Forward Farm South

11/30/2023

Being able to do nightly checks on the farm without having to drive to the campus has been such a sweet change. Being able to enjoy the quiet and stillness of the farm at night, hopping outside to love on sleepy darlings, check blankets and back to my warm bed in less than 20 min! How I did it the other way for every winter since 2008 I’ll never know!

11/29/2023

Resilience

Growing up I had this sense of “notches” - like a scale, there were only so many “dings” against perfection one could afford. As if each mistake or blunder in life counted against the overall sum of good, and the more they stacked up, the more perilously close one came to being an overall failure.

I’ve come to learn over time that the mistake itself is not actually that important - that the fear of making a mistake is far more dangerous usually than the mistake itself.

I’ve come to understand that the ability to recover, to regroup, is far more important, and maybe - the only thing that really matters.

Resilience is the ability to adapt, to bounce back from - an elasticity from being stretched past a limit without falling apart. Like clay, it only becomes soft by being worked. The only way to shape it is to create external pressures enough to warm it, smooth it, and make it malleable. Any misshaping of clay is smoothed out with ease through more working of its surfaces.

I’ve come to believe it really doesn’t matter how many twists and turns ones path makes, as long as the focus is on regrouping - and maybe the ability to regroup from a mess is really the most important part of all.

11/29/2023

It’s important to know the “why”

11/29/2023

Being patted is not in a horse's ethogram. This means that they are never patted (let alone repeatedly slapped) in their natural environment.

Wither area scratching and rubbing mimics mutual grooming, and is inherently rewarding for a horse, so choose a reward that is instantly lovely for your horse.

If you watch their demeanour as you do it, you'll see them relax into it.

So good to see that the Australian Pony Club is embracing lesrning theory into their teaching.

Now everyone else needs to catch up!

One interesting point raised from a commenter is that she desensitises her horses to patting, in case a well-meaning person approached and pats them. Good point!

11/29/2023

I Love ❤️ My Chickens!

11/29/2023

Late afternoon stroll to check the Winter pasture with Buckshot! We are excited to be home with our horses this Winter. I am enjoying checking blankets and hopping back in my own bed! We have always lived 10-15 min away from the center and spent many nights driving out for late night checks.

11/28/2023

Being a teenager is really hard these days. I have throughout the years been inspired by so many of my riders to write a program based on their stressful lives where they can feel loved, begin to learn and grow through their equine partnerships. Becoming responsible, demonstrating strong leadership and self-awareness, they can transfer many of their horsemanship skills into daily relationships. Open to ages 12 and up we can't wait to share more about this new program in the coming weeks, 2024 we “Change Rein”

11/27/2023

11/27/2023

Just like Papa Nick had Tom Turkey, Pride has a flock of feathered friends that do not fear him! We gotta start thinking of names for these chickens!

11/25/2023

Decorated for Christmas today!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

11/23/2023

A word of encouragement to the adaptive riding barns and programs that feel "too small" to make a big difference.....

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that BIG BARN (and an assumed big budget) = BIG IMPACT and small barn = small impact. BOTH large and small barns and programs have the potential to have a little or a lot of impact.

Check out this blog that has tips links to help YOU make a BIG Impact no matter the size of barn or program at which you work.

https://hooffallsandfootfalls.com/small-barns-can-make-a-big-impact/

🐎🐎🐎
Check out HoofFallsandFootfalls.com for more education, tips, and resources created specifically for instructors and professionals in the Equine Services Industry (formerly Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies).
🐎🐎🐎
Want access to hours of online, on-demand educational videos that count towards CEUs for multiple certifying organizations? IntuitiveInstructorClub.com has you covered!

11/21/2023

2018 Ball field memories from Thanksgiving Camps past!

11/18/2023

Worked 3 horses on this gorgeous day!

11/17/2023

“You need to hear this loud and clear: no one is coming. It’s up to you.” | Mel Robbins

I already have my goals mapped out for the next year. Do you?

Here’s the secret because no one, truly, is coming: go for it. Whatever it is that you’ve been dreaming about. Make. 👏It. 👏Happen.👏 Life is too freaking short. And no one who is TRULY in their own lane will be a neigh-sayer in your life. When you’re at peace, you lift others up. Those people you’re worried about talking bad about you or discouraging you, you’ve already passed them up. Don’t let go of YOUR dream because of other people, the time it will take or the work involved. Don’t get to the end of your life and say, “I wish I had…”

🌻 Cara

📸 Claudia Harris

11/17/2023

Good morning from Forward South! Happy Friday!!

11/17/2023

There should NOT be 2-3+ wrinkles nor should their be a gap between the corner of the horses lips and the bit.

The snaffle should sit comfortably in the corner of the horses mouth.

An IMPROPER adjusted bit will not only cause communication problems buts it can also cause the horse to hold extra tension/tightness throughout their body, be less focused, be more dull/less responsive to important requests you make of them and overall slow down the progress you seek for both you and your horse.

Saying ‘well we’ve always put the bit with 2 wrinkles’ doesn’t mean you should keep doing it.

This is a simple yet extremely important detail to make sure is taken care of.

If your headstall doesn’t allow you to adjust the bit where it needs to be, punch an extra hole in it so you can!

A bit just like a spur or a crop- is an AID.
However if the way you adjust it is causing more tension, a lack of responsiveness, a lack of focus- it is NOT an aid, it’s a hinderance.

-Colton Woods

11/17/2023

Truth!

11/17/2023

Nada! Getting ready to usher in 50 next year!

"She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings."

11/16/2023

Walker Peeps!

Camp is coming up quickly! Get those kiddos signed up!

https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLW9DE9RNFSEB/checkout/MIBAI5MOTLRZFIQOV2BLLYBC?src=sheet&fbclid=IwAR3puj6RE0cRoIZgzck-OiVHrl8oiBTFEZ82LN5CyF5Guc3xyJIPVCxtvmA_aem_AZEOZKJPzN-Pt6kxDN8ZKySB4uJpxIq-GTkv_jd-mNNGg-bnnFT6t97QS31xBImAGew

11/16/2023

Its what everyone has been waiting on! Another Clinic from me!

Wanting to advance your knowledge in how the horse and rider balance together under saddle and on the ground? Then join me for this fun clinic. We will be going over biomechanics of the horse and rider under saddle and on the ground. Learn to further advance your seat, receive a workout sheet that caters to the rider, and learn how a horse actually functions under saddle. This clinic will be based on training the owners eye to see when a horse is off balanced, or not preforming correctly under saddle. With advanced rider education in physical health and exercise.

To purchase tickets, scan the QR code located at the bottom of the flyer. Please note it is $40 per horse brought to the clinic.

11/11/2023

Chickens have started to venture out into the pasture with the senior herd. Happy to see our little farm family get along.

11/07/2023

Same could be said for raising children.

We are singly focused on the intersection of equine wellness and training.

11/05/2023

Our oldest Son, Go Blazers!

11/05/2023

Our youngest son, Roll Tide!

11/03/2023

Forward Farm South is settling in for a cozy Winter of work, rest and repair. We will be hosting a small group riding camp over Christmas break at our new location in South Alabama along with several events throughout the year for beginner youth horsemanship. If interested, message [email protected] for details. Our 80 yr old generational farm is in the very primitive stages of becoming a full grown, thriving equine permaculture where we hope to eventually grow beautiful flowers and Miss Melissa Pickle’s. We love taking photos! Family and Portrait photography opportunities during peak season will be offered as our sunrises and sunsets provide the perfect backdrops with our laid back horses. Just 10 min off the beach road and your little one can enjoy a visit with our retired lesson herd in Summer of 2024. An Equine Artist retreat is being planned ladies, for 2024! Stay tuned as our page experiences changes and keep moving Forward with us at the Gipson Family Farm. Events are exclusively limited and we will not be open to the general public.

10/31/2023

Enjoy memories from our 2017 and 2020 Spooktacular horse shows! We had some great costumes throughout the years!

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween 🎃 from our farm to yours!

10/30/2023

Lucky to get to 60 tomorrow down here.

10/30/2023

Come in cold front, we are ready for ya!

10/30/2023

Lungs… you need your Gut and your lungs when your heart and brain are working it all out.

My brain and heart divorced
a decade ago over who was
to blame about how big of a mess
I have become.
Eventually, they couldn't be
in the same room with each other.

Now my head and heart
share custody of me.
I stay with my brain during the week
and my heart gets me on weekends.

They never speak to one another
- instead, they give me
the same note to pass
to each other every week
and their notes they send to one another always says the same thing:

"This is all your fault"

On Sundays my heart complains
about how my head has let me down
in the past.

On Wednesday my head lists all
of the times my heart has screwed
things up for me in the future

They blame each
other for the state of my life

There’s been a lot of yelling - and crying

so, lately, I've been spending a lot of
time with my gut who serves as my
unofficial therapist.

Most nights, I sneak out of the
window in my ribcage
and slide down my spine
and collapse on my
gut's plush leather chair
that's always open for me

~ and I just sit, sit, sit, sit
until the sun comes up

last evening,
my gut asked me if I was having a hard
time being caught between my heart
and my head

I nodded

I said I didn't know if I could live with
either of them anymore

"My heart is always sad about
something that happened yesterday
while my head is always worried
about something that may happen tomorrow,"
I lamented

My gut squeezed my hand

"I just can't live with
my mistakes of the past
or my anxiety about the future,"
I sighed.

My gut smiled and said:

"In that case,
you should go stay with your lungs for a while,"

I was confused
- the look on my face gave it away

"If you are exhausted about
your heart's obsession with the fixed past and your mind's focus on the uncertain future
your lungs are the perfect place for you,

there is no yesterday in your lungs
there is no tomorrow there either

there is only now
there is only inhale
there is only exhale
there is only this moment
there is only breath

and in that breath
you can rest while your
heart and head work
their relationship out."

This morning, while my brain was busy reading
tea leaves
and while my heart was staring at old photographs

I packed a little bag and walked
to the door of my lungs

Before I could even knock
she opened the door with a smile
and as a gust of air embraced me
she said

"What took you so long?"

~ John Roedel

10/29/2023

My Cricket girl, always within 10 feet for the last 10 years.

10/27/2023

Pedicure day at the Forward South ranchette, we are appreciative of Rollo Farrier Service and the care and attention the fellas give these old retired service guys.