Our Horses

Meet Our Lesson Horses!

Good lesson horses are the key to any successful riding program.

Dependable lesson horses, suited to the level of the rider are crucial to developing confidence and self-esteem as well as helping the rider to improve their skills.

Many of our horses have been with us for years. Occasionally we welcome new additions, selected to work into, and remain, in the program for years to come.

Our lesson horses are loved and valued partners. They are suited to all levels of riding and are successful in competition.

Meet Some Of The Lesson Horses That Are Excellent With Beginners

MATTIE

One of our best beginner lesson horses is Mattie. Mattie is 27 years young this year and has been with us for over 10 years.

She is a VERY pretty registered Morgan pony. Her registered name is “Afternoon Matinee”.  Mattie has excellent manners and is very patient. She is also very careful with her riders.

As far as lesson horses go, they don’t come any better than Mattie. She is also a successful show horse and has shown from walk-trot through hunters, jumpers, pleasure, dressage and eventing.

She is one of the favorites of the students for learning to canter on!

STAR

Another favorite lesson horse of our beginner riders is Star. Star is a 17year old Quarter Horse pony…actually you might think she’s a small horse. She is 14.2 hands, the maximum height for a large pony!

Star has been part of our lesson program for the past 4 years. She is very calm and dependable and is great to take on a trail ride.

She is patient with her riders and always tries her best to do anything that is asked of her. She is great at shows and has shown successfully in dressage, pleasure, hunters, jumpers and eventing.

Star is one of the most wonderful lesson horses for all levels of riders!

RASCAL

Rascal and Mattie look like they could be brother and sister, in fact they could almost be twins! They are exactly the same color and have almost identical markings.

Rascal is one of our most dependable lesson horses. He is extremely calm and steady and is another great horse to take on a trail ride!

Don’t worry, he really doesn’t live up to his name at all. The only time he can be a “rascal” is when he is “teaching you how to steer”…if you don’t pay attention he will just wander where he wants to! Rascal gets along well with all the other horses, never pushy or nippy. He is just a sweet, easy-going guy.

Childrens Lesson Horses

Often smaller children are a bit intimidated by larger lesson horses.  At Spruce Meadow Farm we have smaller ponies for this type of younger rider.

Mattie is wonderful with small people, she is considered a medium pony. We also have a couple of small ponies.

BUTTONS

 

Buttons is our smallest pony.  He is one of the best lesson horses for young children because of his sweet disposition and small size.

It is easy for smaller people to reach his back to groom him and learn how to put on the saddle and bridle.

Buttons is used a lot for pony parties and pony rides because he is comfortable in many different situations and is so easy to work with.

He is easy to love because he is so cute you just can’t help but fall in love with him. In fact, that’s why his ‘show name’ is “Cute As A Button”.  Make sure you give him a pat or two when you come to visit the farm!

MISTY

Misty is actually a “childrens lesson horse in training”. She is a beautiful, small chocolate palomino pony (although technically her color is called “silver dapple”).

Misty has only been with us for a couple years and came as a 2 yr. old with very little training. She has been in training with Janine, one of our instructors. We have used her in some lessons and our summer camp and look forward to having her do even more in the future.

This past summer Misty went to several horse shows and did quite well! So far she has only shown in walk-trot, introductory dressage tests and cross-rail jumping. We think that Misty has a bright future as one of our lesson horses and as a show pony!

The Rest Of Our “Pony” Lesson Horses

We have lots of very talented “pony” lesson horses. Besides Mattie, Star, Rascal, Buttons & Misty we have Cisco, Pumpkin, Sage, Jelly & Koda.

CISCO

 

Cisco is an 8 year old Quarter Horse pony. He is a very talented jumper. He has jumped up to four feet and is one of our best  jumping lesson horses.

He is also a favorite in our horse camp.

Cisco has a very laid back personality and can sometimes be a bit on the lazy side….but not always. He will work hard if he knows he has to.

You also need to be sure to shut the gate when you are riding…or he just might decide to make a detour out of the ring! Sometimes he just likes to make his own decisions!

But…no matter what silly trick he might sometimes pull, it’s hard to stay mad at him when you look at his sweet, innocent face.

PUMPKIN

Pumpkin has been one of Spruce Meadow Farm’s best jumping lesson horses for a long time. She’s been here since she was two years old and is fourteen this year!

Pumpkin is a big horse in a pony body. She is assertive and fearless, and like Cisco she has also jumped up to four feet. She is extremely athletic and talented.

However, since she is a pony, we do not let her do courses that are higher than three foot. She loves to jump and has shown successfully in hunters, jumpers and eventing.

She is a favorite among the lesson horses for those that enjoy jumping.

SAGE

Sage is another of our talented pony lesson horses that has been with us for avery long time. He is a 17 year old Palomino pony. His pretty golden coloring and beautiful cream colored mane and tail make him a big favorite of visitors to the farm.

Sage does everything from walk-trot to jumping three foot courses, and like many of our other lesson horses, is very versatile.

He loves eventing because he gets to show off his many talents at one single  show! Galloping through the fields, negotiating the stadium course and “looking pretty” in the dressage ring all appeal to him.

He LOVES attention, and of course treats. So if you stop by or see him at a show be sure to let him know how wonderful you think he is!

KODA

Koda is not exactly one of our lesson horses…he has been at Spruce Meadow for over a year now. He came in to be trained and be resold, but then we discovered some fear issues .

He was only five years old and had been a stallion until only a few weeks before he came.  He had also had some rough handling and had been driven but never ridden.

The rescue has taken him on until he can find the right person/place just for him. We have had him in training with one of our instructors, Erin, riding him. He has done very well and is no longer nearly as “head shy”.

In fact, he has a very friendly, inquisitive nature. He is very talented, a pretty mover and has a steady, solid disposition.

He is willing to do whatever is asked of him. Even though he isn’t intended as one of the lesson horses, with his great attitude he could certainly do well in that role!

We believe Koda will go far no matter what he does!

JELLY (COCO)

Jelly (aka CoCo) came at the same time Koda did. She came as a young, green pony mare to be trained and sold, so we can’t really classify her as one of our lesson horses. It turned out that she was a bit greener than we thought!

Erin has been working with her since she came. For such a cute little (well, medium) pony she has a BIG jump and is very bold. It turns out that she needs some consistent work and “miles.”

She has done a few lessons with some of the more advanced riders in addition to being in training with Erin. She has also been in a few shows and has done very well.

The funny thing about Jelly is that she is just like the Energizer Bunny….she keeps going….and going….and going! She never seems to get tired.

Her plans for this summer are to go to several horse shows and spend some time working as one of our lesson horses. By the end of the summer we figure she’ll be an experienced pro!

Meet Our “Big” Lesson Horses!

ARIES

One of the favorite lesson horses at Spruce Meadow Farm is Aries. He is loved

by the instructors and students alike.

Perhaps the biggest reason he is one of the favorites is just because he is such a happy, easy going, all around good guy! He has a great time no matter what he does.

He is beautiful to watch since he has such a pretty way of moving and also has a unique jumping style….if left to his own devices he jumps from a bit far back and throws his front legs out in front of him as he sails over the jump.

We say he looks like a super hero and that he is on a mission to save the world! But still, in the lessons, we work on gymnastic exercises and teaching Aries that good lesson horses get a little closer to the jumps, and jump in good form!

TEDDY

Another one of the favorite lesson horses is Teddy. He also happens to be Aries best friend and they live next door to each other in the barn.

Teddy is another easy going, all around good guy. He does lots of things well and is great with beginners as well as advanced riders.

Teddy is very versatile and enjoys hunters, jumpers, dressage and eventing.

We fell in love with Teddy the first day he showed up at the farm. Several of the younger (and older) girls got on him bareback with just a halter and lead, rode up and down the driveway, rode him around the front ring and jumped him over a small jump.

We were all quite impressed with how well behaved he was, and one of our students (Rebecca) in particular fell in “love at first sight” and has been half-leasing him since the day he arrived!

LUCKY

Lucky first came to us as a rescue horse.  At the time she was very thin and dull-coated. No one would ever have thought that she would become one of Spruce Meadow Farm’s top lesson horses!

Lucky was a difficult horse to ride for a very long time. She was brave and

willing but very excitable! It has only been this past year that she has settled in to become an extremely reliable lesson horse and is very patient with beginner riders.

Don’t let that fool you though, Lucky is still a challenge for the more advanced riders. The more you ask of her, the more accurately you have to be able to ride to produce good results. In spite of finally settling into her role as one of our top lesson horses, Lucky presents quite an intriguing ride for upper level students as well as beginners.

And did we forget to mention her good looks? Lucky is a beautiful chestnut color with a very unusually shaped white blaze. To see her is to love her and we are very “lucky” to have her!

JUNIOR

Junior was brought to our farm as a lease horse.  The person that brought himin agreed that we could also use him as one of our lesson horses…a nice arrangement for both parties!

In a “past life” Junior had been a very successful show horse. However, he had a bad accident where he had put his front leg through a metal wall. The vet thought he should be put down but his owner wanted to try to get him healed. Happily, it turned out that he had made a remarkable recovery!

Junior has a very sweet, kind disposition and, as one of the tallest of our lesson horses, is able to carry larger riders. He is a lovely, well-mannered, 14-year old chestnut gelding that has competed in dressage and hunters.

JUSTIN

Justin was brought to the farm as a rescue horse. It has turned out that he is one of the most dependable and loved lesson horses here.

Although Justin was never abused, eventually he was no longer wanted by his previous owners. To save him from going to auction, he was purchased by a huge “fan” of his that was unable to keep him for herself. She donated him to the rescue.

Besides being incredibly handsome, Justin has proven to be a “prince” of lesson horses that always tries his best to do what is asked of him.  He enjoys attention, treats and going out to play.

He also has excellent manners and always performs well at horse shows. We are thrilled to have him as part of our program!