Fatbottom Ranch

12/11/2024

Always work hard, even when no one is watching.

12/10/2024

12/06/2024

Scarecrow continues to search for his furever home.

He is shy. But warms up!! New environments are scary but he’s gained a lot of confidence with us.

He walks very well on a leash now, with some slight encouragement.

He is very much a lap dog. Loves people and does okay with dogs/cats ⭐️

Cara-nc.org

12/03/2024

Honoring Our Sweet and Beautiful Echo who we lost tragically last week. She was truly an amazing beautiful soul. ✨🫶🏼🩵🦄

Today is Giving Tuesday, the biggest day of the year, worldwide to donate to worthy causes. Today we celebrate the heart of BHP Events: our equine partners, like Echo, whose gentle spirit brings joy and transformation to so many lives.

At BHP Events nonprofit, our mission is to rescue and rehabilitate equines, provide education and outreach, and share unforgettable performances with our community. We strive to create a space for healing, connection, and empowerment through equestrian experiences.

Your support today helps us continue to care for our beloved horses and offer opportunities for children and families to learn, grow, and thrive.

🌟 Please consider making a donation in honor of Echo and all the lives touched by our equine family. Every contribution makes a difference.

Donation Link:

https://square.link/u/lZjhYx9P (https://square.link/u/lZjhYx9P)

We also accept Venmo

Your donations are also tax deductible 🫶🏼

Thank you for helping us keep this mission alive. Together, we can ensure a brighter future for our horses and the community they inspire.

11/27/2024

“Light hands make a light horse”

This phrase is something you’ll see thousands of times over and over again in training discussions. I’m not entirely sure where this statement came from, I’m sure it was a professional compressing a whole process into one vague statement to get a point across. That point being “stop ripping on your horse 24/7” and not “be light 100% of the time”. Since then it’s been used by uneducated riders over and over again not understanding it’s a vague statement and believe it to be everything you need to know in 6 simple words to create a responsible horse.

The fact of the matter it’s not as simple as this. Not as simple as having light hands. You have to train a horse to be light and if you are 100% light 100% of the time either it will take you 10 years to get a horse to be light or they will never get there. If you go and work a horse and ask them to back up with couple ounces of pressure on a horse that doesn’t understand pressure how long will it take for that horse to take a step back and what is the likelihood of that step being the direct result of the pressure? It would take forever and the horse most likely would be moving its feet out of impatience not the pressure applied.

It’s time to erase this phrase entirely and rebrand it with this phrase I use “Black and white makes a horse light”. Leave no grey areas in your communication with your horses. Remember when we were kids and you would start getting too rowdy and you got the “look” 😤 from your mom and you immediately ceased all activities? Why was that? Because you KNEW if you didn’t listen to that “look” you were going to receive consequences for your accusations. That’s what I mean by “black and white makes a horse light”. Does this mean you go and rain down punishment on your horse if they don’t listen? Of course not! This just means you are clear on what you ask and show them why they need to listen when you ask.

Furthermore I don’t mean simply give 1oz pressure then immediately 10 lbs of pressure. Adding on I should state that do not do these things in a advanced bit. Do these in a snaffle or bosal hackamore. You don’t want to be doing these with something with a lot of leverage. Fix the foundation don’t patch it. There’s a process to take which is similar to ask, tell, demand but so many people cannot grasp what this means so this is my new method. Apply, pause, reason, release. AGAIN (this is important) APPLY, PAUSE, REASON, RELEASE. Let me explain.

1)Apply: This is basically the same as “ask”. This is the BLACK of this portion. You gather up your reins and APPLY the couple ounces of pressure. Whether this is at a stop, walk, trot etc. This is the LIGHT pressure you’re GOAL to have your horse respond too.

2)Pause: give your horse the OPPORTUNITY to respond. Especially when you are just now using this method. Be patient and allow that horse to think and make the decision to either react or ignore.

3)Reason: This is when you you get WHITE. Black, pause, white. Give your horse a REASON to respond to a couple ounces of pressure and get after them with 10 lbs of pressure. No you don’t need to rub their mouth or face raw this is just seconds of the “demand” until the horse gives correctly. When the horse gives to the hackamore or the bit and slows down or backs then stop.

4)Release: This is crucial with timing. Don’t get greedy. If you’re training your horse to back and keep giving the “reason” with no release after that horse has responded with 2+ steps back you’re not training them anything you’re being greedy and won’t get anywhere. As soon as that horse takes one step back RELEASE.

The time with each of these steps will differ on every horse. Read your horse and train how they need to be now how you want them to be. A green horse that is just now getting their foundation your pause will be longer as they need to be able to think and make that conscious decision to respond or ignore. As they progress and understand your pause will shorten in time because they should know to respond than to ignore. Same with the release. If your horse is progressing you’ll become more demanding. When I ask to back I expect more than just a step I expect them to keep backing until the release or back with more speed.

5):Last, but definitely not least CONSISTENCY! This is so important I can’t stress it enough. Every. Single. Time. You. Are. With. Your. Horse. It does no good if you work with your horse 2-6 days a week with this, the first time you go on a train ride with your friends don’t just throw this all out the window for a good time. Anytime you are around your horses you are training them. Burn that into your brain. Whether you are riding or just feeding you are setting your horse up for success by training them. Get that “I’ll work on it next time” out of your head because it’s that reason right there your horses aren’t progressing. There’s no time like the present.

It’s time to rebrand the “light hands make light horses” BS and start being real horseman. Stop chasing tricks and gimmicks and put the work in that needs to be done. Do the work and get the results it’s as simple as that.

11/27/2024

Upon the hills, beneath the sky so wide,
The horse, our steadfast partner, strides.
With strength that mirrors nature's grace,
It carries the soul of this rural space.

Through fields of gold and morning dew,
It plows the earth, both old and new.
A gallant steed on trails untamed,
Or harnessed for work, its role acclaimed.

Its gentle nicker greets the dawn,
A trusted friend from dusk till yawn.
In quiet barns and pastures green,
The bond between is deeply seen.

For country folk, a treasured art,
The horse remains a beating heart.
A timeless thread, it weaves its course,
Forever loved—the noble horse.

Reshare from stable express

11/23/2024

Nice gelding available!

11/23/2024

Happy Saturday everyone!
What’s your plan for the weekend?

11/06/2024

AVAILABLE HORSES At Valhalla Ranch, we raise and train Gypsy Cobs,  Gypsy crosses and ranch horses. From time to time we may have babies, or mature horses available. You can find them listed on this page. If you would like more information on any of these horses, we would be happy to provide additi...