Echo Valley Farm

04/24/2022

Tatum and Zorro had a great lesson that ended with a ba****ck ride to the lower pasture 🤩 I love watching these students’ skills and confindence grow each week!

04/23/2022

Princesa de la Luna, one of our Paso Fino mares, enjoying a beautiful spring day ☀️

04/13/2022

This perfectly color coordinated duo had a great lesson today 💙💙

Each student prepares their lesson horse for riding so they can: form a bond between horse/rider, grow confindence and independence around horses, learn the needed skills for horse ownership someday!

03/30/2022

First and second lesson and already seeing improvement 🤩 Great work Savannah!

03/29/2022

*Awesome new home found!*
Sneak peek of something I’ve got that will be looking for a new 🏡 soon! I got him from my neighbor that has retired from riding but this gelding is way too young and nice to sit. If you’re looking for a barrel, rope, or ranch prospect he might be it!

03/25/2022

Gearing up for a full weekend of riding! If you’ve asked about riding lessons, I have a couple of openings left this Sunday 😊

03/24/2022

Beautiful afternoon for a lesson ☀️

03/22/2022

Love watching them play 😊

03/14/2022

Echo Valley Farm updated their address.

Echo Valley Farm updated their address.

03/14/2022

Binx - the barn chore supervisor!

03/13/2022

We’d like to introduce Scooby, the new guy at the farm! Scooby is a large pony sized Paso Fino/Tennessee Walking Horse cross with the most beautiful mane and tail I’ve probably ever seen! (pictures don’t do him justice) Scooby will be joining our lesson program soon and we can’t wait for you to meet him. Thank you Hope Haven Equine Rescue for connecting us with this sweet, loving boy.

03/11/2022

Another beautiful sunset here at Echo Valley Farm. One of my favorite times of the day is just after the evening feed, spending a still, content moment with the horses while they munch on their hay ☺️

03/05/2022

Time to saddle up! It finally (feels like) spring 🤩🌼🌞

02/20/2022

Another lifelong horse addiction started today! Hannah did great work at her first riding lesson.

02/19/2022

Bottle time for the kids!

02/17/2022

In German, there is a saying: “Reiten lernt man nur durch Fegen”, which translates as “Riding is only learned by sweeping”. I have often thought about this saying.

Wherever there are horses, there is a lot of work to be done: Cleaning, sweeping, brushing, feeding, repairing…It’s not only the fun sides of pushing yourself off the ground and into the saddle. Learning to ride takes commitment and discipline, and we might have to do a lot of things which are not very glorious. Sweeping teaches us humility and keeps us grounded.

For me, this saying is also about apprenticeship. You start at the bottom, you sweep, you get off your high horse and you become open to learn. You admit to yourself that you don’t know everything. Sweeping is good for our ego. If you are an apprentice, the master can afford be honest to you. You don’t pay for lessons and s/he has nothing to loose if s/he scares you off. And that kind of honesty we need if we want to develop.

When we do chores around the barn, we also have the chance to develop a more natural kind of relationship with our horses, or with horses in general. We are not directly focused on them and can observe how they interact and what they are doing.

Sweeping is also my zen practice. Whatever my troubles are, I usually feel better after the morning chores at the barn are done.

#equestrianlife #academicartofriding #barnlife #lifelonglearning #equestrian #bentbranderuptrainer

02/16/2022

Echo, our coming 3 year old TWH filly who we named the farm after, wore her first saddle the other day. She’s been such a joy to bring along even with the limited and sporadic time I’ve had to work with her. Really looking forward to riding her soon!

02/14/2022

Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day 💘
We are excited to add this buckling to the farm to be the future herdsire to our little Nigerian Dwarf herd. “Kovu” is ADGA registered, has nice udders backing him in his lineage, and has potential to throw moonspots and blue eyes to his future kids!

02/10/2022

In addition to our large riding arena, we’ve recently added a sanded round pen! We’re excited to have this area to use for lunging, training, and lessons.

01/26/2022

Baby goat sweetness! 🎀 We’re still deciding on a name for her. Dolly, Rosie, or Clover…what do you think?

01/24/2022

The forecast calls for a sunny, dry weekend ahead! Don’t stay cooped up all winter long…I have private horseback riding lesson spots available at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 pm this Sunday afternoon for a child or petite adult.
Pm or call/text Rachel at 205-568-2097 to reserve!

01/24/2022

Views from our trail ride yesterday at Lake Guntersville State Park.

01/15/2022

Some of the fun around the barn today!

12/30/2021

Watching the fog roll in this afternoon with Milo and Khaki ☁️

12/24/2021

Santa has been stashing away a couple of Christmas horses at Echo Valley Farm this week 🎅🏼🎄
They’ll be going to their new home tomorrow morning to give two little girls the best Christmas ever! We’re so honored to be a little part of that Christmas magic this year.

12/17/2021

Twilight at the farm ✨ The best way to end the day!

12/15/2021

Cleaned out the goat pen and added new hay for them ☺️
The laughs I get from these critters is the only thank you I need!

12/01/2021

Olivia was in town visiting family for Thanksgiving and wanted to ride a horse while she was here…something she hasn’t done since she was 5 years old. That smile says it all! ❤️

11/26/2021

Still stumped on what to get them for Christmas?? The experience of horseback riding lessons makes a great gift! 🎁
Buy a package of four 45/min-hour private riding lessons and your rider will learn
🐴 Grooming and saddling
🐴 Horse care and safety
🐴 And of course…riding!
We offer basic western riding lessons on both gaited and non-gaited breeds of horses.
This special pricing of $120 for a package of four lessons will be valid on purchases from now until Christmas! 🎄
Call 205-568-2097 for more information and to book! Location is in Ashville, AL

11/24/2021

Woohoo it’s a long weekend! This Thanksgiving we are extra grateful for our four legged friends and the awesome people we’ve come to know because of them. Hope it’s a great one from our little farm to you! 🤎🧡

11/16/2021

Who doesn’t love a golden sunset ride? We’ll be taking advantage of this wonderful riding weather the next few days. Give us a call to discuss boarding and riding lesson opportunities!

11/12/2021

Morning feed surprise 🤗 I noticed Holly’s milk bag started filling on Wednesday, she was more standoffish yesterday, and this morning I heard a new tiny sound coming from the goat pen! She had a beautiful little blue eyed buckling 💙 In love with this tiny little guy already 🥰

11/06/2021

Sunset at the farm ☺️

11/03/2021

Welcome Doc and Milo! We’re so excited to have these handsome boys and their owners boarding with us at Echo Valley Farm!