Westridge Farm

Dora and Sara Rhodes, ready for action!

Yes😂

This.

In modern horse sport, it’s easy to get caught up in the details and endless schedules of lessons and shows. But Geoff Teall cautions against forgetting the most basic truth: horses are still horses. He reminds riders that giving horses real downtime is just as important as training them in the ring.

Teall believes riders too often project human preferences onto their horses. We may love a hot shower at the end of the day, but horses don’t. We may value polished manes and tails, but horses don’t. “I’m quite sure that they don’t like braiding and pulling and twitching and trimming and all of the nonsense,” he says.

Instead, horses thrive when they can live more naturally with turnout, room to move, grass to graze, and other horses to socialize with. Allowing them this downtime is not indulgent; it’s a crucial part of keeping them sound in both body and mind.

One of Teall’s strongest pieces of advice is simply to stop. “Stop picking at him. Stop clutching the reins. Stop smothering him. Stop fussing. Just stop.” Horses don’t need to be micromanaged every second. Constant fussing creates tension, not progress.

Instead, Teall urges riders to make time in the saddle count. Be clear, specific, and fair when you ride, then reward the horse with release, rest, and time off. A horse learns far more from short, focused training sessions followed by downtime than from endless drilling.

📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/09/03/downtime-matters-letting-horses-be-horses/

The best evening view❤️

An essential part of my husband‘s trail riding attire, which he says is,“ in case you fall off and I have to pull you out of a ditch“🤣

Sister Power!
Breeding horses has always fascinated me.

Our two Holsteiner homebreds, Dora and Lucy, are out of the same mother (Zarinja by Clearway), but sired by different fathers (Dora is by Con Capilot and Lucy is by Toronto).

Although they look different from each other, they share the same lovely temperament, rideability and desire to jump- one as a hunter and one as a jumper.
Both mares have always been barn favorites!!

We love watching our youngsters develop in the show ring ❤️and we have one more younger half-sister to these two being developed, with lots of chrome. She will have big shoes to fill and we can‘t wait until next year when she is ready to show!