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Review content:
Metro Milwaukee has a lot of hunter/jumper barns, mostly the same. But my years at Blue Spring Farm showed me its passion for both horses and horsemanship. If you want a place to show off your expensive new boots, chat mindlessly about the other boarders, and get patted on the head for flopping around the arena on horseback?go elsewhere. But if your idea of ?fun? is becoming a good rider, BSF is where you?d go. You want to jump high? Achieve? Grow? The trainer there knows that what you put into it, is what you get out. This means fitness, endurance, and understanding the whole horse experience. Safety is very important to her; wisely, the beginners are taught on old (read: seasoned) school horses. Far from ?holding you back?, the instructor keeps everyone safe by not letting you jump higher than you or your horse are ready for. This also keeps the school horses willing and happy; they?re not sour and broken down by inconsiderate students who pound around on them like they?re rentals. BSF?s school horses are fabulous teachers. They?re quiet and kind, yet responsive and energetic when you ask them properly. And the upper levels of jumping require a true partnership between horse and rider, so of course those students are assisted in finding an appropriate horse to buy or lease. BSF horses are athletes AND pets, and the farm is managed that way. These horses aren?t just weekend warriors, so the turnout is more than adequate. And I challenge you to find ANY performance barn around here that doesn?t struggle with the mud. The horses are well cared for, physically and mentally; the manager is very gentle, yet knows how to handle even the worst horse behavior. Any barn experience is what you make it. Don?t want drama? Don?t make any. You want a smile or hello? Smile and say hello. Want the fitness, endurance, and understanding that make a good horseman? Clean stalls, pick rocks, unload hay wagons. One of the first lessons of horsemanship is that nothing entitles you to a reward without earning it first. BSF is the place I?d go if I still wanted to do hunter/jumper; good people are treated like family. I miss the fun, and BSF is where it?s at. And as far as Horselover?s testimonial is concerned, I can?t say that it?s trustworthy. For example, the ?crazy? horse was an OTTB less than a month off the track, who came into the barn untrained, sick and with ulcers. He left sound and well. I think we can assume that the rest of Horselover?s review is also missing a lot of the story.
Pros: Like family
Cons: Not for the absentee owner
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