About our Prgrams
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| Riding Lessons Here at Cornerstone Farm is it our main priority to keep our riders as safe as possible. We teach our riders from the ground up about horses for their safety and enjoyment. Our riding season starts in April and continues up to Christmas time. We take a break in January, February and March due to the weather and conditions of the outdoor arena. First Time Student Lesson Package Don't think these are just for beginners! This package is a must for first time riders at Cornerstone Farm. In this lesson series students will learn the hows and whys of what we do. Riders will learn how to catch, groom and saddle their horses. Riders will also learn safe ways to communicate with their horse on the ground and while in the saddle. Most riders will be started in the Western discipline, but we do also offer the English discipline. A school horse is provided for these first lessons and they will last for approximately an hour and a half. Private and Semi-Private Lessons Private and semi-private lessons are excellent for riders who need more one-on-one type teaching to help them excel in their riding. These lessons are schedule for a 1hour ride time and include a warm up for both horse and rider, work on the lunge line for balance and rhythm and different exercises with the horse to further their riding abilities. Horses will need to be groomed and tacked by the student prior to the start of the lesson and a cool out session at the end of the lesson is required before untacking so plan about a 2 hour time for a riding lesson. Group Lessons Group lessons will are set up so that the riders will be working on the same discipline at the same riding level. Four private lessons will be required before riders are able to join a group lesson to be sure which group to place them in. We encourage you to join a group lesson to build friendships and more confidence in your riding. Tiny Tot Lessons This program is geared towards kids ages 3-6. In these lessons the riders will learn to lead, brush and saddle their horses on a smaller scale than the regular lessons and riding time will be on a lunge line so the instructor has majority of control of the horse. Riders will learn the basics of riding in a fun, age appropriate lesson that will last 30-45 minutes. School horses We choose our school horses carefully to make sure you have the most enjoyable experience possible with horses. Everyone does need to remember though that horses are prey animals that are much larger than we are and may act outside of their training which could result in a fall. Because of this we do recommend that riders wear a riding helmet. Personal Horses If you would rather take lessons on your own horse we will gladly accommodate that. We offer Boarding if you would like to keep your horse on the property or you may trailer the horse in for your lessons. We will also travel to your stable for a small fee. |
| Boarding Programs Here at Cornerstone Farm we take great pride in the care of our horses. They each are treated as one of our own and if a problem ever arises we will contact you, the owner immediately. The owner and manager of Cornerstone Farm lives on site. Boarding spaces are reserved for our lesson student's horses. We also work with Abraham's Equine Clinic in Cedar Rapids and Dr. Wendy Thomas of Mediapolis Veterinary Clinic to maintain the health of our horses. Stall board - $275.00/month -$75.00/week Be confident knowing your horse will be comfortable in a spacious 12x14' stall well bedded with Best Cobb corn cob bedding and receiving 2-3 feedings of hay per day plus high quality Purina Strategy or Strategy Healthy Edge feed twice a day. Stalls are cleaned daily and your horse will receive turn out time each day. The buckets and feeders are always kept clean to keep your horse healthy and the water is heated in the winter months to make sure your horse continues to drink as much as needed. Our schedule for stalled horses usually runs as stalled during the day to keep them from the heat and flies May - September, and stalled during the night October - April to protect from the cold. This schedule is flexible for bad weather, rest assured that your horse will be well cared for. Full Turnout Board - $175.00/month - $50.00/week We have three primary turnout lots for horses to enjoy. We make sure that horses turned out with other horses are all happy and get along well. If there are any horses that do not get along we will immediately remove the problem horse to make sure their time is peaceful. Our main turn out lot has several trees for the horses to find shade under during the warm days and we open up the barn for them to "run in" out of bad weather. The water tank is regularly cleaned as needed to keep clean fresh water available for your horse. The water is heated during the winter months to make sure your horse continues to drink a much as needed. A round bale is usually the main source of hay for the horses to each free choice. If not horses are fed hay twice daily as well as receiving Purina's Enrich 32 as a mineral supplement to make sure your horse is getting all it's nutrients needed to stay as healthy as possible. |
| Training Programs Here at Cornerstone Farm we watch our horses carefully while they are being trained and we rule out any additional problems that may be effecting their performance or attitudes. We work with Dr. Christine Woodford of Veterinary Integrative Performance Services (or VIPS for short) to make sure our horses are as comfortable as possible. We also work with Abraham's Equine Clinic in Cedar Rapids and Dr. Wendy Thomas of Mediapolis Veterinary Clinic to maintain the health of our horses. Before horses will be considering into our training program, a horse assessment is required. Horse assessments measure your horses personality and trainability as well as their conformation so that you can know what type of riding your horse is best suited for. During the assessment we can also explain what areas your horse needs the most training in so you can be prepared for the investment of both time and money. We believe that you are your horse's most influential trainer as you spend the most time with your horse. We also want you to be able to continue your horse's training at home too. That is why our training program is set up so that you do most of the work under the guidance of the trainer. The trainer will work one-on-one with you and your horse and if a problem arises that you are unable to handle, the trainer can step in and take over. We believe that this arrangement is the best as we have found over the years training problems usually arise from the owner not having the knowledge to handle a situation and/or the lack of time to work with the horse. We do require that you be willing to dedicate at least three days per week to come and work with your horse. The benefit to our program is you will learn with your horse and be equipped to work with your horse at the end of the training period. |