EST. SINCE 1982
This is a family business, run by a husband & wife team, Bluey & Jay Hyde -- and a very family oriented ranch.

Duties are shared, and we also hire horsepeople to help out. We encourage and give the local children of Magnetic Island the opportunity to work animals and learn to ride. They come in each weekend and on school holidays and do jobs like picking up poo, filling up the horses water troughs, brushing horses ect to earn their free rides. Most of these kids are horse mad, and live eat and sleep horses. They are wonderful kids and really get in and work hard due to their love of our horses.

BREEDING of OUR HORSES
The horses are mainly Australian Stock horses cross Arabs. We get the best out of the 2 breeds with endurance and stamina. We breed the majority of our horses and have now crossed our original breed with clyesdale to cater for bigger people.

HEALTHY HORSES
The horses at BLUEY'S RANCH are well nourished and very well cared for. Their medical treatments are administered by Bluey under the supervision of an experienced veterinary surgeon. We regularly bring in horse dentists, chiropractors, farriers, and massueses to keep them in top top shape. We regard their good condition as our best form of advertisement and we get regular comments from our riders about the good health, and condition of our horses.

The ranch home paddock is 15 acres, and this is where the horses spend their day when not out on rides. Then they are taken to their night paddock which is approximately 60 acres. We also have a 40 acre spelling paddock and we choose 6 horses at a time to go on rest for a couple of months here. We rotate the horses so that they all get a good rest.

Our horses are well educated, good natured, and very trustworthy.

As newborn foals they are handled daily from birth and become trusting of humans and respond in kind. We have bred over 20 foals in 23 years. Bluey then breaks them in as 3 year olds and trains them to do our beach rides. He uses a slow gentle method of breaking them in, and they usually enjoy it and are happy to perform their jobs. We typically ride them for about 2 years ourselves to make sure they are well trained and ready for our customers to ride.

THE PONDEROSA is Bluey's private, comfortable, reasonably priced accommodation, adjacent to BLUEYS HORSESHOE RANCH.

A true paradise for animal lovers in a beautiful tropical setting that is perfect for your horse riding holiday. Idyllic, scenic, rural views of the horses at work, and at play. Massive mango tree. Possums. Wild Sulpher-crested, and Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Parrots. Your dogs are welcome!!! For more details, please download this PDF: PONDEROSA

Are you keen to be part of an outback experience in a beautiful tropical setting, & enjoy meeting people? Blueys is always seeking good fun, hardworking, horse loving, friendly people for work on our ranch. Join us for a once in a lifetime, rewarding experience -- and have something truly exciting to write home about.

To be a TRAIL GUIDE/RANCH HAND you must be competent with horses, willing to work in a team and share in all the daily duties. Duties include:

• Guiding tourists on our bush & beach trail rides
• Grooming & tacking up the horses
• Feeding & watering of animals
• General cleaning & yard maintenance

NOTE: Minimum stay for the position is 3 weeks. We offer a work for food and accomodation package, with lots of free horse riding.

The accomodation is of a high standard, and includes access to a 20m resort style swimming pool. The food supplied is always fresh, and there is lots of it to choose from. We offer a healthy and well balanced diet for our workers.

To apply, please email us with the following details:

1. Your riding experience
2. Age
3. Height
4. Weight
5. Nationality
6. Expected date of arrival/departure

We will then send you a Bluey's Work Information Sheet for you to read.

Positions are usually available all year round. Minimum stay for a position is 3 weeks. However, most of our workers stay longer as they enjoy what they are doing so much so, that try to allow a bit longer if possible. As once you get here, it really is hard to leave our tropical ranch.