 6 miles – flat and wide trails, good footing

Welcome to the 1^st RTR Fun Ride!

Our first ride is to help get your horses ready for the summer season.  The ride will go South on the Greenway to 383 and back which is approximately 6miles / ~2hr ride.  Most of it will be walking and the decision for a faster pace will be based on the fitness level of the horses this early in the season.

Please remember to mail me your Waiver2008 and a copy of your coggins/rabies to be kept on file for 2008..  Yes that’s right you only have to send it to me once and it’s good for all RTR events!  Please note you will not be allowed to unload your horse if I do not have a copy on file.  The Medical2008 form is only if you are sponsoring a child under 18 who you are NOT the legal guardian or parent of.

Directions!

From the North:

• Rt 390 Exit 17 for Rt 383 Scottsville Rd
• Head South on Rt 383
• RIGHT on Brook Rd (Hard to see, Turn before white pasture fencing)
• Parking on RIGHT just past the Greenway

From the South:

• Rt 390 Exit 11 for Rt 251
• Head West on Rt 251 into Scottsville
• Continue straight on to Rt 383 North
• LEFT on Brooke Rd (Easier to find turn, after white pasture fencing)
• Parking on RIGHT just past the Greenway

Google Map

Please try to have your forms or RSVP by May 21^st so I have a general idea of how many people will be attending.

Forward this to anyone you might think is interested

Posted in Let's Ride, Greenway | No Comments »

April 23, 2008 by Capuce.

This year RTR is having sponsored trail rides along with it comes all the fun stuff of liability forms and coggins/rabies requests.  In an attempt to make things simple on all of us these forms are good for the whole 2008 calendar year no matter if you attend just one trail ride or all 5.

All forms and copy of coggins/rabies must be completed and returned to me before the start of the event.

Coggins must be current as of 1/1/07

Rabies must be current as of 1/1/08

A medical release form only needs to be filled out if you are responsible for a person under 18 who you are NOT the legal parent or guardian of.  

 Please read the trail rules, they are there to insure your safety and that of the group.  If you do not follow the rules you will be asked to leave the ride.

Stay tuned for the location of our first ride!  If you would like to host one of our rides on the calendar please let me know. Email

Posted in Let's Ride | No Comments »

April 3, 2008 by Capuce.

The Lehigh Valley Trail system is amazing.  Much of it has been completed with wide stonedust trails for walkers/bikers and a wide grass area for us horse riders. 

NOTE: Be kind and follow directions so horses will still be welcome on the trail.  Horses on grass NOT gravel.

The old railroad bridges have been redone in a VERY safe manor for horse travel with high railings, rubber matting, and mounting blocks on both sides so you can get back on your horse after crossing!

For those of you who think “no way my  horse will cross a bridge” it can be done!  My Arab mare wasn’t fond of stepping on anything that changed in color.  AKA, wet spots on the driveway, crossing a yellow line on the road and so forth.   So when we rode up to this HUGE trestle bridge I thought, oh boy, there goes my ride I’ll have to go home so soon.  I dismounted, let her sniff the matting on the bridge and to my surprise she walked right on.  Even being a good 30-40 feet above the tracks or river it didn’t bother her at all.   If my mare could do it and I couldn’t even get her to set foot in a puddle I’m sure you’ll have no problem.

I’ve only ridden 1 section of the LVT so far.   The parking area is small but we managed to fit (2) 2 horse BP trailers in with no problem.  I recommend backing in and staying on the right side so others can still use the parking lot.  We rode West across 2 bridges and the trail merges with the GV Greenway.  The ride was beautiful and totally worth getting on and off for the bridges which in itself was new and exciting.

Directions:

From north:
- 390 South
- Exit 11 (Rush)
- RIGHT on Rt 251 West
- LEFT at 4 way stop (E. River Rd)
- Parking area on RIGHT (Recommend backing in)

From South:
- 390 North
- Exit 10 (Avon)
- LEFT on Rts 5&20
- RIGHT on Rochester St (After roundabout but before RR Tracks)
- Parking will be on LEFT (Recommend backing in) 

PS Don’t forget to sponsor RTR to help support the EquiCenter!

Posted in Greenway | No Comments »

March 22, 2008 by Capuce.

Yes, Spring is here!  The emails are starting to fly around about the annual EquiCenter Trail Trials held at Davidson Knoll Farm on June 29^th.

For all of you trail lovers out here this is a fantastic event.  Not only do you get to enjoy a beautifully groomed 5 mile course with your best equine friend but the money raised supports the EquiCenter in Mendon, NY!

If you’ve never done a trail trial before these are a BLAST!  5 miles, stroll or go it’s your choice but you must navigate the 12 or so obstacles along the way. Each obstacle is creative and challenging but don’t worry if you don’t do well.  Remember, it’s all about the fun and supporting a great cause. 

Want to join our Team?  Rochester Trail Riders is riding in the Green Horn division, if you would like to join up with us you’re more than welcome to.  Just be sure write “Rochester Trail Riders” in the team name box when you register.

Posted in Let's Ride, Fun Shows | No Comments »

March 13, 2008 by Capuce.

I’ve just about had it with winter!  But, there are some things you can do in the snow with your horse that you just can’t do in the summer. 

Posted in Driving | 1 Comment »

February 25, 2008 by Capuce.

Magic of the 1 Rein Stop:

I feel like I’m the only person who knew nothing about the one rein stop up until the advent of YouTube!  Not one trainer, horse camp or lesson of any kind ever taught me this and it has to be one of the most important riding aids you could ever learn.

After learning about it on the internet from Horse Problems Australia I started teaching my new horse Cotton how to flex and stop on 1 rein.  To my surprise this simple aid came to my rescue just days after I started working with her.  I had taken her out for a walk down the road and back.  Just before we got to our turn around point someone on a snowmobile came flying by and needless to say I was now atop a bolting horse.  I took a hold of just one rein and gave consistent pressure and to my surprise Cotton spun down into a walk and then a stop and flexed her head to my foot.  I then flexed her to the other side and back.  This little exercise took her from being a panicked state to a calmer focused state of mind.  WHOO HOO!

When presented with this same scenario in the past I did what most people do, white knuckle grab both reins and yank back as hard as possible and pray that the horse starts to slow down.  Usually a bolt like this would result in a quick direction change and me on the ground or a ¼ mile sprint before I managed to at least bring us down to a canter from a gallop.   With the one rein stop, in under 30 yards we went from a bolt to circle to stop and flex. 

For more information check out my favorite Aussie trainer at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b9OvUiOdW8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmpDSbXPtzU

Posted in Tips | No Comments »

January 12, 2008 by Capuce.

I have always thought that clicker training was a bit of a joke.  Not that I had tried it in the past but the concept just seemed silly.  I’ve had success training my pit pulls to advanced level without the use of a clicker and they do very well.

Horses seem to have a clicker mentality though.  The respond the best to reward at the exact second a behavior has been reached.  Unless you have the fastest whit and hands achieving this is rather difficult for the majority of us.  Thus enter the clicker.  An easy devise to give an audible reward to a desired behavior the second it is achieved.

So I started playing around with my newly purchased clicker Friday.  I worked my 2 horses and my boarders horse for 15 min each.  The goal was to touch a tennis ball at the end of a dressage whip.  This was a bit trivial for my old guy but great start for the 2 youngsters.

Today I did footwork.  Asking them to paw with a leg that I asked of them.  The beginnings of a Spanish walk!  I was amazed at how fast horses can learn and at what enthusiasm they perform their task.  Even more interesting is how they act when the session is ended.  None of them wish to stop, they continue to do their new tricks or hunt down the tennis ball in hopes of one last little morsel in my pocket.

I will continue this training throughout the winter as it’s really the only thing I can do daily with the weather being poor.

I hope you enjoy our little video from today.

Posted in Tips | No Comments »

December 31, 2007 by Capuce.

Genesee Valley Equine Clinic annual winter seminar:

When: Saturday February 2, 2008, 8:00 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Wheatland-Chili High School at 940 North Road in Scottsville

Make sure you stop over and say hi.  I’ll be manning the Northampton Driving Society table.

Posted in Fun Shows | 3 Comments »

December 11, 2007 by Capuce.

The Mendon Ponds Winterfest is held Sunday January 20^th 2008. 

New this year the festival is looking for sleighs! 

Here is an opportunity for drivers to use your sleighs or sleds in a winter venue at Mendon Ponds Park.  I know that it takes a hardy sole to brave the elements this time of year, but it can be a lot of fun.  The time will be from 11:00 to 4:00 at the Cobblestone House on Douglas Road.  The area is very gently rolling and off the road with ample room for parking and sleighing.  Ken is the Volunteer Winterfest organizer and can be reached at 585-586-5205 or Kehann@frontiernet.net.

For more information about Winterfest and directions visit their site at http://www.mendonpondswinterfest.org/

Posted in Driving, Parks | No Comments »

November 30, 2007 by Capuce.

This post is in response to the RNews article
http://www.rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=55944&rnews_story_type=18 

A barn fire is something I’m terrified of, especially since I have a less than ideal barn.  However, I have taken many steps to insure that my barn will have less of a chance of catching fire than others.  Here’s what I did, let me know what fire preventions you have in place.  

1.    Have a plan! – Make sure that if something does happen that you can react in a calm and cool manor vs. running around like a chicken.

2.    Fire extinguishers – make sure they are easy to get to and in key locations. 

3.    Halters/Leads – always know where your halter and lead ropes are.  Better yet, keep a spare set especially for an emergency and never move them.   

4.    In my case my stalls all have a door that leads directly to the outside.  This way should the barn be ablaze I don’t have to worry about finding halter/leads/or entering a burning building.  I can open the stall door from the outside and let the horse run out into the pasture directly.

5.    Hay storage – for some reason people are obsessed with keeping hay tightly confined in dark enclosed areas.  Keeping your hay stored in a location away from your animals is best but if your stock barn doubles as hay storage too, keep this in mind.  Hay needs air flow, make sure your storage area can allow your bales to breathe on all sides, use wood pallets to bring it up off the floor, don’t push the bales tight against the wall leave some space and if you can make sure that fresh are can enter the storage area.  Don’t forget to pick up those pallets 2x a year and clean out the hay that fell through the cracks.  

6.    Spider webs!  2x a year clean all of those too.  Spider webs burn fast and can spread fires.

7.    Proper wiring, we love our lights, headed buckets, heat tape on hydrants and more.  Make sure you have an electrician check your wring and keep horses out of reach of anything electrical they can chew on (wires, lights etc).  Also, if you have heated water make sure your hot water take is clear of anything flammable.  Last time I checked, pilot lights and hay/spider webs don’t mix either.

8.    Duh, no smoking!

9.    These are just guide lines.  The best thing to do is contact your local fire department and have them walk through your barn and make suggestions on how you can improve your fire safety.

What do you do for fire safety in your barn?

Posted in Tips | No Comments »