September 9, 2001
Even grooming relieves stress
Tucked away in a small quiet neighborhood in Homestead, White Star Farms is the ideal place to take horseback riding lessons.
I took a beginner lesson with Riding instructor Marie Rhodes and I found it to be a relaxing way to spend an hour. Rhodes says most of her adult clients say the same thing.
"I even had one student who wanted to stay grooming the horse for the entire lesson because it was so stress relieving for her," she said.
Rhodes has been teaching adults and children for 28 years. She is a riding instructor certified by the Horsemanship Safety Association.
Along with riding and training students for competitions, she teaches her students how to handle, groom and bathe a horse, and get it ready to ride.
After the first lesson, students are expected to arrive at least 20 minutes early and get the horse ready for riding before the class starts.
My lesson began with learning to take a horse from its stall. Jazmin, a bay colored Paso Fino, was the horse I was going to be working with. He was munching on food when Rhodes opened his stall.
"Jazmin is a great horse. He is very gentle and he does everything you want him to do," she said. "I've taught a lot of students to ride with him."
I watched Rhodes inside the stall as she lifted the horse's head and put the halter on him.
"Now you try it," she said. I went in a bit hesitant of being alone with Jazmin in the stall. I wasn't sure how he was going to react to me, but he gave me no problems when I put the halter on him.
Once the halter was secure, I led him to the grooming area.
Before letting me begin grooming, Rhodes went over safety rules, such as "six inches or six feet," which means that when you walk in back of a horse, you should always walk just a few inches from it, in case it gets startled and kicks.
Being closer will prevent the horse from fatally kicking you in the
face and upper body.
Also important is to let the horse know where you are when walking around it. The best way to do that is to keep your hand on it as you move.
Once that was explained, I got to grooming. Rhodes had me start brushing Jazmin. You have to do this twice with two types of brushes;
"It's very important to groom your horse properly," says Rhodes. "Any dirt that is not cleaned off before the saddle is put on can cause the horse to develop sores."
Brushing Jazmin's tail was a surprising experience for me. Horse hair, which looks like human hair, isn't soft at all - which I thought it was. The texture is coarse and feels really weird.
Once I had finished brushing, I was cleaning Jazmin's horse shoes with a small tool that picks out the crud. It's easy to do. You have to lean on the horse's leg and slide your arm down along it until you can pick up the hoof.
Once you have the hoof up, you quickly pluck out the gook. Spraying the horse with bug repellent was the last part.
The next step was getting the riding equipment from the tack room. It consists of a saddle, a saddle blanket, splint boots, which are leg protectors for the horse, and the bridle - the equipment used to steer the horse.
I'm glad Rhodes taught me how to carry all of it at once to the grooming area - I couldn't wait to start riding.
Once Jazmin was dressed, I put on a helmet and walked him out and waited to start my riding lesson.
The quaint ranch has four places for riding. There is a round pen; four side pens, a riding ring and the outside property where you can ride freely.
Beginners start in the round pen and then graduate to the different riding areas. Students also move on to more challenging horses.
There isn't much riding involved the first day. I rode for about 20 minutes. It was mainly to get me acquainted and comfortable with the horse.
I also learned how to get the horse to stop by lifting the reins gently. To get the horse to move you just have to put the reins back down.
Although I wish I could have spent more time riding, I learned quite a lot from Rhodes in just an hour.
Annie Vazquez is an ordinary person who has been driven to do extraordinary things. Her column, the Annie Files, will appear twice a month in Neighbors, focusing on different and odd things to do around South Florida, from climbing rocks to learning to cook with top chefs. Got something you would like to see Annie try? As long as it's in South Florida and doesn't involve jumping out of airplanes, she'll probably consider it. E-mail avazquez@herald.com, call her at 305-671-4360 or fax a suggestion to 305-671-4350.
White Star Farms is at 25005 SW 193rd Ave. Riding lessons are available from 8 a.m. until dark Monday thru Sunday.
To schedule a class and for more information, call 305-247-3211 or check out the website at www.whitestarfarms.com
