Bobby's Ranch

08/29/2024

So often, I hear my students say things like “I can’t.” Or “I’m not capable.” Or “That’s for someone more talented, rich, younger, etc.”

Chin up, Buttercup!

Time to believe in yourself!

The first step to positive thinking is believing in yourself. You have to believe that you can achieve your goals, no matter how difficult they may seem. You are the only way you can even come close. No one is going to come along and do the hard work for you.

First, focus on the good. When you focus on the good things in your life, it will help you to see the world in a more positive light. Make a habit of noticing the good things that happen to you each day, no matter how small they may seem.

Think positively. When you think positively, it will help you to attract positive experiences into your life. Choose to think about the things that you want, not the things that you don't want.

Use mindful meditation to visualize your goals. Take some time each day to visualize your goals. See yourself achieving them in vivid detail. This will help you to stay motivated and focused. You can do this when you first wake up in the morning or right before you go to bed.

Positive thinking is not enough. Start moving. You need to take action towards your goals. Don't wait for things to happen. Make them happen. One step at a time. Chip away at it.

Crap will happen. Don't give up. There will be setbacks along the way. But don't give up on your dreams. Keep believing in yourself and keep taking action.

Practice gratitude and live in the present moment. Don't dwell on the past or worry about the future. Focus on the present moment and enjoy the here and now. You will have more to be grateful for.

I believe in you!

🌻 Cara

📸 Max & Maxwell: Equestrian Photography

08/24/2024

Last day of Summer horsemanship was so much fun! In between their riding they had classes on pressure points, pain mapping, massage/ muscles. Then they broke out the paint and had some fun!

08/22/2024

Last week of Summer horsemanship! Some ponies had their first day of "school" today, new fence lines, beautiful rain on a sunny afternoon and happy ponies! ✨️💕🐴😎

07/04/2024

We might be a little homegrown, but we’re so blessed with our barn family. Happy 4th everyone! 🇺🇸

06/28/2024

This 👏👏

Leadership vs Followership

Leading depends on someone following, and the dynamic of followership perhaps deserves some attention. Horses are prepared to follow any one of the group who set off with conviction. Horses do not respond well to uncertainty.

Three horses are at pasture. One is thirsty and decides to go to the stream for a drink. One of the others notices her leaving and decides to follow. The third spots the other two and follows them. What factor is at work here? Dominance, leadership, or followership? There is no conscious decision to influence the actions of the other two horses. She is motivated by thirst and moves off with conviction. The others are motivated by social behaviour. (followership)

The herd works in this way: if one spots danger, the others will follow the line of attention. It is thus important that we learn to control our reactions, through breathing and relaxation, so that we do not actually make a horse worry about a situation that he was not worried about to begin with.

Horses are prepared to follow any one, horse or human, who acts with conviction. Wavering will put a horse on guard.
A rider communicating uncertainty about going over a jump will find that the horse makes a decision about the best course of action, which may be stopping, rushing over the fence or heading for the gate.

Unfortunately, leadership is often equated with control and dominance – with most methods of horsemanship insisting that control and dominance are absolutely necessary for leadership and a partnership.

I prefer the definition Carolyn Resnick gives – ‘. A leader is someone who makes a request – ask, don’t tell. Leadership is flexible. ‘

06/25/2024

Riding on a loose rein is not a get out of jail free card!

If your hands are fast and sloppy with contact, guess what, they’re still fast and sloppy on a loose rein. And that feel is still transmitted to the horse, creating a braced back and restricted ribs and shoulders.

Quite often riders are afraid of contact because they worry about pulling. This is admirable; and completely understandable. But the reality is, your hand actually begins at your waist! And just avoiding contact altogether doesn’t solve a rigid back, tight hips or gripping legs- which all affect your hands and how they’re received by the horse.

Learning to ride with subtle, elastic and comforting contact in my opinion is an essential skill - even if you don’t plan to ride “on contact” or on the bit, at some point you’ll likely have to pick up your reins to do something - and to a horse, going from totally loose to a too quick jerk on the reins, followed by a big, sloppy release can sometimes feel more offensive than steady pulling.

To use your hands well, you have to learn a following seat. It means having hands, legs, and hips coordinated in harmony so the feel of your aids isn’t disruptive, abrupt, or confusing. And this means even without a bit, or a bridle.

Don’t forget a horse is so sensitive they can feel a fly land on their skin - so just avoiding the reins completely isn’t fooling the horse at all.

Unfortunately, in riding or in anything, the thing you avoid is the thing you need to work at most. Don’t avoid your hands- learn to slow your pickup, smoothe out your release, and get your body following the body of the horse.

06/16/2024

We had a great group of kids yesterday who did an excellent job handling our snacky pony friends. What a beautiful day!

06/15/2024

As we move into this next week and summer..

The horses health always comes first, it's always best to schedule rides the first half of the day when temps rise! If humidity becomes a factor earlier than afternoon our horses don't work. We always try to accommodate the best we can, but they always come first 🦄💦

06/13/2024

Babies in the barn! The barn swallow eggs are hatching and we’ll spend a few short weeks being entertained by their busy activity.

06/09/2024

12/03/2023

Horses are amazing, They do so much for "us"! This is why it's so important to provide the best life you can for them and ALWAYS listen to them ❤️

12/03/2023

It’s strong to be soft. It’s brave to be gentle.

So often in the horse world, riders are ridiculed for not wanting to be “tough” on their horses, for not wanting to physically punish or get loud or “show the horse whose boss”

They’re told they’re snowflakes, they’re told they’re weak…

When in actuality, standing up to a culture that normalizes varying degrees of toxicity and abusive behaviour is one of the bravest things you can do…

Especially when you’ve learned to expect a negative response from people for doing so.

Standing up and advocating for the horse even in the face of being alienated from your peers is courageous.

It can be a lonely place to be and the isolation that may come with it is a deterrent for most… so being willing to push through that discomfort and maintain your gentle self is so exceptionally brave.

The harshness we normalize in horse training inevitably comes out in human relationships as well.

Healing our relationship with horses and altering how we handle them will in turn repair some of the harmful human interactions we have.

So, keep on being brave.

There is no shame in being “too” empathetic or “too” gentle because a lot less mistakes and regrets will come out of this than being too callous or too harsh.

Maintain your gentle nature and allow that to heal others.

Being gentle is being brave. Being kind is being strong. Maintaining your empathy and morals is having courage.

Don’t let people tell you otherwise.

12/02/2023

"Am I a good rider?" she asked, pensively, sat upon her 14.2 cob, covered in poo stains that she couldn’t quite get out before her lesson, that she had persuaded her mum to buy a year ago for just £400 as he wasn’t wanted any more.

"Why do you ask that?" her instructor replied, for she knew how this young girl felt - her eyes often lingered somewhere in between her horse's ears or the other side of the school when teaching.

"Because I want to be one."

Her instructor pondered on this for a good few minutes, whilst reassuring the nervous cob in front, and then said:
"A good rider is not someone who buys flashy horses and competes every Saturday and makes it to the top within a year.
A good rider is not someone who jumps the highest jumps or owns the fastest horse.
A good rider isn’t made just because they’ve been riding since they were 3.
A good rider is not someone who can move their forward horse forward...

No..........

A good rider is that pony clubber you see fall off every time she gets on something new, yet still gets back on with a smile on her face.
A good rider is that girl who cries in the tack room because of how her horse behaved and how hard it’s been to cope watching everyone else be successful, but to her it seems like she is the only one failing, yet still rewards her horse with a treat and a smile because at least he was better than last time.
A good rider is the boy with the angel horse, yet doesn’t claim any of its successes for himself. 'It was all him,' he would say, 'I just sat to it.’
A good rider listens.
A good rider is soft.
A good rider makes sure the horse is always happy,
As a matter of fact, a good rider often has nothing to do with the riding.
If you love it, and you try, and you try again, even when you fall off and it was your fault, even when people point because your seat isn’t quite as deep as they’d prefer, if you never give up, that’s what makes a good rider."

by Daisy Henderson

12/01/2023

Things are a little slow during the week this time of year. If there's one thing we're thankful for it's soft ground where most is frozen, for the ponies to let loose! ✨️🤠

Volume up if you've never heard the sound of 25 horses racing through a field! It never gets old! You can literally feel it 💕

11/26/2023

Hi friends! We've had quite a few phone calls regarding if we are still taking rides out.
Yes we are!! We ride year round so long as the trail conditions are safe! Dress according to the weather and you'll be good! We like to say dress as if you're going snow tubing! Remember the gloves, jackets, warm pants, boots, and as we get more into winter hot hands work great too!! 🐎🤠

11/12/2023

Blessed with some great riding weather again this weekend!

11/11/2023

Happy Veteran’s Day to all Veterans from everyone at Bobby’s Ranch! Thank you for your service and sacrifices!

11/05/2023

With the time change, we say goodbye to our 3:30 ride slot. It will return in spring.

11/02/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=548512223965220&id=100064193407788

11/02/2023

THE DREAM THAT MANY WILL NOT UNDERSTAND:
My horse is my personal dream.
One day when I am very old and when I can not walk anymore, it will be in my heart as a trophy of my memories.
I met people who taught me something and have the same spirit and I met others that I'm glad I forgot.
I got wet,
I felt cold,
And I felt warm,
I was afraid,
I fell,
And I stood up,
I even hurt myself, I have been broken,
But also, I laughed out loud inside .
I spoke a thousand times with myself.
I sang and shouted with joy like a madman,
And yes ... sometimes I cried.
I have seen wonderful places and lived unforgettable experiences.
I often made unplanned jumps that even Oliver Skeete would be proud of; other times I made jumps full of terror.
I stopped a thousand times to see a landscape.
I spoke with perfect strangers, and I forgot people I see every day.
I went out with my demons inside and returned home with a feeling of absolute peace in my heart.
I always thought how dangerous it is, knowing that the meaning of courage is to advance even feeling fear.
Every time I go up to my horse I think about how wonderful she is.
I stopped talking about it to those who do not understand, and I learned to communicate with other riders.
I have met some amazing people I now call friends because of my horse.
I spent money that I did not have, giving up many things, but all these things are not worth even one special moment with my horse.
He is not a means of transport or a piece of iron with wheels, it is the lost part of my soul and my spirit.
And when someone says to me: "You have to sell the horse and you have to be a more sensible", ... I do not answer. I just swing my head and smile,
A horse..... only the person who loves them understands it.
May God bless my friends and all their horses...
And the adventure continues. .

11/02/2023

One of our herds living their best life ✨️.

Why do we feel so entitled to having animals that we view it as acceptable to deprive them of basic needs just because we really want to have them?

This is so often an excuse on my posts discussing the necessity of turnout and socialization for horses.

“Not everyone can provide that, you’re being mean for saying they shouldn’t have horses!”

If you cannot provide some of the most crucial and essential needs of an animal you want to have in your life, do you really think it is ethical to have that animal?

Having a horse is a privilege, not a right. Wanting a horse very badly doesn’t cancel out the fact that it is not fair to keep a large social farm animal in isolation and confined space for the vast majority of its day.

The fact that it isn’t an uncommon trend for horse people to not only argue their right to have a horse, despite neglecting basic needs, but to also expect others not to breathe a word on the damage this can cause to welfare is a problem.

There is always going to be room for improvement for horse welfare, even in urbanized areas that have unique complications.

But, that improvement can never come if we deflect and deny the issue and give into the apathetic assumption that there is no better option.

The answer is NOT just continuing to perpetually deny horses of basic needs and continue building facilities that guarantee the occurrence of this due to being poorly set up for horses.
🦄

10/29/2023

Typical weekend here in New England. One great day and one lousy day. Yesterday sure was amazing! We had the pleasure of riding with some amazing people on an almost perfect day and the ranch fam celebrated Halloween! What a day!!

10/27/2023

The fun has begun here at the ranch! Just wishing it wasn't so darn warm! The horses will be closely monitored going through today and tomorrow with this crazy weather!

10/24/2023

Hold on to to your dreams and your passion ✨️

The things you are passionate about are not random.

They are your calling.

Photo by Valeriya Zanoska

10/24/2023

Getting excited to see what this Halloween looks like here on the ranch! We'll be celebrating the 28th and 29th!

10/22/2023

The main herd enjoying some field time on this rainy day

10/22/2023

The borders were in the barn for the total of 2 hrs and they were acting as if they were in all night 🤣 living their best life ✨️

10/22/2023

Tis the season for catching up on projects!

10/21/2023

10/13/2023

The woods are still so beautiful! We've been blessed with a dry week and what lookes like a dry weekend for once! There are still a few openings for trailriding Sunday afternoon! 🐎🤠 you can book online http://bobbysranch.com/
Or call after 8 am
978-263-7165