Gabby Dobbs Horsemanship

03/20/2025

Tell me I need to oil my saddle without telling me I need to oil my saddle

03/08/2025

I ordered my early bird tickets! Have you?

Be sure to get your tickets to the annual banquet now and don't miss out on the "Early Bird" raffle package. Join us for a great night of fun and fellowship. Send any orders to [email protected] or go to www.muledeer.org/events to order online.

02/28/2025

Website and blog are LIVE! Check out my new post!

02/18/2025

Six year old rider, Jonah, just recently started learning how to post a trot. Last week, she was able to post THIRTY-SIX consecutive strides! What a huge step for a small rider!

02/07/2025

Congratulations to Prince and Marcy on their new partnership🍾. Seeing a horse go to a new home is bittersweet, but thrilling when they pair as well as these two!

01/22/2025

To blanket, or not to blanket, that is the question.

I know these cold fronts have made you wonder if/when your horse should be blanketed. This article takes an educational dive into what situations might and might not require an extra layer.

In general, are you team ‘blanket’ or team ‘no blanket’?

As we manage our horses in the colder weather, the question arises of whether or not to blanket your horse. Find out more from TEVA!

01/10/2025

❄️a beautiful snowy morning at the farm❄️

01/05/2025

Bales and Bedding LLC has great quality hay and stellar customer service. Highly recommended if you’re in the market for a new hay provider!

01/02/2025

It’s not often that I have a horse lay down, but here is a scenario in which I might.

I’ve been working with a horse for weeks; spending a lot of time trying to build trust and confidence but there’s no improvement. Maybe I’m able to halter him, brush him, and casually lead him around- but he turns his head away from me when haltering, he flinches every time my brush or hand touches him, and he takes anxious shallow breaths while we’re walking. He’s doing what I’m asking but everything in his body is telling him that he can’t trust me. Telling him that I could become a threat at any given moment.

This is when I might consider laying him down.

Why?

Horses are prey animals. Laying down puts them in a position that makes them an easy target to predators. This is why they primarily sleep standing up, and only lay down long enough to complete their REM sleep cycle. Showing a horse kindness when they’re in their most venerable state helps break through all of their instincts that consider us predators. They realize that if you were planning to harm them, this is the time you would have done it. Boom💥 theres your foundation of trust.

This isn’t an exercise that can be done out of anger or frustration. The horse will recognize those negative emotions which will only cause them to fear you more. The intent of this exercise is to make yourself a safe space. A leader. Not a dictator. Once the horse lays down, he should stay there because he feels comfortable enough to do so. Not because he’s scared of what consequences may come if he stands back up before being cued.

This isn’t something that I do often because if done in the wrong situation or while the human is in a poor state of mind, it can cause the horse to shut down emotionally as a fear response rather than relax as a trust response. When done in the right situation though, laying a horse down can assist in breaking through barriers that were previously rock solid.

12/31/2024

Happy (almost) new year!

My name is Gabby Dobbs and I am blessed to introduce myself as a professional horsewoman in Weatherford, TX.

Working with green horses and restarting “problem” horses is a passion that was gracefully introduced to me in 2016 by my most profound mentor, Katelyn Vanhoozer. For those of you who knew her, it was Katelyn’s relentless pursuit of greatness that inspired me to continue to train horses and riders independently. After starting this business this past summer, it is by God’s grace that I am now 100% booked with training and lesson clients through February, and am continuing to find ways to expand Gabby Dobbs Horsemanship beyond what it currently is! My intent with this page is not just to build my street cred😎, but to share thoughts, progress, epiphanies, and any other information I come across that may help other horsemen and women better understand the connection between horse and human.

I am accepting new horses into training starting in March, 2025. Whether you have a horse who needs to be halter broke, started under saddle, or just has a “kink” that you can’t seem to work through: building a solid foundation that best suits your goals is my forte