A Call to All

La Fiaba began as a dream when I was just a little girl; what horse mad little girl doesn't dream of running her own horse riding centre? Fianlly now, after years of hard work, scrimping and saving, gaining experience and confidence in my abilities, here I am. Ready to take the plunge? Er, ask me later!

So far I think I have managed to accomplish a lot, considering I have had about a month to get the whole thing set up I have;

4 horses (although one of them is still in Ireland!)
A riding centre with 8 boxes and 200 hectacres
1 fenced in paddock (hey, it was the first fence I built, and it works!)
3 sets of tack
A rather groovy website
A cute logo
A place to live (nearly forgot about that one!)
A few advertisements

What's left to do?
Bring over 2 of my horses
Buy a car (really difficult when you have zero cash!)
Make some more paddocks
Move there! (even more difficult without said car OR cash)
Get some customers!!

And that's the thing right there isn't it? You could have the riding centre of the gods, with unicorns to ride and an arena made of gold dust but unless you get people in riding there isn't much point is there? I think I have a good business model, nice horses in the most beautiful place I have ever seen, I am a good teacher, my partner an amazing chef, the accommodation incredible, the pool just wow, more facilities than you could shake twenty sticks at, but after two weeks online not a single enquiry. And that really makes me sad. And incredibly nervous.

So if you are reading this and you feel like making your opinion known you could do a very nervous lady a huge service by checking out her horse riding centre in Tuscany (ok, you can do it online, unless you happen to be in the area of course!) and leaving some comments below. Grazie!

Welcome!

Welcome to La Fiaba, the fairytale horse riding holiday experience in Tuscany.

We have created this blog in order to share with you our ideas of horsemanship and horse care, to give you more of an idea how is life on horseback in Tuscany, and to update you with news from our horse riding centre in Chianti.

Here at La Fiaba we believe in the classical method of horsemanship and we train our horses accordingly. Classical does not mean we are stuck in the past; far from it. A good horseman or woman is always learning, we learn from each horse we ride as much as we learn from new philosophies and scientific understanding. However, the classical method of riding has been around for millenia for a good reason; it works for the horse as much as it works for the rider. It is not a quick fix or a fashion, it is a time honoured method of training horse and rider for life. With a good understanding of these methods and why we use them, new ideas can be incorporated where appropriate.



Classical horsemanship is as valid when riding out as in the school

 
We also asipre to allow our horses the 'Five Freedoms' of animal welfare which are;

• Freedom from hunger and thirst: Our horses always have access to fresh water when stables and when in the field. We construct an individual nutrition plan for each horse which takes into account it's age, height, build and workload and we feed accordingly. We always feed the best quality food possible and try to make sure our horses' diets consist of at least 80% forage (e.g. grass and hay) and they get succulents (e.g. carrots and apples) every day.
• Freedom from discomfort: Our horses are given indoor shelter to protect them from the heat of the sun and the flies in summer, and when turned out in cold or wet weather are given appropriate rugs if needed. Tack is checked daily to ensure it is still fitting correctly and horses are shod when required. If we know that something causes our horses physical or mental pain or distress we avoid this as much as is practical.
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease: Our horses have a wonderful, experienced, qualified vet and farrier. We check our horses every day for any subtle signs of pain, injury or illness. We are qualified in equine first aid.
• Freedom to express normal behaviour: Our horses have access to 200 hectacres of turnout all year round. We try to let them live in small herds when appropriate, but we respect that all horses are individuals and some horses may prefer to be solitary, or just the company of one particular other horse. Our horses are given at least one day off every week (which is more than we get =) ) to allow them to relax and recover from their week of work, and to 'be a horse'.

Our horses are given plenty of time to relax in their fields.

We want our horses to enjoy being with us as much as we enjoy to be with them. Our horse riding holidays are designed with both the horse and rider in mind. For more information regarding our horse riding holidays in Tuscany, our riding lessons, theory lessons or groundwork please contact us or view our website.

Please feel free to add your relevant comments below. Thank you!