LongHaven’s Heart to Heart Facebook Forum 
~Refresh your individual training system day to day
~Remember to respect, honor and listen to your horse and rider physical and behavioral responses on your journey toward Harmony.
In a time when it’s hard to connect—virtually or in person— this is a place to hear and be heard. Our goal is to grow as individuals in pursuit of harmony with our horses, but the individual can only get so far. We need the collective lives, energy, and encouragement of our Equetec family to fully realize our individual potential.
~In Pursuit of Harmony
~Up Out and Forward ~ Ginger Long
Rehab and Conditioning Success!
Latest article :
What’s your NEW NORMAL with your HORSE has been published in the NCDCTA (NC Dressage and Combined Training Assoc)newsletter. Thank you Shannon St. Clair Hoffman
Equetec is proud to be a part of the County Saddlery Trainer Referral program
Together, Equetec and County Saddlery will not only help you evaluate your horse and tack but also help you through the process of finding the ideal “made to order” saddle fit for your horse, your style of riding and ideal biomechanics for harmonious movement and economy of motion.
County Saddlery: Partner in soundness, initial and continuous saddle fit for ultimate performance
Manufacturer of high-end saddles in all three Olympic disciplines; Jumping, Dressage and Eventing
All saddles fit by Master Saddler trained Saddle Fitter and made to order in our own factory in England
Look for our upcoming “Take a test drive and saddle fitting” clinics at Equetec.
County Saddlery of NC on Facebook
Looking for working students!
Great opportunity to immerse yourself in a training/rehabilitation barn!
Equetec helps riders in their pursuit of harmony with their horse.
The training and instruction provided by Ginger Long
includes various multi-disciplinary exercises and techniques that
develop the maximum potential in each individual horse and rider.
Working students are assigned a horse for lessons and practice.
Works out comparably to a half or full lease depending on how much you are
available to work. Shows, clinics, trail rides, and outings are available
as appropriate for the horse and rider.
Potential rental housing for the right match.
Trade riding and lessons for help with barn chores,
feeding, tacking and cooling training horses, and
assisting rehabilitation cases.
Comments From one of our working students……
Why would I want to be a working student with Ginger Long and Equetec?
Ginger Long is British Horse Society Certified and her client base has a wide range of disciplines and rehab to learn from. Working students earn lessons and practice on trained competitive ready horses and not the green ones. They can grow with them and compete in dressage and combined training, if they choose, or just learn and trail ride. The arrangement depends on the person and their desire to grow.
Ideally the position will be filled with a college grad or undergrad student that may or may not need housing, wants to ride, has a car and has a sincere desire to work and learn with horses.
We are 30 minutes from Duke and Elon and 40 from Chapel Hill.
Horse pictured is in our working student/ lease program, is a 16.2 easy and fun horse with big gaits, warmblood/QH X gelding, Super jumper, brave XC, Great on trail and a versatility superstar. Easy and fun horse if you can stay with his springy movement and big jump. He has competed successfully in Hunter, Dressage, Combined Training, XC and Versatility, Trail and obstacle divisions.
Written by my assistant trainer and barn manager, Ashley Rumple.
I graduated from UNC in 2010. I wanted to share an opportunity for anyone interested in being a Working Student at a farm near Chapel Hill/Durham/Hillsborough.
Currently, I am the Assistant Trainer for Ginger Long at Equetec. I started as a working student for her just before my senior year at UNC. In addition, I have a job as a research assistant at UNC.
I grew up riding Hunters/Equitation and now am riding Dressage/Eventing. During my senior year at UNC, I won the NCHJA Adult Equitation finals; afterwards, I got several compliments on my flatwork, specifically the seated trot. I think that learning some basics in dressage the summer before definitely improved my seated trot as well as overall position and effectiveness.
Since working for Ginger over the past three years, I have fallen in love with Eventing and Dressage. My time here has expanded my horizons with horses. I have learned so much about conditioning and jumping across country and varying terrain by Eventing as well as gained many more skills on flat through Dressage. I feel that I have become a much more well-rounded rider; I came to Ginger having experience working at a hunter show barn and a breeding-sales barn. I was used to riding a wide variety of horses, from green-broke to made show horses, and catch-riding at shows. By being exposed to a variety of disciplines and types of horses, I have been able to grow as a rider and a horseman.
I have gotten the opportunity to ride and learn from a wide variety of horses: a TB that’s evented through Prelim; teaching an Adult Hunter to gallop and use his neck before he won year end awards; a Dutch warmblood going 3rd Level Dressage; a Hanoverian dressage schoolmaster; a Hunter Jumper warmblood with back pain; a green-broke Mustang; starting two TB/KWPN babies; and everything in between; a draft cross learning to jump; and helping on multiple rehab cases.
This working student position is a great opportunity for someone who wants to learn overall horsemanship and management in addition to expanding and improving their riding. Ginger is a great teacher and has extensive knowledge in a wide variety of disciplines. In the day to day activities, the student gets to observe (and usually assist with) all types of horses will all types of needs. The working student will be assigned one of Ginger’s horses to be their main project, according to their goals and aspirations. This is a great environment to be immersed in for the person who wants to learn by living in a hard-working, focused environment.
There is a possibility of rental housing on the property for the right person for summers/school breaks if they were interested in staying close to Chapel Hill and being at the barn.
Thinline Pads and Boots
Thinline pads and boots not only help performance horses but rehabilitative weak, asymmetric horses too…
Equetec provides exercise programs for asymmetric, weak, stiff or uncoordinated performance horses and we rehabilitate horses post surgery and/or injury. So often a horse needs an Equetec program due to physical and/or behavioral problems where alleviating back pressure and pain is primary. Once a horse heals, he is relieved with a saddle and pad that is properly fitted and well applied. Under saddle work can begin. Thinline pads have facilitated Equetec’s training and rehabilitation horses by reducing concussion, saddle slippage and improving saddle balance. The Thinline pads work well for transitioning a horse as it is adapting and developing. The Thinline 1/2 back correction pad allows us to transition asymmetrical backs to symmetrical by adding and/or removing inserts. Each horse is taught to move freely, evenly and properly then gradually remove an insert or two as strong, symmetrical muscle replaces pain, weakness and asymmetry. This allows owners to invest in a correctly fitted tree in their saddle and use the Thinline pad and inserts as the horse?s body changes throughout its exercise, training and rehabilitation program. Once the horse is “strong enough” from rehabilitation or fit for the level of activity required for performance, the final flocking and saddle adjustments are made. Thinline pads are adjusted and continued even once a horse is back to normal work. The Thinline boots and shaped pads with inserts are great for daily exercise. Used daily, they support, reduce concussion and eliminate pressure which encourages correct posture: round, soft and supple backs. Thinline boots and pads make happy horses that move freely through their backs, not only for rehabilitation but through daily training in dressage, stadium and cross country jumping. Encouraging soft supple backs with Thinline pads and using Thinline boots are a part of Equetec’s daily routine. We recommend Thinline to all of our customer’s horses for daily preventive care, rehabilitation, to improve performance, stamina and longevity.
Equetec and Thinline have synergistically improved the following types of cases:
- Hot, sensitive dressage horses improved strength and relaxation to move up to the next level
- Stiff, resistant horses that lack flexibility and swing in their backs were able to unlock movement; supple in flatwork and bascule over gymnastics, stadium and cross country fences
- Ataxic or uncoordinated horses learned to balance by developing their backs and hindquarters
- Behavioral cases including, rearing, bucking, run away, worried/insecure horses improve confidence, obedience and trust
- Geriatric horses that were losing their top lines were able to build their backs up again and be ridden
- Back, hip, stifle and hindquarter weakness and injuries were rehabilitated and brought back to full use
- Podiatry cases that due to improper hoof balance, led to asymmetry throughout the body improved
- Young impressionable and mature horses were trained and developed in a relaxed, strong body, happy mind and progressed the training scale in harmony with their riders.?
Equetec 