Dun Buckin' Ranch

What better way to start “No stirrup November” than with riding bareback! Today we working on balance, body control and confidence in not relying on saddles or even reins while riding. Walking through the steps of starting at the walk, then to sitting trot and even posting trot. Then ended with dropping the reins for full body balance. These all help to build communication, confidence and trust between horse and rider.#nostirrupnovember #bareback #quarterhorse #gelding #bayhorse #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #horsehumanconnection #dunbuckinranch #horse

Do we give up too soon? On ourselves? On others? On our horses? Do we try to rush the results to fit someone else's idea of time or expectations? That could have easily happened with this team. Sweet Jack was Micah's first horse. At the time he came home to her most would have said he wasn't the "right" horse for her. He was over sensitive, super reactive, scared of anything new (even a new grooming brush). He hard zero confidence. Even though he was "broke to ride" he was not ready to be ridden. Through a series of events Micah had lost some of her confidence riding as well. So putting the two of them together riding would not make for a good outcome. So we took it slow. Went back to the basics for both. Micah learned how to work and train Jack. As well, she put in the time with him between lessons. At the same time she kept taking lessons on other horses, as we worked to build back her confidence and skills. Now, nine months later and their 3rd ride off lead after being in training with DBR, here we are... A partnership has been formed, trust has been made, and the results are beautiful. Jack is now willing and controlled, a happier horse with more confidence. Micah is more skills, knows how to control her nerves and has the confidence to lead her horse. There is still much more work to be done. But, if we would have rushed the horse and rushed the human, neither one would be where they are at today. A young girls first horse, that so easily could have been given up on and tossed on to the next person. Is now a source of joy, pride and accomplishment. They now have a partnership that will bring many future adventures and memories together. What are you given up on? What are you rushing, that might simply need more time? #dunbuckinranch #ilovemyriders #palomino #agirlandherhorse #horse #ridinglessons #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #buildingconfidenthorses #takethetime #dontrush #learningtogether #letsride #confidence #partnership #letsride #horsesofinsta

So very proud of both these ladies and their horses. Just a little bit ago they were both nervous and scared to lope their horse on a loose rein just in the arena. Last Sunday we took our horses to a beach trip and were able to conquer so many fears and hurdles. Here they are now galloping on the beach, holding their two-point (standing in the stirrups), with hands forward and moving in rhythm with their horses. Once they felt the proper way to ride the gallop and choose to push through their fears, Ashley and Nicole were unstoppable and their horses so happy to move freely. Both of these horses came out of an auction and are living their best life! It brings me so much joy to see this process take place and see a new person form from the relationship with a horse. #dunbuckinranch #horsefriends #horselover #horse #horsesaremyhappyplace #beyondthecomfortzone #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #buildingconfidenthorses #beachride #letsride #learningtogether #learningnewthings #ilovemyriders #rescuehorse #growth #faithoverfear #overcomer All Seated in a Barn

So proud of this young lady. When she first started taking lessons she excelled quickly and had a passion for horses. But then, like with most of us, she got a little nervous and lost some confidence when moving up into faster gates or if a horse got a little stubborn. She never lost her passion for horses and we just kept pushing through those moments of fear or doubt. Over the past couple months she has really blossomed. Her confidence started to come back. We did bareback lessons to work on balance. We started loosening the reins so to not have them be "handles" for balance but tools to guide the horse. We worked on body control and riding with our body not just our hands. We started to learn to ride the lope on the lounge line to get rhythm and feeling. We worked on mindset and postive thinking to build leadership. We worked on all these things and more to build confidence and to have better horsemanship. Yesterday, Janae not only loped but did it well. She was calm and controlled. She had rhythm and balance. She rode with her body not just her hands and reins. She was in such good rhythm with her horse that she had smooth upward and downward transitions. She even got on the correct posting diagonal when slowing down from the lope into the extended trot. I am so proud of all the hard work she has put in, for not giving up and for facing her fears! There is always more to learn and I can't wait to see how much more she grows! #dunbuckinranch #horsesaremyhappyplace #horselovers #ilovemyriders #alwaysimproving #facingfears #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #learningnewthings #horse #proudinstructor #nevergiveup

Had a blast during tonight's spontaneous ride with @ashleyihernandez_ Ashley is building her confidence. She has come leaps and bonds from her first lesson. It is so fun to watch her be brave and overcome her fears while learning new things. Today, it was working on the posting trot, we will work on the correct diagonals later.. But when it starts to click and you feel the rhythm of your horse and the freedom of movement it is a beautiful thing. Just look at that smile! It says it all! #dunbuckinranch #horse #ilovemyriders #horsefriends #letsride #learningtogether #learningnewthings #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #joy #smile #cherishthemoments #alwaysimproving #overcomer

Tango and Brig

The horse connection... It's a beautiful thing when a horse chooses to connect up with you. When they willing follow and join to you. They could easily go the other way yet they feel drawn to your presence, your leadership, your safety. Today, this young man worked with Tango. Learning how to catch a horse in a large open area. Along with how to approach and retreat in order to build a connection with Tango. Where Tango would be willing follow him without a halter and lead rope on. This takes time, patience, emotional control, and an awareness of our body language. It is truly a special moment when that horse and human connection start to happen. #dunbuckinranch #mustang #horsesaremyhappyplace #horse #connection #horseconnection #buildingconfidencethroughhorses #buildingconfidenthorses #learningtogether #learningnewthings #ilovemyriders #ilovemyherd #groundwork

Cookie following the leader

After a great ride Cookie and I cooled down with a little "follow the leader." It has taken some time but this week it seemed all the training on Cookie is starting to click. She is starting to understand and getting move comfortable under saddle. We don't know much of Cookie's background or training. It seems she didn't have a good foundation, if any at all and some different types of training done with her. It has taking a lot to start to rebuild her foundation and retrain/untrained the things that had been instilled in her before. This week she started to actually Carrier herself in the trot confidently and on a loose rein. She started responding well to leg pressure, so much so that we were able to maintain circles and turns with no reins and only leg cues. And then there was the lope. That was the big milestone today! She loped out calmly without trying to go into a fancy dance or a huge stiff rocking horse movement or trying to take off or her favoritea quick spin to a stop to try to get out of it. But to she actually relaxed in her trot and transitioned into a relaxed loose rein lope. We are still working on picking up the correct leads but we will get there. Horses are like people, they all learn at their own pace. Sometimes we just have to be patient and wait for it to clink. Then the learning will start to really progress. It is fun to be a part of these moments. This is why I love working with horses. **It is important to understand that though Cookie has come so far, she is still not ready for a beginner rider. Often we see progress and see a trainer riding the horse as it looks like everything is going great. Then we push the horse onto a novice rider too quickly. In the wrong hands everything could go wrong and a horse that is starting to get a good start could be untrained quickly and learn bad habits before you know it. The horse needs to fully understand all that is being asked and the rider needs to know how to maintain the training that is

It's a beautiful day