Guiding Thoughts.....
- "Your horse is the best teacher.
He will shut himself off from you if you listen to teachings other than his.
Learn from the horse."
Rudolf G. Binding - "I will put my all into this and give the best of myself, so that these horses,
with their gentle, kind, sociable nature, will judge well of me..."
Nuno Oliveira - "The best thing I try to do for myself is to try to listen to the horse. I don't mean let him take over. I listen to how he's operating what he's understanding or what he doesn't understand whats bothering him and what's not. I try to feel what the horse is feeling and operate from where the horse is."
Tom Dorrance - Interested in finding out more about developing your relationship with your horse? [click here to read more]
Watching our horses move and play is a most wonderful sight. Their natural ability
to collect their bodies, to perform passage, to hold
a levade and other airs above the ground, to canter
voltes and much more is all done with
a beauty and pride that comes from within. With my
horses help, the intimate connection between the
mind and body started to become more evident to
me. To read the full article [click here]
Dream
You can develop friendship, respect and trust with nearly any horse of any age if you have the right approach and desire. I have found time and time again that there's often an even deeper connection between horse and owner when they have shared time together from birth.
Young foals are also far more dependent and impressionable than mature adult horses. Most do not want to face this brave new world by themselves and are quicker to cling to their kind caretaker, whereas adults can sometimes be more aloof at first and require more time to develop a deeper bond.
If you are looking for a life long friend, maybe it’s time to consider a foal? We often hear people describe problems with their horses. If you purchased your horse as a mature horse, then you probably don’t really know what the first 3-5 years of it’s life were like? It could be possible that the upbringing and approach to the young horse has something to do with the problems now?
"But I don't have enough experience or What do I do for the first 3 years?" I have heard these concerns many times and they are natural concerns. One of the biggest misconceptions in the young horse world is that working with them is difficult and potentially dangerous. Properly done developing a relationship is fun, easy and safe when you put the relationship first. Don't worry if you haven't owned a young horse before. You can enjoy the delights that only a foal can offer with our support and guidance.
Imagine if you were in control of the partnership process of your foal right through to adulthood and beyond! The development both psychologically and physically of your young horse is the key to your successful partnership.
Journey
The best place to start is at the beginning of my journey with Ribbleton, it
starts in 2009, my sister Sammie had lost her dear horse
Billy, he had a special place in our hearts as a family
member, we were absolutely devastated
when we lost him after 23 years! Sammie had found the
Ribbleton’s website and sent it to me and after a years
communication with Paulette, we had
made a decision that we would like to buy a new baby,
the birth experience was important to us for a couple
of reasons, the painful loss of Billy
and also we wanted to have a horse (family member) that
knew us from a baby! So we asked Paulette if it was OK
if we could be there for the birth,
and she was thrilled, we went down to Ribbleton and stayed
with Paulette and Graeme, the way they looked after
us and accepted and guided us through
all the steps of this amazing experience is something
I will never forget.
Whilst we were waiting for the birthing monitor to go off for Ribbleton Ruby, the beautiful mare of our precious baby, there was a very special man called Ribbleton Fenix that was one of the young ones of the special herd, it was a surreal feeling, we were very connected from the moment we met, love at first sight! On the second night at around 10:30pm after dinner the birthing monitor had gone off, Paulette went down very calmly to check on Ruby, she then called us and said "its happening"! I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen, it was just the most amazing moment, watching such a beautiful event of the birth of our baby foal, not knowing if it’s a boy or a girl, the paint work, so exciting but most of all wanting a healthy baby! During the birth, a little someone called Fenix was with me the whole time, with his nose resting on my shoulder. I felt the connection of best friend instantly! It was just meant to be, reeling in the joy of our new baby girl Ribbleton Filladelphia, taking care of the mama Ruby.
What we have learned by partnering up with Ribbleton Stud is one of evolving spiritual enlightenment and just being a better person, with being around these most magnificent horses that Ribbleton have most carefully and lovingly given there all to! xxx PS a recent example in one quote that gives a glimpse of all the wonderful learning we have experienced is by “Michael Bevilacqua” which is “Instinct, to me, now means following that little voice or feeling within our hearts, or taking the time to ponder the look from a horse’s eye” xxxx
Foal
Working with the young horse starts almost as soon as he can stand on his own four feet.
The process is all about gaining trust
through communication and friendship. Your foal will register everything you do, all your body language, even the tone of your voice.
The development and growth of your young horse is an amazing journey to be part of and is a cost effective way to own a top quality
horse. So how can Ribbleton help?
We work closely with each owner to develop a strategy that will work for both their foal and themselves. The skills we teach our
young horses and owners are designed to work towards that ultimate goal of a partnership.
The foal (and it's mother) need an atmosphere of safety and trust. Guaranteeing this kind of space is the first thing we will work on together. Providing this environment will enable us to have healthy communication with the foal and become progressive learners together. We will work on awareness - how does my foal feel? - how do I feel? Every horse and every person is unique. To understand each other we must be able to open up a conversation.
We work closely with our young horse owners to set them on a plan for success. We are available for the long haul and are keen to remain part of your journey long after the youngsters have left Ribbleton.Process
As you have probably started to work out, we don't just sell horses but embark on a life journey with you and your Ribbleton baby. We only breed a few foals a year and where each one ends up is so important to us. We are "horse first" and as we grow over the years, we find that the horses give us very clear indication on how slow or fast their journey should be. We like to touch base on a few topics to see how aligned we are in our thinking. It's important that we are on the similar page for the journey ahead because that will make all the difference in our happiness together.
Ideally you would come and meet with us and meet the mares and the youngsters here at Ribbleton. We can discuss your personality and the nature of the horse that you think would suit you best. Together we can then choose a Ribbleton mare.
We can then agree on the terms of the agreement and the payment plan. Our payment plans make it a most affordable way to get yourself a Ribbleton horse and take the Ribbleton journey with us.
Usually we will have plenty of time to discuss the choice of stallion. This is a fun process and we can work through the options together..
We hope you will be able to be here for the birth. Once baby is born together we encourage you to spend as much time with us as possible. We open our home to you and welcome you to the Ribbleton Family.
Moment
Feb 20, 2011. I witnessed the most beautiful moments this morning. They were so beautiful I felt inspired to try to capture just a little of this in words.
It was only yesterday that I was thinking how wonderful the Ribbleton journey has become. For those of you that haven't been here, I feel that we are quite different to most studs. We don't just sell horses. We embark on life journeys with our owners and help them to connect with their youngsters in a very special way.
This morning I watched this very thing. Michele was here visiting her little filly Ribbleton Royal Esprit who is 4 weeks old. In just 4 weeks their relationship has blossomed into something very special. Michele and Esprit played together, mutually groomed each other and just hung out together. I watched them run together with Esprit finishing each play session calmly at Michele's side like she has been doing this for years. I watched Michele respect Esprit's sensitivity and uncertainty and in return Esprit gave mutual respect in the play sessions. She was extremely animated (big caprioles, rears and bucks) but always at a safe distance from Michele. This was Esprit giving Michele the space she needed - it wasn't because Michele drove her out of her space, it was because Esprit could sense that Michele needed this. In return Michele doesn't ask Esprit to do anything she is unsure of. When Esprit says no, Michele just laughs and gives her another loving groom.
So now if this AMAZING connection in just 4 weeks wasn't incredible enough.... when Michele left the paddock, Esprit started to run up and down the fence (past her mother who was calmly eating breakfast) desperate to follow Michele. She even pawed the fence a couple of times. Both Michele and I had tears in our eyes. WOW
I feel so blessed to be learning these new ways of interacting with our horses and being able to share this information and watch something like this unfold is truly magical.
Paulette
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