Offshore Acres

Our tack room got a facelift!

Sully has the right idea on this gloomy, cold Sunday! Hunker down and nap!

Exciting day here!

The bay OTTB geldings having some fun around the waterer this morning! A little dancing, some funny nose-moves, and tongue sucking. And a surprise guest appearance by Jack! These horses always brighten my day

This adorable pony was scooped up and sold before listing! Congratulations to Adele and her family on the adorable Rudy!

Introducing.... our new barn bathroom! Don’t worry, those windows will be frosted!

Pretty Remy. One of the original three Offshore Acres horses. Did you know; Remy and Brady are featured on our original logo and barn sign!

Our tack room got a makeover today!

Beautiful, frosty morning at Offshore Acres

Congratulations to Ivy on her lease of the lovely Gray!! We are looking forward to seeing you two grow together as a team! Happy riding!

How much snow did you get?! It’s all a matter of perspective; just ask Chance!

Britt and Mr. Kaplan making the most of the recent snowfall!

Select your trainers carefully. Observe how the horses interact with them. Watch how the most decorated horse in the barn is treated. Watch how the least quali...ty horse in the barn is treated, because EVERY horse deserves to think it’s a champion at the end of the day. Look at the workouts, attitudes, and relationships between the trainer and their strongest riders. Look at the workouts, attitudes & relationship between the trainer and their most limited riders. How do they treat their team members? Does their staff like them? Are the other clients happy? What dreams is your trainer chasing? Choose a trainer that lives the values that matter to you. Choose wisely, and trust the process. Not every horse will be a grand champion. Not every lesson horse will be a walk in the park. Not every rider will win the roses. Not every ride will be easy. Not every prospect will work out. The challenges ahead are inevitable. Spend your time and money to be with a team that you believe in, a team that has your best interest at heart and is honest with you as they help you and/or your horse stride towards greatness- whatever it is you define as such. Select your trainers carefully- and give it your best shot. Greatness isn’t common; but it certainly doesn’t occur unless the trainers, clients and horses are all giving it their best shot. Unknown

Our OA family enjoyed our Secret Santa this year!

Offshore Acres has a temporary stall available at our beautiful, full service facility. Stall will be available from January 1-October 1 2021 with option to move to outdoor boarding on October 1. We are located in-between Markdale and Flesherton, walking distance to Irish Lake. Amenities include: - Large, open and airy box stall generously bedded and cleaned daily - LONG turnout (12-14 hours) with well rounded, and properly integrated groups ... - Individualized feeding program tailored to your horses’ specific needs. (Indoor horses get grain twice per day, outdoor once) - no additional costs associated with feeding boarder-supplied supplements - Large, grassy paddocks with shelters in (nearly) all paddocks, and fencing all new within the last year (electric) - No freeze, auto waterers in all paddocks (buckets in stalls) - Saddle and bridle kept in heated tack room, and one locker per horse for other supplies - 220’X80’ outdoor sand ring with top-quality footing, harrowed often - 200’X100’ grass ring (currently in progress - was seeded in the fall and will be fenced and ready to go summer 2021) - 60’X130’ indoor with fibre footing, and stadium lighting - 60’ round pen - Alexa integrated into our Sonos sound system and voice activation for lights in barn and indoor arena (play your favourite music while you ride, set timers, check the weather all without fiddling with your phone) - Wifi in barn and indoor (don’t worry about using up all your data posting your horse pics!) - Security system - ALL disciplines welcome! We currently have western pleasure, hunter/jumper/pleasure riding/natural horsemanship boarders here - As the barn owner, I currently ride, train and show on the hunter/jumper circuit and participate in competitions on the Trillium and A-circuit, as well as clinics and lessons throughout the year, so option to join in on that as well. - Outside coach/vet/farrier welcome, or join ours. - Indoor board is $700 +hst (outdoor is $350 +HST - we currently do not have any outdoor spots available at this time). July drone video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r-Ueu5EeX4

That’s the thing about horses, they are as much about science as they are feeling. How we care for them, how we feed them, how we condition and rehabilitate the...m. That’s all science. But there’s a side to this that has nothing to do with what you know, but rather what you feel. You can know everything there is to cognitively know about horses and be very ineffective with them. Horses respond to behavior, movement, and timing, and they can read a room. You cannot effectively handle and work with horses and be closed off; they won’t do what you ask or want. And frankly they won’t trust you. And that’s how I think they heal the broken. Because to work with them you need to be emotionally open, even if it’s just in that moment in time. It’s why so many programs for veterans, victims of abuse, first responders, people with genetic syndromes, incarceration rehabilitation programs, are all starting to utilize horses in their therapy programs. Horses are unbiased and nonjudgmental. Sometimes people really need that. Horses are a great metaphor for life, and that’s something you truly only learn working with them. When you win with them it’s a high, and when you lose with them it’s usually devastating. That’s why people love horses. It’s not the riding. It’s the depth of the experience, and the dynamic bond you can form with them. I wish I could teach everyone that. It’s why those who grow up with horses end up being who they are, and the way they are, and love them for a lifetime; or at least the true horse people do. And you’re not going to change my mind that horses don’t make us better people; they make us more compassionate, more empathetic, more kind, more patient, more understanding, more genuine, more confident, more authentic, more ourselves. Horses teach us about vulnerability, about courage, about loss, about heartbreak, about triumph. Horses teach us a whole lot about life, and even more about ourselves. They are the teachers we don’t deserve, but desperately need at certain times in our lives. Cherish your time with them. We only get so long with them. - - - - - - - - - - - Me, on why people love horses; an excerpt from a book I’ll probably never write

Who can relate?! Haha