Maple Row Stables, LLC

08/09/2024

The next sessions starts 8/26!
We have a few afternoon times available and flexible Monday openings!
Wednesday at 4
Thursday at 3

Remember we can flex the days a little during the session since we totally understand how crazy life is 🧡

08/02/2024

We have a few lesson spots available for either ad hoc or whole sessions! Beginner adults and children welcome!

Sessions are 5 weeks long and offer a great way to dip your toe in the horse world!

Our emphasis is on horsemanship and creating a partnership with your horse.

Located in Brattleboro!
Message us for more information!

07/30/2024

Unexpected board spot opening up in August.

If you are looking for a quiet place to enjoy your horse then reach out!
Excellent care in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere.

Located in theBrattleboro area.

Please DM me directly for more information or questions.

06/28/2024

Golden summer vibes ☀️

06/19/2024

A few lessons spots open for the next two weeks!
Wednesday at 3pm and Thursday at 3 and 4
Message me for details!

06/19/2024

If anyone gets bored tomorrow afternoon and wants to unload hay… that’s what we’ll be doing 😊

06/08/2024

We have 4 weeks of ad-hoc lessons, starting 6/10 then the next scheduled 5 weeks session starts 7/15.

Session price per lesson is extended to all current students for these 4 weeks.

Message Emily with your interest for the open times available 🧡

06/07/2024

Hey local horse friends!
I am in need of someone reliable and horse experienced to cover a few days of barn chores so we can take a vacation here and there!

I can pay or offer lessons 😊 send me your go to helpers who want to earn some extra 💵

04/21/2024

The next lesson session begins 5/6!
I have several weekday afternoon times and several Saturday times available!

Brattleboro,VT

If you are interested in upping your horsemanship game or new to horses and want to discover the power of an equine relationship, reach out now!

04/03/2024

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽!
Running low on time?
Weather sucks?
Not motivated to clean the saddle area on your muddy horse?
Having a terrible day emotionally?

It’s perfectly fine to lower your expectations or to change your goals for the day but STILL SHOW UP!!!

Yesterday the wind was howling, and the rain was running off the indoor roof and making enough commotion that I knew it would bother this horse. If I had more time I could have worked her through it and still rode, but I didn’t have time for that. It would have been easy to bag completely, but I’ve done that too many times with this horse already!!

I ended up having a fantastic and much-needed ground session (which I might do a more specific post on) 
If you want to ever be able to ride your horse during less than ideal conditions, then you can’t totally bag when there is less than ideal conditions!!!! Maybe you still ride but you don’t canter, or maybe you avoid the scary end of the arena. Maybe you just do ground work. But show up. 

03/30/2024

What does it take to make a happy horse?
In a nutshell, a humans willingness to perceive the truth over their own feelings, to keep their mind open, and to work endlessly on themselves.

I could say it takes good forage, and a herd, and movement and all that, which is true- but that becomes entangled in the first bit.

Having good feed requires a human to learn exactly what kind of feed a horse needs, and to let go of old standing notions that don’t do a horse much good. This means having the backbone to go against what friends, family, the barn owner, whatever, are saying. Or learning to do research well, and not get tangled into advertising, ending up with 100 supplements. To not get emotionally wrapped up in trying to “buy love” with food, and get in the end an overfed, under nourished horse.

Being out in a herd is a doozy, because it requires many to let go of worry- worry that the horse will become hurt by other horses or by moving in the pasture like a horse will. Or worry of loss of control. Or losing “emotional closeness” with the horse, where a horse in a happy, functional herd, loses interest in coming out to the human who before was their only companion. It requires the human to let go of pride, worry, and ego, all in one swoop.

Movement is the biggest trigger of them all-
A scared horse needs to move, but a scared horse is usually attached to a scared person trying to restrict movement. You can see all that working on fear might bring up, but usually human fear trumps horse fear, and becomes the center of focus. It’s a rare human who can and will work on themselves and their fear to a point where they can actually support the horse.

So there you have it- forage, friends, and movement are all a horse needs- and yet, you can see how much they need us to change to give these three very simple needs: a tireless and unending devotion to working on our own weaknesses and shortcomings

03/05/2024

Myley would like everyone to know that the next sessions starts Monday, March 18th!
Contact Emily for scheduling!

02/12/2024

01/31/2024

There are a few lesson spots available for the next session starting 2/5!
Five week sessions, same day and time each week.
Current openings are:
Thursday at 3:30pm
Saturday at 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

PM us or text Emily for details!

01/04/2024

12/30/2023

Whale 🐳 butts !

Small wins and whale butts

I find my adult students come in two distinct types…
1.) those who celebrate small wins, and
2.) those who constantly say, “Well yeah, BUT….” every freaking time I point out any progress or anything that’s going well. “Well, yeah, Buuuuut,…” is a mouthful, so I’ll call those “Whale Butts”.

Lisé is the epitome of celebrating Small Wins. I mean really small- if she went 1/4 of a circle further than last time, she celebrates it!!!!
I used to actually get secretly annoyed that the wins were Sooooooo tiny- like, come on, ask for a little more! lol. But here’s the thing, because she celebrates those tiny minuscule wins, she can get them easily and she’s practically addicted to them. She sees every ride as a success, so why wouldn’t she want to come back and do it again, and again, and again? Now she is at the point that every single barn day she will manufacturer some small win. Sometimes that means she hops on any other horse any chance she gets. Maybe it means she rides outside the arena and simply goes a different place than she did before, or includes some trot this time. It means she keeps track of exactly how long she was able to hold a soft feel in the canter, and therefore knows exactly how long she has to hold it to make an improvement today. That girl is always smiling, and even if it’s tiny, every day she makes an improvement in her riding- AND IT ADDS UP!!!!

So what about us whale butts? If I tell a Whale butt rider, “Hey, you rode some really accurate circles today,” the response is going to be, “well yeah, but my seat was a mess!”
“well yeah, but I didn’t have him on the aids!”
“well yeah, but it’s only taken me 6 years to figure it out!”
Why would a whale butt rider want to try something new? In their mind it’s going to be a potential failure instead of a definite win. If a small win rider does something new, that is already a win!! If they have absolutely any success whatsoever, they see that as an additional small win and now have a tale to tell! For the whale butt rider if any little part goes wrong, the whole thing was a failure.
Stop whale butting!!

12/19/2023

Hello Barn family!

The next 5 week lesson schedule begins on January 1st!

Please let me know if you want to keep or change your day/time!

I’ll send out calendar reminders soon!

New students! We have a few spots open! Take advantage of these spaces now to keep a spot for the warmer months!

12/15/2023

I taught a wonderful lesson today. My student walked around on a pony. We stood still for a long time. We talked, a lot. And there were tears. Hers and mine. We walked some more and she closed her eyes. She focused and visualized her hips moving with the ponies hips. She breathed. And breathed some more. She played and experimented with slowing her movement and how her body tried to brace when she tried to balance and work. She cried some more.

And then some magic happened. She found the right language to speak to the pony. She slowed his walk and asked him to halt. With breath and focus, she communicated her wishes to this sentient being and he responded with a happy “ok”.
Her smile was brief and enthusiastic and it was awesome.

We talked some more. We talked about how it’s incredibly difficult to push through fear and imbalances to learn something new.
How terrifying it can be to realize you’ve been in a state of tension for so long that you don’t know how to come out of it.
How frustrating it can be to realize you could have been taught this years before, if you had only known!

Learning something new is difficult. Unlearning something old is even more so. The bravery it takes to step into that discomfort each week and know that you will fight those battles is epic.

Do not belittle your bravery. Do not shame yourself for having a hard time with a new level of accomplishment. You are a bad ass. You are a student. You are a warrior. You are incredible.

I taught an amazing lesson today.
I hope I get to teach another one like this again soon.

12/13/2023

Gift certificates make a great stocking stuffers!!!

Purchase a gift certificate for your friends or family who have always wanted to try riding!

Lots of options 🧡 please message me details
🎄🎅🏻🎁

12/11/2023

Our Christmas barn party was so much fun. Lots of fun crafting and yummy pie. Thanks for making it special everyone!

12/05/2023

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!
It was a great day! I took the day off work, spent time with my horses, worked on my business and had a wonderful dinner with family!
I feel very grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life. 🧡🧡🧡

12/03/2023

Hey Barn Family!!

Our group barn activity is stall sign painting and stall decorating this coming Saturday, 12/9 from 2-4pm!

Cider and sweet’s provided!
Please RSVP to Emily directly 😁

11/26/2023

I have a few spots available for a “work to ride” situation!
Help with stalls and get a lesson.
Please pm me if you are interested!

11/24/2023

Good morning everyone!
Please remember to let me know if you plan to ride through the winter!

Sessions will still be happening(shorter between the holidays).

I’m building the winter schedule now!

Friendly reminder that horsemanship occurs 99% of the time OUT of the saddle- so ground work and barn/horse management lessons are a staple in your/your child’s education.

We continue to learn on cold and wet days!
We will cancel lessons based on road conditions and if the school systems cancel- Those cancelled lessons must be made up in the makeup week during that session.

We have so many fun activities to do inside with our four legged friends!

A few Saturday spaces remain open for any new students interested in joining our barn family!