The One and a Half Acre Wood

07/06/2026

And the final shampoo.
Disclaimer: for those who don’t own a Cavoodle, yes, this is what they look like wet 🤦‍♀️

07/06/2026

Trying to soak and massage off the clods of dirt 😮‍💨

07/06/2026

Milly and Eddie’s 5 hour bunny hunting mission today 🤦‍♀️

16/05/2026

Leo was in a sharing mood today 🥰

27/04/2026

You too could have feijoas this big… just fertilise your trees with our HORSE POO!💩🍈
HORSE POO bags at our gate in exchange for a Koha - message first to make sure we aren’t sold out!

24/04/2026

🍂 I love autumn, especially when you have chestnut horses to match the scenery 🍁

19/04/2026

🐴 ONE Spot Left – Friday Pony Class (Beginners)

We have one space available in our Term 2 Friday 3:30pm Pony Class 🐎

✨ Level 1 (Beginners)
✨ Ages 5–9 (younger group)
✨ Weekly during the school term
💲 $45 per class

This class is perfect for children just starting out with ponies. Alongside riding, they’ll learn all the important basics in a calm, supportive environment 💛

What they’ll be learning:
🐎 Grooming, feeding and caring for ponies (brushes, hooves, tack basics)
🐎 How to safely approach, lead, and handle a pony
🐎 Farm skills like poo picking, feeding, and simple horse care tasks
🐎 Calm behaviour around horses – where to stand, how to move, and staying safe

A beautiful foundation for young riders to build confidence, responsibility, and a love of horses 🐴

📩 Message to secure the final spot, or to enquire about lessons on other days.

15/04/2026

I 💯 agree with this!! Not only it is detrimental to the rider to rush through the basics and not get their foundation solid, it’s unfair on the horse to have an unbalanced rider bouncing around all over their back and yanking on the reins (and therefore the horses mouth!). I can’t justify teaching kids to put their own fun and entertainment ahead of an animals well-being - if you don’t like the more careful, intentional pace we teach at, you are most welcome to find somewhere else to ride 🤷🏻‍♀️

https://www.facebook.com/share/1ApPg6DbPe/?mibextid=wwXIfr

"We let students trot on the first lesson because it makes it more fun!".....I’m gonna say this a little more plainly…this is gonna be long. Bear with me.

We saw the comments…I get it. Fun sells. To a non horse person, trotting is the definition of "fun" and "progress". As a professional, it is our job to change that mindset, not cater to it.

Rushing kids to trot right away just to keep them excited or make parents feel like they’re “doing something” is exactly what I was talking about in my last post.

That’s not good horsemanship. And it’s not putting the kid or horse first.
These are 1,000 lb animals. Not a ride at the fair. They have a mind of their own. Rushing progress isnt creating fun- it's creating risk.

Sometimes our kids walk.
Sometimes they walk for a while.

And yeah… sometimes they get a little bored. Boohoo.

That doesn’t bother me. Because what they’re actually learning in that phase is what keeps them safe later.

You don’t skip basics in anything else, but for some reason people expect to skip them with horses. Kids in gymnastics don’t walk in and go straight to the beam.
They condition. They stretch. They do drills over and over. Football players don’t just show up and start running plays. They practice footwork. Timing. Repetition.
Basketball? You’re not scrimmaging day one. You’re dribbling. Passing. Shooting form.

Walking might not feel exciting to a new kid.
But that’s where they learn balance. Feel. Control.

And honestly…It’s good for kids to not get instant gratification. It’s good for them to be a little bored sometimes. To have to work for something. Build patience.

We’re not here to entertain kids for 30 minutes. We’re here to teach them how to ride.

Even our “just for fun” riders with no competitive desire learn how to do things the right way.

If you want quick fun, go somewhere else. Fall off there. If you want your kid to be confident, capable, and safe around horses- that’s what we do.

23/03/2026

Guess which 2 have been bunny hunting?

19/03/2026

Taking bookings now for our April Holiday Program coming up soon!

🐴 Horse-time and rides
🐇 Petting Zoo
🐐 Farm animals
🐾 Small fluffy dog cuddles
🦎 Lizards
🎣 Eel feeding
🎨 Art/craft and games
🔥 Campfire Lunch

To book email Dianne: [email protected]