Ask Cari

Bugsy and Blaze are enjoying exceptionally warm weather in November at Windrock Farm.

Mash has traveled to the next world, last week he would not leave his stall, he was in terrible pain and could not walk, I left his door open in case he felt like coming out.

For the the last month he has been declining and every morning I gave him carrots and pain killers, asking him to please let me know when he was ready to move on.  Around noon I notice he had wandered up to the hill where Chleo,  Dutchess and Byron are buried.  He lay down on their graves and slept for several hours.  Mash was telling me it was time.

He passed peacefully and is laid to rest next to his favorite canines.  Mash was a great horse who always made us laugh with his antics and gave me the ride of a lifetime.

Star is a kind easy horse to ride, he is an eight year old Oldenburg gelding with experience in basic dressage training,jumping three feet easily and hacks cross country.  He would be a fun event horse with plenty of scope to move up the levels.  A beautiful fun horse looking for a partner.  Contact cari@cariswanson.com to come try Star.

photo credit:  Phyllis Burchett

I am training Ray Stevenson, the actor who rides in Jayne Mansfield’s Car, a new film written, directed and acted in by Billy Bob Thorton.  Ray learned in a few days how to steer and ride Mr. T for the the scene where he gallops across a sunflower field with his new love interest.  Ray was an excellent student and learned to ride balanced quickly after many exercises like this one where he moves his arm independently of his seat.

Sandy, Ryan and Shannon visit Windrock Farm for the weekend, we have a great time hacking across the road to Wethersfield, eating too much and clipping the dogs to look like lions.  Rex cooked delicious steaks for all and we enjoyed the beautiful summer evening in the shade garden.

Congratulations! Lauren rides Roscoe to the winners circle at Mistover last weekend in a combined test.  Roscoe is a Canadian Warmblood for sale at Windrock Farm.  He is a beautiful mover and effortless jumper.

This is an awesome gelding for the right rider, he is a super jumper and easy to ride.  An elegant mover, come try him for your next show horse or fun horse who can do anything.

Rafa is a big beautiful Hanoverarian mare learning the mounting block exercise with Rex, she is very smart, learning to move when asked and stand quietly.  This is a basic exercise all our horses must learn as part of their foundation training.

Blaze is starting to show his personality more every day, here you can see how regal he can be.  Bugsy is very independent and curious like his daddy, and Blaze is more reserved.  They are starting to play together every day, especially in the late afternoon when it cools down.  Bugsy is now 8 weeks old and a tank, Blaze is 5 weeks old and as tall as his brother.

Every child’s dream Birthday Bash at Windrock Farm with an amazing show of the Hollywood horses by Rex and an opportunity for all of the kids to sit on the horse couch.  The parents have no idea how special and rare this is.  There was a bouncy castle for them to jump around in and delicious food catered by Pigs Can Fly.

Another colt by RJ out of Bay Prive, he is stunning and has a sweet disposition, he is very friendly, walking up to anyone in the field.  Bay is a wonderful mama and Bugsy is thrilled to have a buddy to play with.

Webster is an integral part of Windrock Farm and as you can see one of his specialties is hugging, come visit soon and meet the mascot of the farm.  Suzanne Clair Guard captured this image on a recent visit.

Spring riding with Flo and Vanessa at Windrock Farm.  The snow is finally gone and we are enjoying hacks across country watching the buds come alive.

RJ and Mr. T will be giving a demo at 2pm at the Meadow Horse Park in Doswell, VA as part of the 40th year Birthday Bash for the amazing Big Red, Secretariat.  Come visit the park and meet us in the stables, or at the arena.  Check for upcoming demos and clinics on our web site  Swanson Peterson Producions

We have been working on many different breeds of horses with a variety of issues to correct.  This walking horse was a champion in the show arena and is now a trail horse.  Because of his training for the class caused him to have flashbacks while mounting and moving off for the first few steps.

We have been working with Chiller to build his confidence to stand quietly and not panic in the first step off.  He is improving every day and is incredibly comfortable to ride.

Cari ~ “I just wanted to let you guys know that Arabel had a massage tonight and was so relaxed after today’s session that she actually fell asleep on the cross ties.  Arabel is usually grinding her teeth and pawing on the cross ties.  Wow ~ what a difference already in just one session. AMAZING!!” –Karen

This young TB mare was rescued from the killers, finding a new home in a luxurious barn in NY.  She had some baggage from her experience at the track and everyone was giving up on her with the exception of the one person who believed in her.  Karen called us as a last resort and after meeting this mare, we believe she was simply misunderstood.  A highly intelligent mare with outstanding bloodlines, she completely transformed after one session of desensitizing, we will continue to work with her and build her confidence so that her owner can enjoy safe fun rides in the near future.

We believe all horses benefit from this easy lesson in building confidence.  All of our horses, young or old, go through this important lesson as a foundation to their training.  .