Here is a small selection of the videos you will find on our BitsandBytes Farm YouTube Channel. We have many videos to help you start training your off-the-track-Thoroughbred (OTTB). We also have some ‘dirty videos’ too. Rocky Bear our almost white Thoroughbred has his own channel of videos of him rolling in the mud with his sidekick Classic Casey. If you just want to relax and watch horse videos instead of cat videos on YouTube, we’ve got you covered like the mud on Rocky Bear. Enjoy!
How to Introduce Young Horses to X-Country Fences
Bits & Bytes Farm x-Country Schooling at Oxer Farm
We loaded up six Bits & Bytes Farm Thoroughbreds and headed off to Oxer Farm for a day of x-country schooling. None ...of the horses had ever been on a x-country course and neither had many of the riders. Our instructor, Sarah Berhalter, set us up for success with a pep talk about what to expect.
Our goal was to have a fun safe day for both horse and riders. Horses often get excited when separated from their buddies or when jumping. Sarah made it clear that we were never to leave a horse or rider behind where they might get nervous and overreact. We treated the day like a trail ride and we warmed up as a group in the arena. Once the horses' and riders' nerves were settled, we headed out to the x-country course.
Now a less experienced trainer might have you start trotting right away to the small fences, ours did not. We walked as a group around all the fences to give everyone a chance to see what was there. Next, we walked in a line over the jumps as a group so that no horse had to leave his buddies and go at a scary fence alone. You might think this is too overly protective but you will see this technique builds confidence for the horse and rider. You will see in the video that all the horses were jumping fences confidently, alone, by the end of the day. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can never go too slow with the training but you can go too fast and scare both horse and rider."
As the horses became bored, yes, Thoroughbreds learn very fast, we allowed them to do the fences without their buddies at a walk and then a trot and for some of them, a canter. Many confident experienced riders will just run their new OTTB at a fence to see what he will do. There is a good chance that he will jump it but not really understand the concept and the holes in a horse's early training may show up later in upper-level competitions. It is much better to allow the horses to learn at their own rate and build their confidence systematically as Sarah did with us and our Thoroughbreds.
We had a great time and we all look forward to our next -x-country schooling. Oxer Farm is in Clermont, GA and is owned by Sandra and Jean Carnet. It is a beautiful and well-cared-for facility. I can highly recommend it as a place to train and a great place to get started showing. They run a series of combined training events.
We could not have documented the day so well without our grooms and photographers Christene Roberston and MaryAnn Miller. They are both riders at Bits & Bytes Farm but offered to come to support the team instead of riding.
The day finished with our traditional picnic and debriefing about what we learned. This debriefing is really fun as you see the day from the other riders point-of-view which often leads to even more learning for you.
Bits & Bytes Farm promotes Thoroughbreds as sport horses and our riders are often re-riders who are getting back to riding after taking a break for 'life' (family, jobs, finance). We assist those riders to get back to the sport they love, on our Thoroughbreds. We also help them to find their own Thoroughbred if the time is right for them to have one. If you think you would like to get back to the sport you love, give us a call. We have full and partial leases on horses at our farm. Visit our website for more details: https://www.bitsandbytesfarm.com or give us a call at 770-704-6595 between 9am and 9pm East Coast US time.[+] Show More
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How to Introduce Young Horses to X-Country Fences
Bits & Bytes Farm x-Country Schooling at Oxer Farm We loaded up six ...
Bits & Bytes Farm x-Country Schooling at Oxer Farm
We loaded up six Bits & Bytes Farm Thoroughbreds and headed off to Oxer Farm for a day of x-country schooling. None ...of the horses had ever been on a x-country course and neither had many of the riders. Our instructor, Sarah Berhalter, set us up for success with a pep talk about what to expect.
Our goal was to have a fun safe day for both horse and riders. Horses often get excited when separated from their buddies or when jumping. Sarah made it clear that we were never to leave a horse or rider behind where they might get nervous and overreact. We treated the day like a trail ride and we warmed up as a group in the arena. Once the horses' and riders' nerves were settled, we headed out to the x-country course.
Now a less experienced trainer might have you start trotting right away to the small fences, ours did not. We walked as a group around all the fences to give everyone a chance to see what was there. Next, we walked in a line over the jumps as a group so that no horse had to leave his buddies and go at a scary fence alone. You might think this is too overly protective but you will see this technique builds confidence for the horse and rider. You will see in the video that all the horses were jumping fences confidently, alone, by the end of the day. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can never go too slow with the training but you can go too fast and scare both horse and rider."
As the horses became bored, yes, Thoroughbreds learn very fast, we allowed them to do the fences without their buddies at a walk and then a trot and for some of them, a canter. Many confident experienced riders will just run their new OTTB at a fence to see what he will do. There is a good chance that he will jump it but not really understand the concept and the holes in a horse's early training may show up later in upper-level competitions. It is much better to allow the horses to learn at their own rate and build their confidence systematically as Sarah did with us and our Thoroughbreds.
We had a great time and we all look forward to our next -x-country schooling. Oxer Farm is in Clermont, GA and is owned by Sandra and Jean Carnet. It is a beautiful and well-cared-for facility. I can highly recommend it as a place to train and a great place to get started showing. They run a series of combined training events.
We could not have documented the day so well without our grooms and photographers Christene Roberston and MaryAnn Miller. They are both riders at Bits & Bytes Farm but offered to come to support the team instead of riding.
The day finished with our traditional picnic and debriefing about what we learned. This debriefing is really fun as you see the day from the other riders point-of-view which often leads to even more learning for you.
Bits & Bytes Farm promotes Thoroughbreds as sport horses and our riders are often re-riders who are getting back to riding after taking a break for 'life' (family, jobs, finance). We assist those riders to get back to the sport they love, on our Thoroughbreds. We also help them to find their own Thoroughbred if the time is right for them to have one. If you think you would like to get back to the sport you love, give us a call. We have full and partial leases on horses at our farm. Visit our website for more details: https://www.bitsandbytesfarm.com or give us a call at 770-704-6595 between 9am and 9pm East Coast US time.[+] Show More
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Despooking Training with a Young Thoroughbred
It was a muddy messy Sunday and we spent much of the day working on ...
It was a muddy messy Sunday and we spent much of the day working on the arena footing. We decided that it might be a good time to do some ...despooking training. First Misty followed the arena harrow (see our Instagram page for the video) and then our horse in for training, Made In Her Image aka 'Mae', got exposed to the 'Evil Plastic Bag on a Whip', then the 'Hula Hoop of Horrors' and last of all the 'Big Blue Tarp'. The most scary thing of all for me, was how dirty she was. 'Mae' is pasture mates with Rocky Bear and I think Rocky has been letting 'Mae' into the puddle.
'Mae' is just a well-adjusted baby who is great fun to train. We are happy to bring any of the horses we have for sale in for starter training right-off-the-track for anyone who needs a little help at the beginning. Visit our websites for the horses we currently have for sale. http://www.thoroughbred-horses-for-sale.com and http://www.BitsandBytesFarm.com[+] Show More
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His Last Hurrah aka 'Misty' and the Arena Harrow
If you show confidence, a young horse will not be afraid. A young ...
If you show confidence, a young horse will not be afraid. A young horse is more curious than scared. Things that scare us are not necessarily something that a horse ...even thinks about. 'Misty' is a highly intelligent Thoroughbred mare and she is just trying to figure out what is spinning in her work arena. See more photos of 'Misty' on our website: http://www.bitsandbytesfarm.com[+] Show More
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I Come From Behind and the Bands
Yesterday was a fun day of riding for everyone at Bits & Bytes Farm. ...
Yesterday was a fun day of riding for everyone at Bits & Bytes Farm. We had live music for our "freestyle" rides! 26 high schools bands were practicing at the ...middle school next to our arena for the 2015 Creekview Classic band competition. This video features our newest Thoroughbred off-the-track, I Come From Behind aka "Muffin" aka "Finn". He is nine years old and was gelded 10 days ago. He has been at Bits & Bytes Farm for just seven days and this is his 6th ride. We were surrounded by bands practicing for the competition. They were everywhere and, let me tell you, the drum lines and flags were impressive - and so was our new OTTB! Crank up the sound! And no, the music was not dubbed in. Visit http://www.BitsandBytesFarm.com to find your own bombproof/bandproof off-the-track Thoroughbred. Call 770-704-6595 between 9am and 9pm East Coast Time. Bits & Bytes Farm is located near Atlanta, GA.[+] Show More
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Imatexan - Despook Training
Ex-race horse, Imatexan, learns to walk on a tarp and not react to ...
Ex-race horse, Imatexan, learns to walk on a tarp and not react to
plastic bags around her head.
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Made In Her Image - Trail Ride December 28, 2018
Just a few weeks away from the track and Made In Her Image aka 'Mae' ...
Just a few weeks away from the track and Made In Her Image aka 'Mae' is crossing creeks and trail riding in the woods. She is relaxed and walking even ...on muddy soggy trails that at times looked like creeks as well.[+] Show More
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Justnamehimeddie - Day 1 - First Ride
'Eddie' arrived at Bits & Bytes Farm the day before this first ride by ...
'Eddie' arrived at Bits & Bytes Farm the day before this first ride by his new mom, Jennifer Hartig. Jennifer purchased Justnamehimeddie in April 2018. He is a 3-year-old off-the-track ...Thoroughbred being ridden for the first time after leaving the race track. 'Eddie' is quiet and easy to handle. His sire is Western Pride.[+] Show More
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Flash Mobbed by Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds
We were surprised by a Flash Mob of Thoroughbreds during a peaceful ...
We were surprised by a Flash Mob of Thoroughbreds during a peaceful picnic. Our ex-race horses had been grazing quietly around the trailers when all of a sudden they gathered ...together and took off in a spontaneous turf race around the pond and back to the picnic. It was exciting to literally be in the middle of the race as it began without warning. The Thoroughbreds raced each other for the shear joy of running and then returned to the picnic as if nothing had happened and shared our picnic food like family pets.[+] Show More