Avalon Acres Equestrian Centre
2301 Beachburg Road K0J 1C0 Beachburg, ON, Canada

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. -Malcolm X Paige’s love for all things equine has driven her to pursue further education and training in the equestrian community leading her to complete many things such as, the Equine Canada Rider Levels 1 through 8 at an early age. Most recently, Paige completed the Diploma in Equine Studies through the University of Guelph in 2020. Paige has completed the training ...in the following courses to further her coaching abilities: The Rookie Rider Program, Making Headway in Sport, NCCP Sport Nutrition, Coaching Athletes with a Disability, Making Ethical Decisions, and Safe Sport Training in Decision Makers, Safe Sport Direct Athlete Contact, and Safe Sport no Direct Athlete Contact. Paige has also completed the following certifications: Equine First Aid, Introduction to Long-Term Development in Sport and Physical Activity, Equestrian Canada: Concussion Awareness, and Fostering Healthy Equestrian Environments. There are many more goals on the horizon with Avalon Acres, her horses, and her students. Paige wants her love for horses to be supported with lots of education and experience. - Paige Frodsham, Owner/Head Trainer

Heathy horses mean shiny coats, dapples, full toplines, and forward ears Grateful to be able to offer horses such a great home! #healthyandhappylife #avalonacresequestriancentre

Back, saddle, teeth all okay. As I was about to fall asleep last night, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a post about someone asking for advi...ce when their horse quite dramatically stops and drops their head after jumping and cantering, also refusing fences. Maybe I’m in a bubble, floating around and surrounded by passionate followers and clients who are intuitive and open minded about learning more to improve the happiness and comfort of their horses. But I was so heartbroken to read the advice. Short grass reins. Keep her forward. Hold her up. More leg. Draw reins. Ride defensively. Ride through it. The horse has learnt to get you off, you have to win the battle. Give her a good pony club kick and smack, she won’t do it again. Put a man or good tough rider on her. If this is the advice we are dishing out, how on earth are we meant to get anywhere with our horses!? This is by no means discrediting anyone, but it does raise questions as to our traditional, standardised approaches. And the standard all clear back, saddle teeth. Okay but have you considered the horses neck, ligaments, muscles parts of the anatomy that are not the back? Is your therapist adequately qualified and regulated by a governing body? The saddle - have you had a second opinion? Is your girth correct? How recently was this saddle checked? Is your saddler adequately qualified? And teeth - the same thing, is your EDT qualified? Does your horse need to be seen more regularly? And what about mares and hormones? Digestive discomfort? Farriery? Previous bad experiences? Any other factors to attribute the behaviour to. There is a difference between a horse being cleared from back, saddle and teeth and a horse being comprehensively assessed by a team. So if you are finding yourself at a cross roads with your horse, please please please exhaust all medical avenues before attempting to ride through it. I see far too many horses on the brink of breaking mentally and physically, particularly horses that have been sold and the new owner is left to pick up the pieces. There were some really important comments on the post, with some people picking up on this. However, lines are blurred. Let’s not belittle behaviour and overlook it’s importance - let’s listen to our horses and respond Photo by Daydream Equine Art

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! A picture of our precious pony, Charming #avalonacresequestriancentre #happythanksgiving ... #gratitude #gratefulness See more

We’d like to welcome our two new kitties, Suki and Mouse!

A client is someone who passively receives a service. A student is someone who actively seeks to get better. -Charles McDonald To be the best we can for our... horses requires a mind and body approach. It requires us to learn to get control of our thoughts, our emotions, our actions, our seat in the saddle, our hands, legs and everything in between. There is no dabbling in good quality horsemanship. You either do it all and do it well, or it won’t work. You can make baby steps at your own pace, but you can’t cherry pick the easy parts, step over the uncomfortable parts and still get quality results. A quality teacher provides the information and skill set necessary to bridge the gap from where the student is to where they want to be. This will not always be easy, fun, or comfortable, and they may not always say what the student wants to hear. This requires trust in the relationship, as well as hard and sincere effort from the student. You can take lessons and pay for training, but only those putting the real work on themselves in will grow and benefit from it. Photo by Melinda Yelvington

Some horses can be lean mean machines, but are they truly lean and mean when you can feel/see their spine too clearly with no top line? See and count every rib clearly from a short/long distance? Pelvis and hip bones stick out a little too much? When their head looks bigger than their body? That is what an emaciated horse looks like. Some horses are hard keepers and take a lot more forage, grain, and monitoring than the average horse to keep weight on. Here are some tips... on helping your horse gain weight: 1. Check their teeth problems with horses teeth can affect their ability to eat: Uneven wear can cause hooks, waves and other malformations that inhibit chewing, and cracked, broken or infected teeth can be painful enough to prevent a horse from chewing his food properly. 2. Check for any other health issues. Health issues such as ulcers may make a horse have less of an appetite. 3. Ensuring their is enough food being given to them. Some paddock mates can be more aggressive than others leaving the weaker ones without. Putting out more than enough hay for all the horses to eat is the best way to make sure everyone gets a chance, or allowing them onto pasture to eat all day long. 4. Feeding the right hard foods. Feeding a grain that has enough fat, fibre and protein content will help a hard keeper gain weight. But, feeding too much can cause problems too! Finding the right balance is key! 5. Hay cubes! Feeding lots of soaked hay cubes during the day is great way to get more forage into them, and more water! For 4. And 5. More feedings in smaller sizes a day, the better! Two big feedings will 1. Possibly make your horse colic, 2. Not allow their body to digest everything they are eating, 3. Just isn’t natural and healthy for them. Split up the feedings. Using a body score chart and weight tape are very useful when creating a feeding plan/schedule for any horse. Horses are required to eat 2.5% of their body weight a day. An average 1,000-1,100lbs horse should eat approximately 15-30lbs of hay a day. Horses in/out or work, larger/smaller, quality of hay, whether, etc, will also help determine how much your horse needs. Don’t starve them and don’t over feed them! Always talk with your vet when you have questions regarding your horses health. Next time you see your horse, go over what they are/aren’t getting in their daily diet! Enjoy this cute picture of Maizzee

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. -Albert Camus The trees are becoming more colourful here everyday #avalonacresequestriancentre

Horses are naturally grazers, horses in the wild evolved to walk hundreds of miles a day finding food during travel with their herds. Over time we have domesticated them so we can enjoy sport and find true bond with an animal. With domestication comes some issues that horses wouldn’t necessarily have in the wild, like obesity . Horses that are overweight are probably eating too much and not moving enough. There are some simple ways to help your horse loose weight. 1. Exercis...e! not every horse has to be ridden! Change up what your doing! There is lunging, long lining, hand walking, etc. One thing to make sure of when you start exercising is to keep it in line with their fitness, don’t over exert them. 2. Reduce hard food intake. The one thing that everyone loves to feed but probably doesn’t need to grain instead, feed them a vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer to provide your horse what they need to stay healthy. 3. Restrict grazing horses eating lush grass in the field, pretty isn’t it? Not so pretty seeing how much bigger your horse has gotten coming off that field though . Feed your horse in an area that can monitored either by strip grazing, using a muzzle, having them stay in a dry lot with controlled food output, etc. Get inventive! 4. What is in you forage? It’s recommended to have hay analysed to show the NSC levels (water soluble carbohydrate + starch) to see if it is suitable for your horse. 5. DON’T STARVE THEM! Sure they might be fat, but it definitely does not mean that they can’t eat enough. Horses are designed to trickle graze, eat all day long. Horses that are left more than a couple hours without food are capable of developing ulcers or colic. Using a body score chart and weight tape are very useful when creating a feeding plan/schedule for any horse. Horses are required to eat 2.5% of their body weight a day. An average 1,000-1,100lbs horse should eat approximately 15-30lbs of hay a day. Horses in/out or work, breed, quality of hay, wether, etc, will also help determine how much your horse needs. Don’t starve them and don’t over feed them! Always talk with your vet when you have questions regarding your horses health. Next time you see your horse, go over what they are/aren’t getting in their daily diet!

Helmet awareness week! Helmets have a purpose in sport, to protect our brains. Our brains are so fragile we need to protect them! So do your part and #mindyourmelon ! Hat manufacturers generally recommend replacing your hat every four to five years. Hats take a beating over time from sweat, heat, dust and rain, and the Styrofoam in the hat relinquishes its ability to protect the head over time.... Easy to read tips on helmets! https://thehorse.com//10-things-to-remember-on-internatio/

"If a horse says no, you either asked the wrong question or asked the question wrong. An average hunter course has 100 strides. Only 8 of them are jumps. Don’t ...sacrifice the 92 for the 8. On approaching a fence: good riders wait until it’s time to go. Great riders go until it’s time to wait. Don’t squat with your spurs on. It is NEVER the horse’s fault. Yes, sometimes a horse may take advantage of a situation, but there is ALWAYS something the rider could do differently to change the situation. Pass left hand to left hand. You can only lie to your horse so many times before they call your bluff. Horses do no know what they are worth. They do not know, or care, what they are capable of. They only care about the way you treat them. Injuries and colic happen almost exclusively at 10:00 pm on a Saturday. Shoes get lost almost exclusively when preparing to leave for a show. If you work hard, try your best, and never give up, your efforts will not go unnoticed. And you will be rewarded with opportunities when you least expect it. If you work hard, try your best, and never give up, you will still fail sometimes. Video doesn’t lie after being told repeatedly that I was lifting my right hand before every fence, and swearing up and down that I was certainly NOT lifting my right hand before every fence I wasin factlifting my right hand before every fence. Sometimes your brain lies to you. Video does not. On being nervous going into the show ring: you’re just not that big of a deal. No one at the show is watching you close enough to know every mistake you might make, except for the judge and your trainer, and you are paying them to watch. Be patient there are no shortcuts. Any shortcut you may try, will actually be the long way. Check your personal issues and emotions at the door. Your horse will know. It usually does not go well. If your horse is in front of your leg, you have options. We never lose. We either win or we learn. Ride like a winner. You cannot act like flip flops and expect to be treated like Louboutins. If you have to pick only two things to think about during a course, pace and track are the two you should choose. The rest cannot happen without pace and track. Give yourself and your horse brain breaks. Go have fun, go hack out in the woods, go swimming bareback, read a book in the paddock, whatever. Just allow yourself time to have fun. At home there’s no reason to jump as big as you show every time. The basics are the basics regardless of the jump height. Save your horses legs. The horse world is very small. Remember this and don’t burn your bridges and be mindful of your words. Clean your tack. Groom your horse. Properly. Every day. If you can control nothing else, you can control your turn out. There is no excuse to not do the minimum effort. No matter what the problem is, the solution is almost always add more leg. Ride the horse you have today. Not the one you had yesterday. Not the one you want to have. The horse under you at this moment is the only one that matters. You go where you look. The human head weighs 10 pounds. Unless you would like to end up on the ground, do not look down. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. " - advice excerpts from the Plaid Horse See more

A huge Thank you to John A. Butler Photography for the lovely photos of Ava and Anakin forever in our hearts these two