Facilities
Etiquette
and Procedures
We ask that
our boarders adhere to the followings etiquette guidelines'
while using the facilities and horses at Bear Creek Stables.
The goal is to have a safe and clean environment for
everyone to enjoy.
Barn Etiquette
BCS Horse
Rentals
Pavilion Rental
Trail Etiquette
End of Trail Ride Etiquette
Pool Etiquette
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Barn Etiquette
Cross Tie
Cross tieing
your horse in the barn aisle way is OK when there are only a
couple of horses around. When there is more than two horses
in the barn aisle way, do not cross tie your horse. This
makes it difficult and dangerous for people to get in and
out of the barn. Try to line you horse up at an angle to
allow people and horses to pass behind them. If you have to,
unhook your horse and walk them back at an angle so that
there is room.
Feeding
Please do
not feed your horse hay or feed in the barn aisle. While you are
working with your horse, before or after a ride, they should
be focusing on you and not eating. Feeding horses while you are
working with them is a bad habit for your horse to learn. It
also creates a mess and waste hay and feed. If you want to reward
your horse for a great ride, give them a carrot or a horse
treat. Before you put them back in the pasture, let them eat
some nice grass around the barn and pastures!
DO NOT FEED
HORSES FEED AT ANYTIME UNLESS YOU CLEAR IT WITH BCS FIRST!
Clean Up
Your horse,
or ours that you have borrowed, probably left a nice mess in
the barn aisle. Please clean up after your horses before
heading home. Sweep and muck the area where you were working
on your horse. This gives the flies a little less incentive
to hang around the barn.
Tack
Storage
The barn
aisle is not a storage area. Please store your tack and
supplies in the tack room before leaving for the day. This
way the people who come behind will have somewhere to hang
their stuff while they are there and you lessen the chance
of your stuff being borrowed and misplaced.
Stall Usage
Stalls are primarily for the
boarders who are paying to use them. If you are not paying for a stall but must
use one temporally, use one that IS NOT being rented. The stall must be
left as you found it BEFORE putting your horse in the stall!
Facilities
Etiquette
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BCS Horse Rentals
Bear Creek
Stables boarders are welcome to use the Bear Creek Stable
horses. Horse Rentals are free for your immediate family,
which is includes your spouse and your children. All others
pay the current per hour Trail Riding rates.
Reservations
Use of Bear
Creek Stables' horses must be reserved in advance. We are
doing this to resolve the following possible conflicts where
the horses may be scheduled for something else.
Trail Rides
Lessons
Other
Boarders have them Reserved
We just want
to ride our own specific horses that day
Horse is
booked for another time during the day and we want the horse
fresh for that time.
Reservations
are to be made at least 24 hours in advance.
Reservations are to be made with Brenda or Rindy so they can
determine what horse is available for the time you are
requesting the horse.
When riding BCS horses on the
trails they should be ridden conservatively. No riding
faster than a trot unless you are given explicit permission
to do so by Brenda!
BCS Horse
Clean Up
If you use
one of our horses, please return them as you found them.
Brush them out and/or rinse them off and check their hooves
before returning them to the pastures. Put their tack back
in the tack room where it came from. Also, clean up the barn
aisle as you would with your own horse.
Failure to
follow these guidelines may revoke your privilege of using
BCS horses in the future.
Facilities
Etiquette
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Pavilion Rental
The Picnic
Pavilion is available to Bear Creek Stables boarders.
Reservations
The pavilion
must be reserved in advance. We are
doing to avoid over booking of the picnic pavilion. The
pavilion is free to use for our boarders.
Reservations
are to be made at least 24 hours in advance.
Reservations are to be made with Brenda or Rindy so they can
verify that the pavilion is available for the time and date
you desire.
Pavilion
Clean Up
Please clean
up the area once you are finished with your event.
Facilities
Etiquette
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Trail Etiquette
We want you to have a memorable Trail Ride because you had a GREAT TIME.
We do not want it to be memorable because your horse threw you in a pond
and escaped off into the woods. For you safety and the safety the horses we ask that you always
listen to the instructions which are given to you and to the group as a
whole.
Our Trail Rides are not your typical "Nose to Tail" ride you will
find at big horse venues and parks. However, we do ask that everyone in
the group to stick relatively close together. You and your horse should
always be visible by a staff member.
Our rides are generally easy going rides fit for the entire family.
There will be times when you will be able to get your horse up to a
brisk trot. If you are an experienced rider there may be opportunities
to get your horse up to a canter or even a gallop. However, this should
only be done with the permission of a staff member. The areas we ride
are varied and some of these areas are perfectly safe for a walking
horse but can be hazardous for a running horse and their rider.
All trail rides will have a designated Trail Boss.
The Trail Boss will set the pace and choose the trails. The Trail Boss
has ultimate responsibility for the safety of all the riders and
horses. No one should ever pass the Trail Boss without permission being
granted first. The Trail Boss will raise his hand as a sign that he is
either coming to a stop or slowing the pace down.
For larger rides there will also be a designated
Drag Rider who will be the last horse and rider. It is their responsibility to ensure
all riders are staying on the trails and to communicate with the Trail
Boss if any issues arise that requires the ride to be stopped so a
situation can be handled. For very large rides, the Trail Boss and Drag
Rider will carry Walkie Talkies to aid in communication.
Once a horse is tacked and ready to go the horse
and rider should move to the arena area to lessen the chaos around the barn.
This is a great time to do some warm up activities in the arena, obstacle
course and general workouts in the pasture by the arena. All trail rides
will start in the arena.
Once everyone has arrived in the arena it will be
discussed who the Trail Boss and Drag Rider will be. We will discuss the
pace of the ride. The pace will be strongly influenced by the least
experienced rider and/or horse. There are three general paces that we
will do.
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Easy
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This will be a walk only trail
ride with very little trotting, if any. If we cross any creeks
it will be the easier crossings.
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Moderate
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This will include lots of
trotting in areas considered safe to trot. We may do some light cantering if everyone is in agreement.
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Advanced
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This will include lots of
trotting, cantering and possibly galloping.
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While the above are general guidelines, each ride can be customized.
Once the pace is determined it is up to the Trail
Boss to determine when and where different paces are done. Safety is the
primary focus. It is not acceptable for the riders to ask the Trail Boss
“let’s do this” or “let’s go here”. It is perfectly acceptable for
the Trail Boss to stop the ride and consult with all the riders to
determine the next route. It is the responsibility of the Drag Rider to
communicate to the Trail Boss if they notice that individuals are having
issues and thus, the pace needs to be adjusted down.
All horses that depart on a trail ride must stay
together at all times. The Trail Boss, as required, will pause the ride
to allow riders to catch up. All riders are asked to keep their horses
at a respectable distance from the horse in front of them, preferably,
one horse length. Riders also
need to stay alert for when the ride comes to a pause so that horses are
not running into each other’s rear ends.
At some point riders may choose to separate. This will
only be done during a pause in the ride and with full agreement of the
entire group. A Trail Boss and Drag Rider may be determined for the separating
group. Before the group separates the Trail Pace will be discussed and
agreed to before the new group departs. It is not acceptable for either
group at this point to take off at anything but a walk until you are a
significant distance from the other other.
There will be times when there are concurrent trail
rides taking place. When you approach another group from the rear, all
horses should go into a walk. Do not trot, canter or gallop up on
another group. This is extremely rude and can cause significant stress
to the horses up ahead which can in turn into serious injury for horse
and rider. The Trail Boss of the back group can work out with the
Drag Rider of the front group how to pass or blend in with front group. If the
back group takes off on another trail this needs to be communicated to
the front group. They are not to take off running on the other trail
until they are a significant distance away so as not to stress out the
front group’s horses.
If you come face to face with another group, all
horses should stop. The Trail Bosses of the two rides will determine the
best method to pass each other. Ideally, one group will pass by while one
group pauses. The pass will be done at a walk.
If you are a loud group you need to calm down when
you approach another group. Once you have negotiated how you will pass
the other group and you are a significant distance away from the other
group you may continue your loud ways.
STAY ON THE TRAILS - Do Not Take Short Cuts
We
strongly encourage you to keep your horse on the trails. We constantly
work to keep our trails as safe as possible. Once you wander off of
a trail you run the risk of your horse stepping into very deep hole
or coming across barbed wire. There is lots of Iron Weed around and
other vines that would love nothing more than grab your horses feet
and tangle him up or pull you by the neck completely off your horse.
No Riding in ANY Horse Pasture
Pastures without horses are not to be
used as ad-hoc arenas. These pastures are in a rest phase so that the
grass can heal. Taking horses into these pastures is counter-productive
to what we are attempting to do, which is give the pasture a break!
Return to the Barn
When
returning the the barn area please keep you horse in a walk.
Once you
reach the horse trailers
Riding
between horse pastures
Facilities
Etiquette
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Pool Etiquette
As boarders
of Bear Creek Stables we are extremely fortunate that Henry
and Jane allow us to use their pool. We do not want to lose
this privilege!
Can't resist the following
rule!
Facilities
Etiquette
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