Beautiful and rustic Liberty Stables is located in the foothills of southwestern Alberta, ten minutes west of the hamlet of Millarville, fifteen minutes south of the town of Bragg Creek, and just minutes from Kananaskis country (see Map). Dessa Hockley and her husband Larry own Liberty Stables. They operate it with business partner, Cathy Thomas.
As Dessa says, “Liberty Stables is a dream come true. Projects such as fencing are never-ending. But I love seeing the seasons come and go and watching the herds grazing on the hillside out my window. I learn more from watching the horses in the herd… they are constantly teaching me.”
Besides the rolling landscape of trees and pasture, Liberty Stables features a beautiful indoor riding arena as well as an outdoor grass ring and sand ring. Boarders and riding students benefit from the fresh air, panoramic views and of course, the magnificent horses who live there.
Liberty Stables is a place where people can come and play with their horses. They can explore their relationship in a safe, open, non-competitive environment. People describe the energy around Liberty Stables as relaxed and peaceful – most of the time.
It’s also fun. As one boarder said, she didn’t know her horse knew how to play until she saw him one day in the herd nipping and rearing and dodging about with a herd mate! According to Cathy, “We can’t easily describe what we do or what happens here. The horses blossom, wake up, become engaged. The people do the same. And together, they find themselves and each other.”
“We don’t teach as much as facilitate a journey,” says Dessa. Why? “Because the horses know. And our learning is about trusting them and ourselves. The tools we use are listening, playing at liberty with the horses, some basic leadership skills starting on the ground and moving to riding – all done with feel and awareness.”
We love taking care of horses too. We know each one individually. Walking amongst them in the herds each day is about checking in, noticing when things are out of whack or when someone needs something. Many of the photos you see on this website were taken while checking the horses.
Find out more about what we do at Liberty Stables under Horse Boarding and Programs.
