Crooked Ridge Farm

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Crooked Ridge Farm Here at Crooked Ridge Farm we specialize in starting young horses, teaching horses to trail ride confidently, and putting trail miles on your horse of any age.

We take our time, building confidence from the ground work up!

Thankful for friends who come ride with me 😁
10/14/2026

Thankful for friends who come ride with me 😁

10/14/2026

Rise number six for Drew the standardbred! She led the whole time! We kept it fairly short, but she is willing, and try very hard even when she is very nervous! Loving her progress!

Bailey and I out enjoying the lovely day!
10/14/2026

Bailey and I out enjoying the lovely day!

Fall is really starting to show ♥️♥️
10/13/2026

Fall is really starting to show ♥️♥️

Bailey went along with me on a trail ride with one of my lesson kiddos today, and he was an angel! He walks very fast, s...
10/12/2026

Bailey went along with me on a trail ride with one of my lesson kiddos today, and he was an angel! He walks very fast, so we had to stop and wait a lot, and he used to get so antsy and wiggly when we had to do that, and today he asked to walk off a few times, but was very easy to keep stopped there until I was ready to walk off again. He has always been a sweetheart, but he is really trying to also be a good good trail horse ♥️

Getting a horse out on the trail alone for the first time can sometimes be a challenge. Some don't care at all, and will...
10/12/2026

Getting a horse out on the trail alone for the first time can sometimes be a challenge. Some don't care at all, and will walk out alone from the start, while others get their confidence from what is familiar, and struggle when they venture out alone. Part of learning to trail ride is being able to do so without the help of another horse, and it is a big part of what we do here.

For our first bigger ride alone, I prefer to lead them out and ride back. I have a few reasons why I do this, and yes, one of them is because I'm too old to push them through stuff, and have found easier and safer (and I'd like to think smarter) ways to build their confidence. Leading them out helps me check in with them. I can slow or quicken my pace or stop to see if they are paying attention to me enough to not need pressure on the lead rope. If they are distracted, I can practice stopping and backing up if they walk past me a few times to help get their mind back to me.

I don't just hop on when I get to a certain place. Depending on where we walk to, I might do a little session of ground work, or find a stump and work on asking them to side up to it so I can mount. This might sound so simple, but it often takes several minutes for them to settle and pay attention enough to me to respond to the cues they have been doing well up at the barn. I have to stay patient and calm and help them work through a lot of big feelings as they start to understand that even in their nervousness, they need to do what I ask. Then as they do this familiar thing, they start to settle and relax. I ask them to do this until they stand calmly for me to mount, which for some horses takes quite a while.

After we do this, we can start our journey back to the barn, and while the stuff we go by might be scary, we don't have the hurdle of also going away from things. Basically I just try to take a few of the scary things away so they can grow in confidence. I might need to do this once or twice before they will very easily ride away from the barn without a big fight.

Sometimes a little prep work makes a huge difference♥️

I don't get this fella back for a year, but thankfully I took 200 pictures of him, so you guys will be reminded of him f...
10/12/2026

I don't get this fella back for a year, but thankfully I took 200 pictures of him, so you guys will be reminded of him from time to time 😁. Taylor is itching to get out into the woods more, and has been out to sit this past week a little bit.

Bailey is starting to get quite the b***y!
10/12/2026

Bailey is starting to get quite the b***y!

I think it's officially felt season here in Ohio.
10/11/2026

I think it's officially felt season here in Ohio.

10/11/2026

If you aren't already planning on it, plan on coming to Millersburg, Oh this week for The Horseman’s Mission starts this Wednesday!! I'm out here riding like crazy so I get enough work done to go! It will be a great time! Come and be encouraged! Both in your Faith, and your Horsemanship!

Address

Glenmont, OH
44628

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(330) 473-0618

Website

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