# Curious Equestrian
> In-depth interviews and articles on horse health, behaviour, and training — for riders who want to understand, not just follow instructions. Subscribe free.
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).
## Pages
### Are you a curious equestrian?
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/about/
Last updated: 2026-08-07T16:08:34.000Z
You've done everything right. You've taken the lessons, read the books, watched the clinicians. You genuinely care about your horse.
And yet something still feels off.
Maybe it's a training method everyone swears by that leaves you quietly uneasy. Maybe it's advice from someone very confident that doesn't quite square with what you're seeing in the stable. Maybe it's a question you've been carrying for months that you'd never say out loud at your yard.
Curious Equestrian is where those questions get asked out loud, with the researchers, the vets, the practitioners doing things differently, and the riders who've already been where you're standing and kept going anyway. We don't arrive with a position. We arrive with a question and take the time to follow it honestly.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
**Who we are**
****Theresa** is the producer, newsletter author and founder | ****Anna Louise** is the interviewer. A former BBC presenter turned sanctuary founder.
[How we are fundedCurious Equestrian is funded by the people who listen to it. Everything we make (the podcast, the newsletter, the After-Hours Tapes, the field notes) is free for everyone, and it stays that way. Each episode costs about £200 to produce the work you hear and see: the interview, theCurious EquestrianTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/how-we-are-funded/)
### A free newsletter for riders who want to understand what’s really going on with horses.
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/free-newsletter-for-curious-equestrians/
Last updated: 2026-05-20T10:01:34.000Z
What you just watched is the kind of thing we make at Curious Equestrian. Sometimes it's a vet, sometimes a hay merchant, sometimes a day spent inside a rescue. Always the same question underneath: what's actually going on here, and what does it mean for the horse—so you can spot problems earlier and feel more confident about the choices you make.
The free Curious Equestrian newsletter puts those stories and the questions behind them straight in your inbox.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Get the free newsletter
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
[is this what saves British riding schools?What Chloe has built is not a charity. It is a third economic model. The content funds the sessions; the sessions generate more content; the community grows and the riding school fills with paying clients who found her through the algorithm.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/is-this-what-saves-british-riding-schools/)
[Horse rescue documentary: The Retreat Animal SanctuaryOne arrived with a microchip logging 13 registered owners. Billy contacted every single one. Not one was interested.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-horse-rescue-really-costs/)
[What’s behind the UK hay price IncreaseThe hay in your horse’s net tonight may have crossed three borders. Someone lost sleep making sure it got here.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-supplier-was-almost-embarrassed-to-charge-what-he-had-to/)
[The wrong question we ask about horse-human partnershipCommunication in this tradition is less about training methods that produce compliance and more about building the kind of trust and mutual understanding where the horse can actually choose to participate.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-human-partnership-right-question/)
[What your horse’s “ticklishness” is actually telling youThe conversation covers horse massage as a practical tool for owners, not just professionals. Three checks you can do every week (grooming reactions, carrot stretches in both directions, a tight circle on both reins) that build up a picture of what’s normal, so you notice when something changes.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-your-horses-ticklishness-is-actually-telling-you/)
### How we are funded
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/how-we-are-funded/
Last updated: 2026-08-07T16:03:55.000Z
Curious Equestrian is funded by the people who listen to it. Everything we make (the podcast, the newsletter, the After-Hours Tapes, the field notes) is free for everyone, and it stays that way.
Each episode costs about £200 to produce the work you hear and see: the interview, the edit, the video. We publish two or three episodes a month.
Because listeners fund the work, we answer to no one else. Nobody pays to be on the podcast, no advertiser shapes what we cover, and nobody gets a say in what questions Anna asks. The sponsor's slot on this podcast belongs only to its listeners. We do earn a small commission when you buy a book through our bookshop links (always marked as such), and there's merch if a T-shirt is more your thing. Both help. Neither comes close to paying for an episode, which is why this page exists.
If the podcast has ever changed how you think about your horse, there are two ways to help keep it going:
**Sponsor an episode.** A one-off contribution of whatever you like. £200 covers an episode outright, and a sponsored episode carries its sponsor's name in the credits, with a dedication if you'd like one: to your horse, in memory of one, or to the person who taught you to ask better questions. Smaller contributions pool towards the next episode, and every one is counted. Become an [episode sponsor](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/#/portal/support).
**Become an executive producer.** In broadcasting, the executive producer is the one who pays for the programme and then lets the makers get on with it. That's this: [£6 a month or £60](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-racing-welfare/#/portal/signup) a year towards the wages that make each episode, your name in the credits if you'd like it there, and no paywall anywhere, because there isn't one. The first thirty-three (together, one episode's worth each month) will be credited as founding executive producers, permanently.
And if you can't or don't want to pay: nothing changes. Listen, read, share an episode with someone at the yard who'd argue with it. That helps too.
### Field notes
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/field-notes/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T15:08:23.000Z
Long reads that take one question and follow it into the research. Slower than the newsletter, and every source read in full rather than summarised.
### Your in the credits now.
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/you-are-in-the-credits-now/
Last updated: 2026-08-07T15:59:53.000Z
_This page is for subscribers on the Executive Producer tier only._
## Posts
### Breathing all wrong, and the other habits horses forgive
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-rider-fitness-ciara-glaisher/
Last updated: 2026-08-09T07:59:59.000Z
Warning: you will question whether you know how to breathe as you watch this episode. I stopped three times while writing this issue to check how I was breathing. I spend an extraordinary amount of time at a desk, and my nearly 50-year-old body reminds me regularly that humans aren't made for this lifestyle. It also turns out the classes to help me compensate have taught me to breathe wrong.
## The wrong half of the instruction
Ciara Glaisher is a chartered physiotherapist who spent 14 years in the NHS before she got to do the job she really wanted, treating horses. These days she treats horses and riders together, and she opens this week's episode with with: Babies breathe correctly. Nose in, nose out, tummy rising. Then we start school, fold ourselves into chairs, learn to hold our bellies in because flat is what looks good, and the breath climbs into the chest and starts leaving through the mouth. Breathe out through the mouth and the air goes too fast, she says, so the oxygen doesn't get time to hang around in the lungs; breathe shallow and the bottom of the lungs never fills at all.
Here is where it stops being a wellness segment. Muscles run on oxygen. A rider with a perfectly good position at the start of a ride starts mouth breathing through sitting trot, the supply drops, and the position starts to fall apart. Ciara gets booked to check horses that seem sluggish, owners worrying about arthritis, and has more than once found the blockage sitting on top. In her words: "It ends up literally being the human blocking them from moving forwards."
## What a rider's body does to a horse
Her word for horse and rider is one biomechanical system, and if you've ever seen the [anatomy under the saddle painted on](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horses-inside-out/), you'll know why. Her homelier version: carry a child on your back on hands and knees and you feel every lean and arch through your whole body. That's us to our horse. Horses compensate for it, mostly without complaint, and Ciara thinks a fair share of injuries and vet bills trace back to rider asymmetry. One of her sessions this summer began with a pony, [a dip of muscle under the back of the saddle](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/saddle-fitting-for-horse-health/) the horses owner braced for bad news about the fit; the trail led instead through a stiff spine and the rider's tilted pelvis, which is exactly why what a badly fitted saddle actually does and what a rider's body does are so hard to tell apart from the ground.
## The fixes that cost nothing
This is the part I appreciated most, because Ciara knows precisely why riders put themselves at the bottom of the list in a hay-crisis year, and almost everything she suggests is free. Breathe through your nose - both ways. Put your hands on your stomach and let the breath push them outwards. Carry the glass in your other hand, turn the key with your other hand, notice which way you slump towards the gear stick. Move often rather than sitting beautifully: she's untroubled by slumping, only by staying put, because in her reading of the evidence a posture held for two hours is the problem, not the posture. Warm up before you get on, even if you're the only one at the yard doing a pelvis wiggle at the mounting block. Unfortunately mucking out doesn't count, because carrying buckets is strenuous in exactly the lopsided pattern you're about to sit into the saddle. And keep a diary of the small stuff, the tail swish when you mount, the quirk two days into the shoeing cycle, because patterns beat memory. If your not sure how to spot subtle pain check out our interview with [Dr Sue Dyson](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-lameness-a-revolutionary-approach/).
Ciara said something in passing that I keep coming back to: she's in awe of horses because they forgive us so much, and they compensate in their bodies whether we notice or not. We budget for their physio, their saddler, their farrier and their dentist, then send the other half of the system up the mounting block unexamined. Horses forgive us a great deal. They shouldn't have to forgive our breathing.
**The main listen.** The full conversation with Ciara is below.
Find Ciara at [Merlin Veterinary Physiotherapy](https://www.merlinvetphysio.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), where her Symmetry & Synergy rider programme lives, or on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ciaraglaisher%5Fmerlinphysio?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/share/1CLkHjh51S/).
## After hours
The After-Hours Tapes this week: Ciara stayed on after the recording light went off, cameras down, audio only, for the listener questions. She's an animal person who spent 14 years learning to like humans, so the unguarded version is worth your time. Free for every subscriber, as ever; press play.
Ciara Glaisher behind the scene
0:00
/1169.021333
1×
### Horse sleep: what the research shows, and where it runs out.
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/field-notes/horse-sleep/
Last updated: 2026-08-07T16:35:28.000Z
Field notes · case no. 002 · sleep
Nobody has established how long a horse can go without lying down. Four papers on what is known, and what is folklore.
13 min read
"My horse never lies down" is one of the most-searched phrases in British horse ownership, and one of the least well answered.
Type it into Google and page one is Quora and two forum threads. Nobody authoritative has written it down.
Behind the search sits a habit most stabled-horse owners will recognise: reading the bed each morning. A shape pressed into banked shavings, flakes caught in the mane, and the conclusion that things are fine. What the shape cannot say is how long he was in it, whether he went down again after the lights went off, or what it would mean if it stopped appearing.
So here is what four papers say, including one published this January, and where the research runs out. It runs out earlier than the internet suggests.
The short version
Four things the research actually says
Every figure below is unpacked, with its caveats, further down.
1. 01 **3h 40m** Total sleep in 24 hours
And it arrives in pieces. Around 40 minutes of that is REM, in 11 bouts, and not one of them lasts five minutes.
2. 02 **Muzzle down** The test for REM
Not standing versus lying. A horse on his chest with his head still held scores the same as a horse asleep on his feet.
3. 03 **Nobody knows** How long he can go without
The seven-to-14-nights figure everyone quotes traces back to a supplement company and a 2003 study of people.
4. 04 **24 vs 59 min** REM, quitters against persisters
In a field learning test, short REM predicted which horses walked away. It did not predict mistakes.
If you take one thing from this: the cheapest instrument in the whole field is a camera pointed at the stable overnight.
## What a horse's night actually looks like
The only full synthesis anyone has is a 2022 review by Linda Greening at Hartpury and Sebastian McBride at Aberystwyth, in *Frontiers in Veterinary Science*. Everyone writing about equine sleep ends up citing it, because nothing else gathers the scattered literature into one place.
Total sleep is somewhere around three and a half to four hours in 24, and the figure moves depending on how you measure it. Electrode studies put it between 172 and 262 minutes. Studies that scored sleep by watching the horse instead range from 65 to 382 minutes, which tells you more about the difficulty of the question than about horses.
What matters more than the total is the shape. Human sleep arrives in four or five long blocks, with REM sequences averaging 22 minutes. A horse gets around 10 REM sequences a night averaging under four minutes each, and the longest average reported in any equine study is 5.22 minutes. Between them the horse wakes up constantly: roughly seven wake sequences per sleep cycle, most under a minute.
So a horse's night is not a shorter version of ours. It is a different substance.
Figure 1
One night, four stages
A stabled horse, 8pm to 8am. Hover or tap a band to see what the horse's body is doing. The ember bands are REM. There are 11 of them and none lasts five minutes.
8pm10pm12am2am4am6am8am
Swipe the night sideways to reach the morning.
Wake Drowsy NREM, slow-wave REM, the restorative one
Hover or tap a band to see what is happening in the horse's body. The one-minute wake bands are too narrow to tap, so open the table below to read them.
**40 min**Total REM, in 11 bouts, longest five minutes
**3h 40m**Total sleep across a 12-hour night
**29**Interruptions once the horse was asleep
Show the whole night as a table
| From | To | Stage | Mins |
| ---- | -- | ----- | ---- |
Illustrative, not a reproduction of anyone's figure. Built to the architecture Greening & McBride (2022) compile from 11 equine studies: total sleep around 230 minutes, REM around 40 minutes in roughly 10 bouts averaging 3.7 minutes, NREM in around 30 sequences averaging six minutes, four sleep cycles of about 41 minutes. The one-minute wake bands are drawn slightly wide so they remain visible.
## Why REM needs him on the ground
REM is defined by muscle atonia. Skeletal tone drops to almost nothing, which is why humans do not act out their dreams, and why a horse cannot stay upright through it.
Drowsing and slow-wave sleep come easily on his feet. About three-quarters of a standing horse's sleep is slow-wave, which is real, restorative sleep, so a dozing horse is not getting nothing. What he is not getting is REM, and REM needs him down, either flat on his side or on his chest with the muzzle actually resting on the floor. Head propped up on the chest is scored as slow-wave sleep. Muzzle on the ground is scored as REM. That is the whole distinction, and it is finer than most of us have been taught.
There is one exception, and it is worth knowing because it explains a frightening thing owners sometimes see. A horse very short of REM can slide into it standing up. Neck tone goes, the head drops, the forelegs buckle, and the muzzle hits the floor, at which point the horse wakes up. Brief, rare, and self-terminating. It is also the single most visible sign that something has gone wrong.
Figure 2
What each posture allows
The line is not standing versus lying. It is whether the neck is genuinely unsupported. Keep scrolling.
- Drowsiness
- NREM, slow-wave
- REM
### Standing
Stay apparatus engaged, three legs loaded, one hind rested. Around three-quarters of a standing horse's sleep is slow-wave, so a dozing horse is not getting nothing. What he cannot get here is REM, because tone drops to almost nothing in REM and he would go over.
### Sternal
Lying on the chest — and this is where the distinction gets finer than most of us were taught. Down is not the test. The muzzle is. A horse can be lying on his chest with his head still held and be scored as slow-wave sleep, no differently from standing.
### Lateral
Flat on the side, legs extended, neck along the ground. Full atonia. This is the posture that worries people who find their horse like it, and on the review's own figures it is the one doing the most work.
Greening & McBride (2022). Posture is a proxy for brain state rather than a measurement of it, which is why behavioural studies write "REM-like" and why standing REM episodes get scored as standing slow-wave sleep: standard ethograms have no code for them.
## Is it normal for a horse never to lie down?
The best evidence on that question is a survey, with everything that implies. Heli Suomala and colleagues at Helsinki asked 1,749 owners in Finland, Sweden and Norway one deceptively simple thing: do you think your horse has problems related to rest or sleep? Of those, 88 said yes. Then they looked at what the 88 had in common.
Two numbers dominate. Owners whose horse had lost its balance or gone down unexpectedly in the past year were 40 times more likely to suspect a sleep problem. Owners who had never seen their horse lie down were 28 times more likely.
That second sentence needs reading twice, because it is not what it first appears to be. It does not say that horses who never lie down are 28 times more likely to have a sleep problem. It says that owners who have never *watched* their horse lie down are 28 times more likely to think something is wrong. Both halves come from the same person filling in the same form on the same afternoon, so a portion of the association is built in by construction. The authors knew that, which is why they put this variable in a model they labelled consequences rather than causes.
And the confidence interval runs from nine to 89, which is a polite way of saying the estimate rests on 32 animals: 16 whose owners were worried, 16 whose owners were not.
None of which makes it useless. A lower bound of nine is still a large effect, and the finding has a plain mechanical reading that does not depend on the statistics at all. If nobody has ever seen the horse lie down, nobody knows whether he does.
Figure 3
What raises the odds, and by how much
"Three times more likely" means suspected sleep disturbance was three times as common among horses with that factor. It does not mean your horse has a one-in-three chance of anything.
What may cause itThe authors' first model: management and horse factors.
8.6×more likely Hard *and* wet lying surfaceThe knee test: it hurt to kneel, and your knees came up wet after 15 seconds. Interval 2.4 to 31, and only 14 horses in the whole study fell in this class.
3.5×more likely Hard but dry lying surfaceInterval 1.6 to 7.8\. Hardness is common to both significant terms; wetness compounds it.
3.1×more likely Currently ill or injuredInterval 1.9 to 5.2\. Getting down and up again is physically expensive.
1.12×per year of age Older horsesSmall each year, and it compounds. A 20-year-old carries meaningfully higher odds than a 10-year-old.
1.05×per cm of height Taller horsesInterval 1.03 to 1.08\. The bigger the horse, the more work it is to stand up.
What you can see once it existsA separate model. These numbers are not interchangeable with the ones above.
40×more likely Lost balance or fell unexpectedly in the past yearThe largest number in the paper. Interval 17 to 97, based on 92 horses.
28×more likely Never seen lying downInterval 9 to 89, resting on 32 horses. Note the variable is "not observed lying down", which is a fact about the watching as much as about the horse.
16×more likely Struggles to lie down or get upInterval 6 to 44.
9.2×more likely Unexplained overnight injuriesInterval 3.4 to 25\. Fetlock scrapes with no obvious cause.
3.9×more likely Sleepy during the dayInterval 1.7 to 8.8.
Show both models as a plot, with the full intervals
Possible causes
Possible consequences
Log scale. The dot is the adjusted odds ratio, the bar is the 95% confidence interval, and the dashed line at 1 means no association. Swipe sideways on a phone. Notice how long some of those bars are.
Suomala et al. (2026), *Equine Veterinary Journal* 58(3):728-735\. A self-selected sample of 1,749 owners, all of them keeping horses in individual stables; 5% suspected a sleep problem. The outcome is one owner-reported question, not a veterinary diagnosis, and the authors note that owners already curious about sleep were likelier to answer. Bedding material, rubber matting, stall size, and visual or muzzle contact with a neighbour were all tested and were **not** associated.
## How long can a horse go without lying down?
Nobody knows.
Not approximately, not within a range, and not in any published source I could find. Greening and McBride say it themselves, at the end of a review of the entire literature: it is "not known at what point sleep deprivation becomes chronic". Joe Bertone, who has seen more of these cases than almost anyone, puts it in his own proceedings as "several days" and leaves it there.
Which is odd, because a number circulates freely. Search for it and you will be told that a horse can manage three or four nights without lying down, and that trouble starts somewhere between seven and 14 nights. I have seen that figure repeated as though it were settled.
Here is where it comes from. The most prominent source for it is an article on the website of an American supplement company, which quotes a veterinary researcher saying that problems begin when a horse goes "seven to 14 nights without proper REM sleep". The same article states that 90% of sleep-deprived horses will be injured, attributed to "a study", with no citation given. Neither figure appears in that researcher's own published work.
The number 14 does appear in the equine sleep literature, a few lines away from equine material in the Greening and McBride review. It is human. It comes from a 2003 study of people put on 14 consecutive nights of restricted sleep, and it is a definition of chronic deprivation in humans rather than a threshold for horses. That is almost certainly the whole provenance.
One more claim in this family deserves the same treatment. The January 2026 Helsinki paper states that horses can suppress REM sleep entirely for up to several weeks, and cites a 1986 review in *Veterinary Clinics of North America*. A review, not a study. Whether the figure originates there is not something I could establish, because the full text is behind a paywall and no open copy exists.
So the honest position is this. Recumbent sleep deprivation is real, it is documented, and it ends in collapse. How many nights it takes is not known, and everyone who tells you otherwise is quoting a supplement company or a study about people.
## What stops a horse lying down
The Suomala data points at four things: pain, size, age, and the surface.
The surface is the one an owner can change tonight, and it is worth being careful about what the study actually found. Softness and dryness were not tested separately. They were combined into one measure, taken by kneeling on the bed where the horse lies and asking two questions: does it hurt, and are your knees wet after 15 seconds. Hard and dry came out at 3.5 times the odds. Hard and wet came out at 8.6.
Depth never made it into the model at all. It was tested crudely, as more or less than 5cm, found nothing, and was dropped. Helsinki's own press release nonetheless says the amount of bedding matters more than the type, which is not what their paper reports.
But the wider literature does support depth, and this is where the survey and the experiments part company. Greening and McBride, reviewing the studies that actually manipulated bedding rather than asking owners about it, report that depths under 10cm significantly reduce how often a horse lies down at all, whatever the material. The experiments changed something. The survey only asked.
So the banked-up bed was not sentiment. It was closer to right than the survey suggests, and the reason to keep doing it is that under 10cm the horse stops going down.
Then there is everything that breaks a night up without shortening it. In 2023 Greening and colleagues published the first serious attempt at measuring sleep *quality* in horses, in *Biology Open*. With no self-report available they borrowed the other trick from human sleep science and counted the interruptions: state duration divided by the number of short awakenings. Five indices rather than one number, and the principle under all of them is that a night in pieces is not the same night as one that ran through, even when the totals match.
Figure 4
Same total REM, different night
Both horses got 40 minutes. Look at the shape of it before you reveal the arithmetic.
#### Horse A, 11 bouts
REM quality index:**3.3**
0h4h8h
#### Horse B, 24 bouts
REM quality index:**1.6**
0h4h8h
Reveal the arithmetic
Illustrative arithmetic using the method in Greening, Allen & McBride (2023), *Biology Open*: duration divided by interruptions plus one. 40 ÷ 12 against 40 ÷ 25\. Their published values are composites across all sleep states and are not comparable with these REM-only figures. The paper's most awkward result is worth knowing: on their composite index, horses on the *thinner* bed scored better, because recumbent sleep is itself more interruptible. Quantity and quality do not always move together.
Which means the observation most of us would be quietly pleased about, that he lay down four times last night, might be the wrong thing to be pleased about.
## What people call lazy
In January 2026 Mira Hämäläinen, Iina Brotherus and colleagues at Helsinki published the first field test of whether the way a horse sleeps predicts how he behaves while learning something.
The kit list is the best thing about it: two researchers, two upturned rubber buckets, three car tyres to stop the buckets wandering, and a kilo of carrot slices per horse per phase. There were 16 riding-school horses, mean age 15, tested in their own paddocks rather than a laboratory. Nights filmed across five sessions of two consecutive nights each over six weeks, with REM-like sleep scored from the footage by a single rater who did not know which horse she was watching or what bedding it was on.
Figure 5
The spatial reversal learning test
Two buckets, one rule, and a rule that keeps changing. The apple marks the correct choice at each stage.
🍎
Horse learns: left means treat
🍎
Reversal 1
Hits threshold, seven correct in a minute
🍎
Rule flips, now right means treat
🍎
Reversal 2
Hits threshold again
🍎
Rule flips back, left again
Each time a horse learns the new rule and hits the threshold, that is one completed reversal. The test keeps flipping. The question is not whether the horse gets it right. It is how many rounds he will keep trying before he walks off.
What they found
**1** **2** **3** **4** **5** **6** **7** **8** **9** **10** **11** **12** **13** **14** **15** **16**
Walked away (6) Kept going (10)
**24 min**Mean REM-like sleep, the six who quit
**59 min**Mean REM-like sleep, the 10 who kept going
REM duration did not predict **errors**. It predicted **willingness to keep trying**.
Hämäläinen et al. (2026), *Scientific Reports* 16:4265, p = 0.02 for the sleep difference between groups and p = 0.03 for reversals completed (six against 11). A quitter is a horse that voluntarily ended the test; the others finished their carrots or ran out the clock. The quitters' confidence interval runs from 0.8 to 47.6 minutes, which is very wide indeed. Sleep was scored behaviourally, not by EEG. Frustration behaviours did **not** differ between the two groups. Association, not causation, and the authors raise the obvious alternative themselves: some horses are simply less persistent.
The horses who quit were not making more mistakes. Error rate showed no relationship with sleep at all. What sleep predicted was how long a horse would keep engaging with a task that kept moving the goalposts.
A test that counts only mistakes misses the thing that matters most in a horse's working life, which is whether he is still willing.
There is a second study worth putting next to it, because it comes at the same question from the opposite direction and nobody talks about it. In 2024 a Brazilian group ran 10 purebred Lusitano dressage horses through a crossover design in which recumbency was prevented for 72 hours. Performance on a spatial memory task tended to get worse, not better, at p = 0.084\. That is 10 horses and a non-significant result, so hold it lightly. But it is the only experiment anyone has run on REM restriction in competition horses, and it points the same way as Helsinki.
## The collapse that usually isn't narcolepsy
There is a thread running through the veterinary literature that gets less attention than it should, about a diagnosis handed to adult horses who fall over.
True narcolepsy is neurological, linked in humans and dogs to a shortage of the neuropeptide hypocretin. There is a recognised hereditary form in miniature horses and in certain Lipizzaner lines, and it shows up in foals. UC Davis puts it plainly: narcolepsy is uncommon in horses, and episodes that look like it are more likely to come from sleep deprivation, whether because pain stops the horse lying down or because light and noise stop him sleeping.
The best evidence for that is a doctoral thesis, which is why almost nobody cites it. In 2017 Christine Fuchs at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich advertised in a horse magazine for owners of horses diagnosed with narcolepsy. She got 177 replies and examined 39 horses on site, with 24-hour video, polysomnography, clinical examination and bloodwork. The collapse episodes averaged around 60 a day. In the worst cases they reached 199\. Horses who lay down and rolled had significantly fewer of them, and her conclusion was that most of these horses were not neurologically ill. They were short of lying-down sleep, and the cause was in the housing.
Joe Bertone, emeritus professor at Western University of Health Sciences, has spent 20 years collecting these cases. He presented on 876 of them at the National Alliance of Equine Practitioners conference in Saratoga Springs in September 2024, and has said he has seen closer to 1,100 since. His position, as reported, is that no adult horse he has examined has met the criteria for true narcolepsy.
That figure deserves a caveat, and it is not a small one. The 876 cases have never been published. They exist in trade coverage of a talk, with no case definition, no methods and no denominator available to check. Bertone's peer-reviewed record on this runs to a textbook chapter and a 2006 case report describing *two* horses. The jump from two published cases to 1,100 spoken from a podium is the kind of gap that would normally make me leave a claim out. I have kept it because it is the only clinical caseload anyone has, and because a clinician saying "I have never once seen the real thing" is information even when it is unpublished. Read it as a clinician's impression, which is what it is.
The distinction changes what happens next. True narcolepsy might respond to drugs. REM deficiency needs somebody to work out why the horse is not lying down, and the answer is usually [pain that makes standing up expensive](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/how-amateur-owners-are-spotting-pain/), a surface he does not want to be on, or a stable where he has never felt safe enough to try.
## What we say, and what it might be
Figure 6
Five readings worth swapping
What we sayWhat it might be
Unmotivated→Sleep-short
Gives up on training→Out of perseverance, not out of ability
Collapses while being groomed→Entering REM on his feet
Lies down regularly, so he's fine→May still sleep badly if the night keeps breaking
Never lies down→Or has never been seen to. Those are not the same thing
Each right-hand reading is supported by one of the papers below. None of them is a diagnosis, and the fourth and fifth are as much about the watching as about the horse.
Greening and McBride open their review by pointing out that sleep is not commonly treated as a welfare factor at all, despite being something every mammal needs. They name no framework in particular, and they do not need to. Look at [any welfare checklist you have used](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-racing-welfare/) and count the lines about rest.
## When to worry, and when to call the vet
What follows is a prompt, not a test. It cannot tell you anything about your horse that you do not already know; what it can do is arrange what you know into the shape a vet will find useful. Every item in it was independently associated with suspected sleep disturbance in a survey of 1,749 owners, which is a much weaker thing than a diagnostic criterion.
Two of the five questions are about what you have observed rather than what is happening. That is deliberate, and it is the honest limit of the whole field. If the answer to "how often does he lie down" is "I don't know", that is the most useful answer you can give, because it is the one with a cheap fix.
Figure 7 · self-assessment
Five questions from the research
Not a diagnostic tool. It surfaces whether a conversation with your vet is worth having.
1\. How often have you seen the horse lying down?
Not observed lying down was the second largest association in Suomala et al. (2026), though it rests on 32 horses.
- Most nights
- A few times a week
- Rarely or never
- I don't know
2\. Is the lying surface hard or wet?
The knee test: kneel where the horse lies. Does it hurt, and are your knees wet after 15 seconds? Hard and wet carried 8.6 times the odds. Separately, experimental work finds beds under 10cm deep reduce lying down whatever the material.
- Soft and dry
- One or the other
- Hard and wet
3\. Is the horse currently ill, injured, or sore?
Current illness or injury tripled the odds, and it is the one factor with an obvious mechanism: getting down and back up is physically expensive.
- No
- Something minor, or recently resolved
- Yes, or suspected
4\. Any unexplained overnight scrapes, or unexpected falls?
Losing balance was the largest single association in the dataset, at 40 times the odds. It is the signature of a horse entering REM on his feet.
- No
- Occasionally
- Yes, recurring
5\. Has he started disengaging from things he used to do willingly?
Hämäläinen et al. (2026) linked short REM-like sleep to giving up, not to making mistakes.
- No change
- Sometimes
- Yes, increasingly
0 of 5 answered
Start again
## What's still open
Almost everything. Nobody knows the REM duration below which welfare is actually compromised. Nobody knows how much of the variation between horses is temperament and how much is the stable, and the authors of the Helsinki study say so. There is no figure for how long recovery takes once management improves, no non-invasive tool an ordinary owner can use at home, and no evidence yet on whether the sleep and willingness relationship holds outside a riding school, in older horses, or in the horses with clinical sleep symptoms that the study specifically excluded.
There is enough, though, to stop filing the sleep-short horse under training problem.
## The move to a herd, and what it does not prove
Consider the horse this article keeps circling: the one nobody has seen lie down. Suppose his owner moves him to [track livery](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/), out with a herd, and within weeks sees him flat out in the middle of the afternoon, in company, another horse standing over him looking about. It invites the most comfortable thought in horsekeeping: they take turns.
It would be nice to report that the research supports that thought. It does not.
Start with the turn-taking, because it is the loveliest part and the weakest. In the equine literature that claim rests on a single article from 1990, in a small American practice journal, with no data behind it and no retrievable text. Greening and McBride repeat it and hedge it as a *supposed* rota. Meanwhile the largest study ever done on how horses coordinate rest, 126 [feral horses](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/wild-horse-behaviour-what-20-years-of-research-reveals-about-domestic-horses/) filmed by drone across 20 days and 23,716 position records, found the opposite of a rota. Within a family group horses matched each other's state 93% of the time. They go down together and they get up together. The paper does not mention sentinels once.
There is a human version of this that I cannot stop thinking about. Researchers put activity monitors on a Hadza camp in Tanzania for 20 nights. Across the whole period, the total time when everyone was asleep at once came to 18 minutes. Near-perfect cover, all night, every night, and nobody was on a rota. It was just that the old people went to bed early and the young ones stayed up.
Then the move itself. There is no published study showing that taking a horse out of a stable and putting him in a herd improves his sleep. The best-designed test of almost exactly that comparison, published last year, found lying time went up in the expected direction and could not support it statistically. Another study put the same eight horses through single boxes and group shelters: they lay down for 145 minutes a night in a box, and 69 minutes in a group shelter at the legal minimum space. In the shelters, every horse was pushed back to its feet by another horse at least once. That cannot happen in a stable. The only track-system study with recumbency data has the track slightly lower than the comparison.
What group living does have behind it is a stress measure rather than a sleep one. Horses kept in isolation show meaningfully higher faecal glucocorticoids than horses in a group. The move can still be the right call, and the stress evidence alone may justify it. What it is not is a sleep intervention with published support, and the sleep claim is the one everyone reaches for.
And here is the part that is hardest to sit with. Every study in this article measures posture. Not one of them used EEG. The owner who turns a horse out and now sees him lie down has not acquired evidence that he sleeps better. She has acquired a view. Whether his sleep has changed is exactly as unknown as it was inside the stable.
Which is the same mistake as the shape in the shavings, made outdoors, in better light.
## Sources
**Hämäläinen MJ, Brotherus IL, Wigren H-KM, Kaimio TE, Suomala H, Olbricht A-M, Hänninen LT, Mykkänen AK.** Effect of horse sleep behavior on performance in a field-side spatial reversal learning test. *Scientific Reports* 16, 4265 (2026). [10.1038/s41598-025-34463-9](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34463-9?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Greening L, McBride S.** A review of equine sleep: implications for equine welfare. *Frontiers in Veterinary Science* 9, 916737 (2022). [10.3389/fvets.2022.916737](https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.916737?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Greening L, Allen S, McBride S.** Towards an objective measurement of sleep quality in non-human animals. *Biology Open* 12, bio059964 (2023). [10.1242/bio.059964](https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.059964?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Suomala H, Brotherus I, Hänninen L, Ternman E, Mykkänen AK.** Risk factors associated with owner-reported sleep disturbances in Nordic horses. *Equine Veterinary Journal* 58(3), 728-735 (2026). [10.1111/evj.14560](https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14560?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Fuchs C.** Narkolepsie oder REM-Schlafmangel? 24-Stunden-Überwachung und polysomnographische Messungen bei adulten "narkoleptischen" Pferden. Dr. med. vet. dissertation, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (2017). [edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/20588](https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/20588/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Summarised in Fuchs C, Kiefner C, Reese S, Erhard M, Wöhr A-C, *Equine Veterinary Journal* 48(S50), 9 (2016), conference abstract.
**Baccarin RYA et al.** Sleep pattern interference in the cognitive performance of Lusitano horses. *Animals* 14(2), 334 (2024). [10.3390/ani14020334](https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020334?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Maeda T, Sueur C, Hirata S, Yamamoto S.** Behavioural synchronization in a multilevel society of feral horses. *PLOS ONE* 16(10), e0258944 (2021). [10.1371/journal.pone.0258944](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258944?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Kjellberg L, Sassner H, Yngvesson J.** Horses' resting behaviour in shelters of varying size compared with single boxes. *Applied Animal Behaviour Science* 254, 105715 (2022). And **Helmerich P, Bachmann I, Gygax L.** Comparing lying behaviour of young riding horses on days in an individual indoor box, on an outdoor paddock alone, or in pairs and in the following night. *Equine Veterinary Journal* (2025). [10.1111/evj.14041](https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14041?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Yarnell K, Hall C, Royle C, Walker SL.** Domesticated horses differ in their behavioural and physiological responses to isolated and group housing. *Physiology & Behavior* 143, 51-57 (2015). [10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.02.040](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.02.040?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Samson DR, Crittenden AN, Mabulla IA, Mabulla AZP, Nunn CL.** Chronotype variation drives night-time sentinel-like behaviour in hunter-gatherers. *Proceedings of the Royal Society B* 284, 20170967 (2017). [10.1098/rspb.2017.0967](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0967?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Bertone JJ.** Sleep deprivation behaviour syndrome, 876 clinical cases. NAEP Saratoga Equine Practitioners Conference, Saratoga Springs, September 2024, reported in [EquiManagement](https://equimanagement.com/research-medical/research/recognizing-and-treating-sleep-deprivation-in-horses/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), January 2025\. Peer-reviewed record: **Bertone JJ.** Excessive drowsiness secondary to recumbent sleep deprivation in two horses. *Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract* 22(1), 157-162 (2006).
**University of Helsinki**, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 25 July 2025\. **UC Davis Center for Equine Health**, narcolepsy health topic, November 2021.
### How we handled the evidence
Every paper above that could be obtained was read in full rather than through a summary. Where only an abstract was available, or where the source is a conference talk or a press release, the text says so.
We write "REM-like" for behaviourally scored studies and plain "REM" for general physiology. Posture is a probabilistic proxy for brain state, not a measurement of it: on Greening and McBride's own regressions, roughly a third of time spent lying flat is REM, and standard ethograms have no code for the brief standing REM episodes that do occur.
The odds ratios come from two separate models in the Suomala paper and are kept apart, because they are not interchangeable. Confidence intervals are given wherever an estimate rests on a small number of horses, which in that paper is most of them.
The hypnogram is illustrative. It is built to the architecture the 2022 review compiles from 11 studies, and is not a reproduction of anyone's figure.
The Bertone caseload is reported from a trade summary of a conference talk, not from a peer-reviewed paper or an interview, and is written as reported speech for that reason.
Three claims that circulate widely were checked and left out: that a horse can go seven to 14 nights without lying down before trouble starts, that 90% of sleep-deprived horses are injured, and that herds operate a rota of sentinels. None of them has a published source that survives being followed.
The self-assessment is a prompt grounded in published associations. It is not diagnostic and does not replace veterinary assessment.
### I learned to ride before I learned anything about horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/i-learned-to-ride-before-i-learned-anything-about-horses/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:15.000Z
I learned to ride at a riding school, the way most of us did. I can still recite what I was taught: heels down, kick on, don't let him get away with it. If a pony napped or refused, that was defiance, and the answer was more leg and a growl. What I cannot recite is a single thing that education taught me about what a horse actually needs. Not turnout, not forage, [not company](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/wild-horse-behaviour-what-20-years-of-research-reveals-about-domestic-horses/); not one lesson on [what all that obedience felt like from his side](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-human-partnership-right-question/). We were taught how to get horses to do what we wanted, and we called that horsemanship.
Listening back to this week's episode, what struck me first was that all three of us had the same education, continents apart. Anna's riding schools ran on "never let it win". Shelby grew up showing on the Arabian circuit, taught from the age of four that a horse who did not listen had to be "got after", and reassured that it was fine: they're big animals, it doesn't hurt them. Nobody was being cruel on purpose. What changed her mind was not an argument. It was two things she could see with her own eyes. When her family hit financial trouble and her horse moved from a smart show barn to a yard where [he lived out on 20 acres with a herd](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/), the spooking and the bolting simply stopped. Nothing in his training had changed; only his life had. And then there was Milo, a rescue horse who, when she escalated pressure the way she had been taught, squared up and prepared to fight. The old playbook did not just fail; it was about to get her hurt.
## Behaviour is a symptom
Behaviour is a symptom of a feeling. A horse cannot disrespect you, Shelby argues, because respect is a human idea; a horse is simply responding to what feels right in the moment, the way you or I would if we were dropped into a country whose language and etiquette we did not know. Once you take that seriously, [the phrase "bad behaviour" starts to dissolve](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/how-amateur-owners-are-spotting-pain/). The question stops being how do I stop this, and becomes what is he telling me.
There is evidence sitting under the philosophy, which is what makes it hard to wave away. Shelby is an IAABC-certified equine behaviour consultant, and she is precise about the mechanics. Traditional training leans on pressure and release, which is negative reinforcement, and for the release to work as a reward the pressure has to be at least mildly unpleasant to begin with. So the best the horse can hope for is relief. She asks the question most of us never think to ask: **if the only reward on offer is the removal of something annoying, where is the horse's reason to actually enjoy the work?**. On the sport she is just as exact, citing the study that found oral lesions in 87 to 88% of horses examined after one upper-level cross-country event, and she is careful with it in a way the internet rarely is: one event, she says, and it needs replicating. Her challenge to the industry follows from that care, not in spite of it: if these things are truly harmless, prove it.
## What this means on a wet Tuesday
So what does this mean on a wet Tuesday, when you have twenty minutes and a horse who will not stand still to be tacked up? It means asking why before you correct. It might mean the honest answer is turnout, or forage, or company, rather than a firmer hand. And it means the permission Shelby is so good at granting: if your patience is already spent, you are allowed to not ride. Nothing about a horse's education is so urgent that it cannot wait for a version of you regulated enough to teach it.
None of this makes the horse easier to blame, which may be exactly why it takes work to accept. My horse wasn't misbehaving. He was the only one in the arena telling the truth.
## After hours
The recording light went off, the cameras came down, and Anna reached for your questions. Listening back to the tape, it's a looser, franker conversation than the episode: the guilt of realising how much of what you were taught was simply wrong, and what it costs to change your mind in a world that treats changing your mind as weakness. The recording is below.
Have you had a Milo moment, a horse who refused the playbook until you changed it? What did you have to unlearn? Tell us in the comments; I read everything.
Curious Equestrian is independent and unsponsored. If it's been useful, you can support it here: [curiousequestrian.co.uk/support](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/#/portal/support)
Find Shelby Dennis online
(The Bookshop.org links are affiliate links: they support independent bookshops and Curious Equestrian at no extra cost to you.)
[Audiobook: Secrets of the Horse](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9798349163685?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) | Website: [milestoneequestrian.ca](https://milestoneequestrian.ca/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) | Instagram: [@sdequus](https://www.instagram.com/sdequus/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) | Facebook: [Milestone Equestrian](https://www.facebook.com/milestoneequestrian96/) | TikTok: [@sdequus](https://www.tiktok.com/@sdequus?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) | YouTube: [Shelby Dennis](https://www.youtube.com/@ShelbyDennis?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
\`\`\`
Copy of Shelby Dennis Behind The S 1
0:00
/769.781333
1×
### Treated like kings, when all they want is to be horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-racing-welfare/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:55:50.000Z
I don't watch the Grand National. I don't follow racing at all, if I'm honest. But you don't have to follow a sport to catch its headlines, and this year's were hard to miss: four horses dead at Cheltenham, two more at the Grand National. Like most people, I put the horror where it is easiest to put it, on the track, in those few televised minutes of risk.
Then I spent a fortnight inside Anna's conversation with Alex Fleming, listening back the way a producer does, more times than I can count, and Alex moved the horror somewhere I wasn't expecting. Not onto the fences. Onto the non race day care and training.
The deaths, she says, are the easiest thing to see and, oddly, among the easier things to fix; fewer runners, lower fences, a better start. What is harder, and far more common, is the ordinary life of a racehorse when no camera is pointed at it. Stabled almost around the clock. Turned out rarely, if at all, and usually alone. She has rehomed an ex-racehorse who did not see a field between the ages of two and six, and she is at pains to say he was not the exception. (we should note that there are racing yards who are addressing these issues).
Also Watch on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/49F7HVXFgsNU4qvwHpG0cb?si=m5rB0NN3Rx-fWqf4eBROEA&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or listen on [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/she-worked-inside-horse-racing-this-is-what-they-dont/id1534004610?i=1000774082051&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
None of this is said with a pointing finger. She loved the industry, still does in some ways, and is clear that most people in it love their horses too. Both things are true at once, which is the uncomfortable bit. The problem isn't a shortage of feeling; it is a tradition so settled that the people inside it have stopped seeing it.
What does this mean for those of us who will never sit on a thoroughbred at the top of the gallops? It means the racing yard is only an extreme version of choices the rest of us make. Turnout, forage, company. Alex's most hopeful point is that the better way is not a sacrifice. The yards giving horses more, she says, are not doing worse; some, like Lucinda Russell's, are doing very well. Sounder horses, happier horses, horses that run better. The argument for welfare turns out to be an argument for the sport too, if anyone funding it is willing to listen.
And that willingness is the whole thing. These are animals that want to please, that genuinely seem to love to run. Which sounds like a comfort until you turn it over. The willingness is the part that gets exploited. The horse keeps going long after a person would have stopped.
They don't want to be treated like kings. They want to be treated like horses.
\----------------------------------------------------
AFTER HOURS
The recording light went off, the cameras came down, and Anna reached for the questions you'd sent in.
Rod asked about how young they start, and Alex drew the line carefully: education at two she can live with, a jockey on a two-year-old's back she can't. Jane asked about forage, and the answer was blunt; ad lib hay was something she simply never saw, and it sits underneath so much of the ulcer problem. Whitney asked about tack, and Alex turned it around, the bit is rarely the problem, the hands and the training underneath it are.
Green Room A ALEX
0:00
/740.045333
1×
### We don't have a throwaway problem, do we?
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/throw-away-horses-documentary-uk-interview/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:15.000Z
This week Anna sat down with Theresa Demarest and Katherine Gregory to talk about *Throw Away Horses*, a new documentary on Amazon Prime and on Vimeo worldwide. Theresa is the filmmaker (she made *Keiko: The Untold Story* before this); Katherine runs Colorado Horse Rescue, a roughly two-million-dollar-a-year operation in Longmont, Colorado.
The film looks at how horses in the US move through what is effectively a disposal pipeline. Livestock auctions where they're tagged next to cattle and pigs. Kill buyers who double or sometimes triple their asking price by leveraging the heartstrings of horse-loving members of the public. Onward shipment to slaughterhouses in Mexico, or, in the case of Canadian-sourced horses, flown packed into planes to Japan to be sold as sashimi. Babies, often.
Two structural points underwrite the whole picture. In the US, horses are classified as livestock, not companion animals. There is no federal minimum standard of care for a privately owned horse, and state law varies.
Also watch on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/70t4uZx4TTYCoQevd6CAhX?si=zxE53WktRSiVLw-n6BAKXA&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or Listen on [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/what-happens-when-a-horse-stops-being-useful/id1534004610?i=1000768728882&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**The instinct to look away**
It may be tempting as a British equestrian, to say: well, that isn't us. Most of our horses are worth more alive than dead. We don't have that pipeline.
Where is our equivalent?
Katherine described a culture where horses are bought as starter animals, ridden until the rider outgrows them, traded in for something better. The first horse moved on when the second one is found. The competition horse that stops scoring and is quietly listed. The livery horse that develops a problem and changes owners three times in eighteen months. All of it runs on the same underlying logic: that the horse is a useful object whose value lasts as long as its function does.
*Throw Away Horses* is, on the surface, a film about an American supply chain. Underneath, it's about a way of seeing animals that isn't particularly American. The same frame produces the kill pen and the upgrade. Different country, different scale, same idea.
Smaller in scale than the US picture, certainly. But the UK is the eighth largest horse meat exporter in Europe, ninety-nine per cent of it sent abroad. The pipeline is here. It just runs more quietly, and we look away more skilfully.
**The motorcycle and the animal**
Theresa keeps returning to one contrast in the interview: the horse as motorcycle versus the horse as a living, communicating animal. Stick a key in, get on, go. She says she made the film for non-horse people. The thing she didn't expect was that experienced owners keep telling her they learned something from it.
The film is on [Amazon Prime in the US](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Throw-Away-Horses/0SOTQXR99HFJKCOKCDMCNDN0EY?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and on [Vimeo worldwide](https://vimeo.com/ondemand/throwawayhorses?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Theresa was clear she'd be glad to support UK community screenings to benefit rescues here. If you run a yard, a rescue, or a screening room and the idea catches you, it's worth getting in touch with her, and let us know we'd love to hear about UK screenings.
Official Throw Away Horses Trailer
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### 13 owners and not one came forward
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-horse-rescue-really-costs/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:16.000Z
I've said it. More than once, reading about horses found abandoned or news stories where animals have to be recovered from awful situations. "If I won the lottery, I'd have a sanctuary." It comes out of the helpless feeling, the wanting to do something, anything.
When Anna Louise came back from speaking with Billy Thompson, she was already sold. A day at The Retreat Animal Sanctuary, behind the gates. I didn't need much convincing.
What we found behind those gates was this. In the year before our visit, someone had throttled Billy unconscious. His kidneys bled for three and a half weeks. He'd gone out to help a horse, explained, calmly, that the horse wasn't dangerous. It was terrified. "Don't call me cruel." That was the trigger. It wasn't the first time he'd paid a price for intervening. Billy has been jailed on multiple continents, taken to court more times than he can count. His view on all of it: when you go out to find animals being neglected, you expect to meet the people who neglect them. That's part of the job.
About 80% of the horses at The Retreat have been dumped. Not all because someone was deliberately cruel. Some arrived because the cost of living made keeping a horse impossible, because families fell apart, because the horse passed through so many hands that whoever ended up with it had no real attachment. One arrived with a microchip logging 13 registered owners. Billy contacted every single one. Not one was interested.
And they lose some. A seven-year-old foal the whole team had raised from a starving mother. A nine-year-old with cancer of the hoof, who Billy had promised to get out of pain, and couldn't. "It broke the team," he said. "I'll probably never be able to say her name."
What kind of person sustains this? Billy's answer is that it isn't really a choice. He was bringing stray dogs home at 14, had 11 dogs and five ponies by 16\. He spent 16 years feeding 7,500 pigeons in Trafalgar Square every night after Ken Livingstone banned the seed sellers in 2001 — because the alternative was 7,500 pigeons dying. Every time a court told him to stop, he told the judge: "It won't stop me."
Lill is Billy's sister, a trustee who manages much of the day-to-day horse care and has adopted several animals from the sanctuary herself. She commutes to London for work, comes home to horses, dogs, her daughter, elderly parents, her son and his wife. She posts to TikTok from the bath because that's genuinely the only spare time she has. "I'm living the dream," she told Anna Louise. She meant every word.
The romantic idea of sanctuary life is about what animals give you. Billy never saw it as an exchange. When he was six, his father pointed at a toy lorry in his farm set and said it was for taking animals away. Billy told him he was wrong: his lorry was for going to get them. You don't learn to be this way, he told Anna Louise. You're either that way or you're not. He's been that way since he was six years old.
💡
Learn more about the work of The Retreat Animal Sanctuary: https://www.retreatanimalrescue.org.uk/
**Making this documentary**
A day at The Retreat, cameras, an edit suite, and a lot of hours. If you've found value in what we make and want to help us keep making it, here's how: [curiousequestrian.co.uk/support](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/#/portal/support) or like and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify or Apple. Thank You.
### Free lessons, funded by followers: is this what saves British riding schools?
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/is-this-what-saves-british-riding-schools/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:17.000Z
The economics always seemed obvious: horses cost more than they used to, haylage is now £50-60 a bale in some parts of the UK, lesson prices can't keep pace with running costs, and so the gates close and the land gets sold for housing. I understood the problem without ever questioning who had defined it.
Then I heard Chloe Tinson explain that her riding school, come April, will have its business rates increased because the government classifies it the same as a hotel.
Also watch on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Q7or7UvtTado0BlKkVs8e?si=DILYsFBmSHup2h5ApAHUhA&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or Listen on [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-riding-school-offering-free-lessons/id1534004610?i=1000764538266&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
This is not a metaphor. Riding schools are formally categorised as leisure businesses, which means the same regulatory logic applies to Barnwell Equestrian Centre in Cornwall as to a Travelodge. The solution a hotel might reach for, if costs rise, is to open more rooms or put prices up. The solution available to Chloe is limited by how many hours each horse can ethically work in a day. These are not comparable problems. Calling them the same thing tells you something important about how invisible the equestrian industry remains to the people writing the rules.
Since 2020, an estimated 330 riding schools have closed across the UK. Before the pandemic, we'd already lost 20% of riding schools over a decade. This is not a blip. It is a structural collapse, happening slowly enough that each individual closure feels like a local tragedy rather than a national one.
Chloe took over Barnwell from her mother, who has been running it since the 1980s. She has signed on for five more years. She knows the maths doesn't work. And so, rather than wait for a solution that wasn't coming, she started posting on TikTok.
Every day, at least one minute of video. Honest, unpolished, direct to camera: this is what we're trying to do, this is what it costs, this is why it matters. She calls each day by its number. When Anna Louise spoke to her, Chloe was on day 64\. Across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, she has built a following of over 50,000 people. In January, views and donations raised £750\. That money funded free riding lessons for children from low-income families, children struggling with mental health, children who had applied through her website and answered questions honestly about where they were in life.
The sessions run in groups of four. Beginners. She takes them through basic position and getting comfortable in the saddle, and she says that by the end, the children who arrived shy and quiet had opened up completely. They were giving feedback, chatting, smiling. That is not a leisure outcome. That is a therapeutic one. The government just hasn't looked closely enough to notice.
What Chloe has built is not a charity. It is a third economic model. The content funds the sessions; the sessions generate more content; the community grows and the riding school fills with paying clients who found her through the algorithm. She is, at day 64, busier than she has ever been. She is also still working out whether the numbers add up.
There is a version of this conversation where Chloe is the answer. There is also a version where she is evidence of a broken system, where a skilled instructor who has been running a riding school for years, who has worked as a support worker and a delivery driver and a bin collector to keep the horses fed, should not have to build a social media audience to fund lessons for children who can't afford £25.
Both things are true at the same time.
The internet didn't save Chloe's riding school. Chloe did — by using the internet to show people what they were about to lose.
💡
Chloe Tinson is an equestrian instructor and owner of Barnwell Equestrian Centre in Cornwall. She's been building her audience across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram under the handle Chloe in Cornwall since the start of 2026
🎉 Join [ @chloeincornwall ](https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCD-qEbtCQIVXSCHFww2j7fw?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) the UK’s FIRST free riding school journey!
📧: info.chloeincornwall@gmail.com
www.paypal.me/Chloeincornwall
---
**Supporting the inquisitive herd**
The Curious Equestrian is independent and unsponsored. If it's been useful, you can support it here: [curiousequestrian.co.uk/support](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/#/portal/support)
### The supplier was almost embarrassed to charge what he had to
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-supplier-was-almost-embarrassed-to-charge-what-he-had-to/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:17.000Z
I thought the hay crisis was a British farming story. A dry spring, a bad harvest, not enough in the barns. Anna Louise says it plainly in her introduction to this episode: she has been searching late into the night, ringing suppliers two counties away, finding rationing signs on the haylage, worrying about keeping horses fed. I recognise that. I think most of us do. We feel it from our end of the supply chain: the empty shelves, the rationed bales, the rising prices. But I had absolutely no picture of what it looks like from the other end.
Then we sat down with Nick Nunn.
Nick runs NP Nunn from Newmarket. His operation supplies hay, bedding, and feed to racing yards, stud farms, and livery yards across the UK. He also supplies, in the same week, to the Amir of Qatar and to Godolphin in Dubai. His yard processes around 20,000 bales of wood shavings a week. Hay is, in his own words, "a small part" of the business. I mention all of this because the scale matters: Nick is not a small local merchant caught short by the weather. He is a serious, experienced operation with reach, resource, and relationships built over 30 years. And even he has been scrambling.
Also on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2FYbsvoSQyoto4IdxIyIz3?si=XhWrbO%5FeTR60m94wF9kv3A&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hay-prices-have-doubled-heres-whats-really-happening/id1534004610?i=1000762028978&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) Podcasts
Here is what this crisis has actually required of him. Last summer's drought hit UK grass growth at the worst possible moment. Nick estimates his hay crops were 50% down on the previous year, and the previous year was already poor. To keep his customers supplied, he began importing from France, Belgium, Ireland, and Germany. The French hay (crow hay, from the Cro region) is comparable to a quality meadow hay; the Irish supplies, which he has been routing to his racing yard clients, came from a supplier who "stood by" the commitment and held stock back specifically for them. The consistency of supply that premium clients demand, the same quality bale-to-bale, week-to-week, has meant sourcing from multiple countries simultaneously and analysing samples and reports before committing.
It is not, as Nick puts it, "a straightforward operation." A lorry sent to collect a load on a Tuesday was held at the border for 28 hours. With all the correct paperwork. It was simply held. That story is sitting inside the price you're paying now, along with the 10% fuel surcharge that was added to Nick's latest Irish delivery because of the war in the Middle East.
That war has reached further into Nick's business than most people would imagine. He exports wood shavings to the Middle East, including to the Amir of Qatar's racing horses and to Godolphin in Dubai, a relationship built over many years. Ten containers were loaded and dispatched at the same time the conflict escalated. They are now stuck. War tariffs have been added; each container held in a port accrues daily charges that Nick describes, without exaggeration, as "telephone numbers." His shavings will survive the wait because they are not perishable. Horse feed, which expires, is a different problem entirely. He is exploring flying some out.
When Anna Louise asked him how he manages the stress of all this, he said, without theatre: "It's what we do. I don't suffer with too much stress." His son Harry now runs the website and manages orders. They have seven trucks on the road. They are expanding into Europe and into the showjumping world. Nick said he was "almost embarrassed" to charge the prices the market required, but the reality was straightforward: this is what it costs, and if people want the hay, that is the price.
What does this mean for the rest of us, on a rainy Tuesday in spring 2026? A few things worth sitting with.
Haylage is in shorter supply than hay, and Nick thinks that is partly because so many equestrians switched to haylage as a way of stretching hay stocks, exactly the advice many of us were given at the start of the shortage. That advice was reasonable in isolation; it simply did not account for what would happen to haylage demand if everyone followed it. The haylage season could begin in May, which is not far away.
On prices: Nick believes they will come down. His reasoning is partly market logic (a bumper crop and widespread baling incentivised by this year's crisis should increase supply) and partly weather optimism. For hay to be made, you need warm nights and consistent rain through April and May, then two or three weeks of hot, dry, windy weather at cutting time. You need both, in sequence, with nothing going wrong. The seasons have shifted; Nick has noticed that August is wetter than it used to be, and springs are drier. But he has found a potato farmer with 300 acres who can irrigate the crop, and that is the kind of adaptation that makes a difference at the margins.
The crisis is not over. But the shape of it is clearer now. It is not simply a story of a dry field in Suffolk. It is a story of lorries held at borders, of war tariffs on containers, of a haylage shortage partly created by the advice that was meant to solve the hay shortage. It is a story of a supply chain that most of us, as horse owners, never knew we were part of.
The hay in your horse's net tonight may have crossed three borders. Someone lost sleep making sure it got here.
---
## The main listen
Anna Louise's introduction to this episode is one of the most honest things we have put out: she describes what it is actually like to be an equestrian right now, in spring 2026, trying to keep a horse fed. It sets up Nick's interview perfectly, because his perspective from the supplier's side lands very differently once you've heard what it looks like from ours.
This episode is part of our ongoing hay crisis series. You can find the full playlist here: [Hay crisis series — YouTube](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRp8BN5z5bNnNcQ-z5CeLKcV3447id5vJ&si=Q7bnY9ftklqUM1y8&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
To find out more about Nick's business or to enquire about hay supply, visit [npnunn.co.uk](https://npnunn.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
### The wrong question we ask about horse-human partnership
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-human-partnership-right-question/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:18.000Z
#
There is a specific kind of discomfort that comes from watching someone else's horse do something your horse won't. You find yourself thinking: maybe more schooling, maybe a different bit, maybe I'm the problem, maybe he's the problem. The thoughts go round. If that resonates then you'll appreciate this weeks conversation with Kate Sandel, who trains horses on Dartmoor and has spent the better part of her career thinking about the connection between a horse's emotional life and their physical body.
Something Kate said stopped the loop. She wasn't talking about training fixes. She was talking about the question we ask when we choose a horse, and whether we're asking the right one at all.
Also watch/listen on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PJv9eazxGOB9XrWtyG5db?si=5SbiwXX7Q56nWu%5F7ZLLc0g&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) & [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/curious-equestrian/id1534004610?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
## The question we get wrong before we even start
There's a moment most horse owners know. You're handling a horse who is technically fine: no lameness, no obvious vice, no dramatic incident. And yet something is off. The tension under your hands. The way he braces before you've done anything. You file it under 'needs more work' and carry on.
Kate Sandel would say the discomfort you're filing away is worth paying attention to. A horse trainer based on Dartmoor, with a background in French classical riding through P[hilippe Karl](https://www.philippe-karl.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)'s school, equine sports massage, and human mental health, Kate spends a lot of time thinking about why a horse's emotional state and their physical state are not separate things. 'You cannot extract their brain from their body,' she says. The brace, the tension, the mild evasion: these are not training problems to be overwritten.
But here is where Kate's thinking takes a turn. She doesn't begin with what's wrong with the horse. She begins with what the human being brought to the horse-human relationship in the first place.
**The wrong question**
When most people buy a horse, the question running in the background is: is this horse right for me? We evaluate. We trial. We check for vices and vet for soundness. We think, reasonably enough, that we are the ones making the choice. The animal is the variable. The human is the constant.
Kate would flip this. 'About 70% of the time when things go amiss between a person and a horse,' she says, 'it's probably because the person misjudged who they were and what they could offer.' The horse did not fail the arrangement. The human misread themselves.
Self-knowledge in this context is not just personality. It is about what kind of real partnership you genuinely want, what you can provide in terms of time, handling, stimulation and emotional steadiness, and whether those things match what this horse needs to be well. 'They're not a push bike,' Kate says. 'They're also sentient beings with their own ideas and their own emotional lives.' That understanding has to come before the equine-human relationship can be anything useful to either of you.
**What 'soft' actually means**
The word at the centre of Kate's work is 'soft'. She's thought carefully about what it does and doesn't mean. 'Softness can mean so many different things to so many people,' she says. 'But I certainly don't think it means weakness.' In Kate's framing, softness describes a horse's internal state: a kind of okayness, the absence of bracing and guardedness, the presence of a horse who is, in her phrase, 'inspired by the movement rather than coerced into doing the movement.'
That distinction between inspiration and coercion is worth sitting with. Coercion can produce compliant horses; horses who go through the right movements without being particularly present in them. Inspiration requires genuine willingness, and genuine willingness is not something you can fake or force. 'Horses don't argue against their own happiness,' Kate says, paraphrasing her friend Jane Pike. 'If it feels better, happy days.'
This is where Kate's classical training background becomes relevant. Classical horsemanship asks exactly this: how do we bring a horse alongside mentally so that they are inspired rather than coerced? Communication in this tradition is less about training methods that produce compliance and more about building the kind of trust and mutual understanding where the horse can actually choose to participate. Riders who come from this tradition tend to talk about equine communication differently: less instruction, more conversation. Kate is clear that compassion without skill is not the answer. Good foundational training and genuine regard for the horse are not opposites. The horse given clear, consistent handling and also regarded as a creature with an inner life tends to do better than the horse managed with either quality alone. Harmony in the saddle, when it happens, is the product of that equine-human partnership built on the ground first.
Kate's benchmark is striking. 'I always think if I had a queue of people lining up for my horses when I died, I'd feel like I'd done as good a job as I could,' she says. 'None of them need to be doing flying changes or levade for that.' Not performance. Not achievement. A horse that people would want.
**What you're actually offering**
Buying or keeping a horse is not an act of consumption but an act of commitment. Whether you are looking for a rider's horse, a companion, or something in between, the question is not whether the horse suits you. The question is what kind of life you can genuinely offer, and whether that matches what this horse needs to thrive. Horse welfare, at its most practical, starts here, with an honest inventory of who you actually are.
'What they agree to is quite extraordinary,' Kate says of animals in a domesticated world not of their making. A horse who comes to participate rather than endure is offering something considerable. That's worth taking seriously before you start negotiating the price. The connection that follows, when it comes, is not a training outcome. It is the result of a human finally asking the right question, and an equine animal who has been given enough clarity and positive experiences to choose to show up for it.
Positive reinforcement, clear communication, and equine bodywork all get discussed in the full conversation, alongside what the French classical horsemanship tradition actually teaches about rider biomechanics and why so many horse owners are rethinking how they learn.
### Inquisitive Herd - After Hours Tape
Most of us have had a lesson that left us feeling smaller, not bigger. Shouted at, corrected, confused, and somehow still expected to go back next week.
In the members' Q&A, Kate talks about what peace in a lesson actually means (and why it is not the same as feeling comfortable), how to prepare your horse to stay in a 'herd of two' when the arena around you gets busy, and what to look for before you ever book in with a new instructor. She also gets into the bodywork thread: how her equine massage training with Helen Tompkins, and a moment with Mark Rashid and a rein, changed what she thought was possible through touch, and why she now teaches owners to do it themselves. Find the member extras below.
---
**'**[**Riding and Release**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781908809940?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)**' by Kate Sandel.** Available in our bookshop Practical and philosophical, for anyone rethinking their relationship with their horse.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
Kate's website and membership: [softandsound.org](https://softandsound.org/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) Online membership, courses, workshops and in-person clinics on Dartmoor. If the episode resonated, this is a good place to keep going.
**'**[**The Joy of Movement**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780525534129?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)**' by Dr Kelly McGonigal.** Referenced in the episode in the context of walking with horses. McGonigal's research on endocannabinoids and sustained movement reframes why time moving quietly alongside a horse might matter more than we think.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### What your horse's "ticklishness" is actually telling you
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-your-horses-ticklishness-is-actually-telling-you/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:09.000Z
I've never been sure if my horse Giles likes a groom what does it mean when he turns his head to look at me. He has always done it. Is he checking in, are we having a moment or is it the horse equivalent of a pointed look at the dentist? And then there's the other end of that spectrum: the spot behind his shoulder where the brush lands and something in him just gives. The head drops, the eyes go soft, he leans in. That I'm fairly sure he likes. In this episode Sue Palmer helps us to read these moments.
There is a moment in this conversation that I keep returning to. Sue is describing what she calls fasciculation — the twitchy, rippling skin response that happens when you run your hand along a horse's girth area. Most people call it ticklishness. Yards are full of horses that are "just a bit tickly there." Sue is unambiguous: it is not ticklishness. It is a sign of irritation. A sign the horse is not comfortable.
It is such a small thing. And it gets dismissed so routinely that most of us have probably never questioned it. Which is, of course, exactly the kind of moment this podcast exists for.
Sue Palmer is a chartered physiotherapist who works with horses and riders; she is also the author of [Horse Massage for Horse Owners](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780851319995?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) an co-author, with Sue Dyson, of [Harmonious Horsemanship](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781805140078?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Her work sits at the intersection of pain science and what she simply calls listening. Her mission, which she has put a date on, is that by 2030 every equestrian will understand that pain and behaviour are linked. That a horse labelled difficult or lazy or naughty deserves a physical question mark before anything else.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
The conversation covers horse massage as a practical tool for owners, not just professionals. Three checks you can do every week (grooming reactions, carrot stretches in both directions, a tight circle on both reins) that build up a picture of what's normal, so you notice when something changes. Why softer and slower is almost always the right direction. How to read what a comfortable horse looks like during bodywork, and what discomfort actually signals: ears, tail, the head swinging round, all of it communication rather than attitude.
She also shares the case of Alice and Star, a horse whose kissing spine was found on X-ray and dismissed as irrelevant. Alice kept saying something was not right. It took one more assessment and a nerve block to confirm she had been correct all along. Star became a different horse. It is a reminder that owners are often right, and that persistence in asking the question is not stubbornness; it is advocacy.
For the practical piece: once a week is Sue's baseline for horse owners. Before exercise if the horse tends to be stiff; after if you've worked hard. A full session runs around 45 minutes, but three focused minutes on something specific (poll tension, girth sensitivity), done consistently, matters. The most important thing is being present when you do it. Trying to massage while the rest of the yard is being turned out is, Sue says, probably not the right time.
**This week's after-hours**
Anna Louise takes Sue into Curious Equestrian's green room for a listener Q&A, and the conversation gets specific fast.
To Laura, whose mare has intermittent lameness and no firm diagnosis, Sue's first word is unambiguous: vet. Then she talks through what comes after, and how to simply, safely begin using your hands as the starting point for everything.
To David, who improvises his way through a massage session, she has some reassurance, and a clear signal to watch for when you've pushed too far.
And somewhere in between, she talks about the part of the job that keeps her in it. 👇
Sue The Horse Physio After Hours
0:00
/1078.482744
1×
### She's helped horses in 26 countries with tape
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/shes-helped-horses-in-26-countries-with-tape/
Last updated: 2026-07-04T12:56:47.000Z
**The horse that everyone gave up on probably wasn't difficult. It was sore.**
I've been thinking about this since we recorded our conversation with Rebecca Haddock.
She started her career as a colt starter. Good at it, by all accounts. Then people began bringing her the problem horses, the ones with behavioural issues, the ones nobody could figure out. And what she noticed, almost immediately, was that the behaviour wasn't the problem. The pain was.
That's not a new idea. We've covered the pain-behaviour link on the podcast before. But what struck me this time was how far she took it. Because once she'd identified pain as the root cause, her next question was: how do I fix it cheaply enough that anyone can afford to do it?
The answer, for her, turned out to be a $13 roll of tape.
---
**What the tape is actually doing**
Kinesiology taping in humans goes back to the 1970s. It crossed into equine use around 2010 to 2012, and Rebecca is fairly blunt about the early version: it was a direct transplant from human practice, without accounting for the fact that horses are quadrupeds, prey animals, and don't have skin in the same sensory way we do.
The adaptation that matters is this. In humans, the tape works by interacting directly with the skin and its mechanoreceptors. Horses are covered in hair. So Rebecca rebuilt the modality from scratch to interact instead with the hair root plexus, the sensory network at the base of each hair follicle, and through that into the fascia and muscle beneath.
The mechanism she describes for muscle spasm is worth understanding. A hypertonic muscle, one that won't release, needs to be taped from insertion point to origin point at around 20% stretch. The recoil of the tape in movement sends a repeated signal to the golgi tendon organ at the insertion point, which responds by telling the muscle to relax and lengthen. She says you'll see a response within 30 minutes.
She's careful to distinguish between what's been clinically proven and what's currently supported only by case studies. That transparency, in a field where a lot of practitioners make sweeping claims, is worth noting.
---
**What this means for your horse on an ordinary Tuesday**
Rebecca's core argument is that horse owners have been told, by vets, by physiotherapists, by the industry generally, that this is too complicated for them. Her counter-argument is that there has never been a recorded injury from kinesiology taping in any species. You cannot hurt your horse with it.
That doesn't mean training is irrelevant. Placement matters, tension matters, knowing which muscle you're targeting matters. But she's built her education to be accessible to anyone who can operate a smartphone, and she teaches horse owners at the same level as practitioners.
The protocols for common issues, intermittent lameness, post-surgical recovery, fascia work, are available free on her website. The book, *Stick with Success*, covers both the taping and the broader picture: nutrition, lifestyle, pain recognition.
Whether you take it up or not, the underlying question she's asking is the right one. When your horse is behaving in a way that doesn't make sense, what are you assuming, and is that assumption worth examining?
**Nothing in this newsletter or the accompanying episode constitutes veterinary advice. Always consult a qualified vet for the diagnosis and treatment of your horse.*
---
**The question we saved until the recording light went off**
Rebecca spent most of this episode talking about the horses. In the after-hours conversation, we asked her something different: what happens when the industry pushes back, and why she keeps going anyway.
It's about ten minutes, and it's the part of the conversation that stuck with me most.
*Free subscribers get the after-hours audio with every episode. If you're reading this in your inbox, you're already in. Hit play below.*
*If someone forwarded this to you and you'd like the after-hours conversation delivered to your inbox every fortnight, you can subscribe here, it's free.*
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Wild horse behaviour: what 20 years of research reveals about domestic horses.
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/wild-horse-behaviour-what-20-years-of-research-reveals-about-domestic-horses/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:19.000Z
When Bonny Mealand first started working with wild horses, everything she thought she knew fell apart. Anna Louise asked how that felt. Bonny paused. "It was devastating, actually."
She'd grown up like most of us, believing horses existed for our purposes. To ride, to compete, to train. Then she saw free-living horses for the first time and realized: we've been looking at the wrong things entirely.
Wild horses spend their lives building and maintaining social relationships. Not grazing strategies. Not herd hierarchies. Not survival skills. Relationships. The peaceful harmony Bonny describes, the constant subtle communication, the effort they put into friendships, this is what their whole lives are about. It's what makes them emotionally stable enough to handle complex terrain, make decisions, watch another horse leave without losing their minds.
We domesticate them, isolate them, move them between yards, split up friendships when it suits our logistics. Then we're surprised when they're anxious.
Bonny talks about how seeing wild horses changed everything for her, including a two-year commitment not to ride her ex-dressage mare unless the mare clearly agreed. The mare said no for two years. That's what genuine communication looks like when you're actually listening.
Feat. Bonny Mealand, Touching Wild
Anna Louise and Bonny talk about what happens when you stop assuming you know horses and start watching what they actually care about. Episode link here:
**Guest and resources**
Bonny Mealand: [Touching Wild Academy](url)
Video footage in the episode intro is by Lizzie MacKenzie of Of The Wild, available in full at the Touching Wild Academy. Photography credits: Jean Sinclair and Nancy Clarke (Takhi in Mongolia picture).
**Mentioned in this episode**
[Horses in Company by Lucy Rees](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781908809568?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
[Horses in Our Hands](https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/what-we-do/research/our-research/horses-in-our-hands?srsltid=AfmBOooDB%5FmPAZMKpEBIS0RaaRQWUa3iMPzmB5NxO%5FhkOqV-5i61so-B&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
[5 Domains of Horse Welfare](https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1870?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
---
Anna Louise and Bonnie continued the discussion after the cameras were turned off. A listener asked what Bonnie has changed in her own life by learning from wild horses. Her answer: "Everything." Then she talks about wolves at a Mongolian waterhole and why Shetland ponies are completely themselves. If you're in the Inquisitive Herd, those conversations are below.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Swapping hay? Horse nutritionist explains why it takes 7-10 days
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/swapping-hay-horse-nutritionist-explains-why-it-takes-7-10-days/
Last updated: 2026-04-02T19:10:13.000Z
##
When I brought my horse home, I spent two weeks obsessively transitioning his feed. He'd been on a a performance mix that looked like sticky muesli, and I wanted to switch him to a forage feed, so I weighed every scoop, tracked every ratio, and made sure the changeover was meticulous.
The hay? I didn't give it a second thought. If he turned his nose up at a bale, I'd swap it with another livery down the aisle until we found one he liked. To me, hay was just hay.
I also didn't know, at the time, that you could speak to an independent nutritionist. I was happy with the feed company helpline, but I think I would have felt more at ease knowing the advice wasn't attached to a sales target.
When Anna Louise sat down with Clare MacLeod, an independent equine nutritionist with over 28,000 Facebook followers, I realised there is a lot more to hay than I had understood. And that my meticulous bucket work had been slightly missing the point.
---
You have probably done this. The hay delivery arrives, the old batch runs out on the same day, and you swap straight over. New bales, same nets, no second thought.
Most of us know to change bucket feed gradually. That is basic pony club knowledge. But Clare MacLeod, who has spent more than two decades working as an independent equine nutritionist, pointed out something that many horse owners have never been told: forage changes are just as important to manage gradually as concentrate changes. The transition from grass to conserved forage, or from one batch of hay to another, is the highest risk factor for colic in winter.
That alone is worth sitting with. We fuss over the bucket and barely glance at the hay.
## Why your weight tape matters more than your supplement shelf
Clare's second piece of advice surprised me even more. She recommended that every horse owner use a weight tape regularly through winter, not because weight tapes are accurate for kilos (they are not), but because they catch changes in body fat faster than your eye will. 'Pop a weight tape around your horse,' she said, 'you can catch changes in body fat quicker than you'll see them by eye.'
This is the part of equine nutrition that rarely makes it into the adverts. No one is selling you a weight tape subscription. But tracking body condition is the single most useful thing you can do to manage your horse's diet through the colder months. It tells you whether to increase calories or reduce them. It tells you whether the forage you are feeding is enough, or whether you need to add something to the bucket to meet their nutrient requirements.
Body weight monitoring comes first. The bucket comes second.
Clare was clear that for a horse maintaining a healthy body condition on ad lib forage, the nutritional requirements beyond that can be straightforward: a good broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement in something palatable, and a salt lick. That is a balanced diet for many horses. Not five different products. Not the latest thing your friend's friend is feeding.
## The four-hour question
One of the most useful things Clare shared was about fasting. Many owners have heard that horses should never be without forage, and that any gap risks ulcers. Clare explained it differently. Behavioural studies show that horses with free-choice forage naturally have periods of up to four hours without eating during the day. Research suggests stomach health does not start to decline until after six hours.
This matters practically. If you have a horse that needs to lose weight and you have been panicking every time the hay net empties, knowing there is a four-hour daytime window gives you room. It does not mean you should impose a fast, and Clare was clear that lowering forage calories (through soaking hay or using straw) is better than restricting quantity. But the nuance helps. Not every empty hay net is an emergency.
## Looking at the horse, not the internet
What came through most strongly in this conversation was Clare's insistence on individual observation over general rules. On rugging, on feeding, on turnout, her answer kept returning to the same place: 'Look at the horse in front of us.'
Horse nutrition is full of confident voices telling you what to do. Feed companies with marketing budgets, social media posts with absolute certainty, yard mates with strong opinions. Clare described how 'marketers are experts in creating doubt,' and that even owners with perfectly good feeding routines can end up second-guessing themselves after scrolling through adverts.
An independent nutritionist, she pointed out, is not attached to a product range. A yearly check-in with one can give you something worth more than any supplement: confidence that what you are already doing is right.
The full conversation between Anna Louise and Clare covers the hay crisis, the rugging debate, how to weigh out forage, and why the best horse feed advice often starts with 'it depends.' You can listen to the episode on The Curious Equestrian podcast.
---
## Worth reading this week
- [Clare MacLeod's website](https://www.equinenutritionist.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk): Clare offers a quick horse feed check service as well as full nutrition consultations, plus free educational resources and webinars.
- [Prospective study of equine colic risk factors (Tinker et al., 1997)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9413718/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk): The epidemiological research Clare referenced, showing that changes in hay feeding and high concentrate levels significantly increase colic risk.
- [Clare MacLeod on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ClareMacLeodEquineNutritionist/): The page Anna Louise described as one of her favourite places on the internet for horse care discussion, with nearly 29,000 followers and genuinely open debate.
## If this resonated, these two episodes are worth your time
[**A Vet's Guide to Weight Management**](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6UDzBWMaUQS9tyohtLsPXm?si=JvjlGPKSRRWW6ifN83IoJA&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
Anna Louise talks to vet Katie Kershaw about equine obesity, the fact that around 40% of UK leisure horses are overweight, and why the way we keep horses today makes it so hard to manage. Clare MacLeod touches on body condition and weighing in this episode; this one goes much further into the problem.
[**Wild Wisdom: Nutrition and Self-Healing for Horses**](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xiBzIAF6gREOpyhaE5cno?si=BMaDESsKRfKDJxtUALWARg&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
Biologist and author Cindy Engel on what wild animal behaviour tells us about equine nutrition and self-healing. If Clare's point about forage being central to everything made you curious about why horses are wired the way they are, this is the episode that sits underneath it.
### The "after-hours" tapes
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes. But we had one more question.
In an industry full of "Gurus" telling us exactly what to do, Claire stands out because she often says the one thing we hate hearing: **"It depends."**
We wanted to know how she navigates a social media world that demands "Black and White" answers. Her response was a defense of the one thing missing from most Facebook groups: **Nuance.**
If you’re in the Herd (it's free!), that conversation is below.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### The native ponies we are losing
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-native-ponies-we-are-losing/
Last updated: 2026-05-07T13:53:45.000Z
I have always found heavy horses a bit intimidating. They are huge. And honestly, I wouldn't know where to start with handling one.
I assumed that because we see them at county shows, these breeds were doing fine. A bit niche perhaps.
It turns out I was wrong.
Feat. Tracy Wathen-Jones from the [Rare Breeds Survival Trust.](https://www.rbst.org.uk/pages/category/equine-watchlist?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
In this episode, Anna Louise talks to Tracy Wathen-Jones from the [Rare Breeds Survival Trust.](https://www.rbst.org.uk/pages/category/equine-watchlist?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) I was listening to the audio while editing and realised I had completely missed the point of why these breeds matter. It isn't just about nostalgia. *\*Inquisitive Herd Members stick around for the 'after hours' audio (see below).*
**Special thanks to the following photographers and societies for the images used: Jennifer Feleris, John Green, Katrina Bell, Frances Ellis, Louise Blundell, Deborah White, El Dunlop, David Stewart, and the Eriskay Pony Breed Society.*
**The numbers are scary** We often think about extinction regarding wild animals, but our native horses are in trouble. Tracy explained that the Exmoor pony is down 11%. The Eriskay pony has such a small population that they are critically rare.
And it isn't just the number of horses. We are losing the genetics. We have these breeds that were developed over centuries to survive on specific land, and once they are gone, we can't get them back.
**Losing the skills.** This is the part that really worried me. Tracy pointed out that as the horses disappear, the skills to handle them disappear too.
Handling a shire horse isn't like handling a warmblood. If we lose the old boys who know how to work these horses, we lose the ability to keep the breed going. It made me realise we are losing a whole language of horsemanship.
**The freezer insurance policy.** There was a moment when Tracy talked about the gene bank. They have semen stored from the 1960s. It is incredible that we have this insurance policy, but it also feels quite stark. We are relying on a freezer to save our history.
**The questions we didn't ask on air.** We were really curious about the practical side of the "wild" ponies we see on conservation sites. How do you actually get a farrier to a horse that isn't headcollar trained? If you are a supporter, we asked Tracy exactly that.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### The motivation equation
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-motivation-equation/
Last updated: 2026-05-09T10:23:55.000Z
**I have been giving so much thought lately to the concept of the motivation equation. Why and how does a horse want to work with us?**
There is more than one way up a mountain with horses, and doggedly sticking to one method is not always in your horse's best interests. Doing what works for your horse in a given moment of its life can help create an unbreakable bond, but not in the pursuit of perfection. We might have ideas of how ‘we’ want to train, but if your horse is not understanding, not motivated to join you, or resisting your attempts on all levels (even if your goal is ‘let's just be friends’), then you have a problem with the motivation equation.
I was recently explaining this to a new student; her horse had had an accident in the stable and was terrified to go in. If we can't balance the motivation equation, the horse won't be going in the stable unless we use force… and of course, that's not happening. Another new student has a new horse who has been totally mis-sold to her, who has an extreme fear of being ridden due to past pain and is bolting. We can help these horses, but only if we manage the motivation equation well, but there is more to it.
I like to think of the equation as a seesaw. If you consider the seesaw balanced and still, then the two sides are equal. This is where I love my relationship to be; I don't need to bring up tons of motivation in whatever form that takes. I don't have to be in full-on leadership mode because we are in balance. Neither has to apply any momentum to bring the seesaw into a still and balanced place. Neither one is leading, and neither one motivating. However, this is a rare and fleeting moment in your relationship, a place you seek eternally.
Let's think of the opposite scenario: the left side is high in the air, and the right is sticking in the mud (we are on the left, and the horse is on the right). It is not a great place for either party to find themselves. Much motivation is needed to get the horse to want to push up out of the mud. Our choice of path is what will decide if the horse wants to seek balance or whether we will invoke a sense of resentment; a balance of the seesaw would then become impossible, and there would be a constant battle.
I saw this in effect recently when I took a young child on a fun ride. She had recently experienced a family tragedy and desperately wanted to go. We felt it would be good for her, but it wasn't something I would usually attend, as seeing horses being used like hairy bicycles is not my bag, but there was a bigger picture. Their seesaw was perfectly balanced; it was balanced all day! Seamlessly switching roles between who was leading and who was following, water to cross - no problem, the pony quietly stepped into the role and as the jumps approached, the young girl gently took up her reins and guided a willing Sky towards the lower fence that she felt safe to jump.
However, all around her, I could metaphorically hear seesaws plunging and slapping the ground, as riders grimacing in fear of the height they were at as their legs dangled helplessly on their seesaw, unable to touch the ground. Horses plunged and were massively overcorrected to slap them back into the seesaw mud again. I preferred to focus on the girl and her pony. So, let's look at this girl; she has had a handful of riding lessons and has studied no pure liberty, so what was her secret? Joy and a pure belief that they can do it, going with the flow if plans change. Interestingly, she even fell off without disturbing the seesaw. She went for a jump, and the pony wanted to make sure they were both safe, so with good intent, she massively overjumped it! The girl sailed over her pony's head, landed with a thump, and got her foot trod on as the pony tried very carefully not to crush her. I can hear you say, “how is that in balance?” It was, perfectly, because the relationship didn't falter. The pony had her nose on the girl's shoulder, willing her to get up. Whilst stroking her pony, she dried her tears and got back on. Balance is not always smooth sailing, but more about that later.
So, how can we motivate a horse? By doing something that feels dignified, calm, and something they can easily understand. This keeps the seesaw balanced and is relatively easy to do using harmony and quiet as a reward, maybe treats, maybe scratches, and for some, a well-timed release of gentle and understood pressure (we are not talking emotional fireballs with a training stick being waved and slapped around, note - no judgment, I have been that person at times in the past).
But what if the stakes are high? What can be done with a horse in a place of extreme fear, terrified of the situation it has to overcome to live in the human world? How do we motivate them? How do we solve the training dilemma of getting the job done? Relationship! First, foremost, and every time. Counter conditioning is tried and tested; it is incredibly effective with horses and works well when combined with food motivation. But if the fear is more motivating than the food, you will not achieve your goal, it is as simple as that. The relationship has to come first.
The trust has to be in such a place that they will cross that metaphoric raging river to be with you. Working in pure liberty with no restraint and no treats will build that rock you need for you and your horse to stand on together. I don't feel ‘we’, the human, are the rock anymore; I think we create a rock that we can stand on with our horse together. This can take a lot of time. Treats can come in to train specific behaviours, and make it fun and exciting, but this still needs to solve the equation when the stakes are high… I am getting to it. Does anyone need another cuppa?
Our goal is never to erase the trauma; that would be impossible and set you both up to fail. All you can do is create new neural pathways that the horse will feel are the place to take their mind when tackling something that previously worried them. Like I said, if the treat (or whatever reward path you choose) does not outweigh the fear, you will not reach your end goal. The fear will take over, and resistance will be felt, followed by a breakdown in the relationship. The older school way of making the wrong choice hard and the right choice easy will not, in my opinion, ever balance your seesaw (maybe in years to come, but not in the way I would want). The stress would become internalised and come back to bite you.
So, let's say we have walked the walk; the relationship is in a great place, but now we have to address the issue at hand, the extreme fear. How can we take the horse past the hard and fast 'no' into a place where they are willing to try to walk into the stable or allow someone to ride them. The answer lies in your relationship. If you are both in a place of mutual understanding, you will do this with your horse, not to your horse. My husband had a great mentor in hoof trimming, and he said, "What you are not doing for the horse, you are doing to the horse." I always try to remember this. So, where does it leave us now? Maybe you are standing outside the stall, with the horse terrified of confinement, with a cut so deep that the horse has to be kept clean for the sake of not getting an infection. My answer is to think outside the box.
Put yourself in your horse's mind. How would you feel if you had been violently attacked in an enclosed room? Would you ever feel safe there? Would any amount of chocolate make you want to walk in there? Hell no! If riding had created such a fear of pain, even though the pain has gone, a pain so sharp and stabbing that you thought you would die, would you want someone up there? HELL NO. So, what mindset do you need to balance the seesaw? You have to be prepared to fail.
Yep, that's what you get for reading this today… FAILURE. The willingness to fail and how fabulously liberating it is as a horse trainer. I refuse to be a trainer who polishes her medals of success at the sake of the relationship, who gathers more and more students who say… "Oh, she is amazing; she will get the job done." What that is saying is the trainer is willing to override the true feeling of the horse to get a result the student will be happy with. That result is always a 'yes' for the human. I refuse to be backed into that corner.
A balance in a relationship doesn't mean nothing goes wrong; it is how you navigate it that counts. You can be in complete harmony with your horse even when you are flying through the air! Seeing harmony as only looking like the unicorn connection sets you up for massive disappointment. Life can't be full of roses and joy at all times, but how you navigate the rocky road of life determines the results. Resistance is futile; life will always happen, and seeking harmony and connection during those times builds the depth of your relationship.
It was beautiful and inspiring to see the young girl get back on her pony and carry on with their friendship, not remotely dented. The fall was due to gravity and physics, not a communication or training breakdown. This is the fundamental mistake most horse people make. If something goes wrong, they bust out the training books and find a way to ‘correct’ the error. I say, ride the waves of life with your horse, and you can never get it wrong.
My best friends in this world have walked a path scattered with lives of inevitable wrecks, giant boulders with failures and heartbreak written all over them, my blood and tears smeared deep into the crevices. Deep holes of loss that were navigated with them at my side. Life is not all success and roses, but our relationship is intact; the scars bonded us deeper. It can be the same with your horse. Would my friends keep trying to help me overcome my fear of confined spaces, 100% yes, but they would be willing to join me solely in liberty if I could never overcome my fear of being ridden; they would help build a run-in shed, with a temporary corral, if I genuinely can't stand to have that stable door closed.
Are you willing to ‘epically fail’ in your training goals and walk the walk of life with your horse? The results might astound you in terms of the depths of relationships you can reach. 'No' has never felt so good!
---
**Andrea Wady** has spent her life with horses. Riding since childhood, she competed in show jumping, trained hundreds of horses, and even ran an award-winning horse tours company in the jungles of Costa Rica.
Taking a lifelong pilgrimage to see the world through the eyes of the horse, her adventures have included teaching clinics on Pure Liberty
around the world, and walking across Costa Rica with Zeus, a very damaged rescue horse.
Together, they discovered a whole new way of connecting and discovered what could exist beyond forgiveness. Her book Crossing Bridges won Best International Non-fiction at the celebrated Equus Film and Arts
festival in California.
Originally published in Horsemanship Journal Magazine.
### Give Them Choice. Why Track Systems Work.
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:19.000Z
As regular viewers will know, both Anna Louise and I are advocates of Track systems for horses. I moved my horse to a track system in 2021, took the shoes off, and now my horse is comfortable and happy. And every time I watch him on the track with his herd, I think about what would have happened if I hadn't stumbled across this completely different way of keeping horses.
Watch or Listen on Spotify
💡
****What is a track system for horses?** A track system is a method of keeping horses on a fenced strip or loop of land — typically around the perimeter of a field — rather than in open pasture or a stable. The horse lives out year-round, moving continuously between water, forage, and shelter: a setup designed to support hoof health, reduce grass intake, and encourage the movement patterns horses evolved for. Track livery refers to a livery yard built on this principle, where owners keep their horses in a communal track rather than individual paddocks or stables.
When Anna Louise sat down with Lauren Johnson from Graveney Equine, I was preparing for an episode about paddock paradise philosophy. What I got instead was a story that mirrored my own, but started 15 years earlier, when nobody in the UK had even heard the term "track system."
## Why this matters now
Track systems used to be fringe. When Lauren set up her first one in 2010, she couldn't find a single person on social media doing it. The Facebook group she co-founded trudged along with a few thousand members for years.
Then something shifted. In the last three or four years, membership exploded. The questions changed from "what is this?" to "how do I build one?"
The reasons Lauren identified match exactly what I'm seeing in the forums and on the yard:
Weather extremes are making traditional turnout impossible. Owners are being told no turnout during wet months, which means horses standing in stables for weeks on end.
Metabolic issues are everywhere. Grass in the UK is largely optimised for dairy cattle, we're feeding bagged feeds with excess nutrition, and we're wondering why laminitis and EMS are so common.
## What hadn't occurred to me
About forty minutes into the conversation, Lauren said something that reframed how I think about keeping horses: "Getting to watch an animal have autonomy is just, it's a feeling I really struggle to describe."
She talked about horses filling their own day. Choosing which horses to spend time with. Picking whether to stand , or to lay in the sand. Wandering to the hedgerow to self-medicate on rosehips and hawthorn berries.
I've always known track systems were about movement and forage and hoof health. I hadn't properly understood they were about giving horses back their choices.
Lauren described what happens when owners first bring their horses to a track livery. The horses settle within days. The owners often take months.
"I've had owners that just can't cope with or really struggle to cope with and process that complete change in everything. And one of the main things is that their horse stops needing them."
She was blunt about it: when you keep a horse in a way that takes away the vast majority of their choices, the relationship becomes dependency. "where the horse is completely dependent on the owner for everything they need."
I think about the horses I've owned over the years, heads over stable doors, whinnying when I arrived. I always interpreted that as affection. Lauren's suggesting it might have been something closer to desperation.
## The practical reality
Lauren started with £300\. That's it. Electric fencing, battery energiser, tape, and posts. One acre, fenced into a track.
Within four months, her two-year-old's toe cracks (which a farrier had quoted £800 to resection, fill with resin, and shoe) had grown out completely. The barefoot trimmer she found, who was still training and came out as a case study for £20, solved what the traditional route couldn't.
Her current setup at Graveney Equine includes:
- A mile-long track with multiple loops
- A 45x90ft barn with rubber matting and hemp bedding, open to horses at all times
- A sandpit (25m x 8m) and a gravel pit (16m x 10m)
- A wood chip resting area on raised, free-draining ground
- Metres of planted hedgerow and trees
- A mound made from excavated soil that the horses use as a lookout point
The ongoing maintenance, she says, isn't overwhelming. "Certainly no difference to any other livery yard, to be honest. It's just slightly different things, perhaps."
The real cost isn't money. It's land access. Anna Louise made the point that resonates with so many of us: "We're at the mercy of landowners that don't want poaching." If you rent your grazing, you can't dig up the middle and lay surfaces.
## The owner adjustment
Lauren's observation about owners struggling more than horses stuck with me. She said the horses tend to just be like, "okay, this is the new thing, we'll get on with this." Meanwhile their humans are grappling with a complete identity shift.
When your horse doesn't need you for food, shelter, company, or entertainment, you have to build something different. Something based on choice rather than dependency. Lauren calls it "a completely different relationship" and says it takes time for people to trust it.
I'm still thinking about that.
## Lauren Johnson
Lauren runs Graveney Equine in Kent and co-administers the Horse Track System Facebook group, which has grown from a handful of curious owners to a thriving community. She won Best Livery Yard of the Year at the Equestrian Business Awards, and listening to her talk about watching horses have autonomy, I understand why.
Resources Mentioned:
Watch on YouTube
Have you made the transition to track living, either at home or through livery? What surprised you most about the adjustment, for you or your horse?
### Paramedic Advice for Horse Riders
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/paramedic-advice-horse-riders/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T15:30:17.000Z
This week’s episode is perhaps one of the most important safety conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast. Anna Louise is joined by **Mike Elkins** from the South Central Ambulance Service to discuss the reality of horse riding accidents and, crucially, how to prepare for them.
Watch or Listen on Spotify
Mike is the force behind **Project Pacer**, and in this episode, he shares some life-saving insights, including:
- Why deep breathing isn't just for calmness—it can physically slow down blood loss.
- How your phone can send your GPS location to 999 even without a data signal (this was a huge lightbulb moment for us!).
- The truth about whether sirens spook horses.
As a thank you for your continued support, here is the full **ad-free video** for you to watch uninterrupted.
**Links & Resources:**
- Learn more about [Project Pacer via The British Horse Society](https://www.bhs.org.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- Check your phone for **AML (Advanced Mobile Location)** settings.
*Disclaimer: This episode discusses medical trauma and road accidents. Please listen with care.*
**Question:** Mike strongly recommends carrying a small First Aid kit on every hack. Be honest, do you currently carry one? Or has this episode convinced you to start?.
### Horse euthanasia, grief, and the guilt nobody warns you about
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-euthanasia-grief-sophie-cookson-king/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:20.000Z
My vet and farrier sat me down and told me my horse’s navicular couldn’t be managed anymore. “It might be time to think about euthanasia,” they said.
I nodded. But the truth? I knew absolutely nothing about what that actually meant. Not the process, not the methods, not what I’d witness, not the decisions I’d need to make in advance.
Curious Equestrian on Spotify
I ended up choosing a different path—retired him to track living, went barefoot. That’s another story. That conversation was 5 years ago, but it exposed something I couldn’t shake: I was completely unprepared for the decision nearly every horse owner will eventually face.
That’s why I needed Anna Louise to have this conversation with [Sophie Cookson King from Blue Cross Pet Loss Support](https://youtu.be/LJ1DJodjqwk?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), even though I knew it would be uncomfortable for us both to produce and probably to watch/listen to.
---
### *If You Need This Right Now*
*Blue Cross Pet Loss Support is free, confidential, and helped over 30,000 pet owners last year:*
**Phone:* 0800 096 6606 (8:30am-8:30pm every day, including Christmas)*
**Email:** [*pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk*](mailto:pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk)
**Web chat:* bluecross.org.uk/pls*
---
While preparing for this episode, I found research that told me others needed this information too.
We’re leaving people to navigate the most traumatic decision of horse ownership completely alone
Only 1 in 8 horses die naturally. That means 88% of horse owners will have to make the decision to end their horse’s life.
Then I started reading forums. The pattern was unmistakable: people posting days after euthanasia asking “is this normal?” One woman described her mare’s body under a tarp three days later, turning to strangers online because no one had prepared her for what happens after goodbye.
Another owner wrote: “I don’t know how to process this devastating loss. I feel like I failed him.”
That phrase—”I feel like I failed him/her”—appeared over and over.
People second-guessing their method choice, their timing, whether they should have been present, whether they chose rendering over cremation to save money.
We’re leaving people to navigate the most traumatic decision of horse ownership completely alone, then carrying guilt for years about choices they made in crisis.
## What Sophie Made Me Understand
Twenty-three minutes into the conversation, Sophie said something that reframed everything for me:
> “Disenfranchised loss is when a loss is not recognised by society, and that can feel so alienating.”
I’ve had work give me compassionate leave, friends send gifts, colleagues who understood when I lost my dog. But Sophie described horse owners contacting the helpline saying they feel guilty, questioning whether they’re allowed to feel this devastated over “just a horse.”
Then she shared the statistic: 46% of pet owners suffer in silence after losing a pet. But with horses, it’s even more isolating because fewer people own them, fewer people understand the time investment, the daily routine disruption, the sheer complexity of the bond.
The research backs this up completely. The highest-volume search terms aren’t “how to euthanise a horse.” They’re variations of “when is it time” and “am I giving up on my horse.”
People aren’t looking for process information first. They’re desperately seeking permission.
Curious Equestrian on YouTube
## The Part That Haunts Me
When Anna Louise asked Sophie to walk through what actually happens during euthanasia, I could hear the hesitation in both their voices. But Sophie did it—explained both methods, the fall, the post-death movements.
Here’s what landed hardest for me: Sophie explained that with dogs and cats, you can hold them in your lap through the end. But with horses, you have to step back. The vet needs clearance for the horse to fall safely.
“In the moment you most want to be closest to them,” Anna Louise reflected, “you actually have to let the professionals take over.”
Sophie was quick to emphasise: “Although it might feel dramatic or not a very nice thing for us to witness, the horse doesn’t know what’s coming... For your horse it’s completely humane, but what it doesn’t do is lessen the feelings that can be evoked by that moment for you as an owner.”
That distinction matters. The method isn’t the problem—it’s humane, it’s necessary. But we need to prepare people for the specific trauma of witnessing a half-ton animal’s final moments, not leave them to discover it in real-time.
## The Cost Nobody Talks About
After recording, I went deep into the financial barriers that create impossible choices.
UK costs from 2024 forums:
- Vet call and euthanasia: £195-345
- Body collection and disposal: £390-700
- Individual cremation with ashes returned: £220-1,000
- Total: £800-2,000+ (higher for emergencies or out-of-hours)
One owner shared: “OOH vet at 2am: £193\. Euthanasia by injection: £241\. Fallen stock collection: £390\. Individual cremation: £220\. Total: £1,044\. He’d already had two vet visits that day, another £225.”
The research documents owners delaying euthanasia because they can’t afford disposal, then carrying guilt for years about letting their horse suffer while they saved money. Others chose rendering over cremation for financial reasons and regret it forever.
This is the conversation we’re not having: the financial barriers that trap people between doing right by their horse and what they can actually afford in the moment.
## What Can We Do
Sophie told Anna Louise: “Making these decisions prior to you feeling in that really stressed, anxious space of when the time actually comes... I think that it is not nice to think about, but a really responsible thing to do for our loved horses.”
She’s right. When I was in that consultation about navicular, I was making decisions in shock. I got lucky, we found another path. But one day I won’t have another option. And I want to be prepared.
My action plan:
- Find out which method makes sense for my horse’s temperament (Sophie noted: needle-shy horses might struggle with injection, head-shy horses with free bullet)
- Identify where it could safely happen
- Research disposal costs and options
- Start a fund if needed so cost doesn’t dictate my choices or check insurance coverage
The research shows people who plan ahead report less guilt and trauma afterward because they made decisions based on their values, not panic.
## The Companion Grief
One thing Sophie mentioned that sent me down another research path: surviving horses grieve too.
She explained this is especially critical for donkeys, who can develop hyperlipemia. In this potentially fatal stress response, fat floods the bloodstream and can clot major arteries. “It is extremely important that if a bonded pair or a companion of a donkey is euthanised... that that donkey is able to see the body and spend time with the body of the deceased companion.”
Sophie said this is becoming more recognised for horses too: “If you can allow time for the companions to see, sniff, and be with the deceased animal... we need to make sure that there is companionship available for the remaining horses.”
The forums confirm this. Multiple owners described their horses standing vigil, one crying for days, another going downhill and dying within six months of losing their bonded companion.
We’re not just preparing for our own grief. We’re preparing for our other horses’ grief too.
---
*Blue Cross Pet Loss Support is free, confidential, and helped over 30,000 pet owners last year:*
**Phone:* 0800 096 6606 (8:30am-8:30pm every day, including Christmas)*
**Email:** [*pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk*](mailto:pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk)
**Web chat:* bluecross.org.uk/pls*
---
Sophie emphasised: “There isn’t an end timeframe to that. It’s a significant loss and we have an increasing number of equestrians contacting the service.”
You can call years after a loss. Their trained volunteers—many who’ve lost horses themselves—are there to listen without judgment, without trying to fix, without sharing their own stories over yours.
Have you been through this decision? What do you wish you’d known beforehand?
### From Medieval Jousting to Modern Horsemanship
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/simple-good-horsemanship-jonny-brown/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:20.000Z
You know that moment when you see a job advert and think "that sounds amazing" without really knowing what you're getting into? That's exactly what happened to Jonny Browne when he spotted an ad in Horse & Hound for a "rider interpreter to joust at the Royal Armouries." That job completely shaped how he thinks about horses, training, and what it means to really listen to what our horses are telling us.
Curious Equestrian on Spotify
**Guest:** Johnny Browne, Professional Horseman & Former Royal Armouries Rider Interpreter
**Background:** Started as a weekend warrior with three horses' worth of experience, now works in film, natural horsemanship training, and equine-assisted therapy
**Key Topics:**
- What it's actually like to joust for a living (spoiler: involves a lot more than just pointing sticks at people)
- Why training horses for gunfire taught him everything about real communication
- The difference between "accustoming" and "desensitising" your horse
- How horses became his therapists
## The Thing That'll Stick With You
Here's what really got me thinking: Jonny measures experience differently than most of us. Instead of counting years, he counts horses. "You can have the same horse for 25 years," he says, "you've got one horse's experience. You're still very much a novice."
It sounds harsh, but think about it. How many of us get comfortable with our one horse, learn their quirks, and then get completely thrown when we have to ride something different? Johnny's right – every horse is a completely different conversation, and the more conversations you've had, the better you get at the language.
## Three Things That Hit Different
### 1\. "You can do anything once on a horse, but..."
Jonny's has a saying that perfectly captures why foundation work matters. You might get away with cutting corners once, but when you're performing in front of a thousand people with medieval weapons, "good enough" just isn't good enough.
His approach to training horses for extreme situations (and let's be honest, gunfire and clanking armour definitely count as extreme), all comes down to the difference between "accustoming" and "desensitising." He doesn't want horses to just switch off and endure; he wants them to understand what's happening and be okay with it. Whether you're dealing with traffic on a hack or preparing for a dressage test, that distinction matters.
### 2\. Put a mirror in your tack room
This might be the most practical piece of advice I've heard in ages. Jonny tells all his clients to stick a proper mirror in their tack room and actually look at themselves before every session. Not to check if your hair looks alright, but to ask yourself: "How am I today? What am I bringing to this partnership?"
Because your horse knows exactly how you're feeling before you do. Had a row with your partner? Running late? Stressed about work? Your horse is reading all of that and responding accordingly. Better to acknowledge it upfront than spend an hour wondering why your normally cooperative horse is being "difficult."
### 3\. Horses are happier when they have a proper job
Jonny found that horses performing specific tasks – whether that's carrying falcons, working cattle, or even just learning to stand still for mounting – were more confident and engaged than horses just being "ridden around."
It's not about making them work harder; it's about giving them and you something to focus on. When you're concentrating on hitting a target or herding a cow, you're not micromanaging every step. The horse gets to be a partner in the job rather than just a vehicle for your anxiety.
### From Adrenaline Junkie to Horse Whisperer
What I admire about Johnny's journey is his honesty regarding his experiences. At 28, he was full of energy and enthusiasm, which is exactly what you would expect from someone who thought jousting would be an exciting career choice. However, working with horses taught him to slow down, to breathe, and to truly listen.
He talks about discovering natural horsemanship through people like Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli, but his real education came from the horses themselves. They were the ones telling him his energy was too high, that he needed to calm down and actually pay attention to what they were saying.
This led him into equine-assisted psychotherapy, where horses become mirrors for human emotions and behaviour. Johnny describes breaking down in tears during his training sessions, with horses responding to grief about his father's death in ways that left him stunned. Whether you believe in that sort of thing or not, there's no denying that horses pick up on our emotional state and reflect it back to us.
Curious Equestrian on YouTube
### The Learning Never Stops
One thing that comes through clearly in talking to Jonny is that he's never stopped learning. Even after decades of professional work, he's still seeking out new influences, still questioning his assumptions, still letting the horses teach him.
He talks about the danger of plateauing – getting comfortable with your current level and stopping the search for improvement. It's something we all do, whether it's in riding or life in general. You reach a certain level of competence and think "job done," but the horses will always find ways to humble you if you're paying attention.
## Questions Worth Pondering
**On partnership:** Johnny talks about doing things "for the horse, not to the horse." It sounds simple, but how often do we catch ourselves prioritising our own agenda over what's actually best for our horse in that moment?
**On learning:** How many horses of experience do you actually have? And what has each one taught you that the others couldn't? Sometimes the difficult ones are the best teachers.
**On honesty:** If you put that mirror in your tack room, what patterns might you start noticing? How does your mood on Monday compare to your mood on Friday, and how does your horse respond to the difference?
> *"The horseman's job, in a nutshell, is to listen and understand the horse. That horse will tell you first of all, subtly, and then that subtlety will expand and grow into what could be perceived as bad behaviour. But if you're listening to your horse from the get-go..."* \- Johnny Browne
Follow Jonny Browne | [Simple Good Horsemanship](https://www.simplegoodhorsemanship.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/simple%5Fgood%5Fhorsemanship?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Member Q&A:** Johnny stuck around to tackle listener questions about his film work, dealing with genuinely dangerous horses, and his thoughts on the current state of riding instruction. He also shares some brilliant insights about measuring fear versus courage, and why he loves working cattle from horseback above all other disciplines.
### Classical vs Modern Dressage - Finding the Lost Connection
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/classical-vs-modern-dressage/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T15:18:47.000Z
"Modern dressage is a bit of a cookie cutter type thing," says Jessica Kenyon, a classical dressage trainer who's spent years watching the sport drift away from its roots. "You have to fit the mold and do the movements exactly how the judges want you to do them."
It's a blunt assessment, but one that reflects what many riders are feeling. Somewhere along the way, dressage stopped being about bringing out the best in each individual horse and became about fitting horses into predetermined boxes.
Curious Equestrian on Spotify
💡
Herd members: Find the after hours tape at the bottom of this post
## The Question That Started It All
"What's the difference between classical and modern dressage?" seems simple enough. But Jessica Kenyon's answer revealed something most riders never consider: we might be training our horses to perform rather than communicate.
**This episode covers:**
- Why modern dressage became "cookie cutter" training
- What happens when connection isn't part of the scoring system
- How cavalry training principles still matter for weekend riders
- The real story behind those viral training videos
## Our Expert Guest:
Jessica Kenyon is a classical dressage trainer based Bury (England), dedicated to ethical, connection-based training that puts harmony between horse and rider at the centre. She helps riders of all levels rediscover the practical, natural roots of dressage while building genuine partnerships with their horses.
**Instagram**: @jessicakennykenyon **Facebook**: “Jessica Kenyon Classical Dressage”
## The Bottom Line
Your horse's willingness to work with you matters more than perfect execution of movements. Jessica's classical approach puts this partnership first—everything else follows from that foundation.
## Three Things That Stood Out
### 1\. "Horses weren't meant to be piaffing in the field"
Jessica's observation cuts to the heart of modern dressage's identity crisis. While movements like piaffe and passage look spectacular, classical dressage asks whether the horse is performing them naturally and willingly, or being forced into an unnatural frame for visual impact.
It matters because it affects everything from the horse's physical wellbeing to the sustainability of the training, when movements are developed naturally, they enhance the horse's strength and balance. When forced, they create stress patterns that often lead to injury and resistance.
### 2\. The practical origins of dressage movements
Every classical dressage movement had a purpose—cavalry horses needed lateral work to avoid enemy attacks, Spanish horses in bullfighting had to execute pirouettes when a bull changed direction. These weren't choreographed performances but survival skills.
Jessica explains how these training methods evolved: "They were movements made to farm. They've gotta be nimble, move sideways and the pirouettes, they've gotta spin round if the bull decides to go the other way." Modern dressage has turned these practical skills into a timed test judged on precision rather than functionality.
This disconnect explains why classical training emphasises movements you actually need when riding outside the arena. The same leg aids that create shoulder-in can position your horse safely when passing cars. The halt that develops from proper engagement means your horse can stop when needed, not just when judges are watching.
### 3\. "You should be able to lead that horse with no head collar on"
This simple statement reveals how far many riders have drifted from basic horsemanship. Before thinking about advanced movements, Jessica starts with fundamental connection—can the horse trust you enough to follow your lead without force?
This approach challenges the modern tendency to jump straight to riding without establishing genuine communication on the ground. It's a return to viewing horses as partners rather than vehicles for our ambitions.
## Deep Dive
### Training Methods: Starting with Connection
Jessica's approach challenges the conventional progression most riders learn. Instead of moving quickly from basic control to advanced movements, she starts with something most riders can't do: "You should be able to lead that horse with no head collar on."
This isn't just a party trick. Leading without equipment requires genuine communication—the horse following your energy and intention rather than physical restraint. Jessica often spends initial sessions just establishing this connection: "A lot of it is getting over people's mental blocks, and they think that they don't have a connection with the horses."
The classical training methods she uses build from this foundation. Before asking for lateral work under saddle, she'll teach the same responses from the ground using a long dressage whip as an extension of the rider's leg aid. The horse learns the movement without the complication of carrying a rider's weight or dealing with conflicting aids.
### The Connection Crisis in Modern Competition
Watch any dressage competition and you'll see horses performing movements with mechanical precision. But look closer—how many appear genuinely willing? How many seem to enjoy their work?
The problem isn't evil trainers or corrupt judges. It's a system that rewards what's easiest to score. A perfectly timed flying change gets marks. The horse's emotional state during that change doesn't.
Classical dressage trainers like Jessica work differently. They might spend months just establishing trust and communication before asking for any advanced movements. In competition terms, this seems inefficient. In horse welfare terms, it makes perfect sense.
### The Ethics of Modern Training Methods
The Charlotte Dujardin video that led to her ban brought training methods into sharp focus, but Jessica's perspective offers nuanced insight. Rather than condemning individuals, she sees these incidents as symptoms of a system that prioritises results over process.
When success is measured by performance in the ring rather than the quality of the training relationship, pressure builds to achieve movements through any means necessary. This creates an environment where harsh methods can seem justified by competitive success.
Classical training offers an alternative framework where the means matter as much as the ends. If a horse performs a movement through fear or force, it's not considered successful regardless of how it looks to judges or spectators.
### Practical Applications Beyond the Arena
Here's what classical dressage principles actually look like in real life: your horse willingly moves away from your leg when a car approaches on a hack. It backs up when you shift your weight slightly. It turns through a narrow gateway without you having to haul on the reins.
Jessica trains these responses not through repetition drills but by helping horses understand what's being asked. Working equitation, the Portuguese discipline she mentions, tests exactly these practical skills—bridges, gates, tight turns around obstacles that mirror real riding situations.
The same leg aid that creates shoulder-in in the arena helps position your horse safely on a narrow bridle path. The halt that develops from proper engagement means your horse can stop when a dog runs out unexpectedly, not just when judges are watching.
### The Breed Factor: Why Spanish and Portuguese Horses Excel
Jessica's preference for Spanish and Portuguese horses reveals something important about classical horsemanship. These breeds were developed for the original purposes dressage movements served—bullfighting, cavalry work, practical farm tasks requiring agility and quick responses.
"They're just so athletic and brave," Jessica explains. "You'll see so many demos of horses that have been trick trained with classical dressage backgrounds. And they're waiting and their ears are on them. And they'll even do things on their own accord just to go, is this what you want?"
This willingness comes from breeding, but also from training methods that make work feel like play rather than obligation. These horses demonstrate what happens when classical training methods align with natural temperament—eager partners rather than reluctant performers.
## Questions for Reflection
**How well do you know your horse's individual personality and preferences?** Jessica emphasises that connection requires understanding each horse as an individual. Many riders focus on getting their horse to respond correctly without considering what the horse is trying to communicate back.
**When you encounter resistance from your horse, do you first look for understanding or compliance?** Classical training views resistance as communication—the horse saying something isn't working. Modern training often treats it as disobedience to overcome.
**Could you achieve your riding goals without any artificial aids?** This question challenges riders to consider whether their partnership is based on communication or control. While equipment has its place, classical principles suggest the relationship should work first without artificial support.
## Frequently Asked Questions
**Can any horse learn classical dressage movements?** Based on Jessica's experience, yes. She emphasizes that all horses are naturally capable of the movements we see in dressage—watch any horse playing in a field and you'll see passage, piaffe, and lateral movement. The challenge isn't the horse's ability but how we ask for these movements and whether we maintain their natural willingness.
**How long does it take to establish the connection Jessica talks about?** This varies dramatically between partnerships. Jessica mentions spending months just on groundwork and connection before moving to advanced movements. The key is not rushing the timeline but ensuring each stage is solid before progressing.
**What if my horse was trained using modern methods—can we switch to classical principles?** Jessica works with many horses who've been conventionally trained. The approach involves going back to basics, often starting with simple leading exercises to rebuild communication. Horses typically respond well to training that asks for their cooperation rather than compliance.
**Do I need special equipment for classical dressage training?** Jessica's approach actually uses minimal equipment. She often works horses without head collars and emphasizes that if you need lots of gear to get a response, you might be missing the communication piece. A long dressage whip for groundwork and basic tack is usually sufficient.
**Is classical dressage only for certain breeds?** While Jessica admires Spanish and Portuguese horses because of their bred-in work ethic, she believes any horse can benefit from classical principles. The approach adapts to each horse's individual temperament and physical capabilities.
**How do classical principles apply if I don't want to compete?** This might actually be where classical dressage shines most. The emphasis on practical movement, willing partnership, and real-world application makes it ideal for riders who want better communication and safer, more enjoyable rides rather than competition success.
### The After Hours Bonus
The recording light went off. Jessica leaned back and started talking about what happens when we stop trying to control every second of the horse's day. She told a story about a book, a cup of coffee, and why she actually seeks out the "difficult" horses. If you’re in the Herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian What Classical Dressage Can Teach Any Horse and Rider
0:00
/469.205624
1×
### Keeping Cool. The Science Behind Equine Heat Management
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-science-equine-cooling/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T15:24:08.000Z
Emma Cornish has spent four Olympics and countless international competitions perfecting the art of keeping elite horses cool. But the 30-year equine veteran and founder of Ice Queens warns that most horse owners are making critical but easy to fix mistakes.
Curious Equestrian on Spotify
## This Week's Deep Dive
Our expert guest Emma Cornish is a multi-award-winning equine professional with over 30 years in the field, from Olympic grooming to veterinary rehab. She's the founder of [Elite Equine Care](https://eliteequinecare.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), together with Helen Reynolds runs [Ice Queens](https://www.theicequeens.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and is an ambassador for [Gower Granary](https://www.gowergranary.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), who offer sustainable bedding and forage solutions trusted across the UK.
**Key Topics:**
- The scraping myth that's been "scientifically proven" wrong
- Why your wooden stable might be an oven at midday
- The 30-degree government rule that could reshape competition calendars
- Olympic-level cooling techniques you can use at home
## The Big Takeaway
Four heatwaves of 2025, and Emma's assessment is that many horse owners haven't caught up with the reality of our changing climate. The most dangerous misconception? The deeply ingrained habit of scraping water off overheating horses. "If your horse is overheating and you are trying to rapidly cool them, don't scrape the water off. The water needs to stay on," Emma states firmly. This myth has been scientifically proven wrong using thermal imaging, yet we still reach for that scraper in our grooming kits.
The broader issue is more concerning: while some are adapting, Emma notes that "it's surprising how many people haven't quite got there yet" in accepting that extreme heat is now the norm, not the exception.
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "The water needs to stay on" - science trumps tradition**
Thermal imaging proves that water must remain on the horse to draw heat from muscles and body. Only scrape once the horse has cooled completely. Emma's advice: "Just keep aggressively cooling them. You need to leave the water on."
**2\. Your stable might be an oven**
Emma's challenge hits home: "Have you stood in your horse's stable at the hottest point of the day to see how hot it is?" Wooden stables can become boiling pots, making them worse than leaving horses out with adequate shade. The assumption that "indoors equals cooler" is costing horses their comfort and potentially their safety.
**3\. Government guidelines are reshaping the industry**
The revelation that animals shouldn't travel over 30 degrees unless in temperature-controlled vehicles is already forcing event cancellations. Emma witnessed competitions cancelled due to heat for the first time - a preview of how climate change will reshape the competitive calendar.
## **The Myth-Busting Reality Check**
Emma's frustration with persistent cooling myths reflects a broader challenge in the equestrian world: updating practices based on science rather than tradition. The scraping myth persists because it's what generations have been taught, despite thermal imaging clearly showing its harmful effects. The water draws heat from the horse's body - removing it stops this crucial cooling process.
This extends beyond emergency cooling to daily management. Emma's practical test of actually standing in your horse's stable during peak heat exposes how we project human preferences onto horse management without checking the reality.
**Climate Adaptation in Real Time**
Emma's observation that we're experiencing "massive peaks and troughs" rather than gradual temperature changes explains why horses struggle more than in previous decades. The sudden spikes to 30+ degrees, followed by drops, then more spikes, prevent natural acclimatisation. This isn't just inconvenience - it's a fundamental shift requiring new management approaches.
The admission that some event directors and organisers still have heat management "on the periphery" rather than as a priority suggests the industry is behind the climate curve. With government guidelines restricting travel over 30 degrees, this gap between awareness and action could prove costly.
**Professional Perspective on Everyday Challenges**
Emma's background managing forges at four Olympics provides unique insights into heat management under pressure. Her transition from forge manager to cooling specialist illustrates how elite sport innovations can benefit everyday horse owners. The techniques used on Olympic athletes - multiple cooling sessions, constant monitoring, shorter work periods - scale down to any horse.
## Questions for Reflection
**What would you do if you only had 30 minutes to save your horse's life?** Emma emphasises that once severe heat stress begins, rapid intervention is crucial. Are you prepared with the knowledge and equipment needed?
**Have you actually tested the temperature in your horse's accommodation during peak heat?** Emma's challenge to physically check stable temperatures rather than assume they're cooler could reveal uncomfortable truths about your setup.
**How will you adapt your routine as extreme heat becomes the norm rather than the exception?** With four heatwaves already in 2025, seasonal adjustments may need to become permanent changes.
### The 'after-hours' tapes
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air. It’s about how these "vip" horses actually behave when the cameras aren't watching. If you’re in the herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian QQ with Emma Cornish
0:00
/590.088707
1×
### How Amateur Owners Are Spotting Pain in Horses Like Experts (Using This Tool)
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/how-amateur-owners-are-spotting-pain/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:11.000Z
"The apparently 'sound' horse is 'naughty', 'lazy', 'difficult', 'explosive', 'spooky', 'nappy', and more. These labels are wrong," declares equine veterinary specialist Dr Sue Dyson in her groundbreaking book *Harmonious Horsemanship*. During our interview with Dr Dyson on Curious Equestrian, she revealed how these seemingly behavioural issues are actually manifestations of pain and how a simple 24-point checklist can transform your relationship with your horse.
As an amateur rider and horse owner myself, I wish I'd had this information years ago. Here’s a systematic approach that finally makes horse welfare assessment accessible to everyone, not just professionals with that seemingly "special eye."
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
"anybody can learn this. Anybody, as long as you put your mind to it and you watch carefully and think about what you're seeing.
## Who Desperately Needs This Book (And Who's Wasting Their Time)
**Perfect For:**
- Amateur riders like myself who've felt intimidated by the "professional eye" for spotting problems
- Horse owners whose "difficult" horses have been labelled lazy, naughty, or spooky
- Riders struggling with horses that won't go forward, constantly swish their tails, or seem unresponsive
- Anyone who's been told "that's just how this horse is" at their riding school
- Owners seeking concrete tools to assess their horse's comfort without relying on others' expertise
- Those who want to move beyond guesswork and develop genuine observational skills
**Skip This If:**
- You believe horses displaying resistance are simply being disobedient
- You're not prepared to question long-held equestrian traditions
- You want quick fixes rather than systematic assessment approaches
- You're comfortable always deferring to others' judgement about your horse's wellbeing
As someone who's spent years feeling like everyone around me possessed some magical ability to spot issues in horses, this book was a revelation. Dr Dyson made it clear in our interview that "anybody can learn this. Anybody, as long as you put your mind to it and you watch carefully and think about what you're seeing."
It's methodical, learnable, and removes the intimidation factor that keeps many of us relying on others' assessments.
## What Makes This Book a Game-Changer
According to the publisher's description, *Harmonious Horsemanship* teaches readers "how to use a checklist of 24 behaviours to check for musculoskeletal pain in ridden horses" through "a gripping mix of research studies, contributions from industry experts, and real-life case studies."
During the conversation, Dr Dyson shared compelling evidence: "We've demonstrated that if you take a horse demonstrating these behaviors and you remove their pain by the use of nerve blocks...those behaviors immediately reduce in number. So the horse may be showing nine out of the 24 behaviors, and it immediately goes down to two or three out of 24."
[Horse Lameness: A Revolutionary Approach to Detecting Pain in HorsesDr. Dyson’s research gives us the tools to better understand and respond to our horses’ needs.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-lameness-a-revolutionary-approach/)
The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) transforms what feels like mystical professional intuition into concrete, observable criteria. Each behaviour is clearly defined with specific parameters; such as "the horse's head being behind a vertical position for 10 seconds or more, for 10 degrees or more" or "the speed being too hurried, which is defined as more than 40 steps per 15 seconds."
As an amateur, what struck me most powerfully was Dr Dyson's systematic observation method: positioning yourself in arena corners to see horses from behind, from the side, and approaching, ensuring you can assess all angles. It's methodical, learnable, and removes the intimidation factor that keeps many of us relying on others' assessments.
## The Veterinary Specialist Behind the Methodology
Dr Sue Dyson, a renowned equine veterinary specialist with decades of experience in equine orthopaedics and sports medicine, has dedicated her career to understanding pain in horses. When Anna Louise spoke to Dr Dyson for Curious Equestrian, her passion for democratising horse welfare assessment was immediately evident. Working alongside Sue Palmer, they've created a systematic approach that challenges the equestrian establishment's acceptance of problematic behaviours as "normal."
Dr Dyson's motivation stems from a simple but powerful principle: "Only by first recognising pain can we then address it through accurate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment." Her extensive research has provided the scientific foundation that proves these behaviours aren't habitual quirks but pain responses; something many amateur horse owners have long suspected but lacked the confidence to assert.
## Why This Book Transforms Horse-Human Partnerships
*Harmonious Horsemanship* influences practice in five crucial ways:
**Recognition Over Labelling**: Instead of dismissing a horse as "girthy" or "lazy," readers learn to identify specific pain indicators (such as repeated head tilting or moving on three tracks instead of two)
**Systematic Assessment**: The 24-point checklist provides objective criteria, removing guesswork and the need to rely on others' supposedly superior observational skills
**Context-Dependent Understanding**: The book explains how horses may appear comfortable when hacking but show multiple pain signs when asked to perform demanding movements in an arena
**Evidence-Based Intervention**: Case studies demonstrate how addressing underlying pain issues transforms both horse performance and rider safety
**Professional Communication**: Amateur owners gain the vocabulary and knowledge to communicate effectively with veterinarians and other professionals about their concerns
As the publisher notes, this approach leads to "greater potential, a deeper partnership, and improved performance" by addressing root causes rather than symptoms.
If you practice, you'll get better at doing it...once you've seen it and appreciated it, then it's relatively easy.
## The Amateur's Perspective: Why This Changes Everything
I can't help but reflect on my own experiences and how often have I felt that others possessed some innate ability to read horses that I simply lacked?
The truth Dr Dyson revealed is liberating: it's not magic, and it's not an innate gift. It's systematic observation using defined criteria. As she told us, "If you practice, you'll get better at doing it...once you've seen it and appreciated it, then it's relatively easy." The book includes extensive photographic examples showing normal versus abnormal presentations, helping develop that crucial recognition of what healthy movement and behaviour actually look like.
For amateur owners, this book represents empowerment. Instead of constantly seeking validation from professionals about whether our concerns are "real," we can develop our own competency in welfare assessment. We can check our horses regularly and truly know what to look for, rather than hoping we'll somehow intuitively recognise problems.
## What Readers Are Saying
*"I think if every horse could come with this book strapped to their side at birth, a lot of horses would have a very different and better quality of life" - Miss L., verified purchaser*
*"Probably the most valuable book I've ever bought. As a leisure rider just trying to develop a better understanding of my equine friends there is no doubt that the information in this book will help me see and hear my horses" - JB, verified purchaser*
*"My wife is an IH Trainer and she loved the book finding it very useful" - Amazon customer, verified purchaser*
\*Amazon reviews
## Beyond the Book
Dr Dyson's work extends far beyond this publication. Her research continues to challenge traditional equestrian practices and contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting horse welfare reforms. The RHpE has been adopted by organisations worldwide and is becoming a standard tool for welfare assessment.
Sue Palmer brings decades of practical experience, helping bridge the gap between scientific research and real-world application. Together, they're building a movement that prioritises horse welfare while maintaining the partnership that makes equestrian sport meaningful.
[What your horse’s “ticklishness” is actually telling youThe conversation covers horse massage as a practical tool for owners, not just professionals. Three checks you can do every week (grooming reactions, carrot stretches in both directions, a tight circle on both reins) that build up a picture of what’s normal, so you notice when something changes.Curious Equestrian NewsletterTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-your-horses-ticklishness-is-actually-telling-you/)
Their work addresses what they describe as the equestrian world's "social licence to operate," acknowledging that public scrutiny of horse sports demands higher welfare standards.
## Get Your Copy Today
Transform your understanding of your horse's behaviour and potentially transform your partnership. *Harmonious Horsemanship* is available through our Bookshop.org collection, supporting independent bookstores while advancing horse welfare.
[**Order your copy here**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781805140078?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
When you purchase through this link, you're not just buying a book—you're supporting the Curious Equestrian community and independent bookstores.
##
### What If Your Horse Is Hiding Trauma? The Truth Behind the Calm
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-if-your-horse-is-hiding-trauma/
Last updated: 2026-02-22T16:41:09.000Z
What if that bolshy, dangerous horse everyone's written off is actually just trying to tell you something? This week, we dive deep into the hidden world of horse trauma with Hannah Jones, a healer who's helping horses find their voice and teaching us to listen.
## This Week's Deep Dive
**Guest:** [Hannah Jones](https://www.sabre-holistics.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), a Reiki Master, equine therapist, and certified Masterson Method practitioner who has helped hundreds of horses heal from trauma. Her unique holistic approach blends energy work, bodywork, saddle fitting, and biomechanics, inspired by Celtic philosophy and her own journey of healing alongside her horse, Phoenix.
**Key Topics:**
- How early weaning creates lifelong separation anxiety
- Why "quiet, obedient" horses might actually be shut down and struggling
- The difference between soul-level connection and simple companionship
- Essential oils as horse-selected healing tools
Hannah Jones | https://www.sabre-holistics.com/
## The Big Takeaway
Hannah's most powerful insight completely reframes how we think about difficult horses: **"Bad behaviour is just them talking."** When a horse rears, bucks, or bolts, they're not being naughty, they're having a conversation with us about pain, fear, or trauma we haven't recognised.
This perspective shift changes everything. Instead of meeting dominance with dominance or dismissing behaviour as disrespect, we can start asking: what is my horse trying to tell me? That "dangerous" horse who's been labelled difficult might simply be a deeply traumatised animal finally finding the courage to express what they've been carrying in silence.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## What Stood Out
**1\. "The softer you are with the horse, the softer they'll be with you"**
Hannah's work with a horse previously labelled "bolshy and dangerous" revealed how our energy directly mirrors back to us. When handlers approached with dominant energy to "control" the behaviour, the horse responded defensively. The transformation came when someone finally saw him for who he truly was—not a problem to be solved, but a soul in pain seeking understanding.
**3\. The quiet horse might be the one suffering most**
We've been conditioned to celebrate the "good" horse who stands quietly and does as they're told. But Hannah warns that many of these horses have simply shut down to protect themselves. "You'll look at their eyes and nobody's home," she explains. These horses deserve just as much attention as the obviously reactive ones, perhaps more, because they've learned that their voice doesn't matter.
## Deep Dive
### Rethinking Our Professional Team
Hannah makes a compelling case for expanding our standard care team beyond vet, farrier, and physiotherapist to include energy healers and trauma specialists, recognising that horses are complex beings with minds, bodies, and spirits that all need tending.
### Multi Model Approach
What makes Hannah's method particularly compelling is how she blends measurable, physical bodywork with spiritual communication. She reads a horse's energetic state through photographs, then backs up those findings with hands-on massage, essential oil therapy, and trauma release techniques. The horses themselves validate the accuracy through their responses and healing progress.
This integration addresses something many of us sense but struggle to articulate: that horses operate on levels beyond the purely physical, and healing often requires addressing all dimensions of their experience.
### Moving Beyond Traditional Horsemanship
The episode challenges some deeply entrenched traditions in horse management, particularly around early weaning and saddle fitting. Hannah suggests that practices we've accepted as normal, separating foals from mothers based on human timelines rather than emotional readiness, may be creating trauma that manifests years later as "behavioural problems."
### **After Hours: Unlocking the Soul Connection**
Can a horse truly recover from deep-seated trauma? In this week’s **After Hours** session, Hannah Jones reveals the transformative power of holistic therapy and why she believes *every* owner has the innate ability to become a healer. We discuss moving away from a "throwaway culture" and instead investing in the profound, investigative journey of understanding our horses' spiritual health.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Understanding the true nature of horses through trust and choice
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/discovering-the-true-nature-of-horses/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T11:19:21.000Z
We venture into the UK's first nature reserve to explore revolutionary approaches to understanding horses through the lens of their wild counterparts. We discover why everything we think we know about "difficult" horses might be wrong, and how the concept of choice transforms relationships between humans and equines.
## This Week's Deep Dive
**Guests:** [Bonnie Meeland](https://www.touchingwild.com/about-bonny?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), Equine Podiatrist and Learning Wild Co-founder; [Dr Emily Keeson](https://equineintl.org/board-of-directors?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), Equine Behavioural Researcher and [Learning Wild](https://learningwilduk.wixsite.com/learningwild?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) Co-founder
**Key Topics:**
- The concept of "telos" and understanding the intrinsic nature of horses
- Why wild horses are safer to work with than many domestic horses
- How choice and communication transform horse-human relationships
- Debunking myths about stallions and wild horse behaviour
## The Big Takeaway
The most profound insight from this episode challenges everything we've been taught about "problem" horses. Bonnie's breakthrough moment came with an unhandled yearling who allowed her to trim his hooves while standing loose and unrestrained – simply because she had built trust first. This experience revealed that many behavioural issues in domestic horses aren't innate traits but adaptations to environments and handling that don't honour their true nature. When we strip away force and coercion, replacing them with genuine communication and choice, horses reveal themselves to be willing partners rather than animals that need to be controlled.
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "Telos" – The Hoarseness of a Horse** Professor Bernard Rollin's concept of telos describes the intrinsic being of an animal – the hoarseness of a horse, the pigness of a pig. This foundational idea drives all of Learning Wild's work, focusing on who horses truly are rather than who we've been told they are. For equestrians, this means questioning whether our training methods align with horses' evolved nature as social, choice-making beings.
**2\. Wild Horses Are Safer Than "Difficult" Domestic Horses** Bonnie's revelation that working with truly wild horses is often safer than working with domestic horses carrying trauma challenges our assumptions. Wild horses haven't learned defensive behaviours or shut down emotionally, they remain expressive and communicative. This suggests that many "dangerous" horses are actually expressing valid responses to poor handling rather than exhibiting inherent aggression.
**3\. The Power of Offering Choice** Dr Keeson's research methodology of offering horses different coloured halters associated with different activities, grooming, play, or riding, and allowing them to choose or walk away, demonstrates how choice transforms relationships. When horses can say no, their yes becomes meaningful. This principle has profound implications for everything from daily handling to training programmes.
## Deep Dive Analysis
**Rethinking Wild vs Domestic Behaviour**
The episode reveals a fundamental flaw in how we study equine behaviour. Most research examines horses in domestic environments without accounting for the countless variables affecting their natural expression. Dr Keeson's work at Wikem Fenn provides a rare opportunity to observe horses making completely free social, environmental, and reproductive choices – something almost impossible to study elsewhere.
What emerges is a picture radically different from the "flight animal" narrative we're often taught. Yes, horses have incredible flight capabilities, but their behaviour is shaped far more by their social nature than their flight instincts. The peaceful coexistence of multiple stallions with their families in the same herd challenges dominance-hierarchy thinking that still pervades much horse training.
**The Trust-Building Process**
Bonnie's approach to working with wild horses offers a masterclass in patience and observation. Rather than approaching with an agenda, she spends time understanding each horse's individual personality and comfort levels. The process isn't about "breaking" or "training" horses but about building genuine relationships where both parties have agency.
This approach has practical applications for every horse owner. Before working with any horse, domestic or wild, Bonnie emphasises the importance of observation – watching how horses interact with each other and behave in their space before inserting yourself into that dynamic.
**Choice as a Revolutionary Concept**
Perhaps the most radical idea in this episode is that horses should have agency in their interactions with humans. Dr Keeson's research methodology demonstrates that when horses are given genuine choices about participation, they often choose to engage – but on their terms. This challenges the traditional model where horses are expected to comply regardless of their internal state or preferences.
For the equestrian world, implementing choice doesn't mean abandoning structure or training goals. Instead, it means creating communication systems where horses can express their needs and preferences, leading to more willing partnerships and, ultimately, better performance.
## Questions for Reflection
**How might your relationship with your horse change if you prioritised their choice and agency over compliance?** Consider your daily interactions – from catching in the field to tacking up. Are there moments where you could offer choices or at least acknowledge when your horse is expressing a preference?
**What assumptions about horse behaviour might be cultural rather than factual?** Think about the stories you've been told about horses – particularly about stallions, "difficult" horses, or natural behaviours. How might these narratives be influencing your interactions and expectations?
**How can we better honour the "telos" of horses in our modern horse-keeping practices?** Looking at your horse's environment and routine, what changes could you make to support their nature as social, choice-making, movement-oriented beings?
**PS.**
Creating these intimate portraits of the horse world, from remote nature reserves to cutting-edge facilities, is genuinely our passion. Each episode represents hours of travel, filming, and deep conversations with the people reshaping how we understand horses. We love bringing these stories to you, but we need your support to keep making them.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### The Race to Document America's Disappearing Wild Horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/americas-wild-horse-crisis/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T11:06:59.000Z
At 77, retired school teacher Susan Goudge spends her days hiking miles through Arizona's rugged terrain, snake guards strapped to her legs, waiting hours for the perfect shot of wild horses that may soon vanish forever.
## This Week's Discussion
**Guest:** Susan Goudge (@swgoudge), Wild Horse Photographer **Background:** Retired English teacher turned wildlife photographer with 3 million Instagram views documenting wild horses across the American West
**Key Topics:**
- Non-horse person to wild horse advocate
- Understanding wild horse family dynamics and social structures
- The physical and emotional challenges of wildlife photography
- The Bureau of Land Management's controversial roundup programme
- Why American wild horses face an uncertain future
💡
Herd Members: Find the after hours tape at the end of the post
Susan Goudge's decade-long documentation of wild horses reveals animals far more complex and emotionally sophisticated than most people realise. They have intricate family structures, social hierarchies, and individual personalities that rival those of any human community. Yet this world exists under constant threat from government roundups that separate families and remove entire herds from their ancestral lands. *\*Inquisitive Herd Members stick around for the 'after hours' audio (see below).*
Susan Goudge Wildlife Photographer
What makes Susan's work particularly heartbreaking is knowing that every photograph might be among the last. With as many formerly wild horses now in government holding facilities as remain free, we're witnessing what could be the final chapter of one of America's most iconic symbols of freedom.
The most surprising moment? Susan casually dropping that she's "not a horse person" – doesn't ride, never owned horses, stumbled into this world completely by accident when a realtor mentioned wild horses during a house hunt. Yet here she is, ten years later, understanding horse behaviour better than many lifelong equestrians. Sometimes the best advocates come from the most unexpected places.
Then there's the story that'll stick with you: a tiny orphaned foal, maybe two days old, wandering alone by a creek. Susan and another photographer thought they were watching something tragic unfold. Instead, a stallion from a nearby family band walked over and stood guard over this baby that wasn't even his own. He protected it until another mare finally let the foal nurse. Contrary to the usual "wild stallions are dangerous" narrative.
The troubling statistics: by the end of this year, there will be as many formerly wild horses sitting in government holding facilities as there are still running free. America is spending over $100 million of taxpayer money annually to warehouse America's wild horses because ranchers want cheaper grazing land. When Susan talks about the families she's followed for years being separated during roundups, you realise the extent to which equine communities are being broken up.
### The Hidden World of Wild Horse Society
Susan's observations reveal wild horses as sophisticated social beings with complex family structures. Mares often maintain friendships that span 10 years or more, while stallions display different parenting styles. These insights challenge simple narratives about wild horse behaviour and highlight what's lost when families are separated during roundups.
The pecking order at watering holes particularly fascinated Susan, showing how established hierarchies maintain peace among large groups. Such natural management systems have evolved over thousands of years, yet they're dismissed by bureaucrats who see only numbers to be managed rather than communities to be preserved.
### Learning to Be Invisible
Wild horse photography demands serious patience and physical endurance. Susan regularly hikes three to five miles, waiting hours for meaningful interactions. Her approach emphasises becoming invisible, allowing natural behaviours to unfold without human interference. Simple rule: if your presence changes their behaviour, you're too close.
The technical challenges are huge. Long lenses, careful cropping, and constant awareness of escape routes (always be near a tree!) are essential. But the emotional challenges prove even tougher. Susan is witnessing nature's harsh moments while maintaining observer status, knowing that today's photographs might document tomorrow's losses.
And then there's the snakes. Susan learned this lesson the hard way when she got bitten by a rattlesnake (fortunately, a "dry bite" with no venom). Now she never goes out without snake guards strapped to her legs.
### It's About Land, Not Horses
The conflict over wild horse management reveals deeper tensions about public land use in the American West. Ranchers pay as little as $1.35 per month to graze cattle on land that taxpayers own, yet wild horses are deemed "overpopulated" and removed at enormous public expense. This isn't ecological management. It's a subsidised land transfer to private interests.
Susan's documentation becomes accidental activism, preserving evidence of what's being lost. Her Instagram account, with its 3 million views, represents a powerful counter-narrative to official justifications for roundups.
Here's what got me about this whole situation: we're told there are "too many" wild horses on public land, but Susan describes places so vast that you can spend entire days looking for them without success.
Meanwhile, we're warehousing these animals at taxpayer expense to make room for subsidised cattle grazing. The math doesn't add up, and it certainly doesn't make environmental sense.
## "How hard is it to leave the herd behind?" + other wild horse questions Susan answered | Bonus Q&A
In the main episode, wild horse photographer Susan Goudge talked about what it’s like to photograph wild horse families in Arizona and Wyoming. She described moments like a stallion protecting an orphaned foal, as well as the tough side of territorial behaviour and habitat loss. Susan explained that wild horses have complex family groups led by mares, and that watching them in their natural environment is a moving experience.
In this special 15-minute Q&A just for Inquisitive Herd members, Susan answers your questions:
- How to act around wild horses to get great photos, like staying unnoticed, moving slowly, and blending in instead of disturbing them
- Dealing with tough weather while using camera gear, from Arizona’s intense heat to Wyoming’s snow, sleet, and hail all in one day, and having to wear several layers
- What makes a photo good enough for Instagram—it needs to tell a story, not just look good technically.
- The heartbreak of leaving herds behind, especially after roundups at her favourite location (Vakulla Peaks will have "a lot of holes" when she returns)
- Why wild behaviour shows up in domestic horses during extreme weather (the glint in the eye, ears swivelling, that unpredictable wildness that's "intrinsically in there")
Curious Equestrian QA with Susan Goudge
0:00
/877.077347
1×
HIGHLIGHT: Susan's reframe on why she keeps going back—it's not about adrenaline: "It's more like searching for treasure because every time you go out there, you don't know if you're going to find the horses. Secondly, is it going to be a day where they're just going to be sleeping out in the field all day, where nothing is happening, or are you going to have treasure where you've got those moments that are just very dramatic, exciting, or beautiful? You just never know. I like the mystery."
### The Horse That Chose Me
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-horse-that-chose-me/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T15:48:42.000Z
This week's conversation with Nicky Sharp reveals how a traumatized rescue mare named Jessie didn't just change her life, she completely rewrote the story of who Nicky thought she was.
## This Week's Deep Dive 🎧
**Guest:** [Nicky Sharp, Life Coach & Equestrian](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickysharp?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- Former corporate professional turned life coach
- Owner of rescue mare Jessie for 6 years
- Specialist in trauma recovery for both horses and humans
- Advocate for relationship-based horsemanship
💡
Herd Members: Find the After Hours tape at the end of this post
**Key Topics:**
- Recognizing when a horse is shut down vs. "solid"
- Building connection before skill in horsemanship
- The parallel healing journey of horse and human
- Practical steps for nervous system regulation
- Why "doing nothing" with your horse is actually everything
Nicky Sharp
## The Big Takeaway
**You get the horse you need, not necessarily the one you wanted.** Nicky's journey with Jessie proves that our most challenging partnerships often become our most transformative ones. When both horse and human are struggling with trauma and anxiety, the path forward isn't through dominance or quick fixes, it's through the slow, patient work of building trust and healing together. The real breakthrough came when Nicky stopped trying to train Jessie and started learning to simply be with her.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "It took 90 minutes for her to lick and chew"** When Nicky first stood with Jessie in the arena, it took an hour and a half for the mare to show any signs of relaxation. This powerful moment illustrates just how deeply trauma can affect a horse's ability to regulate their nervous system. It's a reminder that healing takes time, and our job is to create the space for it to happen.
**2\. The phone-in-the-bedroom revelation** Nicky's simple change of buying a £10 alarm clock and keeping her phone downstairs transformed her sleep quality and daily energy levels. This small shift had a ripple effect on every aspect of her life, including her relationship with Jessie. Sometimes the most profound changes come from the simplest adjustments to our daily routines.
**3\. "She tells me in a nice way now—she doesn't shout"** After years of patient relationship building, Jessie now communicates her boundaries clearly but gently. This transformation from defensive aggression to quiet confidence shows what's possible when we give horses a voice and honor their opinions in the partnership.
## Deep Dive Analysis
### The Myth of the "Solid" Horse
Nicky's story challenges our understanding of what makes a horse "safe" or "solid." Jessie appeared calm and reliable during the trial ride, but this wasn't confidence; it was a trauma response. She was so shut down that she couldn't express her true feelings. Many horses labeled as "quiet" or "bombproof" are actually suppressing their natural responses out of fear. Learning to recognize the difference between genuine confidence and shutdown behavior is crucial for any horse owner.
### The Foundation Crisis in Modern Horsemanship
Traditional riding instruction often focuses on skill development before relationship building. Nicky tried to apply straightness training and groundwork techniques with Jessie, but these approaches failed because there was no foundation of trust. As she learned from mentors like Warwick Schiller and Elsa Sinclair, you can't build skill on top of fear. The relationship must come first, everything else is just technique.
### The Nervous System Connection
Perhaps the most profound insight from Nicky's journey is understanding how our own nervous system state affects our horses. When she was dealing with work stress, anxiety, and personal upheaval, Jessie reflected that chaos back to her. Only when Nicky began regulating her own nervous system through meditation, better sleep, and lifestyle changes did their relationship begin to transform. This isn't just about being "calm" around horses, it's about nervous system health.
### the 'after-hours' tapes: building resilience away from the yard
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air. It’s about how we actually handle the outside noise and those internal voices that tell us we aren't worthy of our horses.
We sat down with Nicky Sharp to dig into the practical reality of building self-esteem when you aren't even at the stable. Nicky challenged the way we use technology to document our journeys, explaining why a digital delete can feel like losing years of progress and how a simple notebook might be the most rigorous tool we own. We also talked about the "afternoon luxury" of picking your weather and why being a "fair-weather rider" isn't a weakness, it's a strategy for success.
If you’re in the herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian QA with Nicky Sharp Building Confidence with Horses
0:00
/866.011429
1×
### The Science Behind Your Horse's Comfort: Why Most of Us Are Getting Saddle Fitting Wrong
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/saddle-fitting-for-horse-health/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T15:53:13.000Z
We meticulously schedule our horses' farrier visits, dental check-ups and vaccinations, there's one crucial aspect of equine welfare that remains woefully overlooked: saddle fitting. This week's conversation with c[ertified saddle fitter Jennifer Howland-Christensen ](https://www.highplainssaddlefitting.com/meet-jen?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)reveals the startling truth about how badly fitted tack is silently damaging our horses – and why the solutions are more accessible than we think.
## This Week's Deep Dive 🎧
**Guest:** Jennifer Howland-Christensen, Certified Saddle Fitter and Owner of [High Plains Saddle Fitting](https://www.highplainssaddlefitting.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Background:** Former hairstylist turned equine professional, working with her challenging Appaloosa, Zippy
💡
Herd Members: After Hours Tape at the end of the post
**Key Topics:**
- The physical and psychological damage caused by ill-fitting saddles
- Early warning signs every horse owner should recognise
- The ancient craft of wool flocking and why it matters
- Common mistakes in the hunter-jumper world
## The Big Takeaway
**Your horse's behaviour problems might actually be** [**pain responses in disguise**](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/horse-lameness-a-revolutionary-approach)**.** Jennifer's own journey with her expressive Appaloosa, Zippy, taught her that what trainers often label as "naughty" behaviour – head bobbing, resistance after jumps, girthiness – can actually be horses crying out in discomfort. When Jennifer discovered Zippy had severe ring bone, suddenly his "sass" after landing jumps made perfect sense: he was experiencing pain on impact.
This revelation extends far beyond individual horses. We're perpetuating a cycle where generations of riders are taught to place saddles too far forward, to "pad up" narrow saddles, and to prioritise appearance over comfort. The result? Horses developing muscle atrophy, movement dysfunction, and lasting physical damage that could be entirely preventable.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Three Things That Stood Out
### 1\. **"I can walk up to a horse and see where the tree point is digging in"**
Jennifer's ability to visually identify saddle pressure points speaks to how common this problem has become. She regularly encounters horses with visible indentations in their muscles where poorly fitted saddles have created lasting damage. The most telling sign? That hollow space behind a horse's withers – an indicator that the trapezius muscle has suffered from sustained pressure and poor saddle placement.
### 2\. **The six-to-nine-month rule that most owners ignore**
Unlike other equine services, saddle fitting isn't a "set it and forget it" arrangement. Wool settles, horses' bodies change, and what fitted perfectly in spring may be causing problems by autumn. Jennifer trains her clients to check wither clearance while mounted, a simple test that can prevent weeks of discomfort for their horses.
### 3\. **"We're judging on aesthetics rather than what actually fits"**
Perhaps the most damning observation about modern equestrian culture: in hunter classes, riders lose points for non-traditional tack choices, regardless of how well they fit their horses. This creates a perverse incentive system where appearance trumps animal welfare, something Jennifer believes needs urgent reform.
## Deep Dive Analysis
### **The Physical Consequences: More Than Just Discomfort**
The mechanics of saddle fitting reveal why this issue demands urgent attention. When a saddle doesn't fit properly, whether too narrow or too wide, it creates uneven pressure distribution across the horse's back. This pressure doesn't just cause momentary discomfort; it fundamentally alters how horses move.
A horse experiencing saddle pain will hollow its back to evade discomfort, creating a cascade of biomechanical problems. This defensive posture prevents proper engagement of the hindquarters, affects shoulder movement, and can eventually cause the horse's chest to drop away from the shoulder girdle. The result is a horse that cannot move efficiently, leading to accelerated breakdown and shortened athletic careers.
Jennifer's description of permanently grooved backs, literal indentations where ill-fitting saddles have caused muscle wastage, serves as a stark reminder that these aren't temporary issues. The damage can be irreversible.
### **The Education Gap: When Tradition Trumps Science**
The saddle fitting industry faces a unique challenge: in many regions, particularly rural areas of the United States, the service is still considered novel. Jennifer frequently encounters horse owners who've never worked with a saddle fitter, requiring extensive education about why regular checks matter.
This education gap perpetuates dangerous practices. The common belief that horses need "medium trees" oversimplifies a complex biomechanical puzzle. Tree shape, angle, and balance all play crucial roles in saddle fit, yet many riders make purchasing decisions based on oversimplified categorisations.
### **The Art Meets Science: Why Wool Flocking Endures**
In an age of synthetic materials and foam padding, wool flocking represents a 14th-century technology that remains unmatched for customisation and performance. The natural material's ability to conform to individual horse shapes, combined with its moisture-wicking and shock-absorbing properties, explains why skilled fitters still prefer this labour-intensive approach.
Jennifer's description of the flocking process, carefully layering Jacob's wool to create precise pressure distribution, illustrates why saddle fitting combines technical knowledge with artisanal skill. The satisfaction she describes in achieving the perfect fit reflects the deep craftsmanship involved in this ancient trade.
### the 'after-hours' tapes
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air. It is about how many saddles a horse actually needs. If you are in the herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian QA with certified saddle fitter Jennifer Howland Christensen
0:00
/765.205964
1×
### When Strangers Hold Your Horse's Life in Their Hands
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/stop-feeding-our-horses/
Last updated: 2026-01-18T16:47:05.000Z
Every horse owner knows the sinking feeling: you've managed every blade of grass, monitored every calorie, and then discover strangers have been secretly feeding your horses behind your back. What started as a lockdown frustration has become a global movement, and the stories emerging will break your heart.
This isn't about anger; it's about survival, and the solutions require all of us.
## Deep Dive
**Guest:** Natalie Munir, founder of Stop Feeding Our Horses campaign
**Key Topics:**
- The shocking scale of public feeding incidents worldwide
- Real stories of horses lost to "harmless" treats
- Why our industry's reputation works against us
- Practical defense strategies that actually work
## The Big Takeaway
Natalie's Stop Feeding Our Horses campaign emerged from lockdown necessity but revealed a crisis that every horse owner faces: the complete lack of control over strangers' interactions with our animals. Her BHS Equine Welfare Award recognizes not just individual effort, but a community of horse owners finally fighting back against the ignorance that's killing our horses. This isn't about anger; it's about survival, and the solutions require all of us.
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "You wouldn't feed someone else's dog chocolate"**
Natalie's analogy perfectly captures the violation every horse owner feels. We manage complex medical conditions, strict diets, and behavioral issues that strangers can destroy in seconds. Yet somehow, horses in fields are treated as public property, free for anyone to "help" regardless of consequences.
**2\. Lightning's story still haunts her years later**
A beautiful grey show pony, choked to death on potatoes dumped in his field. The owner's BBC radio interview is almost unbearable, the raw grief of losing a beloved animal to preventable cruelty disguised as kindness. These aren't statistics; they're family members stolen from us by ignorance.
**3\. We're losing land because of feeders**
Owners are setting horses further back from boundaries, installing expensive electric fencing, and even relocating to safer yards. We're sacrificing grazing, enrichment, and accessibility because we can't trust the public. Some have given up horse ownership entirely rather than live in constant fear.
## Deep Dive Analysis
**The Perfect Storm We All Lived Through**
Lockdown created the crisis we're still fighting. Suddenly, millions of people were walking new routes daily, treating our fields like free petting zoos. What looked like innocent family activities were death sentences for horses whose owners weren't there to intervene.
Anna Louise's story will resonate with every rescue owner: Diesel, her miniature rescue, was secretly fed massive bags of apples by holidaymakers. Despite her meticulous management; soaked hay, restricted turnout, carefully managed everything, he nearly died. For the first time in 14 years, he suffered pedal bone rotation. Thousands in vet bills, sleepless nights, and permanent damage, all caused by trespassers who responded to confrontation with "but he's so cute."
**Why Our Reputation Works Against Us**
The equine industry's current image crisis makes our situation worse. Racing scandals, dressage controversies, and welfare concerns mean some members of the public view us with suspicion. When they see muzzled ponies or bare paddocks, they assume neglect rather than medical management. Our careful husbandry looks like cruelty to untrained eyes.
**The Financial Reality Nobody Discusses**
Colic surgery, laminitis treatment, emergency vet calls, the costs of feeding incidents can bankrupt owners. Insurance rarely covers these scenarios, leaving us to choose between financial ruin and losing our horses. The irony is cruel: we spend fortunes keeping our horses healthy, only to have strangers undo it all for free.
**Defense Strategies That Work (And Those That Don't)**
Signs help, but determined feeders ignore them. Electric fencing creates distance but costs grazing. CCTV provides evidence but can't prevent incidents. The most effective solution? Personal signs naming individual horses and their conditions. "This is Bella—EMS means I can't eat treats" works better than generic warnings because it creates connection rather than defiance.
## Questions for Reflection
**How has public feeding affected your horse management decisions?** Whether it's choosing livery yards, installing fencing, or restricting turnout, most of us modify our horses' lives to protect them from strangers.
**What would it take for you to give up horse ownership due to public interference?** For some, the stress of constant vigilance outweighs the joy of horse ownership. Are we heading toward a future where horses can only be kept in high-security facilities?
**Should we be doing more to educate non-horse people in our communities?** Natalie's school visits showed that children understand the concept of permission, they just need to be taught. Are we missing opportunities for education in our local areas?
## Join the Conversation
Every horse owner reading this has a feeding story, whether it's finding carrots in fields, confronting trespassers, or discovering mysterious illness with no obvious cause. Natalie's campaign proves that individual frustration can become collective action when we share our experiences and support each other.
The BHS Equine Welfare Award recognition shows that our industry is finally taking this seriously. But real change requires all of us spreading awareness beyond the horse world. Share this episode with non-horsey friends and family, they need to understand what their "kindness" really costs us.
What's your worst public feeding experience? How do you protect your horses from well-meaning strangers? Share your stories in the comments below—your solutions might save someone else's horse.
Support the campaign:
- [www.StopFeedingOurHorses.co.uk](http://www.stopfeedingourhorses.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- [Public Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/210078577521390/?ref=share)
- [Private Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/117708650211011/)
- [Facebook page - @Stop Feeding Our Horses](https://www.facebook.com/stopfeedingourhorses/)
- [Twitter @HorsesStop](https://twitter.com/horsesstop?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- [Instagram @Stop\_Feeding\_Our\_Horses](https://instagram.com/stop%5Ffeeding%5Four%5Fhorses?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### Finding Freedom Through the Lens
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/wild-horse-photography/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:12.000Z
When 10-year-old Alfie Bowen refused to return to school after years of bullying, his mother fought to get him just one day a week with horses. That single day would change everything.
## Deep Dive
**Guest:** Alfie Bowen, Wildlife Photographer & Author of "Wild Horses"
**Key Topics:**
- How equine therapy transformed a struggling autistic child into an acclaimed photographer
- The patient art of photographing semi-feral ponies across Britain's wildest landscapes
- Why animals make the best teachers about kindness and acceptance
- The intersection of autism, creativity, and finding your voice through art
## The Big Takeaway
In a world that often feels designed for neurotypical minds, Alfie Bowen found his sanctuary not in changing himself, but in finding spaces where he could simply exist as he was. His journey from a child eating lunch alone in a school room to a photographer whose work graces National Geographic pages isn't just about artistic success, it's about the profound healing that happens when we're accepted exactly as we are.
Alfie's photography process itself mirrors this acceptance. He sketches his vision, then waits, sometimes for years, for the perfect moment. No forcing, no rushing. Just patience, respect, and trust that the shot will come when it's meant to. It's a lesson many of us could apply far beyond photography.
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "Being around these horses that I knew couldn't laugh at me or bully me. I just felt free and accepted for the first time in years."**
This hits at something profound about why horses work as therapy animals. They don't judge, don't mock, don't exclude. They respond to energy and intention, not social hierarchies or communication styles. For someone who'd spent years being told they were "weird" for not talking, the non-verbal communication with horses must have felt like coming home.
**2\. "My brain never stops. Sometimes I'm up at two in the morning and I'll get this image idea of two horses popping into my head."**
Alfie's creative process challenges the stereotype that autism limits imagination. Instead, his neurodivergent mind becomes a creative superpower; generating vivid, detailed visions that drive him to spend hours, even years, pursuing the perfect shot. His sketching process before shoots shows how he harnesses what others might see as "obsessive" thinking into artistic vision.
**3\. "A lot of people could learn a lot of lessons from watching a herd of horses. How kind they were to each other, how protective they were of each other."**
After years of human cruelty, Alfie found his moral compass in watching wild horses. Their natural kindness, protection of vulnerable herd members, and unconditional acceptance became the template for how he believes humans should treat each other. His book's core message—"just be kind"—emerges from genuine observation of animal behaviour.
## Deep Dive Analysis
**The Healing Power of Witnessed Patience**
Traditional education and social systems often demand immediate responses, quick adaptation, conformity to preset timelines. But horses, and nature generally, operate on entirely different rhythms.
When Alfie describes sitting still for six hours waiting for a cheetah to move, or camping on the edge of New Forest land to watch 50 horses emerge at dawn, he's not just describing photography techniques. He's describing a form of meditation, a practice of being present without agenda beyond bearing witness.
This patience wasn't taught in classrooms or therapy sessions; it emerged from necessity. To photograph wild animals authentically, you must enter their world on their terms. You can't force a stallion to rear on command or make foals play for the camera. You simply show up, consistently, respectfully, and wait.
**The Art of Seeing Without Being Seen**
Alfie talks about keeping distance, ensuring the horses behave naturally, not wanting them to be nervous of his presence. He's learned to photograph while remaining essentially absent from the frame; both literally and energetically.
This mirrors his experience at school, where his difference made him hypervisible in the worst ways. But in the wild, that same difference becomes an asset. His ability to remain still, focused, and patient for extended periods, traits that made him seem "weird" in social settings, become exactly what's needed to capture authentic animal behaviour.
**When Obsession Becomes Expertise**
Alfie mentions that obsessions are "another big trait of autism," describing his childhood fixation with animals. In medical or educational contexts, these intense interests are often seen as limitations to be managed or redirected. But Alfie's story demonstrates how obsession, given the right outlet, transforms into mastery.
His encyclopedic knowledge of animal behaviour, his ability to predict weather patterns for shoots, his willingness to research beach access routes and camping locations, all of this springs from that early "obsession" with animals. What others might call excessive focus becomes the foundation for professional expertise and artistic vision.
## Practical Applications
**For Equestrian Educators and Therapists:**
Alfie's experience suggests the importance of creating judgment-free spaces where students can simply exist alongside horses without performance pressure. His favourite moments were the one-to-one time, leading, bathing, brushing, rather than formal riding instruction. Sometimes the most profound learning happens in the quiet moments between human and horse.
**For Parents and Caregivers:**
When Alfie's mother fought the legal system to get him into a special needs school and pushed for the equine therapy placement, she was advocating not for him to change, but for environments where he could flourish as he was. The lesson isn't about finding ways to make autistic children "normal"; it's about finding spaces where their particular gifts can emerge.
**For Anyone Seeking Creative Fulfillment:**
Alfie's practice of sketching visions before shoots offers a powerful model for creative work. Rather than hoping inspiration strikes in the moment, he creates specific goals and then pursues them with methodical patience. His willingness to wait years for certain shots, to return again and again to the same locations, demonstrates how persistence and specificity can lead to extraordinary results.
## Questions for Reflection
**How might our impatience with natural rhythms, prevent us from accessing deeper creativity and connection?**
Alfie's story suggests that some of our greatest gifts emerge not from speed or efficiency, but from willingness to move at the pace authentic to us. In a world obsessed with quick results and instant gratification, his years-long pursuit of single photographs offers a different model entirely.
**Where in your own equestrian journey might you need to "keep your distance" to allow more authentic connection?**
Alfie's insight about letting horses behave naturally by maintaining appropriate space challenges our assumptions about closeness equalling connection. Sometimes the deepest relationships emerge from respect for boundaries rather than attempts at forced intimacy.
## Join the Conversation
What resonated most with you from Alfie's story? Have you experienced the healing power of simply being accepted by animals exactly as you are? Share your thoughts in the comments below, I read every single one and often feature reader insights in future episodes.
**Share this episode:** Forward this to anyone who might need reminding that different doesn't mean less than—sometimes it means exactly what the world needs.
**Find Alfie's work:** [AlfieBowen.com](link) | Instagram @AlfieBowen | "[Wild Horses](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781788842624?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)" available at all major bookstores
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### Why Horses Make Better Therapists Than Humans: Kate Nelligan's Curious Journey
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/why-horses-make-better-therapists/
Last updated: 2026-01-15T22:50:32.000Z
Kate Nelligan left the entertainment world to build something rather different: equine-partnered coaching where horses help humans navigate everything from addiction recovery to what she calls the "friendship recession." But this isn't mystical horse whispering. It's a frank look at what happens when someone questions whether we're actually partnering with horses or just using them with better marketing.
## Deep Dive
**Guest**: Kate Nelligan, Equine-Partnered Life Coach
**Key Topics**:
- Escaping the "type A yes girl" trap via Arabian mare intervention
- Why some yards ban mares (and whether that says more about us than them)
- The friendship recession and how horses accidentally become therapists
- What "drop the agenda" actually means when your horse says it
## The Big Takeaway
What struck me most wasn't Kate's claims about horses being healers. It was her observation that horses simply operate at a different frequency from stressed humans. They're present-moment creatures dealing with people who live entirely in their heads, catastrophising about futures that may never happen.
The result? Horses become accidental mindfulness teachers. Not through mystical connection, but through basic biology. Their heart coherence, their four-feet-on-ground energy, their prey animal ability to reset after stress responses. These aren't spiritual gifts. They're observable realities that affect the humans around them.
Which raises an uncomfortable question: if horses can regulate our nervous systems just by existing near us, what does that say about how we're living?
## Three Things That Stood Out
### 1\. "Drop the agenda" – When your horse calls out your bs
Kate's grey Arabian mare once made it clear she needed to "drop the agenda" during liberty work. Not through telepathic communication, but through the universal horse language of "I'm not playing this game."
This wasn't cosmic wisdom. It was a horse pointing out the difference between genuine collaboration and human-imposed goals dressed up as partnership.
**Why this matters**: How often do we approach horses with our own needs front and centre, then wonder why they seem reluctant participants? True partnership requires examining whose objectives are actually being met.
### 2\. The friendship recession is real
Kate identifies something many recognise but rarely name: we're experiencing a "[friendship recession.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship%5Frecession?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)" People report feeling isolated, struggling to maintain meaningful connections outside family and work.
Horses provide what many humans currently lack – fully present, non-judgemental companionship. They're not scrolling phones, multitasking, or bringing emotional baggage to every interaction.
**The uncomfortable bit**: If we're turning to horses for basic social connection, what does that say about our human relationships? And is it fair to ask horses to fill gaps in our social lives?
### 3\. "Horses don't ‘should’ themselves" – The productivity culture mirror
Perhaps the most sobering observation: horses don't operate from shame, guilt, or "should" statements. They follow what feels good, rest when tired, and don't apologise for having needs.
Kate's transformation from "type A yes girl" to someone who questions ego goals versus soul goals holds up an uncomfortable mirror. When did we decide that being perpetually busy equals virtue?
**The question**: If horses can show us a different way of being, why are we so resistant to learning it?
## Deep Dive Analysis
### The Mare Question: What We Really Fear
Why do people either love or loathe mares? Some yards won't even take them. Kate suggests mares can be "confronting" for people unprepared for complex personalities.
But here's what's curious: we readily accept complexity in geldings and stallions. A difficult gelding is "characterful" or "needs the right rider." A difficult mare is often just... difficult.
This raises questions about what we actually want from our horses. Do we prefer geldings because they're genuinely easier to work with? Or because we've been conditioned to value compliance over character?
Kate's experience suggests something else entirely. Maybe mares self-select their humans. Perhaps the people who thrive with mares are those ready to examine their own assumptions about control and partnership.
Which is uncomfortable if you think about it. What if our horse preferences reveal more about our psychological needs than we'd like to admit?
### Stress, Regulation, and What Horses Know That We've Forgotten
Kate's work with addiction recovery revealed something striking. People experiencing withdrawal could regulate their nervous systems within hours around horses.
But here's the bit that should make us squirm: if horses can help humans regulate stress responses so effectively, what are we doing to ourselves daily that requires such intervention?
Kate notes that anxiety is "future-focused" whilst horses live in the present. The implication is uncomfortable. Perhaps our mental health crisis isn't individual pathology but a logical response to living constantly outside the present moment.
Are we medicating symptoms of a lifestyle problem? Could horses be inadvertently showing us how far we've drifted from natural rhythms?
### Industry Orthodoxy: When "Partnership" Becomes Marketing
Kate's transition from competitive showing to partnership-based work sidesteps the usual polarisation between "traditional" and "natural" horsemanship. Instead, she asks practical questions: Does this work for both species? Does it create the relationship we actually want?
Her observation that horses often develop nervous breakdowns in competitive contexts isn't anti-competition propaganda. It's pro-choice. Some horses genuinely enjoy their work. Others are performing under duress.
The difference matters. But the industry doesn't always want to acknowledge it.
How much of what we call "training" is actually suppression of natural behaviour? When does legitimate partnership cross into exploitation with better branding? And who benefits when we avoid these conversations?
## Questions for Reflection
**On partnership**: Kate talks about partnering with, not using, her horses. What would actually change in your relationship if you approached every interaction through this lens? More importantly, how would you know if your horse was genuinely choosing to participate?
**On the friendship recession**: If you're honest, do your horses fill gaps in your social life that humans used to occupy? Is that fair to them? And what does it say about the state of human connection?
**On industry assumptions**: Kate mentioned yards that refuse mares. What other arbitrary rules in your local horse community might benefit from examination? Which practices continue because "we've always done it this way" rather than because they serve anyone well?
## Join the Conversation
What hit home about Kate's corporate-to-horses journey? Have you noticed the friendship recession in your own community? And honestly – do your horses sometimes feel like better company than humans?
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### Why a successful lawyer gave up a six figure salary for ranch life
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/why-a-successful-lawyer-gave-up-a-six-figure-salary-for-ranch-life/
Last updated: 2026-02-21T17:05:23.000Z
## Deep Dive
**Guest:** Amy Cullen, former attorney turned head wrangler at C Lazy U Ranch, Colorado
**Key Topics:** Career transitions, ranch horse management, wildfire evacuations, therapeutic writing
Amy's story begins with a question many of us recognise: you've worked hard, earned well, bought the horses, so why aren't you happy? Her answer was radical enough to make friends question her sanity. Trade a six-figure legal salary for $7 an hour mucking stalls across 8,200 acres of Colorado ranch land.
The economics seemed mad. The outcome suggests otherwise.
## The Big Takeaway
The most compelling aspect of Amy's story isn't the dramatic career change or even evacuating 200-plus horses from wildfire. It's her brutal honesty about the grinding reality of maintaining horses whilst climbing the corporate ladder.
"I was lucky if I saw a horse," she admits, describing weeks lost to traffic jams between her law firm and Maryland stables. You work harder to afford the thing that brings you joy, only to have no time for joy. Sound familiar?
Amy's solution was extreme, but her recognition of the problem is universal. How many of us are trapped in this same contradiction?
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "Everything I thought I knew was a small fraction of what these horses taught me"**
Amy arrived with decades of English riding experience. Managing 200 horses living as a herd required completely different skills. The humility here is refreshing, no mystical horse whispering, just acknowledgment that the animals themselves were better teachers than formal instruction.
For riders stuck in single-discipline thinking, this perspective shift could be transformative. When did we start believing that arena work was the pinnacle of horsemanship?
**2\. The methodical genius of the wildfire evacuation**
When the East Troublesome Fire threatened the ranch in October 2020, Amy's team didn't panic; they strategised. Understanding social dynamics became crucial: separate friend groups and horses become difficult to load. Put a confident lead mare on the trailer first and six geldings will follow without question.
Of 200-plus horses, fewer than half a dozen gave them serious trouble. This wasn't mystical connection, it was practical knowledge gained through daily observation. Which raises the question: how well do most horse owners actually know their animals beyond the riding relationship?
**3\. "If a horse looks like they're over being ridden by many guests, we rotate them"**
Perhaps the most significant insight came from Amy's approach to horse welfare at a guest ranch. Rather than pushing tired or resistant horses through their jobs, the ranch system allows for career changes; guest horse to jingle horse to lesson horse, or comfortable retirement.
It's a model that challenges the industry standard of "use until useless." Why isn't this approach more widespread?
## Deep Dive Analysis
### What Amy's Story Reveals About Modern Equestrian Life
Amy's initial struggle exposes a fundamental flaw in how we've structured horse ownership around conventional career paths. We've created a system where the people most passionate about horses often can't afford the time to be with them.
The ranch model she describes offers an alternative worth examining. Instead of owning one or two horses requiring constant management, Amy works with 200 horses in a system designed around their natural behaviours. The horses live out year-round, develop genuine working relationships with humans, and have clear career progression.
But let's be honest, this model only works because paying guests subsidise it. Could similar approaches work elsewhere? And what does it say about our industry that the most progressive horse welfare often happens where economics align with animal wellbeing?
### Beyond the Romance: What Ranch Life Actually Teaches
Strip away the Hollywood imagery and Amy's ranch experience offers practical lessons for any horse person. Daily exposure to herd dynamics revealed communication patterns impossible to observe in individual turnout systems.
Emergency veterinary care, field repairs, managing horses across varied terrain, all skills that formal riding instruction rarely covers. But perhaps most importantly, the ranch environment forced Amy to abandon perfectionism.
"I had to let go of being disappointed if I messed up," she reflects. In a world where many riders are paralysed by fear of making mistakes, this shift from performance anxiety to functional partnership deserves attention. Yet how often do riding instructors actively discourage this kind of perfectionism?
### The Wildfire as Teacher
The evacuation story reveals something crucial about human-horse relationships under extreme stress. She knew which horses were friends, which were leaders, which were reliable under pressure.
This knowledge proved invaluable when time was critical and stakes were life-or-death.
## Questions for Reflection
How well do you actually know your horse beyond what happens when you're riding? Amy's evacuation success depended on understanding social preferences and stress responses, knowledge that could prove crucial in any emergency.
What would happen if you stripped away the performance pressure from your riding? Amy describes rediscovering childhood passion when she stopped focusing on competition and started working with horses functionally. Where's the space for this kind of joy in modern equestrian culture?
If you could redesign your relationship with horses from scratch, what would it look like? Amy's dramatic career change worked for her specific circumstances, but the underlying question applies universally: are you living the horse life you actually want, or the one you think you should want?
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Join the Conversation
Amy's story challenges the assumption that horse ownership must be expensive and time-consuming. Have you found ways to build meaningful relationships with horses outside traditional ownership models? Or are we all just trapped in the same economic contradiction?
Share your experiences in the comments below; especially if you've found solutions that don't require abandoning your career.
**Running Free** is available on Amazon and through Amy's website at runningfreehorses.com. A quick read that examines the gap between the lives we're supposed to want and the ones that actually fulfil us.
### What horses offer when you choose never to ride them
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/what-horses-offer-when-you-choose-never-to-ride/
Last updated: 2026-02-21T16:56:38.000Z
What if the most profound breakthrough in your equestrian journey came not from getting on your horse, but from choosing never to ride again? We meet Claire and explore the transformative power of stepping away from traditional expectations and discovering what horses truly offer when we meet them on the ground.
## This Week's Deep Dive 🎧
**Guest:** Claire Artis, equestrian and founder of Claire Artis Horsemanship
**Background:** Over 30 years of horse experience, former professional, now advocates for unridden horsemanship
**Key Topics:**
• The journey from "broken to ride" to understanding trauma responses in horses
• Building trust through psychology-based horsemanship rather than traditional methods
• Creative groundwork alternatives that challenge horses mentally and physically
• Overcoming societal pressure to ride and finding freedom in choice
## The Big Takeaway
Claire's decision to permanently stop riding Cloudy wasn't a failure; it was a liberation that opened doors to a deeper relationship than she'd ever imagined possible. When Cloudy shut down after a riding setback, Claire faced a crossroads: push through for her own goals, or honour what her horse was telling her.
Choosing her horse's wellbeing over societal expectations didn't end their partnership, it transformed it into something richer and more nuanced than anything she'd experienced in 30 years of riding. "I actually felt from that a huge weight had been lifted," Claire explains, revealing how our attachment to riding can sometimes limit rather than enhance our connection with horses.
## Three Things That Stood Out
### 1\. "I listened. I listened to all those little changes in her body language"
Claire's approach to trust-building centres on becoming fluent in equine communication rather than imposing human timelines. By watching ear position, nose tension, and subtle weight shifts, she learned to respect Cloudy's boundaries before they became explosive reactions. This skill transformed a horse who couldn't be caught into one who responds to the subtlest gestures.
### 2\. The power of creative play over traditional training
From giant gym balls to tarpaulin obstacle courses, Claire discovered that engaging horses' natural curiosity through play builds confidence more effectively than rigid training programmes. Her approach turns everyday objects; water barrels, poles, tyres, into tools for mental stimulation that keeps both horse and human engaged and learning.
### 3\. "We've got to get out of this mindset that because we can't ride our horses, it's the end"
Perhaps the most revolutionary insight is Claire's challenge to equestrian culture itself. She argues that our obsession with riding often blinds us to the rich possibilities of ground-based partnership, limiting both our horses' potential and our own growth as horsemen and women.
### The Trauma-Informed Approach to Horsemanship
Claire's journey with Cloudy illustrates how traditional "breaking" methods can create lasting psychological damage that manifests as fear, shutdown responses, and apparent disobedience. When Cloudy arrived supposedly backed but bolted at the sight of a saddle, Claire recognised that force would only compound existing trauma.
Her patient approach, spending eight months just getting Cloudy comfortable with saddling, demonstrates how healing happens on the horse's timeline, not ours. This challenges the industry's push for quick results and young horse training, suggesting we need to fundamentally rethink our expectations of what horses owe us and when.
### Beyond the Binary: Redefining Equestrian Success
The equestrian world operates on a false binary: you either ride or you don't, and not riding somehow makes you "less than." Claire's experience reveals this thinking as not just limiting but actively harmful. Her herd of five unridden horses lives rich, engaging lives filled with mental stimulation, physical challenges, and deep human connection.
This perspective becomes particularly relevant as we consider aging horses, injured riders, young horses not yet ready for saddle work, and horses recovering from physical or psychological trauma. Claire's approach offers a roadmap for maintaining meaningful partnerships beyond the traditional riding framework.
### The Psychology of Pressure and Permission
One of the most striking aspects of Claire's story is her admission that she "cried for a while" when first contemplating a life without riding. This honest acknowledgment of grief reveals how deeply embedded our expectations around horses are—and how liberation often requires mourning what we thought we wanted.
The pressure to ride comes from multiple sources: livery yard conversations, family expectations, social media, and our own internalised beliefs about what constitutes "real" horsemanship. Claire's journey shows that permission to step away from these expectations often unlocks creativity and connection we never knew was possible.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Questions for Reflection
**What would you discover about your horse if you took riding completely off the table for two months?** Claire challenges every rider to experiment with this radical reset, suggesting that the insights gained will enhance even those who choose to return to the saddle.
**How much of your desire to ride comes from genuine passion versus societal expectation?** This uncomfortable question gets to the heart of authentic horsemanship—are we riding because we love it, or because we think we should?
**What possibilities might you be missing by focusing primarily on ridden work?** Consider the horses in your life who might benefit from a different approach—the anxious mare, the shut-down gelding, the young horse everyone's eager to "get going."
##
---
*Follow Claire's ongoing journey with Cloudy and her herd on Instagram and Facebook @ClaireArtisHorsemanship*
### The Forever Home Myth
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-breeding/
Last updated: 2026-01-16T00:14:13.000Z
**Nearly 60 years of breeding horses taught Jeanette Gower that the kindest thing you can do for a foal is prepare it for an uncertain world.**
Why do we persist with the notion of "forever homes"? Australian Stock Horse breeder Jeanette Gower has spent nearly six decades watching well-intentioned promises crumble under the weight of reality, and she's had quite enough of the fairy tale. "You can make that claim in good faith and you could have a car accident tomorrow which lands you permanently incapacitated and you can no longer look after your horses," she observes with characteristic directness.
## Deep Dive
**Guest:** Jeanette Gower, Author of "Horse Colour Explained" and owner of Chalani Stud, Australia
**Key Topics:**
- Why "forever homes" don't exist—and what that means for breeders
- The mathematics of colour genetics versus Instagram fantasy
- How a teenager's curiosity about pigeon genetics revolutionised her approach to horses
- The uncomfortable truth about where unwanted horses actually end up
## The Big Takeaway
"If you can't sell horses, don't breed," Jeanette states with the bluntness that comes from having bred over 300 foals and witnessed the industry's capacity for self-deception. It's not cruelty speaking—it's kindness with a spine.
The uncomfortable truth she's discovered is that "forever homes" serve human emotions rather than equine welfare. You can make that promise in perfectly good faith today and find yourself in a car accident tomorrow, permanently incapacitated and unable to care for your horses. The mathematics are unforgiving: we don't have horse shelters like dog shelters because horses cost too much to warehouse indefinitely.
The best protection for any horse isn't a promise that can't be kept, but breeding practices that create animals people genuinely want to own, training that makes them pleasant to live with, and pricing that reflects reality rather than sentiment.
## Three Things That Stood Out
### 1\. "One of the questions I always ask a buyer is, do you have a horse float?"
This might seem like administrative trivia, but consider the logic. If potential owners can't transport their horse to veterinary care in an emergency, they've failed the most basic test of preparedness. "Now that may seem incidental," Jeanette explains, "but if they've got no way of taking that horse down to the vet in a hurry when there's an emergency, that's not the sort of person I want to sell a horse to."
It's a beautifully simple filter that separates dreamers from owners. Whilst the equestrian world obsesses over finding horses the "perfect" home, Jeanette focuses on finding them competent ones. For British readers, substitute "horse float" with "trailer or lorry or transport"—the principle remains delightfully unromantic and utterly practical.
### 2\. "You can't have a palomino unless you have the albino gene"
Here's where the Instagram generation's colour obsession meets uncomfortable mathematics. Breed for that perfect palomino and you've got a 50% chance of success—which sounds reasonable until you realise, as Jeanette puts it, "you might go 10 tries before you get that palomino because the odds might fall the other way." What happens to the nine chestnut "failures"?
Her genetics education began with pigeons, where "pigeon breeders knew exactly how colours of pigeons were produced." When she asked horse breeders what colour she might expect from her first mating, "no one could tell me with accuracy what I might get and that absolutely dumbfounded me." Sixty years later, we have genetic testing that can predict coat colour down to the base pair, yet breeders still chase rainbows.
The marketplace now rewards flashy colours over fundamentals. As Jeanette observed one frustrated seller attempting to market "a crossbred Appaloosa come Arab come Clydesdale" for dressage: "I can't think of anybody" who goes shopping for such a combination. Yet these one-off experiments continue flooding an already saturated market.
### 3\. "We've bred well over 300 foals now... we've only had 10 or 12 colics"
These statistics should make every horse owner pause. What's Jeanette's secret? Nothing mystical—just horses "always out in paddocks, never stabled" until recently, and daily observation. When you're checking horses whilst feeding them, you notice changes immediately.
This challenges the modern assumption that more facilities equal better care. Sometimes the old ways work precisely because they maintain the human-horse connection that expensive infrastructure can erode. "You learn to watch your horses daily," she explains. "If you see their condition changing daily, you notice those things because you're looking out for them."
### The Genetics Revolution That Wasn't
Jeanette's journey from teenager asking basic colour questions to internationally recognised genetics expert illustrates how far we've come; and how little we've learned. In the 1960s, no one could give her a straight answer about colour inheritance. Today, we have genetic testing that reveals not just colour possibilities but disease markers and parentage verification.
Yet this knowledge explosion has created new problems. Social media breeding programmes chase exotic colours without understanding basic genetics, producing horses with no market demand. The temptation to breed the flashy overo rather than the sound, sensible horse has never been stronger.
The lesson from Jeanette's six-decade perspective? Understand the science, but remember the purpose. Colour genetics are fascinating tools for creating horses that people want to live with long-term; not Instagram content that clogs the market.
### The Slaughter Conversation We're Not Having
Perhaps the most sobering aspect of our conversation was Jeanette's unflinching discussion of horse slaughter. "My concern of the really bad side is horses that go for slaughter, and that's why I think responsible breeding is really important," she states. It's the topic most of the equestrian world prefers to ignore, like relatives who drink too much at Christmas.
The mathematics are stark: horses are too expensive to warehouse indefinitely. The safety net for unwanted horses is thin to non-existent. This reality should inform every breeding decision, but it rarely does because it's easier to believe in forever homes than face the alternative.
Jeanette's approach is pragmatic rather than sentimental. She breeds for excellence because excellent horses find excellent homes. She prices realistically because overpriced horses often end up in poor situations. She maintains lifelong connections with buyers because she accepts responsibility for the lives she creates.
### Training as Insurance Policy
"A horse that's well trained and calm and quiet... will always find a decent home," Jeanette explains, "but it might not be at any price." This perspective challenges the common breeder mentality of valuing horses based on bloodlines and potential rather than actual training and temperament.
The implication is significant: every horse you breed becomes your training responsibility. "You owe it to that horse because you bred it to find the best possible home for it." If you can't commit to that investment, perhaps you shouldn't breed at all.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Questions for Reflection
**How do we balance emotional attachment to our horses with the practical reality that circumstances change?** Jeanette's experience suggests that accepting impermanence actually leads to better outcomes for horses, because it forces us to focus on what we can control; breeding quality, training standards, and careful home selection.
**Is the modern focus on colour genetics serving horses or just feeding human vanity?** When breeders chase flashy colours over fundamental qualities, are we creating horses that struggle to find suitable homes? The market for a well-trained bay gelding far exceeds demand for an untrained but colourful horse with questionable breeding.
**What would the horse world look like if we priced sentiment out of the equation?** Jeanette's unsentimental approach, "If you can't sell horses, don't breed"—produced remarkably healthy horses with excellent homes. Perhaps there's something to learn from methods that prioritise practical outcomes over romantic notions about eternal bonds.
---
*Find Jeanette's work at* [*thinkinghorsebreeder.chalani.net*](http://www.thinkinghorsebreeder.chalani.net/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) *and her book "Horse Colour Explained" through major retailers. Her Substack newsletter "The Thinking Horse Breeder" provides ongoing insights into responsible breeding practices.*
### Your horse reaching for that 'poisonous' plant might know something you don't
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-self-medication-cindy-engel/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T13:39:29.000Z
Have you ever watched your horse desperately trying to reach that "poisonous" plant you've been told to fence off, and wondered if they might actually know something you don't? This conversation with [research biologist Dr Cindy Engel ](https://www.cindyengel.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)will completely change how you think about your horse's natural instincts, and why diversity, not perfection, might be the key to their wellbeing.
## Week's Deep Dive
**Guest:** Dr Cindy Engel, research biologist, author, and bodywork therapist
**Key Topics:**
- Why domesticated horses have lost their "animal wisdom" and what we can do about it
- The crucial difference between nutrients and medicine in what horses seek
- How Monty Roberts' breakthrough with wild mustangs reveals the power of somatic empathy
- Practical ways to provide variety and choice in restricted environments
## The Big Takeaway
**Diversity is everything.** Dr Engel's decades of research into animal self-medication reveals that wild animals don't rely on innate wisdom; they rely on trial and error, peer learning, and access to incredible variety in their environment. Our domesticated horses have been stripped of both the knowledge and the options they need to self-regulate their health. The answer isn't to panic about every "toxic" plant, but to thoughtfully provide as much diversity as possible and trust what's left of their instincts to guide them.
This isn't just about physical health; it's about giving horses back some autonomy and choice in a world where we've made most of their decisions for them.
Check out her book ‘[Wild Health](https://www.cindyengel.com/animal-self-medication?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)’
[](https://www.cindyengel.com/animal-self-medication?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
## Three Things That Stood Out
**1\. "They're looking for an effect, not a nutrient"**
When your horse is desperately reaching for those blackberries during a hack, they're not thinking about vitamin C content. They're following the same trial-and-error process that helps wild animals manage everything from upset stomachs to worm loads. As Engel explains, animals nibble plants and sense the physiological response and if something makes them feel better, they eat more. If it makes them feel worse, they stop. This simple feedback system is far more sophisticated than our human obsession with specific nutrients.
**2\. The charcoal revelation**
Every plant-eating animal in the wild seeks out clay or charcoal, not for minerals, but as "mechanicals" that bind plant toxins and allow safe excretion. When Dartmoor ponies congregate around fire sites to nibble charcoal, they're accessing an ancient health maintenance strategy. This knowledge transforms how we might think about providing our horses with bentonite clay licks or even allowing access to appropriate charcoal sources.
**3\. Monty Roberts and the broken boy**
The most powerful moment in our conversation came when Engel described how Monty Roberts' breakthrough with horses emerged from his own trauma. As an abused child who identified with beaten horses, Roberts developed extraordinary sensitivity to equine communication by living with wild mustangs. His discovery that "if you are brutal and scary, you've just got a scared horse" revolutionised horse training and revealed the profound truth of somatic empathy , how our emotional states directly impact the animals around us.
## Deep Dive
### The Domestication Dilemma
Wild horses have access to an extraordinary pharmacy. They learn from wise elders in the herd, experiment safely with diverse plant communities, and maintain health through sophisticated social learning. Our domestic horses, no matter how well-cared for, live in what Engel calls a "closed loop" of limited choices, no mentors, and often monoculture grassland that offers nothing for self-medication.
We’re not talking about returning to some romanticised wild state, but about understanding what we've taken away and finding creative ways to restore some of those options. When commercial deer farmers in New Zealand allowed "weeds" back into their manicured pastures, veterinary costs plummeted. The lesson is clear: perfection might be the enemy of health.
### Beyond Good and Bad Plants
Our binary thinking about "safe" versus "toxic" plants misses the crucial concept of dosage. Many plants that can poison in large quantities serve as medicine in small amounts. Engel's research shows that astringent plants help grazing animals manage worm loads, while the acorns we frantically fence off might be exactly what horses need, just not in massive mast-year quantities!
This doesn't mean becoming cavalier about genuinely dangerous plants, but rather developing a more nuanced understanding of how animals use their environment as pharmacy. Sometimes that "naughty" behaviour of reaching for hedge plants during a hack is actually a horse trying to tell us something important about their health needs.
### The Revolution in Horse-Human Connection
The story of Monty Roberts illuminates something profound about how emotional states transfer between species. When Roberts, broken by abuse, lived among wild mustangs, he discovered that horses respond to our internal state, not just our training techniques. This concept of somatic empathy, where physiological states synchronise between beings, explains why some people seem to have a "magic touch" with horses while others struggle.
Modern research confirms what Roberts intuited: horses are hypervigilant for anxiety and threat, and emotions spread through herds without conscious thought. This knowledge transforms every interaction we have with horses, from daily care routines to riding. The trust technique Engel mentions, where practitioners use mindfulness meditation to achieve such calm that horses lie down beside them, demonstrates the extraordinary power of this connection.
## Questions for Reflection
**What assumptions am I making about my horse's "bad" behaviour that might actually be communication about their health needs?**
Consider that reaching for hedge plants, digging, or wood chewing might not be vices to correct but messages to interpret. How might you create opportunities for safe exploration of these behaviours?
**How can I bring more diversity into my horse's world, even within the constraints of modern horse keeping?**
Whether through [track systems](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/), slow feeders with different contents, or regular foraging walks, what creative solutions might work for your situation? Remember, even small changes towards variety can make a significant impact.
**What emotional state am I bringing to my horses, and how might that be affecting their wellbeing?**
### How Horse and Human Brains See the World Differently
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/brain-based-horsemanship-janet-jones-book-review/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:23:08.000Z
"For a long time, I felt like I had two almost different lives going on simultaneously — the scientific side, the academic side, and then there was all of this riding and training," Dr. Janet Jones revealed during our interview. **This unique collision of neuroscience and horsemanship has produced what may be the most groundbreaking equestrian book of the decade.** When a UCLA-trained brain scientist who spent decades studying human perception applies her expertise to horse training, the results challenge everything we think we know about equine behaviour.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## **Who Desperately Needs This Book (And Who's Wasting Their Time)**
**Perfect For:**
- Horse owners frustrated by their horses "inexplicable" behaviour (spoiler: it's not inexplicable)
- Trainers seeking to understand WHY techniques work rather than just applying them blindly
- Riders who've been told their horse is "naughty" when the real issue lies in cross-species miscommunication
- Anyone working with difficult or green horses who wants to work WITH the equine brain instead of against it
- Professionals ready to ditch outdated anthropomorphic assumptions about horse learning
**Skip This If:**
- You prefer traditional "dominance-based" training methods without scientific backing
- You're looking for a quick-fix manual rather than deep understanding
- You're satisfied with "because that's how we've always done it" explanations
- You believe horses think exactly like humans (prepare to be thoroughly corrected)
## **What Makes This Book a Game-Changer**
According to the publisher's description, this is "an eye-opening game-changer of a book that sheds new light on how horses learn, think, perceive, and perform, and explains how to work with the horse's brain instead of against it."
Dr Jones explained her revolutionary insight during our interview: "Humans tend to rely very strongly on vision. Our brains are actually specialised for vision. Horses' brains are specialised for smell." This fundamental difference creates countless training misunderstandings. When I spoke to Dr Jones, she revealed how this realisation transformed her approach: "We look all around visually and we say, 'you've seen that a million times. What's the problem here?' And the fact is that it's not all about sight for a horse."
The book's methodology centres on what Dr. Jones calls "brain-based horsemanship" — understanding the neurological basis of equine behaviour rather than attributing mysterious motives to our horses. **This isn't touchy-feely anthropomorphism; it's hard neuroscience applied to practical horsemanship.**
## **The Cognitive Scientist Behind the Revolution**
Dr Janet Jones earned her PhD from UCLA and taught neuroscience of perception, language, memory, and thought for 23 years. Her research on human brain function won UCLA's prestigious Gengerelli Distinguished Dissertation Award in 1989\. But her journey into equine neuroscience began with tragedy, a riding accident that caused two years of transient amnesia. "It fascinated me that anyone's brain would be capable of allowing them to function perfectly normally through their everyday life and not have any memory," she shared during our conversation.
This unique combination of academic rigour and hands-on horse experience gives Dr Jones unparalleled credibility. She's schooled hundreds of green and difficult horses across multiple disciplines, later opening her own successful training business. Her core principle, revealed in our interview: "Ultimately, the sole point of contact is between a horse's brain and a human brain."
## **Why This Book Transforms Horse-Human Communication**
"Horse Brain, Human Brain" revolutionises equestrian thinking by addressing the fundamental issue Dr Jones discovered when reopening her training business: "Students and owners attributed to problems that horses had, but I could also see that these so-called problems were really only functions of the way the horse experienced the world." The book systematically dismantles our human assumptions about equine perception, learning, and motivation.
Key transformations include understanding equine sensory priorities (smell over sight), recognising the neurological differences between rewards and lures (surprise triggers stronger dopamine release), and appreciating that horses don't possess the advanced decision-making capabilities of human prefrontal cortex. As Dr Jones explained: "The very first precise image of a horse's brain wasn't even available until April of 2019" — meaning this research is cutting-edge.
The practical applications extend from handling ground manners to advanced performance training, always asking "why" rather than simply applying techniques blindly.
## **What Readers Are Saying**
"Dr. Janet Jones has written the book the horse world has been waiting for: Horse Brain, Human Brain. It is a game changer." — Tik Maynard, Trainer, Eventer, and Author
"Horse Brain, Human Brain: The Neuroscience of Horsemanship completes my trifecta of horsemanship references, which includes Tom Dorrance's True Unity and Ray Hunt's Think Harmony with Horses." — American Farrier Journal
"This book is incredibly informative, helping them understand how horses think, and consider it a must-read for every horse owner. The writing style is easy to understand... worth every penny." — Amazon Verified Purchaser
## **Beyond the Book**
Dr. Jones continues developing brain-based horsemanship through her ongoing "True Training" blog series, documenting the development of her Dutch Warmblood from age three. She writes regular columns for Psychology Today and Horse Network, making complex neuroscience accessible to equestrians worldwide. Her website (janet-jones.com) offers extensive resources, videos, and additional interviews exploring the intersection of neuroscience and horsemanship.
The book has been translated into eight languages and won the Japan Racing Association's 2021 Equine Culture Award — the only other American author to receive this honour was Laura Hillenbrand for "Seabiscuit."
## **Get Your Copy Today**
Ready to revolutionise your horsemanship through science? [**Order "Horse Brain, Human Brain" from our Curious Equestrian collection**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781570769481?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and support independent bookstores while transforming your relationship with your horse. This isn't just another training manual — it's a complete paradigm shift backed by decades of neuroscientific research and practical horse experience.
## **Explore More**
**Watch our full interview with Dr. Janet Jones:**
**Browse our complete collection** of [equestrian books](https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/podcats-guests??ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) curated specifically for the thinking horseperson
**Visit Dr Jones's website:** janet-jones.com for ongoing insights into brain-based horsemanship
*This review is part of the Curious Equestrian collection, featuring books that challenge conventional wisdom and advance equestrian understanding through science, compassion, and evidence-based practice.*
### The Long Ride Home: The Continuing Story Of A Father's Quest To Heal His Son Rowan
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/long-ride-home-rupert-isaacson-autism-therapy-book-review/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:21.000Z
"You're not looking to stop the autism at all because the autism is brilliant. It's amazing. It's fantastic. There's so many qualities and gifts in it. What you're trying to do is alleviate suffering."
These words from Rupert Isaacson, spoken during our interview with Anna Louise, reveal the profound philosophy that drives this extraordinary sequel to the bestselling "The Horse Boy." When Rowan began regressing exactly one year after his Mongolian breakthrough, his father remembered the shaman's words: three more healing journeys were needed.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## Who Desperately Needs This Book (And Who's Wasting Their Time)
**Perfect For:**
- Parents who've seen initial therapy success but are facing regression in their autistic children
- Families seeking evidence-based alternatives when conventional approaches plateau
- Practitioners wanting to understand the neurological science behind indigenous healing methods
- Anyone who read "The Horse Boy" and craves the rest of the story
- Educators developing movement-based programs for neurodivergent children
**Skip This If:**
- You're uncomfortable with combining shamanic practices with modern neuroscience
- You want quick fixes rather than understanding long-term developmental approaches
- You prefer single-method solutions over integrated therapeutic approaches
This isn't just a sequel; it's the blueprint for understanding why healing autism requires sustained, multi-faceted approaches that honour the child's unique neurological gifts.
## What Makes This Book a Revolutionary Follow-Up
As the publisher describes it: "Father and son embarked on a new quest, journeying from the bushmen of Namibia to the coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia and finally to the Navajo reservations of the American southwest, where Rowan was transformed - they had begun the Long Ride Home."
What makes this sequel extraordinary is Isaacson's evolution from a desperate father to a methodical researcher. During our interview with Anna Louise, Rupert explained how the regression forced him to collaborate with neuroscientists from the University of California and Sorbonne University Paris to understand why the initial healing worked—and why it needed reinforcement.
The book chronicles three pivotal journeys: to the Bushmen of Namibia (where Rowan connected with ancient storytelling traditions), the coastal rainforests of Queensland, Australia (discovering the power of surf therapy), and finally to Navajo reservations in the American Southwest (where the pieces finally came together). Each journey revealed new layers of how movement, nature, and traditional healing could address the neurological roots of autism.
Most importantly, these adventures led to the development of both the Horse Boy Method and Movement Method, now serving approximately 20,000 families weekly across 20 countries.
## The Journalist-Turned-Healer Behind the Method
Rupert Isaacson brings unique credentials to this continuing story. His background as a former journalist compelled him to document not just what happened, but why it worked. When Rowan's regression began "a year almost to the day since his improvement," Isaacson refused to accept that the initial breakthrough was temporary.
When Anna Louise spoke to Rupert about this period, he revealed the terror that drove this second quest: "Something had to be done." But rather than repeating their Mongolian journey, he remembered the shaman's specific instruction about three additional healing journeys.
His mission crystallised during these travels into what he calls ending "the notion that suffering is necessary for learning"—a principle that would transform autism therapy worldwide. Working alongside Dr Temple Grandin and leading neuroscientists, Isaacson discovered that his "accidental" method of triggering oxytocin production through rhythmic movement had solid neurological foundations.
## Why This Book Transforms Understanding of Autism Recovery
**The Long Ride Home revolutionises long-term autism support in five crucial ways:**
- **Addresses the reality of regression** (showing that initial improvements often need reinforcement through continued neurological stimulation)
- **Demonstrates the power of cultural diversity in healing** (each indigenous community offered unique therapeutic approaches that built upon each other)
- **Provides scientific validation for traditional methods** (collaboration with neuroscientists proved that shamanic practices trigger measurable neurological changes)
- **Creates sustainable, replicable programs** (the journeys led to Horse Boy Method and Movement Method, now used globally)
- **Shows autism as a neurological difference requiring support, not cure** (celebrating Rowan's gifts while addressing his challenges)
The book's genius lies in showing how sustained commitment to following a child's lead, even when progress stalls, can unlock entirely new therapeutic possibilities.
## What Readers Are Saying
> "An even better book—if that were possible—than The Horse Boy." - John Mitchinson, Unbound
> "Literally couldn't put 'The Long Ride Home' down. It's a wonderfully powerful story of love in so many ways." - Autism Media Channel
> "Pure inspiration, healing, and hope!" - Kristine Barnett, Author of "The Spark"
> "If you want a method that will really help your kid, read this book." - Thalia Michelle, Thinking Moms Revolution
> "As a mother of a 19-year-old son with autism, I urge parents to read this compelling book that ultimately is about love, hope and miracles." - Polly Tommey, The Autism Trust
## Beyond the Book
Isaacson's work has evolved far beyond these healing journeys. The Long Ride Home chronicles the development of what became the Horse Boy Foundation's global network, now operating in over 100 locations worldwide. The book shows how their personal family journey transformed into evidence-based programs offering scholarships to families internationally.
The narrative reveals how collaboration with institutions like ChildVision in Dublin and the Liskennett Farm Equestrian Therapy Hub in Ireland emerged from these travels. Isaacson's partnership with Dr Temple Grandin and leading neuroscientists, documented throughout the book, demonstrates how traditional healing methods can be validated and scaled through modern science.
Most powerfully, the book shows Rowan's continued growth, now 23, living independently, travelling alone across continents, and occasionally helping his father with trainings. As Rupert emphasises: "Rowan is still autistic. He'll always be autistic to the day he dies"—but he's thriving.
## Get Your Copy Today
Don't just read about sustained healing; discover the roadmap for long-term autism support. [Order your copy of The Long Ride Home from our Curious Equestrian Collection on Bookshop.org](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780670922284?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and support independent bookstores while accessing this transformative sequel.
This purchase connects you to a story that began with desperate love, faced the reality of regression, and ultimately created a global movement proving that healing autism requires patience, persistence, and the courage to keep following your child's unique path.
## Explore the Full Story
**Watch the complete interview:** [Rupert Isaacson on Equine Therapy and Autism - YouTube](https://youtu.be/JG29Ul6EKO8?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Visit the Horse Boy Foundation:** [www.horseboyfoundation.org](https://www.horseboyfoundation.org/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
**Browse our complete collection:** [Curious Equestrian Book Collection](https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
*This review is part of the Curious Equestrian Collection, featuring transformative equestrian and backed by our interviews with their authors.*
### What Makes a Horseman a Great Leader
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-trainer-california-vaquero-bridle-horse-techniques/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T16:02:33.000Z
Most people assume great horsemen are born with natural charisma and commanding presence. Ben Longwell's story completely shatters that myth. Growing up on Colorado's Western Slope, he was the kid who quiet kid – yet today, he presents at international horse expos and mentors riders worldwide through his work with True West Horsemanship.
*Images: Natalie Longwell, Giles Pike, Jon Longwell, and Nick Grant.*
## The Quiet Revolution: When Introverts Lead Horses
The horse industry often celebrates the loudest voices, the charismatic clinicians who command attention and dominate arenas. However, Ben Longwell proves that authentic leadership comes from consistency and authenticity, not personality type.
"I faced it every day. I learned how to cope with nerves and butterflies in the stomach on a regular basis and pushed myself to face that and to do the thing that I was scared of," Ben explains about his journey from shy ranch kid to internationally recognized trainer.
This transformation wasn't about changing his personality but finding his authentic voice through service to horses and students. When his wife Natalie volunteered him to present at New Zealand's first National Horse Expo just six months after moving there, Ben was terrified but discovered something crucial: horses and audiences respond to genuine knowledge shared authentically, not polished performance.
💡
Herd members, find the after hours tape at the end of the post
### Why This Matters for Every Horse Person
Ben's approach directly challenges our industry's obsession with dominance-based training and charismatic leadership. As he puts it: "It needs to be real. It has to be authentic. It's not a show... I'm not a showman."
This principle extends beyond public speaking to every interaction with horses. They respond to genuine leadership and clear, consistent communication from someone who understands their needs – not theatrical displays of "alpha" behaviour.
**Practical Application:** If you're nervous about riding in front of others or feel intimidated by more experienced horsemen, focus on developing clear communication skills rather than trying to project confidence you don't feel. Horses can sense authenticity, and genuine knowledge communicated clearly will always outperform fake bravado.
## The Revolutionary Difference: Nice vs. Kind Leadership
Perhaps no concept from Ben's teaching challenges conventional wisdom more than his distinction between being "nice" and being "kind" to horses. Most riders confuse gentleness with effective leadership, but Ben argues this confusion creates problems for both horse and rider.
"Niceness could be viewed by the horse as weakness or lack of clarity. I call it wishy-washy... whereas kindness is different than that. Kindness tells you when your zipper is down. Kindness speaks the truth in love."
### Understanding the Critical Difference
**Being "Nice" Often Means:**
- Avoiding necessary corrections to prevent upsetting your horse
- Inconsistent boundaries because confrontation feels uncomfortable
- Allowing inappropriate behaviour because correction seems "mean"
- Tiptoeing around problems, hoping they'll resolve themselves
**Being "Kind" Requires:**
- Clear, immediate correction of inappropriate behaviour
- Consistent boundaries that help horses understand expectations
- Fair consequences followed by return to relationship-building
- Honest communication that serves the horse's best interests
This distinction transforms how we approach everything from basic ground manners to complex training challenges. Instead of avoiding problems, kind leadership addresses issues directly while maintaining emotional connection and respect for the horse.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
### Real-World Applications
Ben shared examples of how this plays out practically:
- A horse that crowds your space needs immediate, clear correction – not gentle nudging that confuses the message
- Ground manners issues require consistent boundaries, not apologetic corrections
- Training problems need honest assessment and direct solutions, not endless accommodation
**Action Step:** Examine your last three interactions with your horse. Were you being "nice" (avoiding necessary corrections) or "kind" (providing clear, helpful guidance)? Most riders discover they've been unintentionally "nice" when their horses needed clarity.
## Rediscovering Ancient Wisdom: The Bridle Horse Tradition
When Ben discusses the California vaquero bridle horse tradition, you're witnessing someone who's spent decades preserving knowledge that nearly vanished. By the mid-1900s, this centuries-old approach to developing the ultimate partnership horse had almost disappeared, saved only by isolated Great Basin ranches and horsemen like Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt.
"The bridle horse is potentially the best, highest level of riding and horsemanship there is because it doesn't borrow from Western and English. It is the roots of Western and English."
### What Makes Bridle Horse Training Different
The bridle horse tradition developed horses that could:
- Perform advanced classical movements while maintaining practical cattle-working ability
- Respond to the lightest possible aids without losing emotional connection
- Work dangerous wild cattle requiring split-second precision and trust
- Maintain athletic ability and willing partnership throughout long working days
This wasn't about creating pretty movements for show, it was about survival. Vaqueros needed horses that could navigate dangerous situations with minimal rider input while maintaining the relationship necessary for daily work.
### Modern Applications of Ancient Principles
**For Western Riders:**
- Focus on developing lightness before adding speed or complexity
- Build emotional connection alongside technical skills
- Prioritize the horse's understanding over mechanical compliance
**For English Riders:**
- Apply bridle horse principles to develop true collection based on partnership
- Use vaquero timing concepts to improve communication
- Integrate relationship-building with technical training
**For All Disciplines:**
- Study how traditional horsemen developed willing partnership without force
- Learn to read horses more accurately through vaquero observation methods
- Apply the patience and systematic progression that created bridle horses
**Resources for Learning More:** Ben recommends studying the work of Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, and Buck Brannaman as entry points into understanding these traditional methods.
## Confidence Reconstruction: The Ground-Up Approach
One of the most common challenges Ben encounters is experienced riders who've lost their confidence. Whether through injuries, time away from horses, or challenging experiences with new mounts, many skilled riders find themselves paralyzed by fear that seems to come from nowhere.
Ben's approach challenges the common advice to "just get back on and push through it."
### The Real Story of Confidence Loss
Ben shared the story of an accomplished upper-level dressage rider who lost confidence in cantering after a difficult experience with a new horse. Rather than focusing on the canter problem directly, Ben spent three to four lessons re-establishing clear communication through groundwork before the rider ever remounted.
"It needs to start on the ground because if a person's nervous, most likely that's starting even before they get in the saddle, and hesitation is being communicated and lack of leadership is being communicated."
This systematic approach recognizes that confidence issues are usually communication breakdowns, not courage problems.
### The Ground-Up Rebuilding Process
**Step 1: Diagnose the Communication Gap**
- Identify where clear leadership breaks down
- Address hesitation patterns in ground interaction
- Re-establish consistent boundaries and responses
**Step 2: Rebuild Foundation Skills**
- Practice clear, confident communication from the ground
- Ensure horse responds consistently to basic requests
- Develop timing and release patterns that build trust
**Step 3: Transfer Ground Skills to Mounted Work**
- Apply the same clear communication principles under saddle
- Start with simple tasks that reinforce successful patterns
- Gradually increase complexity as confidence rebuilds
**The Breakthrough Moment** The dressage rider's breakthrough came when she could canter "like another day at the office" – not through forced bravery, but through improved communication that eliminated the underlying confusion causing both horse and rider anxiety.
**Key Insight:** Confidence grows from competence, not courage alone. Focus on rebuilding communication skills rather than forcing yourself through fear.
## The "No Problem Horses" Philosophy
Tom Dorrance's wisdom that Ben carries forward "There's no problem horses. There's only horses with people problems" represents a fundamental reframe that transforms every challenging situation from a judgment about the horse's character into a communication puzzle to solve.
"If we look at it as a problem horse, we've labelled it. We've given it a name. We believe that about the horse. But if we just say, look, this situation is built on not just one misunderstanding, but actually experience with a whole host of misunderstandings and miscommunications for maybe this horse's whole life."
### How This Changes Everything
This perspective shift is liberating for both horse and rider because it:
- Removes moral judgment from horse behaviour
- Opens up solutions rather than reinforcing negative patterns
- Requires examining our own role in every interaction
- Transforms "battles" into communication improvements
Instead of fighting a "difficult" horse, you're simply improving your communication skills. The horse isn't being stubborn or malicious – they're responding logically to their experiences and current understanding.
### Practical Implementation
**When Your Horse "Doesn't Listen":**
- Ask: "How can I communicate this more clearly?"
- Rather than: "Why won't this horse cooperate?"
**When Training Feels Stuck:**
- Examine: "What am I assuming my horse understands?"
- Instead of: "This horse is being resistant"
**When Behavior Seems Aggressive:**
- Consider: "What is my horse trying to tell me?"
- Rather than: "This horse has a bad attitude"
This approach requires humility but creates breakthrough moments that traditional "problem-solving" methods miss entirely.
## Ranch Life Reality: Purpose-Driven Partnership
The appeal of ranch culture emerges not just from romantic notions of Western life, but from the purposeful partnership it creates between horse and rider. When Ben describes gathering horses before dawn and working toward common goals, he's illustrating what many recreational riders miss in their horse relationships.
"There's something about that, just that first crack of daylight and that fresh air and a little bit chilly, but it's going to warm up... you're accomplishing something bigger than yourself. And you're doing that through teamwork and a common goal and common vision."
### Why Purpose Transforms Partnership
Ranch work provides several elements often missing from recreational riding:
- **Clear objectives** both horse and rider understand
- **Immediate feedback** about communication effectiveness
- **Practical consequences** that teach real-world skills
- **Team mentality** rather than human-directed activity
This purposeful approach transforms the horse-human relationship from recreational activity into genuine partnership working toward shared goals.
### Creating Purpose in Any Discipline
**Trail Riding:**
- Set specific navigation or obstacle challenges
- Practice real-world skills like gate opening or water crossing
- Use rides to accomplish actual tasks like checking fences
**Arena Work:**
- Frame exercises as problem-solving rather than repetition
- Create scenarios that require horse initiative and decision-making
- Focus on developing skills with practical applications
**Ground Training:**
- Teach horses to help with barn chores and daily tasks
- Practice skills that translate to real-world situations
- Build partnership through shared accomplishment
**The Key Insight:** Horses respond differently when they understand they're working toward a goal rather than simply performing movements for their human's entertainment.
## Leadership Principles That Create Partnership
When asked what makes a great leader with horses, Ben's answer was refreshingly simple yet profound: "Consistency. Clarity. Empathy." These three principles, applied systematically, can transform any horse-human relationship.
### Consistency: The Foundation of Trust
Horses learn through pattern recognition. Inconsistent responses create confusion and anxiety, while consistent communication builds confidence and willing partnership.
**Practical Consistency:**
- Same aid produces same response every time
- Boundaries remain stable regardless of your mood
- Timing of corrections and releases stays predictable
- Energy levels match the situation consistently
### Clarity: Communication Without Confusion
If your horse isn't responding correctly, the first question should be whether your request was clear enough, not whether your horse is being difficult.
**Elements of Clear Communication:**
- Precise aids that mean specific things
- Appropriate timing that helps horses understand
- Energy that matches the request
- Release that confirms correct responses
### Empathy: Understanding the Horse's Perspective
Empathy involves asking "Why is he doing what he's doing?" rather than simply demanding compliance. This perspective shift opens up solutions invisible to purely human-centered approaches.
**Applying Empathy:**
- Consider the horse's physical comfort and emotional state
- Understand how previous experiences shape current responses
- Recognize when confusion rather than defiance drives behaviour
- Adjust approaches based on individual horse needs and learning styles
## The Path Forward: Continuous Learning and Authentic Growth
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of Ben's journey is his commitment to continuous learning despite decades of experience. Currently working his personal horse through advanced bridle horse movements, he demonstrates that mastery isn't a destination but an ongoing pursuit of deeper understanding.
"The day that you stop learning is the beginning of the end. There's never a limit to what we can learn. There's never an end in sight when it comes to even the most basic application of the principles of horsemanship."
### Why This Matters for Your Journey
This mindset keeps both horse and rider growing together rather than falling into repetitive patterns. Every interaction, even with familiar horses, offers opportunities to refine communication and deepen partnership.
Ben's transformation from shy ranch kid to respected mentor proves that extraordinary horsemanship isn't reserved for the naturally gifted or those born into horse cultures. It's available to anyone willing to:
- Question their assumptions about horses and training
- Seek mentorship from those with proven experience
- Embrace the discomfort of growth and learning
- Maintain curiosity about what horses can teach us
Whether you're drawn to Western traditions, English disciplines, or simply seeking a deeper partnership with your horse, the principles Ben shares transcend specific techniques. They're about fundamental communication, authentic leadership, and the patience to build something meaningful rather than rushing toward quick fixes.
## Resources and Next Steps
**Learn More About Ben's Approach:**
- True West Horsemanship: [truewesthorsemanship.com](https://truewesthorsemanship.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- ["Life in the Saddle"](https://open.spotify.com/show/6lTOwrf4i7ClgepB24UItz?si=be13c033ec054cd4&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) podcast for additional insights
- International [ranch tours](https://truewesthorsemanship.com/horsemanship-adventure/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) for immersive learning experiences
**Recommended Reading:**
- Works by Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt (foundational vaquero horsemen)
- Buck Brannaman's approaches to traditional methods
- California vaquero history and techniques
### After Hours Tape
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air. It’s about the specific training hurdles and mental blocks Ben faced when transitioning from a quiet child to a public horsemanship mentor. If you’re in the herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian Ben Longwell QA
0:00
/4447.201814
1×
### From Despair to Hope Through Horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-boy-rupert-isaacson-autism-equine-therapy-review/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:14.000Z
> *"Whatever line he had to her was completely different to what I understood the human relationship with horses to be. This is on a whole other level."* \- Rupert Isaacson
## When Traditional Therapy Failed, Horses Provided Hope
Imagine being told your child would never speak, then discovering that in the saddle, miracles happen. That's exactly what journalist Rupert Isaacson experienced when his three-year-old autistic son Rowan ran under the hooves of their neighbour's quarter horse mare, Betsy.
Instead of tragedy, something extraordinary unfolded. *"There was this direct thing passing between them,"* Isaacson explains to Anna Louis during our interview with him. *"Whatever line he had to her was completely different to what I understood the human relationship with horses to be."*
That moment of connection launched a revolution in autism therapy and inspired "The Horse Boy," the New York Times bestseller that has changed thousands of lives worldwide.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## Who Desperately Needs This Book (And Who Won't Understand It)
### **Essential Reading For:**
- **Parents of autistic children** feeling trapped by limited traditional options
- **Therapists and educators** seeking breakthrough approaches that actually work
- **Horse professionals** wanting to understand the deeper healing power of equines
- **Anyone** who believes love can move mountains (and take you to Mongolia)
### **Skip This If:**
- You think autism needs to be "cured" rather than understood
- You prefer neat, predictable solutions to complex human challenges
## The Breakthrough Discovery That Changed Everything
*"When you find that God has put his boot or her boot to your arse and kicked you firmly outside the box, you're going to look for outside-the-box stuff, because you are no longer in the box,"* Isaacson told Anna Louise during our curious equestrian conversation.
When Rowan was diagnosed with autism at age three, the prognosis was bleak - according to the book's description. He had regressed at 18 months, losing words and seeming to float away. Doctors offered little hope, and therapies were expensive with uncertain outcomes.
But during their first ride together, with Rowan sitting in front of his father in a Western saddle, something remarkable happened. The repetitive rocking and balance stimulation boosted Rowan's language ability, as documented in his memoir.
### The Science Behind the Magic
As detailed in interviews about his work, Isaacson consulted neuroscientists to understand why certain movements were helping children. *"I had accidentally stumbled into a way of shutting down the danger response in the brain,"* he discovered.
The rhythmic movement of a properly trained horse produces oxytocin - the happiness hormone that counters cortisol, the stress hormone that shuts down learning in autistic children.
## The "Crazy Idea" That Worked
Inspired by advice from Dr Temple Grandin to follow the child, get out in nature, and let them move, Isaacson made a radical decision: why not take Rowan to Mongolia, the one place in the world where horses and shamanic healing intersected?
*"The Horse Boy is the dramatic and heartwarming story of that impossible adventure"* \- as described by the publisher. In Mongolia, the family found undreamed of landscapes and people, unbearable setbacks, and advances beyond their wildest dreams.
## What Makes This Book Revolutionary
This isn't just another autism memoir. According to the book's description, it's *"a deeply moving, truly one-of-a-kind story--of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time."*
### The Lasting Impact
The book became a New York Times Bestseller and was adapted into a documentary that won the 2009 Feature Film Audience Award at South by Southwest - as noted in Wikipedia. But more importantly, it led to the founding of the Horse Boy Foundation, which now helps thousands of families worldwide.
During our interview, Isaacson emphasized: *"You're not looking to stop the autism at all because the autism is brilliant. It's amazing. It's fantastic. There's so many qualities and gifts in it. What you're trying to do is alleviate suffering."*
## What Readers Are Discovering
> "This book exceeded all expectations. My interest in reading this book was primarily to absorb more about the power of animal behaviour in curative medicine... By the end it was as if his son, Rowan, was as familiar to me as my young nephew." - Amazon Reviewer
> "Everyone who is fascinated by the human-animal bond should read this totally engrossing book." - Dr. Temple Grandin
> "I chose to read this book because my little boy began showing signs of autism and I didn't understand anything about it." - Parent Reviewer
## The Message That Changes Everything
In our conversation, Isaacson shared his recommendation for families exploring equine therapy: *"If you're going to want to do some sort of equine-assisted thing, we're absolutely here to help you, but we're certainly not going to say you should only do our programs. No, you should do about five or six different ones."*
This openness reflects the fundamental insight that has guided Isaacson since that first moment between Rowan and Betsy: *"sometimes, the most profound connections happen when we follow, rather than lead."*
## Beyond the Book: A Global Movement
As Isaacson told Anna Louise, *"It's always a play date. What kid wants therapy? The therapy should be invisible to the kid."*
The Horse Boy Method now operates internationally, with centers like Liskennett Farm in Ireland producing what Isaacson calls "miraculous work." The approach targets anxiety, promotes neuroplasticity, and puts the brain in the optimal position for learning.
## Get Your Copy Today
**If you're ready to step outside the box and discover what's possible when we follow a child's lead rather than forcing them into ours, this book will change your perspective forever.**
🛒 [Get "The Horse Boy: A Father's Miraculous Journey to Heal His Son" on Bookshop.org](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780141033631?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
*When you purchase through this link, you're supporting independent bookstores AND helping keep Curious Equestrian bringing you more incredible guests like Rupert.*
### A Story of Hope, Healing, and Horse-Human Connection
*"This is a deeply moving, truly one-of-a-kind story"* that has inspired families worldwide to think differently about autism, therapy, and the healing power of horses.
Whether you're seeking hope, understanding, or simply an extraordinary adventure story, "The Horse Boy" delivers on every level.
## Learn More About the Horse Boy Movement
Want to explore Rupert's ongoing work? Visit the [**Horse Boy Foundation**](https://horseboyfoundation.org/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) to discover how equine therapy is changing lives around the world.
## More Books That Challenge How We See Disabilities and Healing
Looking for more authors who revolutionize our understanding of neurodiversity and alternative therapies? [Browse the Curious Equestrian complete collection of curated equestrian books](https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) featuring experts who prioritize breakthrough approaches over traditional limitations.
Each recommendation comes with insights from our personal conversations with the authors themselves.
*\*Information compiled from publicly available sources including author interviews, publisher descriptions, and promotional materials.*
### See Your Horse Like Never Before
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/gillian-higgins-horse-anatomy-painted-horses-review/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:15.000Z
> *"Finally a book where you can learn how your horse ticks - inside out - and it is easy to understand and fun to read. A must for every serious equestrian."* \- Dr. W. Bechtolsheimer
## The Revolutionary Approach That Changes Everything
Imagine understanding exactly what's happening inside your horse's body while watching them move, not through dry textbook diagrams, but by seeing the actual muscles, bones, and organs painted directly onto living horses in stunning, full-colour detail.
That's the groundbreaking approach that made Gillian Higgins a world-renowned equine anatomist, and it's exactly what makes "Horse Anatomy for Performance" unlike any horse book you've ever encountered.
During our [interview with Gillian](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/horses-inside-out?r=487anp&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false), she revealed how her signature technique of **painting anatomical systems directly onto live horses** revolutionised how riders, trainers, and therapists understand equine movement and performance.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## Who Desperately Needs This Book (And Who's Wasting Their Time)
### **Perfect For:**
- **Performance riders** whose horses hit training plateaus they can't explain
- **Horse owners** tired of guessing why their horse moves the way they do
- **Anyone** who's ever wondered "What's actually happening inside my horse?"
- **Trainers and therapists** who want to explain anatomy in ways clients can actually understand
### **Skip This If:**
- You think anatomy is "too academic" for practical horsemanship
- You're satisfied with basic "horse care 101" information
- You only care about results, not understanding the "why" behind them
## What Makes This Book a Game-Changer
**This isn't your typical anatomy textbook.** *"Horse Anatomy for Performance examines the anatomy of the 11 systems of the horse and explains how anatomy influences the way we manage, ride and train our horses"* \- from the publisher's description. Illustrated with attractive and informative paintings and diagrams, this book clearly explains the importance, relevance and interaction between each of the anatomical systems.
### The Inside-Out Revolution
> *"Gillian Higgins turns her trademark technique of painting internal diagrams directly onto live horses to show how all the systems work, and work together, to influence performance and reduce the risk of injury"* \- according to the book's official description.
The result? You can finally **see** what you've only imagined, how the cardiovascular system supports athletic performance, how the digestive system affects behaviour, how the musculoskeletal system creates the power you feel beneath you.
## The Woman Behind the Paint Brush
During our interview, Gillian's passion for making anatomy accessible was immediately apparent. As an equine anatomist, biomechanist, BHS Senior Coach, professional Sports and Remedial Therapist and author with a first class honours degree in Equine Science and Business Management, she founded Horses Inside Out in 2006, as detailed in her official biography.
But what struck us most wasn't her impressive credentials—it was her unwavering commitment to one principle: **understanding anatomy should improve every horse's life, not just impress other academics.**
---
### From Dissection Lab to Living Canvas
As documented in her course materials, Gillian has performed extensive dissection studies, the photographs and footage of which are included in this course. She has also developed a number of anatomical models, including one illustrating the anatomy of the head pertinent to bridle fit and design.
This hands-on expertise translates into a book that bridges the gap between complex scientific knowledge and practical application.
## Why This Book Transforms Performance
**Anatomy isn't just academic, it's the foundation of everything.** Understanding how your horse's body works influences:
- **Training decisions** (Why certain exercises work better than others)
- **Management choices** (Why some feeding schedules support performance while others hinder it)
- **Problem-solving** (Why your horse resists certain movements)
- **Injury prevention** (How to spot compensation patterns before they become problems)
> *"Divided into 12 chapters, Horse Anatomy for Performance combines high-quality photographs and intricate paintings with top tips and fascinating facts to provide a practical and useful guide to horse anatomy"* \- from the book's official description.
## What Readers Are Saying
> "I've taught Human Anatomy & Physiology for years, and this is the 1st year I'm teaching a comparative anatomy class. I bought this one for reference, but am so very impressed that I'm recommending it to all my students." - College Professor
> "This is the best book about horses I read in a long time and I do read a lot of books about horses!" - Horse Owner
> "The illustrations in this book bring to life the various systems of the horse. I found it a source of illuminating information and it helped me to pass my Equine Biomechanics module with distinction." - Student
## Beyond the Book: Gillian's Ongoing Mission
In our conversation, Gillian shared how this work extends far beyond just one book. As stated on the Horses Inside Out website, based on the latest scientific research and using live painted horses and slow motion video, Gillian, who is now recognised worldwide, runs conferences and courses for both horse owners and professionals, on-line and in person in anatomy, biomechanics, assessing movement, massage and stretching.
Her Horses Inside Out organisation continues pushing boundaries, making complex anatomical knowledge accessible to everyone from weekend riders to Olympic competitors.
## The Visual Learning Revolution
This book is a sequel to How Your Horse Moves by Gillian Higgins; together, the books provide a comprehensive guide to horse anatomy in action. This approach is revolutionary for visual learners tired of dense textbooks. Instead of trying to memorise abstract diagrams, you see anatomy in living colour on actual horses.
## Get Your Copy Today
**Stop guessing about what's happening inside your horse.** Whether you're troubleshooting performance issues, preventing injuries, or want to deepen your understanding of these incredible athletes, this book gives you the foundation every serious equestrian needs.
🛒 [Get "Horse Anatomy for Performance" on Bookshop.org](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781446300961?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
When you buy through this link, you support independent bookstores and help keep Curious Equestrian providing you with more amazing guests like Gillian.
### Featuring the 11 Systems of the Horse in Living Color
As explained in the book's description, the horse's body can be organised into 11 complex interrelated systems that function efficiently to maintain life. Divided into 11 chapters, the book explains the importance and relevance of each anatomical system.
Every system is illustrated with **high quality photographs and intricate paintings** that bring anatomy to life in ways traditional textbooks simply cannot match.
## More from Gillian's Revolutionary Approach
Want to dive deeper into equine biomechanics? Explore Gillian's complete collection at [**Horses Inside Out**](https://www.horsesinsideout.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) where she continues breaking down the barriers between complex science and practical horsemanship.
## More Books That Challenge How You See Horses
Looking for more authors who revolutionise equestrian understanding? [Browse my complete collection of curated equestrian books](https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) featuring experts who prioritise horse welfare through deeper knowledge.
Each recommendation comes with insights from my personal conversations with the authors themselves.
*Have you read "Horse Anatomy for Performance"? What anatomical insight changed how you ride or train? Share your thoughts in the comments below.*
*\*Information compiled from publicly available sources including author websites, publisher descriptions, promotional materials and our own interview with Gillian.*
### The Book That Actually Explains Horse Color Genetics
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/equine-colour-genetics/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:16.000Z
## The Teenager Who Wouldn't Take No for an Answer
Imagine being told you'd never succeed at breeding horses, then spending the next five decades proving everyone wrong. That's exactly what Jeanette Gower did, armed with nothing but library books and unshakeable determination.
In our fascinating conversation with Jeanette, she took us back to her first encounter with horses, being placed on a two-year-old polo pony with zero experience. That spark ignited a journey that would not only establish the renowned Chalani Stud but also produce the book that became **the first accessible guide to equine color genetics ever published in Australia.**
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## Who Needs This Book (And Who's Wasting Their Time)
### **Perfect For:**
- **Breeders** who want to understand what colors their foals will actually be (not just hope)
- **Horse buyers** tired of being surprised by color changes as horses mature
- **Students** who've struggled with complicated genetics textbooks written by academics with limited practical experience
- **Anyone** curious about why their bay horse is throwing chestnut foals
### **Skip This If:**
- You think color is just about looks (Jeanette will change your mind)
- You want a basic "how-to-breed" manual (this is specifically about color genetics)
- You're not ready for science-backed breeding decisions
---
[Lessons from a Life in Horse BreedingThe story of Jeanette Gower begins with a teenage girl who simply wouldn't take no for an answer. Armed with library books and an unshakeable determination, she chose to ignore the naysayers who insisted she'd never succeed at breeding horses. Five decades and over 300 foals later, her Chalani Stud demonstrates what happens when passion meets persistence.Curious EquestrianCurious Equestrian](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/lessons-from-a-life-in-horse-breeding)
---
## What Makes This Book Revolutionary
"Horse Colour Explained is a treasure trove of in depth information for the serious student and the pleasure horse breeder alike. The principles of inheritance of colour are explained simply and practically for all to make informed decisions."
Unlike dense academic texts, Jeanette speaks from **over 25 years of practical experience** when she wrote this book (now extended to 55+ years). With nearly 200 beautiful colour photographs and explanatory diagrams and charts, the book covers basic equine colour genetics, colour breeds and terminology, interrelationships of colour, difficult colours identified, rare colour explained, white markings and patterns, selection for colour, and predicting outcomes of mating.
## The Breeding Philosophy That Changes Everything
What struck us most about the interview with Jeanette wasn't just her expertise, it was her unwavering commitment to one principle: **What's best for the horse?**
This philosophy manifests in ways that challenge conventional breeding wisdom:
- She keeps horses in paddocks rather than expensive stables
- She feeds simply without elaborate supplement regimens
- She maintains detailed records of every single foal born
- She vets potential buyers not for status, but to ensure proper care
### The "Forever Home" Myth Exposed
Perhaps most provocatively, Jeanette tackles the thorny issue that many breeders won't touch: **responsible breeding means accepting that life is unpredictable.** Her stance on "forever homes" is particularly thought-provoking, while sellers promise them, she argues this concept can actually harm horses by preventing necessary transitions when circumstances change.
## Why Color Genetics Matters More Than You Think
**Color isn't just cosmetic.** During the conversation, Jeanette explained how understanding color genetics helps breeders:
- **Predict coat changes** as horses mature
- **Avoid genetic surprises** that affect marketability
- **Make informed breeding decisions** based on science, not superstition
- **Understand inheritance patterns** that affect more than just appearance
Never before have White Markings, Paint Horse inheritance, and the Dun been given such a comprehensive coverage, including much information never previously published.
## What Sets Jeanette Apart
Jeanette Gower is a foremost authority on colour genetics. She is a respected judge and an equine studies lecturer. But what really sets her apart is her willingness to challenge the status quo.
In our interview, she confessed with a laugh that she's "addicted" to breeding horses. But unlike many addictions, this one has produced something remarkable: **a blueprint for ethical, sustainable horse breeding that puts welfare first.**
## The International Impact
This isn't just another horse book gathering dust on shelves. Her first book, Horse Colour Explained, was the first book on equine colour genetics published in Australia that brought the topic in a simple and easy to understand format to the average horse owner.
The book's impact extends far beyond Australia, it's been used by breeders worldwide who finally had access to practical, understandable information about color genetics.
## Beyond the Basics: Jeanette's Latest Insights
While we discussed "Horse Colour Explained," Jeanette also shared insights from her 2023 book "The Thinking Horse Breeder," which tackles modern breeding challenges with the same no-nonsense approach. She saw a need for breeders to understand the art, science, tools and business of responsible horse breeding.
Her philosophy remains consistent: successful breeding isn't about producing the most foals or the flashiest colors, **it's about creating healthy, well-adjusted horses with bright futures.**
## Get Your Copy Today
**Stop guessing about color genetics.** Whether you're planning your first breeding or your hundredth, understanding color inheritance gives you the confidence to make informed decisions rather than expensive mistakes.
---
🛒 [Get "Horse Colour Explained: A Breeder's Perspective" on Bookshop.org](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781626541313?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
*When you purchase through this link, you're supporting independent bookstores AND helping keep Curious Equestrian bringing you more incredible guests like Jeanette.*
---
### Featuring Nearly 200 Color Photographs and Real-World Examples
This isn't dry theory—every concept is illustrated with gorgeous photographs and backed by Jeanette's decades of practical experience. A special feature is the Quick Guide at the beginning of each chapter, which allows the reader to find quick answers before delving into a particular topic of interest.
## More from Jeanette's World
Want to dive deeper into responsible breeding practices? Check out Jeanette's newsletter [**"Thinking Horse Breeder"**](https://thinkinghorsebreeder.chalani.net/resources/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) where she continues sharing insights from her ongoing journey at Chalani Stud.
## More Game-Changing Equestrian Books
Looking for more books that challenge conventional wisdom? [Browse the Curious Equestrian complete collection of curated equestrian books](https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) featuring authors who prioritize horse welfare over tradition.
Each recommendation comes with insights from my personal conversations with the authors themselves.
### The Book That Changes Everything: Why Every Horse Owner Needs "Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses"
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/the-book-that-changes-everything/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:26:33.000Z
> *"For example, a horse turning her head away from us is just trying to be polite and diffuse potential conflict, but we too often mistake it for avoidance and try to correct it instead of reciprocating."* \- Amazon Reader Review.
## You've Been Misreading Your Horse's "Bad" Behavior
That moment when your horse suddenly spooks, refuses a jump, or seems "disrespectful"? What if I told you they were actually trying to communicate with you the entire time, and you missed every single signal?
In our fascinating interview with **Rachaël Draaisma**, the Dutch behaviour consultant who revolutionised our understanding of horse communication, she revealed something that will change how you see your horse forever: horses use calming signals to calm themselves and those around them (including humans) to reduce stress, avoid conflict and maintain social relationships.
## Who Should Read This Book (And Who Shouldn't)
### **Perfect For:**
- **Anxious riders** whose horses mirror their tension
- **Horse owners** dealing with "sudden" behavioural changes
- **Trainers** who want to prevent problems before they escalate
- **Anyone** who's ever said, *"I don't understand why my horse suddenly..."*
### **Not For:**
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## What Makes This Book Revolutionary
Unlike basic horse body language books, Rachael's research shows us a very detailed, nuanced and subtle language that horses use to communicate with each other and with us. Some signs are so subtle that it is very easy to miss them unless you are aware of them.
### The Game-Changing Discovery
During the interview with Anna Louise, Rachael explained how she studied under **Turid Rugaas** (famous for discovering calming signals in dogs) and spent years filming horses to map their stress responses. What she found was groundbreaking: over 20 different calming signals, including yawning, blinking, chewing, head shaking, curving, splitting and immobility, many of which have often been interpreted as other behaviours.
## The "Communication Ladders" That Will Save Your Relationship
One of the most practical tools Rachael developed is **Communication Ladders,** visual maps showing exactly when your horse's stress is rising or falling. The language signs are categorised as Calming signals, Displacement activities, Stress signals, and Distance-increasing signals.
Imagine knowing *before* your horse reaches their breaking point.
This book gives you that superpower.
## What Readers Are Saying
> "Must have to anyone with horses! It really breaks down elements of horse language into something we can easily understand and focuses on calming behaviours used to diffuse tension... Changes the way you interact with your horses for the better!" - Amazon Reviewer
> "I would go even further and classify it as being in the small collection of books I would consider mandatory for all equestrians." - Thunderhooves
## Beyond the Book: Rachael's Latest Research
In our interview, Rachael also shared her groundbreaking work with **equine scent tracking**, which teaches horses to follow scent trails, providing mental stimulation and building confidence. Other horse behaviour books don't cover this and show how Rachael continues pushing boundaries in equine welfare.
---
## Why This Book Matters Now More Than Ever
This means you will know what to do to calm your horse before his stress rises to an unmanageable level. In our high-stress world, horses need advocates who truly understand their language, not just their obvious distress signals but their polite requests for help.
## Get Your Copy Today
**Don't wait until your horse's stress reaches breaking point.** This book could prevent your next dangerous situation, improve your partnership, and give you the confidence that comes from truly understanding your horse.
🛒 [**Get "Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses" on Bookshop.org**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781138070158?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
By purchasing through this link, you support independent bookstores and help Curious Equestrian continue to bring you incredible guests like Rachael.
### Featuring 275 Photographs and Evidence-Based Research
This isn't just theory; it includes 275 pictures that visualise various language signs, calming signals, behaviour sequences, and facial features. Every signal is documented with clear photography so you can recognise them in real time.
## More Equestrian Books That Will Transform Your Horsemanship
Want more recommendations from our conversations with world-class equestrian experts? [Browse the Curious Equestrian complete collection of curated equestrian books](https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) featuring authors we've personally interviewed.
Each book is chosen because it offers genuine insights that can improve your horse's life—and yours.
*Have you read "Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses"? What calming signal did you realise you'd been misinterpreting? Share your thoughts in the comments below.*
### A Workshop in Horse-Centered Horsemanship
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/a-workshop-in-horse-centered-horsemanship/
Last updated: 2026-08-08T12:46:54.000Z
There's something really compelling about watching Paula Curtis work with horses. In this training video, she walks into a pasture with a tarp, some traffic cones, and a barrel, not to drill the horses on anything specific, but to find out what the horses themselves find interesting.
It's a totally different way of thinking about working with horses. Instead of showing up with a plan of what we want to accomplish, she's asking the horses what captures their attention and curiosity.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Jack and Paula Curtis on Modern Horsemanship Challenges
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/building-true-connection-in-horsemanship-with-jack-paula-curtis/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T11:13:50.000Z
Every horse trainer worldwide receives the same complaints: pushy horses, feeding time chaos, separation anxiety. Jack and Paula Curtis know why - and it's not what you think.
In our latest episode, the founders of Art of the Horseman reveal how smartphones create a mismatch between our energy and environment that horses immediately detect and find unsettling.
💡
Herd members find the after hours tape at the end of this post
---
## Three Critical Insights That Change Everything
**The Presence Problem**: Horses mirror our emotional state. When phone notifications trigger stress or distraction, horses feel the energy shift and become wary or disconnected.
**The Observation Solution**: Simply watching your horse in their natural environment reveals personality traits that inform training approaches. Some horses are naturally curious, others cautious - knowing which guides effective communication.
**The Art Approach**: Viewing horsemanship as an art form rather than mere training creates beautiful, harmonious partnerships that benefit both horse and rider.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## Why "Art" of the Horseman?
The Curtises chose their name deliberately. Art, they explain, has feel - it's aesthetic and energetic. When horsemanship becomes artistic, it flows naturally and feels good for both partners. Like painters creating unique interpretations of the same tree, each rider's relationship with their horse should be original and come from the heart.
This artistic approach prioritises beauty and harmony over ribbons and results. When riders focus on creating something beautiful with their horse, everything else follows naturally.
## What's Really Behind Common Problems
The couple receives identical questions from riders worldwide, regardless of skill level: feeding time chaos, pushy horses, separation anxiety, and behind-the-leg issues. Their diagnosis? All these problems stem from the same root cause - lack of genuine connection.
## The Online Horse Fair Revolution
Their Art of the Horseman platform brings together 40-60 heart-centred professionals annually, offering free access to veterinarians, trainers, body workers, and mindset coaches who prioritise horse welfare over ribbons.
The next fair runs from 31st May to 1st June, with free tickets available.
**🎟️ Online Horse Fair Free Tickets: https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/free-ticket**
**▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@ArtOfTheHorseman**
**🌐 Online Programs: https://www.becauseofthehorse.net/**
### the after-hours tapes: behind the scenes with jack & paula curtis
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air. It is about the friction that happens when you try to balance a marriage with a business and a barn full of horses.
Jack and Paula got incredibly honest about the ego that crops up when you ask your partner for help, only to get defensive the second they give it. If you are in the herd, that recording is below.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Looking Through Their Ears Again: Aisling Byrne's Remarkable Journey Back to the Saddle
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/aisling-byrne-horse-accident-recovery-showjumping/
Last updated: 2026-01-31T16:06:33.000Z
In February 2018, passionate show jumper and entrepreneur Aisling Byrne was walking a horse back from an arena in Portugal when a passing tractor startled the animal. In an instant, the horse reared up and flipped over, landing squarely on top of her. The freak accident crushed her midsection, breaking both hips, shattering her pelvis, damaging her spine, and causing severe internal injuries.
When she arrived at hospital, doctors delivered a devastating prognosis: Aisling would never walk again. She would be wheelchair-bound for life.
Yet seven years later, against all medical expectations, Aisling is not only walking but competing internationally in show jumping once again. Her journey offers remarkable insights into resilience, the healing power of the horse-human connection, and finding a new perspective in the face of life-altering trauma.
💡
Herd members, find the after hours tape at the end of this post
---
## A Life Suddenly Interrupted
Prior to the accident, Aisling's life was exceptionally busy. In our recent conversation, she described juggling multiple careers with her equestrian ambitions.
"Life was so busy back then," Aisling explained during our interview. "I had a travel company, a luxurious Ireland and Scotland travel company, where we bring American and Canadian clients touring around those countries. I was doing a lot of modelling at the time, working with a very good agency in Ireland. And then I was competing a lot with the horses."
She had set ambitious goals for that year, building "a really solid, good string of quality horses" as she prepared to step up to a higher competition level. All those plans came to an abrupt halt the moment the horse landed on her.
What's perhaps most striking about Aisling's recollection of the accident is her remarkable composure during the crisis. Even with catastrophic injuries, she remained conscious and unexpectedly calm.
"I had a moment of sheer panic thinking, you know, what am I going to do?" she told us. "And as soon as I realised, okay, I can't move, I just thought it's gonna be a long day. The best thing I can do now is reserve energy, and just wait for help to come."
## The Long Road Back
The extent of Aisling's injuries was severe. "I had completely crushed my pelvis," she explained. "My organs had moved out of places that they should have been. I had broken the bottom of my spine."
The initial surgery in Portugal was life-saving but left her with an extremely difficult prognosis. Doctors told her she wouldn't walk again and would be wheelchair-bound for life. They also said she wouldn't be able to have children, though they later revised that assessment.
After being transferred to a specialist hospital in Dublin, Aisling underwent additional surgeries that began to put her "back together again," as she described it. With metal implants replacing her external fixators, she could finally begin physiotherapy.
The road to recovery was neither quick nor straightforward. "There were more steps backwards than forwards for a long time," Aisling shared. "There was no set plan of how to overcome these injuries because they're not typical injuries."
Even when she visited a specialist sports physiotherapist, she was told to forget about ever riding again. But Aisling's mother offered a different perspective, reminding her that Nick Skelton had broken his neck, been told he'd never ride again, and went on to win an Olympic gold medal.
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## The Determination to Ride
Throughout her gruelling recovery, one goal remained constant for Aisling: to sit on a horse again and look through their ears.
"At a bare minimum, that was my goal," she said. "It really upset me to think that I wouldn't be able to do that."
After two and a half years – still on crutches – Aisling's opportunity finally came. Her family prepared her first show jumping pony, now retired, for a momentous reunion.
"My dad got a forklift in the yard and I stood onto the front of it," she recalled. "He lifted me up on it so I could sit down on her. I didn't have to swing my hips to get on her. I was the happiest person in the world just to be able to sit on her, look out over her ears."
The emotional significance of this moment was heightened by the fact that this was the very pony that had started her show jumping journey as a child.
"It did feel like a bit of a full circle moment," Aisling told us. "The fact that she was my first show jumping pony, and she was helping me on my recovery again."
## Relearning to Ride with a Different Body
Returning to competition presented unique challenges. Aisling's injuries had permanently changed her body mechanics.
"My left leg is a lot weaker now," she explained. "I sit differently in the saddle because my pelvis doesn't sit the same, so I sit a bit tilted. I have a lot of things that I need to compensate for."
What amazed her was how her horses adapted to these changes. "They have each of them adapted," she said with evident wonder. "They all are so intuitive."
Without the same physical strength and balance she once had, Aisling developed new ways to communicate with her horses. For one particular mount who could get "unruly in his head," she discovered that talking to him during competition made a profound difference.
"I'll talk him around the course," she shared. "If he's getting a bit unruly in his head, I'll just talk to him and I'll feel his whole body relax. He'll focus on the fence and we'll get the shot we want."
This deeper connection with her horses has become one of the unexpected gifts of her recovery journey.
## A New Perspective in the Saddle
Perhaps the most profound change for Aisling has been her mental approach to riding and competition. Before the accident, she described herself as a perfectionist who would dwell on mistakes. Now, she finds herself more appreciative and present in the moment.
"I had a whole new appreciation for being able to do the sport, for being able to work with these animals," she reflected. "I do try and actively remind myself of that. Four faults is not a bad day, you know, it's only a fence."
This shift in mindset has actually improved her performance. "I stay more in the moment now, when I'm jumping and things flow better for me," she explained. "Before I would have been very, you know, wanted everything to be perfect, very much perfectionist. If I was a touch too deep to a fence, it'd still be bothering me probably at the next fence without me realizing."
The result? "I'm actually riding faster rounds than ever," she told us with a laugh.
## Kindness as a Training Philosophy
Throughout our conversation, Aisling repeatedly emphasized the importance of [kindness in her approach to horses](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/training-horses-with-kindness?r=487anp&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false) – a philosophy that has only deepened since her accident.
"I'm very kind to the horses and in turn, they're very kind to me," she said. "I do feel like they sense that and want to do a good job for me."
She believes this reciprocal relationship creates better results than force or pressure ever could: "I just find you get a hell of a lot more from a happy, content horse who wants to do it for you and is on your side as a team."
For Aisling, understanding each horse's unique personality is essential. "They're like people, they have their personalities," she observed. "The joy for me is to figure out what they like, and keep them happy."
When looking for qualities in her show jumpers, Aisling values character above all. "Once they have a good head, a good mind, that's normally most important for me," she explained. "I love a quirky horse, and I have loads of patience."
## Life After the Fall
Seven years after the accident that nearly took her life, Aisling has rebuilt her life around the horses she loves. When we spoke, she was competing in Spain with what she described as "a lovely group of horses."
Her perspective on riding has been transformed by her experience. When asked if riders should be more cautious given the risks, her answer was definitive: "Carry on in blissful ignorance. Enjoy the moment. Stay in the moment."
She believes that overly cautious, defensive riding actually increases the likelihood of accidents. Instead, she advocates for living fully in the present: "Life is for living. It is. Try your hand at it, you know, try the new horse, and do all these things."
The wisdom Aisling carries from her experience is something she hopes might help others facing their own challenges.
"Life is full of ups and downs, that is what life is," she reflected. "I am of the belief that these downs or these hurdles are there to teach you something or to send you in a different direction."
For Aisling Byrne, the path has led her back to where she always wanted to be – looking through a horse's ears, competing at the highest levels, but with a profoundly different perspective on what matters most.
"Don't sweat the small stuff," she concluded. "Just focus on the things you're enjoying. You'll get more of them."
## Connect with Aisling Byrne
For those inspired by Aisling’s story and wanting to follow her ongoing journey, she is active on social media. You can find her primarily on Instagram and TikTok under the handle [**@aislingbyrne1**](https://www.instagram.com/aislingbyrne1/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Her presence there offers insights into her life, training, and passion for horses.
### the "after-hours" tapes
The recording light went off. Anna Louise put down her notes and asked the question we couldn't ask on air.
It is about the noise. Not the literal noise of the yard, but the "hurlers on the ditch" (as Ashling calls them in Ireland) who stand on the sidelines and pick apart every transition and every mistake you make.
Ashling Byrne is a professional show jumper, yet she still feels that pressure. She told us about the specific mindset she uses to ignore the judgment and why she sometimes has to "fake it until she makes it" just to keep her horse relaxed.
If you are in the herd, that recording is below.
Curious Equestrian Aisling Byrne QA
0:00
/839.63356
1×
### Riding with Confidence: What Your Horse Needs First
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/building-confidence-for-stress-free-horse-riding/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T11:30:04.000Z
If you've ever felt apprehensive about going out hacking with your horse, or found yourself struggling to maintain control during an outdoor ride, you're not alone. Horse riding confidence is a crucial ingredient for a safe and enjoyable hacking experience, yet it can sometimes feel elusive. Fortunately, with the right mindset, preparation, and training approach, you can cultivate a calm, connected partnership with your horse, even in the face of unpredictable environments.
Drawing on years of experience in [natural horsemanship](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/training-horses-with-kindness) and eventing, [Hannah Walton, a horse development specialist](https://online.confidentandconnected.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and event rider based in Oxfordshire, shares invaluable insights into how to build that confidence and create a horse that's not only physically capable but mentally ready for hacking adventures. Here, we explore her expert tips and holistic approach to horse training that focuses on the horse's mindset as much as their body, and how that translates to safer, more enjoyable rides for both horse and rider.
---
## From Bolting to Bravery: Hannah's Journey to Horse Riding Confidence
Hannah's personal journey into horsemanship began with a horse that challenged her limits: a bolting ex-racehorse she got when she was just fourteen. Instead of rushing into eventing as she had dreamed, she chose to prioritise her horse's readiness and mindset. This decision sparked a twenty-year detour into horsemanship that shaped her unique approach, one deeply rooted in empathy, patience, and education.
She recalls that her first horse was not ready for the excitement and demands of eventing, and she didn't want to push her into something she wasn't prepared for. This mindset of "doing it with the horse, not to the horse" became a cornerstone of her philosophy.
Over the years, Hannah trained with some of the most respected names in the field, including Monty Roberts and Pat and Linda Parelli. These experiences helped her develop methods that blend natural horsemanship with classical disciplines, focusing on creating a calm, confident horse that is mentally and physically prepared for any challenge.
## Why Mindset Matters as Much as Physical Training
When it comes to horse riding confidence, many riders focus heavily on the physical skills, training the horse's body to respond to aids and commands. But Hannah emphasises that training the mind is just as critical. Horses are prey animals with strong instincts to freeze, flee, or fight when they feel threatened. Without a solid [mental foundation](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/why-your-horse-needs-mental-stimulation), even the most physically trained horse can become overwhelmed and reactive.
"It's as important to train the mind as it is to train the body," Hannah explains. She observes that in some natural horsemanship circles, the body can be neglected, while in traditional riding, the mind is sometimes overlooked. Her approach seeks to balance both aspects, ensuring the horse understands the aids, can process environmental stimuli calmly, and has strategies to manage tension.
Hacking, in particular, is a perfect test of this mental foundation. It requires the horse to navigate unpredictable environments, busy roads, sudden noises, wildlife, and other horses, while remaining relaxed and responsive. Hannah points out that a horse with a good foundation can be "put in a box like a taxi" without getting stressed, tied up safely, and ridden out calmly next to a buddy without spooking or pulling.
## Creating the "Perfect All-Rounder" Horse
Hannah's vision is to develop horses that are versatile, confident, and calm in all situations. She calls this the "perfect all-rounder." Such a horse can:
- Travel quietly in a trailer without stress
- Be tied up calmly in unfamiliar environments
- Accept tack and human touch with ease
- Go out hacking with confidence, even alongside other horses or in new surroundings
- Respond appropriately to unexpected stimuli like noises, movement, or changes in terrain
Importantly, Hannah challenges the misconception that horses with these qualities are just "lucky." Instead, she stresses that these horses can be created through consistent education, patience, and mindset-focused training.
For example, if a horse is worried about noise, Hannah doesn't advocate overwhelming them with every possible scary sound at once. Instead, she suggests a gradual, simulated exposure paired with positive reinforcement, asking the horse to accept the noise, then releasing pressure when they show curiosity or relaxation. This method helps the horse learn new coping strategies rather than resorting to flight or freeze responses.
## Preparation and Setup: Keys to Successful Hacking
Confidence on the hack doesn't come from luck—it's about careful preparation and thoughtful setup. Hannah breaks this down into two parts:
### 1\. The Setup: Choosing the Right Environment and Company
Not every ride or riding partner is suitable for every horse. Hannah advises riders to consider:
- Who they ride with — avoiding companions who might push the horse beyond its confidence level
- The route — avoiding high-traffic or unpredictable areas if the horse is still building confidence
- Timing — choosing quieter times of day to reduce traffic, noise, and distractions
- Weather and conditions — being cautious on windy days or when the environment might provoke tension
When leading group rides or hacking camps, Hannah carefully plans who rides together, ensuring that horses and riders of similar confidence levels support each other and that no one gets left behind. She emphasises the importance of staying together as a "herd" and working collectively to build confidence.
### 2\. The Preparation: Building Skills Step-by-Step
Hannah likens hacking to a big exam with many challenges. To ensure success, riders should break down those challenges and prepare their horses for each one in controlled settings before facing them on the trail. This might include:
- Teaching the horse to accept and remain calm around noise, movement, and unexpected stimuli
- Practising tight squeezes, stops, and stands still on cue
- Groundwork exercises to build connection and relaxation
- Gradually expanding the horse's comfort zone from arena to paddock to trail
Hannah stresses that if a horse is tense or rushing when being led in from the field, this likely translates to similar behaviour when hacking. Preparation work at home is essential to build a foundation of relaxation and responsiveness.
## Handling the Unexpected: Strategies for Real-Life Situations
One of the biggest challenges riders face is dealing with sudden, unpredictable events during a hack: pheasants flying out of bushes, dogs off lead chasing horses, or loud noises startling your mount. Hannah acknowledges that it's impossible to recreate every scenario in training, but you can simulate pressure situations to help your horse learn to manage stress calmly.
For instance, she might introduce flags, plastic bags, or noisy equipment in a controlled environment, always stopping the stimulus as soon as the horse shows calmness or curiosity. The goal is not to overwhelm but to teach the horse to tolerate low levels of pressure without escalating to fear or flight.
Recognising subtle signs of tension is critical. Hannah points out that horses communicate their discomfort through changes in posture, facial expression, and behaviour long before they spook or bolt. Riders who tune in early can "empty the cup" of stress before it overflows into a major reaction.
She shares a story from [Warwick Schiller](https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/curious-equestrian/episodes/Discovering-More-with-Warwick-Schiller-Horses--Harmony--and-Humanity-e2co4be?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) about "trigger stacking," a phenomenon where repeated minor stressors accumulate until the horse reaches a breaking point. For example, a horse that is fine with one rabbit might become overwhelmed after seeing several in quick succession, leading to a sudden flight response. By noticing early signs of tension, riders can intervene before the horse hits that red zone.
## The Human Factor: Managing Our Own Mindset
Hannah highlights that horses are incredibly sensitive to their riders' energy and emotions. Studies show that even a rider's increased heart rate or anxiety can cause a horse to spook, even if the external stimulus remains unchanged.
Therefore, building horse riding confidence also means [managing our own mindset](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/equine-partnered-coaching). Hannah encourages riders to ground themselves through meditation, breathwork, and mindfulness to create a calm, focused presence that reassures their horse.
She also advocates for self-compassion. Fear and nervousness are natural, especially after a bad experience. Riders should acknowledge their feelings rather than dismissing or suppressing them, and progress at a pace that feels safe for both horse and rider.
## It's Okay to Get Off: Redefining Success in Horse Riding
One of the most powerful messages Hannah shares is that getting off your horse during a hack is not a failure; in fact, it can be a vital part of the training process.
She recounts working with a large, athletic horse who required multiple dismounts during a fifteen-minute hack to help him release tension safely. Over several rides, the number of times Hannah needed to get off decreased until the horse was calm, connected, and confident enough for an entire ride without dismounting.
This approach challenges the ingrained equestrian belief that riders must "stay in the saddle at all costs." Instead, Hannah encourages riders to prioritise their horse's mental wellbeing and their own ability to help the horse, even if that means working from the ground.
Getting off to reset, calm, and reconnect can build trust and confidence far more effectively than pushing through fear or tension. It's about progress, not perfection.
## Applying These Principles Across All Disciplines
While hacking provides a clear example of how mindset and preparation affect horse riding confidence, these principles apply to all equestrian disciplines. Whether you're training a young horse, competing in dressage, show jumping, or eventing, the foundation is the same:
- Teach your horse to understand and respond calmly to aids
- Build connection and communication based on trust
- Prepare the horse mentally for unexpected stimuli and pressure
- Develop strategies for relaxation and tension release
- Manage your own mindset to remain calm and present
By integrating mind and body training, you create a well-rounded horse capable of handling the challenges of any discipline or environment.
## Getting Started: Where to Find Support and Training
If you're inspired to build your horse riding confidence and create a stress-free hacking experience, Hannah offers specialised [hacking clinics](https://hannawalton.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) designed to help riders and horses develop the skills and mindset needed for success.
These clinics focus on small groups with personalised instruction to address individual challenges. Horses stay at Hannah's training barn, giving riders a break from chores while immersing themselves in focused training.
The next hacking clinic is typically held in March, with preparation work encouraged over the winter months. You can connect with Hannah through [her website](https://hannawalton.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) [**hannawalton.co.uk**](https://hannawalton.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or on social media under Hannah Walton Equestrian.
## Final Thoughts: Building Confidence One Step at a Time
> "You only are gonna get on to whatever step of the mountain block that you or whatever place you get to might even be at the mountain block, but it might be just just putting that foot up in that first step. And if that's the point where your brain goes, oh my god, I'm not gonna be okay, this is gonna happen, and you start doing the whole story that might happen in your mind, then you stay at that point and you talk through the story and then you wait and you breathe and you just be there and you don't go past the next stage." – Hannah Walton
Building horse riding confidence is a journey, one that requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to learn alongside your horse. It's about tuning in to your horse's mental state as much as their physical readiness, creating a partnership based on trust and understanding.
Whether you're tackling your first hack or aiming to refine your eventing skills, remember that success isn't about rushing or forcing progress. It's about steady, mindful steps that honor both you and your horse's needs. And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is simply get off, breathe, and try again.
With the right approach, you can transform hacking from a stressful challenge into a joyful, confidence-building experience that deepens your connection with your horse and enriches your riding life.
### Dressage In Hand
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/josefa-guillaume-redefining-dressage-horses-as-companions/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:18.000Z
In this conversation, we explore the insights of [Josefa Guillaume](https://www.dressageinhand.eu/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), an international horse trainer, instructor, and author of *Dressage in Hand: What Horses Want You to Know*. Josefa has dedicated over twenty years to working with horses, including injured and traumatized animals, focusing on teaching dressage movements from the ground rather than the saddle. Anna Louise and Josefa dive into the evolving perception of horses within the equestrian community, the ethical challenges facing dressage competition today, and the potential transformation that could come from viewing horses as pets rather than mere sporting animals.
## The Bond Between Humans and Horses: A Historical and Personal Perspective
### **Josefa, when did you first start thinking of horses as pets, especially given your extensive experience with equines?**
I've always thought of horses as pets. It never really occurred to me that they would be anything else. As a little girl, I dreamed of having my own horse, not just to ride but to keep as a companion. Riding was never the most important thing for me; it was the relationship, the bond. So, for me, horses have always been pets, friends, and family members.
---
### **How has this perspective influenced your approach to horse training?**
Because I see horses as thinking individuals, much like humans, cats, or dogs. I always approach training with empathy. I think about how I would want to be treated and apply that same standard to horses. This mindset makes me different from many trainers who see horses primarily as tools or athletes. For me, every interaction is about mutual respect and understanding.
### **Why do you think horses haven't traditionally been considered pets in the same way as cats or dogs?**
That's a fascinating question. Horses have been integral to human civilization for over six thousand years, helping us travel, farm, fight wars, and build societies. Because of their essential role in our survival, they were traditionally seen as working animals rather than companions.
In classical times, however, there was an understanding that a horse’s cooperation was vital and that fear-based training was counterproductive. Trainers like [Antoine de Pluvinel](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9782011881229?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) in the sixteenth century emphasized that fear could never be the foundation of training because a horse will always fear something more than the trainer. Instead, building trust and friendship was key.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
In the twentieth century, horses shifted from being indispensable workers to commodities. We no longer needed them to survive, so many began to view horses as products for sport or entertainment. This commodification stripped them of the pet status that cats and dogs naturally received, creating a divide in how people view and treat horses today.
## Changing Perceptions: The Crossroads of Equestrian Sport and Public Opinion
### **What do you think it will take to shift the equestrian community's mindset toward seeing horses as pets?**
Public opinion is the driving force behind change. For the past fifteen years, I've warned the equestrian community that lawmakers, the media, and the general public will increasingly scrutinize how we treat horses in sport. When the public starts to see certain practices as abuse, the sport will either have to change voluntarily or be forced to change by legislation.
Recent events, such as the controversies at the Olympics and the [*Project X*](https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/helgstrand-dressage-operation-x-documentary-airs-844176?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)[ documentary](https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/helgstrand-dressage-operation-x-documentary-airs-844176?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) exposing abusive training methods, have amplified public awareness. This shift is already causing sponsors to pull back, which puts pressure on riders and organizations to evolve their practices. If we don't adapt, the equestrian world risks losing the privilege to keep horses in sport altogether.
### **How do you respond to those who accuse whistleblowers of destroying the sport?**
It's not the whistleblowers who are destroying the sport; it's the perpetrators of abuse. Whistleblowers are courageous individuals shining a light on harmful practices that have been hidden for too long. I've personally faced threats and accusations for speaking out, but I do it because the horses deserve better. Those who truly care about the future of equestrianism should support transparency and reform, not silence those who reveal the truth.
### **Can the sport recover from recent scandals, such as the video involving a top dressage rider whipping a horse?**
There are two camps in the reaction to these scandals: some see it as an isolated mistake, while others know it's symptomatic of widespread issues. I belong to the latter group because I've witnessed similar abuse repeatedly in high-level stables. The key to recovery is acknowledging the problem and committing to change.
The pressure on dressage riders is immense, sponsors demand results, and trainers face tight deadlines to perform. However, the welfare of the dressage horse must come first. With public scrutiny and legal action increasing, I believe the sport can come back, but only if it embraces [ethical training](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/compassionate-horse-training) and prioritizes the horse's well-being over the dressage score.
## Introducing Dressage in Hand: A Gentle, Ground-Based Approach
### **What is dressage in hand, and how does it differ from traditional dressage under saddle?**
Dressage training in hand is the practice of teaching and performing dressage movements from the ground, walking alongside the horse rather than riding it. This method is not new, it dates back thousands of years to trainers like Kikuri, who trained chariot horses and soldiers together on foot.
The movements in dressage are actually part of the horse’s natural body language used to communicate with others. By learning to communicate through body language on the ground, trainers can encourage horses to perform these movements in a way that is healthy, natural, and enjoyable for the horse.
### **How do you train horses to perform dressage movements from the ground?**
Training dressage in hand involves enticing the horse to perform [natural movement](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/groundwork-and-horses-an-evidence)s and rewarding them when they respond. For example, you might ask for a shoulder-in by changing your body language, and when the horse complies, you immediately reward them with praise or treats.
This [positive reinforcement](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/training-horses-with-kindness) creates a double reward: the horse enjoys the movement and feels empowered by their progress. Over time, this builds a happy, supple, and strong horse who performs with natural elegance rather than forced compliance.
### **What benefits does dressage in hand offer, especially for young or rehabilitating horses?**
Dressage in hand allows horses to build balance, strength, and flexibility before a rider is ever on their back. This reduces the risk of injury and makes the transition to riding smoother and safer. For traumatized or injured horses, it offers a gentle way to rebuild confidence and physical health without the pressure of carrying a rider.
I often compare it to fitness training for humans: you wouldn’t push someone into intense workouts without proper preparation and understanding of their biomechanics. The same principle applies to horses.
## Rethinking Competition and Ethical Training in Dressage
### **How has the competitive nature of dressage changed over the years, and what impact has this had on horses?**
In the past, dressage competitions were more about assessing a horse’s progress and educational journey. Riders weren’t under as much pressure to perform perfectly at every event. However, with the influx of sponsorships, prize money, and media attention, the focus shifted toward winning and spectacle.
This shift has increased pressure on both horses and riders, sometimes leading to abusive practices to achieve quick results. Horses are often kept in solitary confinement, fed inappropriate diets, and forced into unnatural movements under pain or fear. This not only harms the horse’s welfare but ultimately damages the integrity of the sport.
### **What changes would you like to see in dressage competitions to prioritize horse welfare?**
I would like to see the competition format evolve to emphasize health and natural movement rather than strict timing and mandatory exercises. Judges should reward horses based on how well they perform movements naturally and without stress, rather than on rigid technical criteria.
Allowing riders to choose equipment, such as bitless bridles or no nosebands, would also help, as some traditional tack can restrict the horse’s breathing and jaw movement, making true collection impossible.
Ultimately, removing the extreme pressure to perform perfectly and quickly would benefit both horses and riders. This aligns with the original classical dressage principles, where the horse’s well-being and education were paramount.
### **How does classical dressage differ from modern competitive dressage?**
Classical dressage focuses on working with the horse’s natural abilities and enhancing what is already there, rather than forcing results. Training is slow and steady—starting around four or five years old and continuing until the horse is fully mature, often around twelve to fifteen years old.
Horses trained classically can perform advanced movements daily without injury, often well into their late twenties. This longevity contrasts sharply with modern dressage, where horses frequently face early retirement due to injury or burnout.
## Rehabilitating Traumatized Horses Through Dressage in Hand
### **You've worked extensively with traumatized and vulnerable horses. How does your approach help these horses heal?**
Traumatized horses often carry their pain and fear in their bodies, showing physical signs like dropped withers, stiff necks, and a heavy forehand. These postures hinder their ability to communicate and interact naturally with other horses, which can worsen their trauma.
By encouraging movements that engage what I call the "happy muscles", like the trapezius and upper neck muscles, I help horses awaken from their depressed state. These movements mimic the body language horses use when they're playful or proud, helping to improve their mental state.
This process doesn’t cure trauma instantly, but it opens a door to connection and healing. Horses learn to trust again and regain control over situations that once frightened them, reducing learned helplessness and empowering them to move forward.
### **Is it possible for a horse to fully overcome trauma?**
Trauma leaves a permanent mark; the horse is forever changed. However, they can learn to manage their trauma triggers and regain control over their reactions. This is similar to humans who have experienced trauma—they may never be the same, but they can lead fulfilling lives with proper support and understanding.
## Challenges with Young Horses and Socialization
### **What are the issues with how young horses are raised today compared to the past?**
Young horses today are often weaned too early, between four and six months, when, in nature, it would be closer to nine months or even up to a year and a half. Early weaning and isolation from a natural herd environment lead to social and behavioral problems.
In natural herds, horses grow up in small family groups that teach them boundaries, social cues, and personal space. Without this, young horses can become antisocial, overly aggressive, or fearful, making them difficult and sometimes dangerous to train.
### **How can owners help horses learn boundaries and personal space if they missed early socialization?**
Training consistent, clear body language is key. You must constantly ask the horse to respect your space, reward them when they do, and correct them gently but firmly when they don’t. This requires patience and consistency, as every interaction is a training moment.
Additionally, integrating the horse into a functional herd environment whenever possible helps them learn from other horses. While these horses may never be perfect, they can learn to cope and function harmoniously with proper guidance.
## Practical Steps: Getting Started with Dressage in Hand
### **For those interested in trying dressage in hand, what is a good starting point?**
It’s difficult to recommend a one-size-fits-all exercise because each horse’s needs and abilities are unique. That’s why I wrote my book, *Dressage in Hand: What Horses Want You to Know*, which covers different scenarios and training levels in depth.
The key is to observe your horse carefully, understand their physical and mental state, and proceed with exercises that promote natural, healthy movement while rewarding positive responses.
### **Where can readers find your book and learn more?**
The book is available worldwide and can be found through my website [dressageinhand.com](https://dressageinhand.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). It has also won the prestigious EGCUS award, which was a dream come true for me as an author and trainer.
## The Impact of Viewing Horses as Pets on Welfare and Society
### **How would giving horses pet status change their lives and welfare?**
Giving horses pet status would fundamentally change how society views and treats them. Pets are valued for companionship, not for what they can do or produce. People don’t expect dogs or cats to perform or “earn their keep,” and the same mindset could benefit horses immensely.
Horses would be kept in environments that suit their natural needs, with ample space to move, socialize, and play. This shift would reduce overcrowding in rescues, as horses no longer fit for riding or competition would still be cherished and cared for.
Moreover, legal protections for pets are often stronger than for working animals. Reporting and prosecuting abuse is taken more seriously when the animal is viewed as a family member. This can lead to better enforcement of welfare laws and a reduction in cruelty cases.
### **What changes in legislation and public awareness do you foresee?**
Across Europe and beyond, lawmakers are beginning to examine the welfare of horses and donkeys, gathering scientific evidence about their needs. I am actively involved in providing research to these task forces.
We expect new legislation to emerge by 2026 that could restrict practices like solitary confinement and mandate more natural living conditions for horses. Additionally, there is growing momentum to phase out concrete stables in favor of [track systems that promote movement and biodiversity.](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/creating-a-horse-paddock-paradise?r=487anp&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false)
These changes are vital to ensure that horses can live species-appropriate lives and receive the respect they deserve after thousands of years of service to humanity.
## Conclusion: A Call for Compassion and Change in Dressage and Beyond
Josefa Guillaume’s insights challenge us to rethink our relationship with horses, especially within the context of dressage and equestrian sports. By viewing horses as pets and individuals rather than tools or athletes, we can promote ethical training methods that prioritize welfare, longevity, and happiness.
Dressage in hand offers a gentle, respectful approach that honors the horse’s natural movements and communication. Meanwhile, the equestrian community faces a crossroads: adapt to new public expectations and legal standards or risk losing the privilege to keep horses in sport.
Change won’t be easy, but it is necessary. Horses have given us six millennia of loyalty and service. It’s time we repay them with kindness, respect, and care.
For more information on Josefa Guillaume’s work and to explore her comprehensive guide to [dressage in hand](http://www.stepintodressage.com/inhand.html?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), visit [dressageinhand.com](https://dressageinhand.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk).
### The Surprising Connection Between Nature and Horse Happiness
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/sustainable-land-management-horse-health-happiness/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T13:39:28.000Z
Is one of the most overlooked areas is the relationship between the environment horses live in and their overall welfare. As horse owners, we often focus on training, nutrition and veterinary care, but what about the land itself? How does the state of our paddocks and pastures influence our horses' happiness and health?
In this episode we Anna Louise and Annabelle Holmes, an equine ecologist explore these questions.
## What Is an Equine Ecologist?
Annabelle Holmes is a pioneer in a unique field known as equine ecology, which combines her lifelong passion for horses with her academic background in ecology. Essentially, an equine ecologist helps horse owners understand the complex interactions between their horses and the land they occupy, offering practical advice on how to manage paddocks in ways that benefit both the horse and the environment.
"Equine ecology is about marrying scientific knowledge with real-life application," Holmes explained in our interview. "Many horse owners don't have time to study ecology or animal behaviour in depth, but they want to do the right thing by their horses and the environment. This is where an equine ecologist steps in, to tailor land management strategies specific to the needs of the horses and the particular characteristics of the land."
---
## Conservation Grazing: Horses as Land Managers
Contrary to the common perception that horses might damage land, certain breeds of hardy native ponies are excellent at managing vegetation and maintaining biodiversity.
"For example, Exmoor ponies and feral Welsh ponies are used in rewilding projects and nature reserves to control invasive plants like bracken," Holmes told us. "Horses trample and graze bracken, which tends to spread quickly and dominate landscapes, while sheep complement this by nibbling on plants horses avoid. This cooperative grazing helps maintain rare habitats and promotes a healthy ecosystem."
These examples challenge the stereotype that horses are harmful to land and demonstrate their potential role in sustainable land management.
## Changing Perceptions: Horses and Land Health
Despite their benefits, horses often carry a bad reputation among landowners and farmers, who worry about soil compaction and poaching. The real issue, Holmes points out, lies in how horses are currently managed rather than the horses themselves.
"Many horse owners simply turn their horses out in a paddock without considering the consequences for the soil, plants, or even the horses' nutrition," she shared. "Overgrazing, lack of rotation, and unmanaged bare ground lead to soil degradation, weed invasion, and nutrient imbalances. Horses tend to congregate in certain areas, creating nutrient hotspots from their droppings, while overgrazing other patches."
To change this perception, horse management must evolve. This involves adopting practices such as rotating paddocks to allow grass to recover, managing bare ground carefully, and balancing grazing pressure. These efforts not only protect the land but ultimately improve horse welfare.
## Practical Tips for Sustainable Paddock Management
For horse owners eager to make a positive difference, Holmes offers actionable advice:
- **Rotate Paddocks:** Allow grass to rest and regrow by moving horses between different areas. This reduces stress on the grass, lowers sugar production in plants, and prevents soil compaction.
- **Manage Bare Ground:** Bare patches are vulnerable to weed invasion and soil erosion. Use agricultural methods or introduce certain plants that suppress weeds and encourage biodiversity.
- **Encourage Plant Diversity:** Instead of relying solely on ryegrass and clover, which can be high in sugar and less beneficial, introduce a variety of native grasses and plants suited to your local environment.
- **Provide Enrichment:** Horses naturally forage and explore. Taking them for hedgerow walks or adding browsing plants within paddocks can stimulate natural behaviours and improve mental wellbeing.
Holmes emphasises the importance of tailoring these strategies to individual land conditions and horse needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach.
## Adapting to Weather and Climate Change Challenges
This year's unpredictable weather patterns have made land management even more challenging. Wet springs and summers lead to lush grass growth in some areas but cause bare patches and poor growth in others. Holmes stresses that these conditions are a direct result of climate change, and adapting to them is essential.
"Natural grasslands, with their diverse plant species adapted to local conditions, are more resilient to weather extremes than improved pastures dominated by a few high-yield grass species," she explained. "Such diversity not only protects the soil but also helps sequester carbon, contributing to climate change mitigation."
Horse owners can support this by fostering biodiversity in their paddocks and moving away from intensive, monoculture-style grass management.
## Choosing and Managing Grass Species for Health and Vitality
The choice of grass species in paddocks plays a crucial role in horse health and environmental sustainability. Holmes recommends focusing on native species adapted to your region rather than generic "off-the-shelf" mixtures that often contain ryegrass and clover.
"Fescues, for example, are a group of grasses that tend to be hardy and beneficial," she noted during our conversation. "Consulting local wildlife trusts or ecological resources can help identify which species are best suited to your area."
Changing grass species can be a significant undertaking, especially if your land is dominated by aggressive pasture grasses. Holmes advises starting small and considering gentle methods such as selective grazing or planting companion species rather than aggressive ploughing or chemical treatments.
## Enriching Paddocks Naturally
Beyond grass, paddock enrichment can significantly enhance a horse's experience and wellbeing. Holmes suggests simple, natural ways to do this:
- Introduce hedgerows or living fences around paddocks to provide shelter, shade, and browsing opportunities.
- Create small browsing gardens with safe herbs and plants that horses can choose from.
- Take horses on short foraging walks to encourage natural grazing behaviour and exercise.
While commercial enrichment toys like balls and swinging tools can be useful, especially for horses in stables or on restricted turnout, the landscape itself offers abundant natural enrichment that supports both mental and physical health.
## Observing Horse Behaviour for Welfare Assessment
Understanding how horses interact with their environment is key to assessing their welfare. Holmes highlights some signs to watch for:
- **Red Flags:** Behaviours like biting, bolting, or aggression may indicate distress and warrant veterinary or behavioural consultation.
- **Subtle Signs:** Chewing fence lines, pacing, or creating muddy patches along fences can signal boredom or stress.
- **Signs of Happiness:** Relaxed posture, mutual grooming in herds, playful behaviour, and the ability to lie down and sleep comfortably are all positive indicators.
Taking time to simply observe horses in their environment—standing quietly in the field or walking alongside them—can provide valuable insights into their wellbeing.
## Alternatives to Traditional Paddocks: Track Systems and Beyond
Traditional square or circular paddocks don't always meet horses' natural needs for movement and variety. [](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/creating-a-horse-paddock-paradise?r=487anp&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false)[Track systems](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/), which became more popular in the UK around 2017, are designed to encourage more natural movement patterns by creating a circular or oval path around a central area.
Holmes supports such innovations but also encourages horse owners to mix and match different approaches. "For example, aquaculture principles, nurturing soil health and biodiversity, can be combined with track systems or more traditional grazing management," she suggested.
Flexibility and adaptation are critical, and horse owners should feel empowered to experiment with what works best for their land and horses.
## Balancing Horse Welfare and Environmental Sustainability
At the heart of Holmes's approach is the belief that horse welfare and environmental health are not mutually exclusive but deeply interconnected. By creating environments that mimic natural conditions: open spaces, diverse vegetation, varied terrain, horses thrive physically and mentally, and the land remains healthy and resilient.
For instance, natural grazing behaviour reduces the risk of metabolic issues by allowing horses to select a variety of plants rather than being confined to a sugary ryegrass pasture. Diverse habitats also provide shelter and enrichment, supporting psychological wellbeing.
## Managing Common Challenges: Ragwort and Weeds
One of the most contentious plants in horse paddocks is ragwort, a poisonous weed that many owners strive to eradicate. Holmes acknowledges the risks but advocates for a balanced approach. Complete eradication may not be feasible or even desirable for wildlife, as ragwort supports butterflies and other insects.
"Instead, managing ragwort by promoting healthy grass growth and preventing bare patches reduces its spread," she told us. "Horses generally avoid ragwort due to its bitter taste unless it's present in hay, where it poses a significant risk and should be removed."
## Taking Baby Steps Toward Sustainable Land Management
Transitioning from conventional to eco-friendly land management can feel overwhelming, but Holmes recommends starting small. Focus on one paddock or section of land to experiment with new practices. Conduct botanical surveys, test soil health, and gradually introduce changes.
Education is key—learning about local plants, soil biology, and horse behaviour helps make informed decisions. And remember, progress takes time. Land restoration is a long game but yields lasting benefits for horses, owners, and the environment.
## Success Stories and the Road Ahead
Though still early in her equine ecology career, Holmes has already contributed to projects that balance horse welfare with wildlife conservation. For example, she has worked with landowners to protect rare bird habitats while maintaining sufficient grazing. Her previous ecological consultancy involved relocating amphibians to safe habitats during housing developments, demonstrating the positive impact of thoughtful land stewardship.
Looking forward, Holmes aims to raise awareness through social media, podcasts, and public talks, encouraging horse owners and land managers to embrace sustainable practices. She also anticipates that future legislation and incentives may support better land management, making this a critical time for change.
## Final Thoughts: Embracing Nature to Enhance Horse Happiness
Our horses' happiness and health depend not only on what we feed them or how we train them but also on the environment they inhabit. By fostering biodiversity, managing land sustainably, and allowing horses to express natural behaviours, we can create a harmonious relationship between horse and habitat.
Whether it's rotating paddocks, introducing native plants, enriching paddocks naturally, or simply spending time observing your horse in the field, every step counts. The journey toward eco-friendly equine care is both rewarding and essential for the future of our horses and the planet.
### Professional Sheath Cleaning: The Essential Horse Care Service You're Overlooking
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/professional-horse-sheath-cleaning/
Last updated: 2026-02-21T16:51:19.000Z
In this week's episode, Anna's Louise talks with Allie MacLeod, founder of The [Horsebox Spa](https://www.thehorseboxspa.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and registered [British Equine Hygienists Association (BEHA) ](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=334c4164c298414263d54c14e67aec83761a8f31045469d778cf1c2ee7ff0b30JmltdHM9MTc0NTg4NDgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=37b52879-a3ec-61c9-3988-3b17a29b6042&psq=British+Equine+Hygienists+Association+%28BEHA%29&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmVoYS5vcmcudWsv&ntb=1&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)professional; we discovered that proper sheath cleaning is about much more than just basic hygiene; it's a vital part of comprehensive equine healthcare that many owners overlook.
"It's a forgotten organ," Allie explained during the discussion. "Because they're not seeing it, people don't think about it." This blind spot in equine care stems from a combination of embarrassment, lack of education, and outdated beliefs about what domesticated horses need.
💡
Herd members, the after after hours tape is at the bottom of this post
## The Domestication Dilemma
It's not unusual for owners to wonder why horses need their sheaths cleaned; after all, wild horses don't get them cleaned, a question Allie often gets. But as Allie points out, this comparison misses a crucial difference.
"Wild horses don't get their teeth done. Wild horses don't get their feet trimmed," she told us. "When we domesticate an animal, we are responsible for caring for them. They can't do that themselves as they would in their natural environment."
In the wild, breeding behaviours naturally prevent many hygiene issues. When a stallion covers a mare, the friction helps dislodge smegma build-up before it becomes problematic. Domesticated geldings and non-breeding stallions lack this natural cleaning mechanism, which means without human intervention, problems inevitably develop.
## The Hidden Connection to Behaviour
One of the most eye-opening aspects of the conversation with Allie was learning how many behaviour and performance problems actually stem from poor hygiene.
"A lot of the issues you see with horses originate from the sheath," Allie revealed. "It can be tail rubbing. It can be tension around the loins and croup. It can be kicking up at the belly. But nobody ever, ever thinks it's regarding the sheath."
Instead, horse owners often pursue expensive veterinary investigations, chiropractic treatments, or physio when the root cause might be much simpler. Allie described cases where horses were nearly sold due to "behavioural problems" that disappeared completely after a proper hygiene session.
"Sometimes when a horse is really uncomfortable, you can't even put your hand in between the hind legs—they're very touch reactive," she explained. "But after a hygiene, once they're brought back to comfort, you can then touch your horse there."
## Sign up for Curious Equestrian Newsletter
for riders who want to understand more, not just do more.
Subscribe
Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
## The Bean Problem
At the heart of many hygiene issues for geldings is something called a "bean", a hardened collection of smegma and debris that forms in a cavity called the urethral fossa.
Allie described it in detail: "There is a cavity within the tip of the penis called the urethral fossa, and smegma gets in there. The hole is quite small, but there is a big cavity behind it. Smegma, dead skin, sweat, grime—it all goes in there, hardens and compacts."
As these beans grow larger, they can press on the urethra, causing pain and potentially leading to urinary tract infections. In severe cases, they can significantly obstruct urination.
"When I first started, I had someone say to me that to be really skilled at bean removal, you're not going to really be skilled until you've done your first 100 horses," Allie shared. "Taking the beans out is alright if they're small, but if you've got a bean that goes almost the width of your palm—some of them have been enormous, they've gone across all four fingers—it takes skill to remove them without harming the horse."
## Cancer Risk in Domesticated Horses
Perhaps the most sobering aspect of our conversation was learning about the connection between poor hygiene and cancer risk.
"There has been research into this by a top veterinary surgeon, a Europe-wide renowned equine oncologist," Allie told us. "In the wild or breeding stallions, these cancers are not that common. But unfortunately, it's not uncommon at all in a gelding."
Allie shared with us that during her professional sheath cleaning sessions, she sometimes identifies various abnormalities that warrant veterinary attention.
"I find that roughly one in 10 horses I treat has an abnormality of some description," she explained during our interview. "That doesn't mean it's anything concerning, many abnormalities are benign. But regular sheath cleaning allows us to notice changes early."
What makes this particularly important is that early signs of potential issues can be incredibly subtle, perhaps just a small rough patch of skin smaller than a fingernail. Without regular professional sheath cleaning, these signs are likely to go unnoticed, potentially delaying necessary veterinary care.
## The Angus Story: How Sheath Cleaning Changed a Career
The importance of professional sheath cleaning was driven home by the story that led Allie into this profession, a horse named Angus, owned by Annie.
During the first COVID lockdown, Annie asked Allie to check Angus, who had never had a sheath cleaning in the four years she had owned him. Alli discovered significant abnormalities that required veterinary attention.
"I wasn't even able to get my hand into the sheath because he had about four large masses blocking it," Allie recalled. After Alli'es discovery, Annie took Angus to the vet for proper diagnosis and treatment.
This experience changed Allie's career path completely. "If I can play a part in helping identify abnormalities early on, or at the very least, bring a horse back to comfort through proper sheath cleaning, then I would be happy to do this all day long."
What began as a friendly favour became a turning point in Allie's professional life. Her business, The Horsebox Spa, shifted focus, with equine hygiene becoming a core service as she recognized the critical need for qualified professionals in this area.
## Don't Forget the Mares
While much of the conversation focused on geldings, Allie stressed that mares need regular hygiene attention too.
"Mares get similar build-up of dead skin and sweat and oil that congeals between their teats," she explained. "That can be almost like it's sharp and as thick as tree bark between their hind legs. You imagine as they're walking along, that's sore for the girls."
Mares can even develop their own version of beans inside the clitoris, causing irritation. "It'd be like having grit in your underpants," Allie pointed out.
She recommends checking mares between the teats but warns that improper technique can cause discomfort. "Be aware that if she has got a crust build-up there, most will cow kick if you touch it. So never just pick it off, you need something to soften it first, like a water-based lube."
## Professionalising Equine Hygiene
Recognising the critical importance of this service and the lack of professional standards, Allie helped establish the British Equine Hygienist Association (BEHA) in 2023.
"I felt that the industry was lacking governance, regulation, standards, code of conduct, and training on health checking," she told us. "We set up BEHA with the objective of setting industry standards, a code of practice, ensuring that all our hygienists are fully insured."
The impact has been significant. Insurance companies in London now only insure BEHA-approved hygienists because of the processes they have in place to mitigate risk.
For horse owners looking for a reputable hygienist, Allie recommends going through the BEHA website (beha.org.uk), where they can find trained, insured, and experienced professionals in their area.
## One Simple Action: Schedule Professional Sheath Cleaning Annually
When asked what horse owners should do now, Allie's advice was clear: make sheath cleaning part of your regular horse care routine.
"It should always be done by a professional," she emphasised. "For what a sheath clean costs, you will change your horse's world."
Allie recommends annual sheath cleaning for horses from the age of five upwards. Some horses, particularly those prone to excessive smegma production, may benefit from cleaning every six months.
"Don't ignore it because you're embarrassed about it or you don't feel comfortable," Allie urged. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. There's nothing sexual at all about it. It's just part of the horse."
By bringing proper sheath cleaning into the mainstream conversation about horse care, Allie hopes to change attitudes and improve horse welfare. "We've just got to move on from the grubby connotations, the embarrassment that surrounds the subject," she concluded.
The message is clear: professional sheath cleaning isn't just about cleanliness—it's about comfort, performance, and comprehensive health maintenance for your horse.
*To learn more about professional sheath cleaning or to book a session with Allie McLeod (Kent, Sussex and Surrey areas), visit* [*thehorseboxspa.co.uk*](https://thehorseboxspa.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)*. For BEHA-registered hygienists in other areas, visit* [*beha.org.uk*](https://beha.org.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)*.*
### he 'after-hours' intro (paid members)
W wanted to ask Allie about the fear of finding something truly sinister during a routine clean. We saved this for the end because it gets into the professional tension between a hygienist and a veterinarian, and how a discovery like a hermaphrodite horse can completely shift your perspective on equine anatomy. It is candid, a bit surprising, and a reminder that we never stop learning from these animals.
Curious Equestrian Exclusive for Our Inquisitive Herd Allie McLeod Answers Your Questions
0:00
/841.212517
1×
### Training Horses with Kindness
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/clicker-training-horses/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:21.000Z
In our latest episode, we speak with Sandra Poppema, [founder of HippoLogic and creator of The Confident Clicker Trainer method](https://clickertraining.ca/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Sandra shares her journey from traditional training to positive reinforcement, revealing how this shift transformed not just her training methods but her entire relationship with horses.
## Standout Statements
"The more you do it, the more you discover that **you can develop this beautiful two-way communication with the horse.**" - Sandra Poppema on the evolving nature of positive reinforcement training
"**Put the R of relationship before the R of results.** Because once you have that really good relationship, it's amazing what horses will do for you." - Sandra on prioritising connection over compliance
"They are so motivated by the food, **you can simply teach them** to use their lips only, not their teeth. You can teach them not to mug you or touch you or sniff your pockets." - Sandra on establishing boundaries in treat training
## Horse Connection Spotlight: Finding Your Voice
Sandra shared a powerful moment when her young wild horse Kira laid down rather than respond to pressure during training. This brave act of communication from Kira became a turning point in Sandra's journey. "She didn't want to get pressure release training," Sandra told us, "And then I decided right then and there, I don't know how I have to train her all the traditional things like riding and lunging and whatnot \[with pressure\]. **I will find a way.**" This commitment to honour her horse's communication led Sandra to develop innovative approaches to positive reinforcement training.
## Recommended Resources
**Training:**
- Sandra's HippoLogic [Clicker Training Academy ](https://clickertraining.ca/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
- YouTube: [SandraHippoLogic](https://www.youtube.com/@SandraHippoLogic?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
## Practical Takeaways: Try This With Your Horse
1. Start with "table manners" for your horse, teaching them that treats are available but on your terms, establishing clear boundaries around food.
2. Before training, ensure your horse is well-fed so they don't experience anxiety about food, making the training session about choice rather than necessity.
3. Pay close attention to what motivates your individual horse; as Sandra noted, some horses prefer hay over high-value treats when learning.
4. When your horse seems reluctant, ask yourself, "Why don't they want to do this?" and use their feedback as valuable information about their preferences and concerns.
## Special Offer for Our Listeners!
Sandra has generously provided a **FREE Clicker Training Assessment** for all Curious Equestrian listeners! During this personal 1:1 session, you'll discover your training strengths and weaknesses, helping you identify your next steps for improvement.
Book your free assessment here: [https://tidycal.com/hippologic/curious-equestrian](https://tidycal.com/hippologic/curious-equestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
If your part of our Inquisitive Herd (it's free!) the conversation continued with these member questions: Sandra addresses real member questions, including:
\- How to approach yard owners who prohibit hand-feeding treats?
\- The biggest challenges horses and owners face today
\- Why the physical connection during treat-giving creates a unique bond?
\- How to reframe treat-giving as "training" and "food reinforcement"
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Training Horses with Kindness
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/training-horses-with-kindness/
Last updated: 2025-04-20T14:56:10.000Z
Do you often feel like the odd one out at your stables because other horse lovers don't understand that the bond with your horse is more valuable than a ride in the arena?
In this episode, we welcome Sandra Poppema, founder of HippoLogic and creator of The Confident Clicker Trainer method. Sandra is a passionate horsewoman from the Netherlands with a unique training approach that prioritizes connection over compliance.
Sandra's mission is to help horse people enhance their friendship with their horses by teaching them to use positive reinforcement as a two-way communication system. Through her methods, you'll discover how to build mutual trust and understanding while strengthening the horse-human bond.
Join us as we explore essential questions:
- How can we learn to be a good friend to our horse?
- How can we use treats in clicker training without creating greedy, pushy horses?
Whether you're new to positive reinforcement or looking to deepen your practice, Sandra offers valuable insights that will transform your relationship with your equine partner.
## SPECIAL OFFER FOR OUR LISTENERS
Sandra is generously offering Curious Equestrian listeners a **FREE Clicker Training Assessment**!
In this personal 1:1 session, you'll discover your strengths and weaknesses in training. After the assessment, you'll know exactly what your next step should be to improve your horse training skills.
This offer comes with no strings attached and is Sandra's way of giving back for being on the podcast.
**Book your free assessment here:** [https://tidycal.com/hippologic/curious-equestrian](https://tidycal.com/hippologic/curious-equestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
# Episode Chapters: "Training Horses with Kindness" with Sandra Poppema
1. **Introduction to Positive Reinforcement** (00:00-02:16) Sandra's approach to training and the power of two-way communication
2. **Early Horse Connections** (02:16-04:42) How childhood experiences shaped Sandra's training philosophy
3. **The Evolution of Training** (04:42-09:29) From traditional methods to choice-based communication
4. **Beyond Treats** (09:29-15:04) Understanding motivation and building trust
5. **Individual Horse Motivation** (15:04-18:47) Food motivation across breeds and personalities
6. **The Wild Horse Turning Point** (18:47-25:58) Sandra's transformative experience with Kira
7. **Rethinking Training Traditions** (25:58-31:42) The pivotal moment that changed everything
8. **Redefining Relationships** (31:42-38:13) From owner to friend: changing how we see our horses
9. **Values-Based Horsemanship** (38:13-43:27) Letting core values guide training decisions
10. **Food Manners & Boundaries** (43:27-48:27) Addressing concerns about treat training
11. **Healing Traumatized Horses** (48:27-56:00) Rebuilding trust and confidence through choice
12. **The Future of Training** (56:00-01:03:46) Creating safer, more compassionate partnerships
### Connection Before Action: From Riding School to Horse Haven
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/riding-school-reimagined/
Last updated: 2026-02-21T17:42:31.000Z
How often do you rush to get into the saddle without thinking of the connection with the horse beneath you? For many riders, the focus is on the goal rather than the relationship, a paradigm that Tam and Ants Bennett are challenging through their revolutionary Horse Connection programme in North Devon.
## A Challenge to Convention: Rethinking the Riding School
"One of the things we say quite clearly up front is that we're not like other [riding stables](https://www.collacott.uk/horse-connection?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). You won't always be riding," Ants Bennett explained during our recent interview. This statement might seem counterintuitive in an industry where progress is typically measured by time in the saddle, but it represents the core philosophy that's transforming how people interact with horses at their facility.
Tam and Ants took over a 20-year-old British Horse Society riding stables in 2022, but quickly realised that the traditional model wasn't aligned with their vision. "I personally found that the way the animals were being cared for or being worked wasn't really the way I wanted it to be," Tam told us, describing her initial response to the environment they inherited. The horses were fearful, shut down, and in some cases, subjected to troubling training methods.
Instead of continuing business as usual, they made the bold decision to close their doors to customers temporarily, a significant financial risk that ultimately allowed them to reimagine what equestrian education could be.
## Learning from Connection: The Bennett Approach
The Bennetts didn't arrive at this perspective without substantial equestrian background. Ants grew up on a farm with horses in Somerset, participating in Pony Club, eventing, and developing a deep bond with his Welsh mountain pony, George, who he credits as formative in his understanding of horse-human relationships.
After pursuing corporate careers in London, the pandemic prompted a reassessment of priorities. In 2022, they acquired their Devon property with the intention of creating holiday lets with "maybe a couple of horses." What they ended up with was significantly larger, eight holiday cottages and a full riding school, but this unexpected scale provided the canvas for their vision.
The foundation of their approach is based on what Ants learned through his qualification in the [IFEEL Method of Equine Facilitated Human Development](https://ifeelmethod.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), which he completed in 2024\. This methodology combines psychotherapy with horsemanship, creating a framework for safe, meaningful interactions between horses and humans.
"What I found with the equine facilitated work is that I can describe what it is now. So I know the science and I know what is going on for a human and the horse," Ants explained. This evidence-based understanding forms the cornerstone of their programmes.
## The Challenges: Confronting Equestrian Expectations
The Bennetts faced significant obstacles in transitioning from a traditional riding school to their connection-focused model. Chief among these was customer expectations.
"People had that expectation to come in, and it might be a strong mom that wants their little Johnny to be able to canter by the end of the week," Ants noted. The pressure to deliver quick riding progress often conflicts with their philosophy of building a foundation through groundwork and connection.
This cultural shift required not just retraining horses, but also reframing human perspectives. They lost some customers in the process, those seeking traditional riding lessons who weren't interested in the deeper work of connection.
Environmental challenges also tested their resolve. The wet climate of North Devon created difficult conditions for maintaining healthy pastures. "It's difficult because it's down to resources sometimes. It's down to what do you have to work with? What do you inherit?" Ants reflected when discussing their ongoing efforts to improve horse living conditions.
Perhaps most fundamentally, they confronted the industry-wide tendency to prioritise goals over relationships. Ants described this as "the balance of goal versus relationship with a horse," explaining that many equestrians become fixated on achieving specific outcomes without establishing the necessary foundation of trust and communication.
## Signs of Progress: What to Look For
During our conversation, the Bennetts shared several indicators that signal positive development in both horses and humans engaged in connection-based work:
- **From shutdown to expressive**: "The horses were quite fearful, quite shut down," Tam said of their initial state. Progress is evident when horses become "more playful and interested," showing their unique personalities.
- **Emerging confidence**: For people, particularly children, increased confidence around horses is a key marker. "Children have said they feel more confident when they actually get on the horse," Tam noted.
- **Energy awareness**: A fundamental shift occurs when humans begin recognising and managing their own energy. "Before anybody goes near the horses, we focus on their energy," Ants explained. People learn to observe their internal state and adjust it to create safety for both themselves and the horses.
- **Present moment engagement**: Success is visible when participants move from being "in their heads" to being fully present. As Ants described, "The most important thing for all of us is to get in the present moment." Horses, who naturally live this way, become teachers of this skill.
- **Character recognition**: An intriguing phenomenon they regularly witness is when visitors "gravitate to a horse in the herd" whose characteristics match their own. This mirror effect offers profound self-awareness opportunities.
## Transformation Through Connection
The most powerful evidence of their approach comes through the case studies they shared during our interview. One particularly moving example involved a four-year-old girl with developmental delays following infant heart surgery.
"She wasn't speaking. And a week after they'd been staying with us, she was at her home and she just went, 'River,'" Tam recounted. The child had named one of the horses, marking a significant breakthrough in her communication. On a subsequent visit, "she got on the back of Pepper and she rode her like she knew how to ride... she was beaming and she felt confident."
Another remarkable case involved two girls who were selectively mute. "They would speak to their mother, but to nobody else, nobody at school, nothing," Tam explained. "At the end of the second week, they were chatting to everybody in the stables. They're chatting to all the horses, they started off talking to the horses."
The transformation extends to adults as well. Ants described working with an experienced horsewoman who became anxious about moving her mare and new foal to a different livery yard. By helping her release the pressure she had placed on herself regarding timing, the process went "beautifully well."
The approach is methodical and intentional. New visitors begin with grounding and breathing exercises before meeting the horses. Children participate in a six-week programme where riding is only one component, with significant time devoted to in-hand work. "We're finding that the children actually prefer the in-hand work to the ridden," Ants noted, challenging conventional wisdom about what young riders truly enjoy.
## Beyond Riding: Broader Implications
The Bennetts' work reveals profound parallels between horse-human connections and human personal development. "What we've found is that a bit like my childhood with horses, my perception of riding stables, children and adults would sort of turn up and expect to get straight on a horse," Ants reflected. "And so our ambition really has been to connect humans with horses."
This shift in perspective has implications far beyond riding itself. As Ants explained, "We're seeing young people and adults that are really benefiting from improved self-confidence, anxieties going. You know, for some people, it's the first time they've felt a really sort of non-judgmental connection."
Their approach recognises that horses offer unique therapeutic benefits precisely because they operate differently from humans. "When you scan a horse's brain... compared to a human... the brains are actually very similar," Ants told us. "The big difference is that most of our brain is used for speech. And of course, horses don't speak. So their brains are more developed than ours in other areas."
This difference creates a judgment-free zone that participants find profoundly healing. "The horse doesn't have any of that," Tam said, referring to the social judgments humans typically face. "So I think there's a real groundedness in that kind of non-judgment space."
## One Simple Action for Today
For readers inspired by the Bennetts' approach, Ants offered a simple but powerful suggestion: "Sometimes we've just got to slow it down a bit. And we've got to just sometimes just enjoy, give yourself time just to be with your horse, not necessarily with a goal in mind. And I think that's where some of the real magic is."
This shift from goal-orientation to relationship-building is accessible to any horse owner or rider. It requires no special equipment or expertise, just a willingness to be present and attentive.
For those interested in experiencing Horse Connection directly, the Bennetts welcome visitors to Collacott Farm in North Devon, where holiday cottages and equine experiences can be booked through their website: collacott.co.uk.
In 2025, they're expanding their offerings to include corporate retreats focused on emotional resilience for business leaders, as well as programmes specifically designed for Generation Z participants facing anxiety and depression.
---
### Natural hoof care: what healthy hooves actually look like
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/natural-hoof-care-what-healthy-hooves-look-like/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T13:39:27.000Z
*"A healthy hoof is first and foremost a hoof without an iron shoe nailed to it."*
This statement from Louise Backholler, founder of [Rebel Horse Care](https://rebelhorsecare.eu/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) and certified natural hoof care professional since 2008, may be provocative to many in the equestrian world. Yet for those seeking evidence-based approaches to horse management, it warrants consideration.
In our recent conversation with Louise, we explored why natural hoof care matters, what a truly healthy hoof looks like, and how domesticated horses can benefit from the wild horse model. Most importantly, we discussed how traditional hoof care practices might be disconnected from what horses actually need.
## What is natural hoof care?
Natural hoof care isn't simply about removing shoes or basic hoof trimming. It's a holistic philosophy about horse management that considers everything from diet to environment to training methods. Unlike traditional approaches focused solely on the hoof structure, natural hoof care looks at the entire horse and its lifestyle.
As Louise explains, "It's really a very holistic approach to hoof care... it matters how we create the environment for horses to live in, it matters how we feed them, if there are stress factors in their life, how we train, how we ride."
This approach is founded on the wild horse model developed by Jamie Jackson, who studied Mustangs in America during the 1980s. These wild horses demonstrated remarkable soundness, running across stones and rough terrain, something many domestic horses struggle to do.
## What does a healthy hoof look like?
For horse owners wondering about hoof health, Louise provides clear indicators of what to look for in a truly healthy hoof:
- Short and wide, providing good foundation for the horse
- Has a short toe and low heel positioned properly under the horse
- Free from stress rings (horizontal growth rings on the hoof wall)
- Has a thick hoof wall when viewed from underneath
- Features a tight, strong white line (the junction between sole and hoof wall)
- Has a healthy, strong frog that contributes to proper blood circulation
Stress rings along the hoof wall, sometimes called event lines, indicate systemic stress. This might come from improper diet, mental stress, or an unbalanced hoof causing uneven loading. Even dewormers and vaccinations can trigger these visible markers in the hoof.
## Why can't our domesticated horses walk on stones?
If wild horses can gallop across rough, rocky terrain with strong hooves, why do our domestic horses often struggle with sensitivity on hard ground? How do the hooves of wild horses differ from our shod horses or even barefoot domestic horses?
Louise believes it comes down to three main factors:
1. **Movement:** Most domestic horses simply don't move enough, especially on varied surfaces.
2. **Diet:** High sugar, low fiber diets contribute to hoof sensitivity.
3. **Shoe History:** Horses that have previously worn shoes need time to strengthen their hooves after transitioning to barefoot.
"I think genetics play a part of it, but I think it's much less than we think," Louise says. "I see horses of all breeds, all ages, all kinds become better when we give them a different kind of living environment."
## The track system: Movement for life
One approach to improving domestic horse management is [the track system](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/), designed by Jamie Jackson in his book "Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horseboarding."
Rather than putting horses in a box-shaped field, a track system creates pathways around the perimeter of the land. This encourages horses to move as they would in the wild, traveling between multiple feeding stations, water sources, and other points of interest.
Even without a full track system, Louise suggests simple adaptations:
- Hang hay nets in multiple locations rather than feeding in one spot
- Keep water at a distance from food sources
- Create obstacles that horses must navigate around
- Add different surfaces where possible
"The movement after forage, I would say, is absolutely number one," Louise emphasizes. "If you can do that, you've done something."
---
"My philosophy is that the horses did not choose this life with us. We chose it for them. So, therefore, you have a responsibility."
## Common hoof problems in domestic horses
When asked about hoof problems she encounters in her practice, Louise immediately cited subclinical laminitis as a widespread but under-recognized issue. Unlike navicular disease or obvious hoof cracks that many horse owners worry about, this subtle condition often goes undetected.
"That is really a big thing, much, much bigger than most people think," she explains.
Unlike acute laminitis, where a horse is visibly in pain and reluctant to move, subclinical laminitis shows more subtle signs:
- Thrush in the frogs
- Black or red spots on the white line
- Stress rings on the hoof wall
- Mild sensitivity on certain surfaces
These early warning signs often appear long before a horse shows obvious lameness, typically triggered by dietary factors or insufficient movement.
## Balancing modern life with natural horse care
For many horse owners, implementing ideal natural horse care systems feels impossible due to land limitations, livery restrictions, or financial constraints. How can we apply the wild horse model when our horses live in conventional settings?
Louise acknowledges these challenges but encourages owners to focus on what they can control for better hoof health:
- Increase movement through creative approaches to stimulate the horse's hooves
- Reassess diet across all sources (hay, grass, supplements) to reduce sugar intake
- Build connection through groundwork and natural horsemanship techniques
- Take time to observe your horse's responses and hoof condition
- Make small changes consistently rather than waiting for "perfect" pasture conditions
- Consider hoof boots rather than shoes for horses that need temporary protection
"Just little changes is a victory," Louise says. "Every time that people do a little thing like having a horse living alone that gets a friend, or figuring out that they can board them with someone else so they get a friend... little things like that help."
## Redefining our relationship with horses
Perhaps most thought-provoking was Louise's philosophy on our responsibility to horses:
"My philosophy is that the horses did not choose this life with us. We chose it for them. So therefore, you have a responsibility."
Louise observes that while we've stopped using horses for warfare or agriculture, we still treat them primarily as tools for riding. Unlike other companion animals, horses are often valued mainly for their utility.
"Who says that it's better to go for a ride on your horse than it is to sit in the paddock and just be close to them? Who says it's better to win a competition than to have a connection with your horse where they choose to come up to you and spend time with you?"
This perspective challenges us to reconsider what success with horses looks like. Is it about performance and accomplishment, or could it be about developing genuine connection and partnership?
## One simple thing you can do today
When asked what one thing horse owners could do immediately to improve their relationship with their horses, Louise's answer was surprisingly simple:
"Take a moment to stop and take a deep breath."
This pause allows us to genuinely observe our horses and honestly assess:
- Is my horse feeling good?
- Is my horse happy with what we're doing together?
"If yes, wonderful, continue. If not, think about why that might be," Louise suggests.
In a world of constant achievement pressure, taking this moment to connect might be the most revolutionary act of all.
## Becoming a rebel for better horse care
Louise named her business "Rebel Horse Care" because she often feels like she's going against the current of traditional horsemanship. Yet this identity gives her strength.
"Every time I see that name, it kind of inspires me to keep going... I have to keep talking to people and try to change their minds and help them find better ways for horses."
For those seeking to understand natural hoof care, the journey starts not with perfect facilities or special tools, but with curiosity, kindness, and a willingness to question conventional wisdom.
As we navigate the challenges of modern horse keeping, perhaps we too need to embrace a bit of rebellion—challenging ourselves to see our horses not just as athletes or recreation vehicles, but as sentient partners deserving of our best efforts to understand their needs.
---
## Resources for natural hoof care
For those interested in learning more about natural hoof care and the wild horse model, several resources are available:
- [Books by Jamie Jackson](https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/horse-hoof-health?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), one of the founders of the natural hoof care movement
- The "Paddock Paradise" concept for creating track systems
- Natural trimming techniques that mimic wild horse hoof wear patterns
- Community forums where horse owners share experiences transitioning to barefoot
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
Remember that transitioning from shod to barefoot requires patience, as previously shod horses need time to develop strong hooves. Working with a qualified natural hoof care practitioner can make this process smoother and more successful.
*To learn more about Louise Backholler and Rebel Horse Care, visit her website at* [*rebelhorsecare.eu*](https://rebelhorsecare.eu/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) *or find her on Instagram and Facebook @RebelHorseCare.*
### Why Your Horse Needs Mental Stimulation as Much as Physical Exercise
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/why-your-horse-needs-mental-stimulation/
Last updated: 2026-01-16T01:34:34.000Z
[Gabi Neurohr](https://www.gabineurohr.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), an Austrian horse trainer who specializes in creating empathetic, happy equine partners, believes play is a crucial yet overlooked aspect of our relationship with horses. In her conversation with Curious Equestrian, she shares powerful insights about how incorporating playful elements can transform not just training sessions, but our entire relationship with our horses.
When we think about "playing" rather than "working," we naturally become more lighthearted, less fixated on perfection, and more present.
## Changing Our Mindset: From "Work" to "Play"
"Don't say work, play with your horse," Gabi explains, referencing an insight she first encountered through the Parelli method. This simple shift in vocabulary creates a profound change in our approach. When we think about "playing" rather than "working," we naturally become more lighthearted, less fixated on perfection, and more present.
The equestrian world is notorious for judgment and criticism, whether at livery yards or on social media, which pushes many riders into a serious, performance-focused mindset. This pressure can kill enjoyment and connection, leaving both horse and human feeling stressed rather than fulfilled.
## What Does "Play" Mean with Horses?
Horse play doesn't look like dog play. As Gabi points out, we wouldn't want 600kg of exuberant horse leaping around us like an excited puppy! Instead, horse play is about:
- Creating lighthearted interactions
- Encouraging voluntary engagement
- Establishing clear communication
- Maintaining appropriate boundaries for safety
- Developing mutual understanding
Some of Gabi's favourite games include teaching horses to unroll carpets to find treats, distinguish between colours, play with balls, and even "dress themselves" by helping position their tack. These activities aren't just entertaining, they develop problem-solving abilities, build confidence, and strengthen the communication between horses and humans.
## The Benefits Go Beyond Fun
The benefits of incorporating play extend far beyond simple enjoyment:
1. **Mental stimulation**: In the wild, horses face constant problem-solving challenges, finding safe paths, crossing obstacles, and navigating social dynamics. Domesticated horses in square paddocks with predictable routines lack these mental challenges, leading to boredom and sometimes behavioural issues.
2. **Stronger connection**: "Connection comes from when the communication works, when the communication flows when we understand each other," Gabi emphasizes. Play creates opportunities for this give-and-take communication, building trust and understanding.
3. **Faster learning**: When horses enjoy their interactions with us, they learn new skills remarkably quickly. Gabi's horse Maserati "learns with the speed of light" because he finds joy in the learning process itself.
4. **Personality development**: Play allows horses to express their unique personalities and even their sense of humour. Gabi shares stories of horses inventing their own games or variations on tricks, demonstrating both intelligence and playfulness.
5. **Rehabilitation for shut-down horses**: For horses that have become withdrawn or mistrustful due to past experiences, playful interactions can help them rediscover their confidence and personality. Gabi's mare Salima transformed from a sceptical, shutdown horse to one who "dares to look at me... talks to me... sometimes dares to throw in a joke."
## Starting Small: No Arena Required
Many horse owners face challenges that limit their riding time; bad weather, lack of facilities, or simple time constraints. Gabi's "[No Matter the Weather](https://my.operationdreamhorse.com/pp8-no-matter-the-weather/curiouseequestrian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)" approach offers 77 games and exercises that can be done in small spaces, from shelters to driveways.
These activities range from simple stretches to complex problem-solving challenges, all designed to engage horses mentally while respecting their personalities and preferences.
---
**GIVEAWAY:**
Enter below for a chance to win access to Gabi’s ‘No Matter the Weather’ course
[Enter Giveaway](https://kingsumo.com/g/1vjg6z1/whatever-the-weather-course?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
---
## Respecting the Horse's Dignity
Perhaps most importantly, Gabi emphasizes that play should always respect the horse's dignity and natural inclinations. Unlike some "trick training" approaches that force horses into unnatural behaviours, genuine play builds on the horse's voluntary participation and unique personality.
"For me, the horse should always shine with dignity," Gabi explains. "Bring out the personality of the horse, that is the most important."
True magic happens when both horse and human find joy in their time together.
## Getting Started
Ready to incorporate more play into your relationship with your horse? Gabi offers these starting points:
1. **Take the pressure off yourself**: Let go of expectations for perfect performance.
2. **Match activities to your energy level**: On low-energy days, choose simple activities like finding your horse's favourite scratching spot. Save more complex training for days when you have more mental clarity.
3. **Create a connection ritual**: Gabi starts each session by walking around the arena with her horse, allowing both of them to settle, connect, and assess each other's energy.
4. **Follow your horse's interests**: Pay attention to what naturally engages your horse, and develop those activities rather than forcing behaviours they find uncomfortable.
5. **Start with simple games**: Try the carpet roll (hiding treats in a rolled carpet for your horse to find) or colour discrimination (teaching your horse to touch different coloured objects on command).
True magic happens when both horse and human find joy in their time together. As Gabi reminds us, "Why do I have a horse? I want to enjoy my horse time." By approaching our horses with a spirit of playfulness and curiosity, we create partnerships that bring out the best in both species.
### Miniature Horses as Athletes: From Rescue to Adventure Races
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/miniature-horses-athletes/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T15:59:42.000Z
## The Mission Behind Born to Run Adventure Racing
Chloe Phillips-Harris and Debbie Sutcliffe [Born to Run Adventure Racing](https://www.borntorunadventureracing.org/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), a charitable trust with an unusual mission: creating thrilling adventure races while advocating for the welfare of miniature horses. Their organisation manages a herd of 40 miniature horses that traverse hundreds of kilometres across stunning New Zealand landscapes alongside athletes, runners, and families.
What makes their work particularly special is that many members of their race team were once rescues, transformed from neglected, unhealthy animals into fit, happy adventure companions.
"I love seeing horses do what they're meant to do. And I love seeing horses perform at a high level," explains Chloe, whose background as a four-star eventer and Mongol Derby competitor gave her insight into just how athletic horses can be.
## From Problem Horses to Racing Athletes
The story of how Born to Run began reveals a common problem facing miniature horses. As Chloe describes it, "One of the things that people always used to try and do was give me miniature horses, especially miniature stallions. There were all these people who had picked up a cute miniature pony, and then it had turned into a demon. And then they'd try to offload it on me."
This scenario plays out repeatedly across the world. People acquire miniature horses without understanding their needs, proper handling, or management. When these horses develop behavioral issues or health problems, they're passed along or neglected.
The most common issues the Born to Run team encounters include:
- **Severe laminitis and obesity**: Many miniatures arrive with feet so overgrown and painful they can barely walk
- **Behavioral problems**: Particularly with stallions that haven't been properly handled
- **Social isolation**: Many have never lived in proper herds
- **Lack of purpose**: These horses are often kept as lawn ornaments with no mental or physical stimulation
## Rehabilitation: Physical and Mental
The rehabilitation process is intensive and individualized. For horses with laminitis, the team uses a gradual approach to trimming, soft surfaces for painful feet, and most importantly, movement.
"If they come with bad feet, we slowly adjust the trims. We don't go in there and do a really hardcore trim straight away," Chloe explains. "We just slowly start changing it."
For behavioral issues, especially with aggressive stallions, the process requires enormous patience. One example is Opie, a stallion who had been tied to a tree for years before rescue. When he arrived, he was so aggressive he would attack anything, even a statue.
"No exaggeration, it would have been hundreds of hours," Chloe says of Opie's rehabilitation. "I think of all the training I've put into horses, and Opie has probably had more training and more time put into him to rehabilitate him than any other horse I've ever worked with, miniature or full size."
The team focuses on helping horses find calm, first around humans and then around other horses. All rescued stallions are gelded once they're stable enough for the procedure, addressing the surplus of miniature horses.
## Discovering Athletic Potential
Perhaps most surprising to newcomers is just how athletic these small horses can be. During the team's 100-kilometer races, the miniatures consistently impress with their stamina and heart rate recoveries.
"We had one stallion that was incredibly, incredibly horse-aggressive when he came," shares Debbie. "The hours that we all put into him to just get him to the point where he could be safe enough to be handled, to be gathered, and then work through all his horse aggression issues and his behavior issues to the point where he even could be handled by other people, and then as well as getting fit and then get to the race... there's been some really incredible turnarounds."
One of their less athletically-built miniatures, described as waddling "like a duck," completed 88 kilometers in 24 hours with a heart rate never exceeding 56 beats per minute - remarkably low for such exertion.
## The Track System: A Key to Health
A critical element in both rehabilitation and training is movement. Debbie has created an innovative track system on her property where the miniatures must travel significant distances between hay, water, and shelter.
"I have 19 of them that live on the race. There's lots of different lanes where they have to come backwards and forwards," she explains. "They get to go out in the big paddocks because they are doing lots of training at the moment. But they do basically have their water and their hay at different places, so they have to walk."
This constant movement, combined with interval training to elevate heart rates, helps keep the miniatures fit and healthy without needing to severely restrict grazing - a common challenge for miniature horse owners.
## Preparing for Adventure
The Born to Run team organizes multiple events throughout the year, including their signature 100-kilometer race held over Easter. During these events, participants are paired with miniature horses, often having no prior equine experience.
"When we do our 100K race, we have a training session the evening before," Chloe explains. "We give them basically a crash course: run beside the pony, don't wrap the rope around your hands, give it a click to make it go, and pull on the rope to make it stop."
Despite this minimal instruction, the miniatures excel at taking care of their human partners. The team carefully matches horses with participants based on fitness levels and experience, pairing their most competitive miniatures with serious runners and their steadier horses with walkers.
What's remarkable is how the horses' enthusiasm inspires their human companions to push further than they expected. "How many people say, 'Oh, I can't do 100K, but I'll sign up and maybe I'll just do the first day or two.' But they get so carried away because the pony's having fun, and they're having fun, and they're having this great adventure with this cute animal - and they do the whole hundred."
## Changing Perceptions
Perhaps the most important aspect of Born to Run's work is changing perceptions about miniature horses.
"There is a reputation that I hear all the time - people call Shetlands 'shitlands,'" notes Chloe. "And that reputation of them being bitey, kicky, reary, naughty, antisocial creatures becomes normalized. Everyone thinks, 'Oh, that's what they're like.'"
The Born to Run team proves this stereotype wrong every day. Their 40+ miniatures - most former "problem horses" - are now well-behaved, enthusiastic athletes that safely interact with complete strangers during races.
"I think normalizing good behavior," Chloe says when asked how to change miniature horses' reputation. "We have 35, we might have more than 35 horses in our care at the moment. Most of those have come as naughty stallions, and they are all beautifully behaved, calm, lovely horses to be around."
## Beyond New Zealand
While Born to Run is based in New Zealand, they've expanded their reach through virtual events that allow miniature horse owners worldwide to participate. These events, typically run during spring and autumn, encourage owners to get out and explore with their miniatures, sharing photos and experiences with a global community.
"We do virtual events all around the world. We have lots of people from the UK join us, and from Sweden and the States," Debbie explains. "Each year we run a couple of months of the year, normally around the autumn and springtime, around the laminitic time."
## The Magic of Miniatures
When asked what makes miniature horses so special, both women light up with enthusiasm.
"They're like everything amazing about horses, but in a pocket-sized package," Chloe explains. "They've got such courage and such heart and such determination and just such funny personalities. I just wish people could see how much courage they have as well. They're just unstoppable little machines."
Debbie, who never expected to become a "miniature horse person," finds their loyalty most endearing. "They just become such faithful little friends... They just are amazing little companions. They really do become like the dogs - they just become such faithful little friends."
## A Model for Miniature Welfare
Born to Run Adventure Racing offers a compelling model for miniature horse welfare globally. By giving these small equines purpose, proper care, and the chance to use their natural athleticism, they've transformed not just the lives of the horses in their care, but the perception of what miniature horses can achieve.
Their approach tackles the root causes of miniature horse welfare issues: lack of purpose, improper management, and misunderstanding of their physical and behavioral needs. And they do it while creating joyful experiences that connect people with horses in a wholly unique way.
As Chloe puts it, "I think they give people a connection with horses that they'd never have otherwise, which I think is really, really special."
---
*For more information about Born to Run Adventure Racing or to join their virtual events, visit their website at borntorunadventureracing.org or follow them on Instagram and Facebook at Born to Run Adventure Racing.*
### What your horse is telling you through ears, eyes and nose
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-communication-ears-eyes-nose/
Last updated: 2026-02-21T17:17:44.000Z
The horse has in total 5 sensory systems, and these consist of neural pathways via sensory receptors and sensory perception. They are linked to certain parts of the brain using the nervous system associated with hearing, vision, touch, taste and smell. With regards to the horse in this particular training program, and in terms of behaviour and psychology, I will briefly explain my personal observations supported by some scientific facts.
## **THE EARS**
All you have to do is spend 5 minutes watching how a horse uses his ears. It is quite a remarkable set-up. It is possible for the horse to have one ear lay dormant while one ear listens, and it is also possible for them to have one ear listen one way, and the other, another way. They can rotate each ear about 180º degrees and are perfect little radars built ultimately for herd instinct, communication and survival.
Similar in tone and range to a human, they can hear low and high frequencies:
Human = 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Horse = 14 Hz – 25 kHz
If we put together the fact that they can move their ears independently and in the direction of where a noise is coming from, it is incredibly advanced and one can only imagine when a horse is in fight or flight mode, coupled with adrenaline pumping in their system, how it is greatly enhanced.
I mentioned in my first indie published book ‘The horse that broke two legs’, that it is and only is an anthropomorphic thought, that when a horse's ears are forwards, they are happy. A prime example is when photos are taken. One cannot argue it certainly looks very pretty, but please know the difference - they are simply focused and listening forwards, it does not mean they are happy. Furthermore, I am not making the assumption that what I talk about here is obvious to everybody, because it is not. You only have to read comments on social media to see what people’s thoughts are of how they perceive what a happy horse looks like!
When a horse is relaxed, his ears are a great indicator of that in combination with a relaxed body. The ears will lay softly centred or one may rest slightly forwards and one slightly back. When a horse is unrelaxed the ears will be darting backwards and forwards searching for sounds, and the body will be unrelaxed. The horse will try to position his head and nose in the direction of whatever it is scaring them OR in the direction of escape.
When they are listening to something behind them, the ears will be facing backwards and slightly upright. Quite quickly, they will turn their head and their body so they can have a forwards focus with their ears, eyes and nostrils towards the stimulus, or as mentioned, they will blindly look for an escape.
When a horse is uncomfortable, momentarily agitated or does not understand something, they can and do lay their ears flat back, and if you watch the rest of the face and their expression, this also determines their thoughts in that moment.
When a horse is content, perhaps eating, grooming a herd member, drinking or doing something where they feel incredibly safe, the ears lay slightly backwards and to the side, and in that moment, are not a primary active sensory system. I am not saying they are not listening, but I do believe they do not feel it is necessary to be on high alert, therefore save some sort of energy during those moments by focusing on the now, like the eating or grooming.
It is also possible that a horse can be over relaxed, even when they are moving their feet with a rider on top. Although, it is nice if the ears of the horse are not the primary sensory system during those times, and indeed, it is a good indicator that they are relaxed. What I personally do not like to see is a horse being trained and his ears are so relaxed that they simply flop in their place, almost up and down. I am not stating that it is entirely a bad thing; it is certainly better than the horse being tense or unrelaxed. However, it is good to recognise that there is a chance the horse has mentally shut down, might not be mentally engaged and almost robotic in some sense. There is also a chance he is not communicating with the human on board. This is seen as commonplace, for example, in *some* riding school horses; where they have the same routine day in and day out, and have learned to be quiet, patient, and in many cases, they do not necessarily need to be mentally engaged. Unfortunately, this is also the case in standard training where the horse is subject to the same routines and patterns over and over and they also become less mentally engaged.
Finally, in relation to the ears, when a horse is calling in distress, they can have their ears fixed forwards in the direction they are calling, or the ears will dart backwards and forwards especially when they are listening for a response. The body will turn and follow, usually unrelaxed if free to do so.
How horses use their voice is quite limited. They actually do not use their vocal chords very often. I encourage you to stand and listen at your barn, and ask yourself what do you hear? Not much perhaps, if the horses are relaxed and content. When we hear a horse calling it is going to be an almost accurate indication that the horse is stressed or calling for friends, or similar. Either that, or it is a learned response where the horse associates a human with food, or they use it as an acknowledgement of food via a routine of feeding times and alike. For the rest, which I will not go into here, I hope by being reminded of some of these things and also the things not discussed too, will fall into place and just make logical sense.
For you, what is important right now is to understand that during this or any training program for that matter, if the horse runs over the top of you because they got scared, you know why. Please also know that with good basic handling and leading skills, even when the horse is super afraid, they will do their very best to *not* run over you. Whatever the outcome, do your best to not blame them and try to see the build-up of what might happen before it happens. Be their eyes, be aware of your surroundings, not to the point of paranoia or not trusting but to the point that if, for example, a horse broke loose and came running towards your horse, your perception of this happening before it happens helps you logically think how you can best handle the situation, and in return also help y
our horses.
## **THE EYES**
The eyes of the horse are incredibly fascinating. I hope you enjoy these interesting facts:
- Excellent vision (more advanced than ours)
- In humans 20/20 vision means we can identify an object 20 feet away (a horse has 20/30)
- Their eyeball is the largest of any land mammal
- They have binocular vision in an area of about 65º seen with both eyes at once (mostly designed to lock onto long distance)
- Binocular vision in a human is about 180º and contributes to depth perception (horses do not have a great depth perception)
- Monocular vision is about 285º (both eyes are used separately and increases the field of vision)
- They have peripheral vision (this means wide range)
- Their vision is designed to detect movement, and that is why they become fearful of things that remain still, or were moving and became still
- They do have blind spots (their forehead, directly above, between their ears, over the top of their neck and down their back. Also, directly down their nose, under their chin and behind their tail)
- The retina is larger compared to a human (an area at the back of the eyeball containing cells sensitive to light which sends nerve impulses via the optic nerve to the brain)
- They can see better in the dark than us (it just takes them a bit more time to adapt from light to dark, hence why they can be unconfident going in light to dark, or vice versa)
- They are not colour blind per-say (they are limited to blue and yellow, or this colour range in variation)
- It is said that they cannot distinguish red or green (or these colours in variation)
- They do have an iris and pupil but it is elongated rather than round (its function is also different to a human’s)
- They have built in sunshades along the upper edge of the pupil (called Corpora-Nigra which open like an umbrella and helps reduce overhead glare of light and the sun)
- When a horse is relaxed they tend to use their monocular vision, but when they are afraid, especially of something in the distance, they tend to switch to their binocular vision
- When they are eating grass or are in a position of eating (their field of vision tends to be directly at the ground or the area in front of them)
- During complete relaxation and also when eating, they can have a vacant expression (meaning it is possible they are not using their vision at all, like staring or gazing)
Although the horse has many strengths in his eye-sight compared to ours, because of the way they use their brain which is different to humans, comparably it can also act as a weakness. This is an important clue and is key information when working with them. They are not like us and we certainly are not like them.
For centuries, humans have been pulling horse’s heads in with tools or finding ways to get control of the horse’s head because the feeling they have, whether they know it or not, is to not let the horse use their binocular vision so as to keep their attention. This also gives the human a false sense of security in believing it keeps the horse confident, and in some cases, obedient. There is right in this and there is a wrong in this.
## **THE NOSE**
Since the nose is an incredibly important part of the horse to understand, I have placed it into two different categories:
### **THE NOSE - BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION**
Their range of smell is far more advanced than ours, but not as advanced as a dog. They use their sense of smell to identify things like food, other horses and predators. The sense of smell is so good in horses that they can tell when there is medicine in their feed or a change has been made. They will then, and depending on their instinctual need or a decision made in that moment, decide whether they shall proceed to eat it or not. Horses commonly referred to as ‘fussy eaters’ are not this way entirely out of choice. It just means they are very smart and do not necessarily need to eat exactly what we are offering them.
Another scenario is that they have been spoiled with so many goodies each day that they make a mental decision that one food tastes better than the other, so why should they eat the one that smells and tastes less nice. Especially if there is enough food around to the point the horse knows they will not starve anytime soon. A horse does not usually eat something that smells bad, but what we might perceive as smelling bad, can be completely different to what a horse’s perception of smelling bad is.
### **THE NOSE - COMMUNICATION FUNCTION**
If we can recognise that the horse can use their nose in terms of detecting smell and checking what they want to put in their mouth, it is important that we recognise they also use their nose as part of their language and as part of their communication to touch things.
When a human physically bullies another human, they might be inclined to push or poke intentionally by using their hands to do so. If they wanted to be extra defensive or mean, they could use an elbow or a shoulder and even kick with their legs. A horse when he is confident, dominating and speaking out uses his nose much the same way. They will do this with their herd mates and also to their humans. When a human gets some sort of control over the nose, the horse can then proceed to push perhaps with the shoulder, rest of the body or worse still, kick out. Sound familiar? This kind of situation is complex but I will do my best in words to get across what is important.
When a horse bites on you, pulls at your zipper, pulls at your pockets, they are telling you something! They are telling you that they are in your space and that you obviously don’t mind, so they will keep doing it. If the horse is already in your space, it is actually too late, you let them in now and are set up for a conflict to try and get them out. Perhaps, now you are going to say ‘get out’. It is a bit unfair in some respects because you let it happen, keep letting it happen and the horse purely thinks that is what they are allowed or supposed to do. *A little tip:* horses tend to take us less seriously when we break the rules. They can also become afraid of you if all of a sudden you tell them to get out. Either that or they can become less interested. *The secret is to not let them in your space in the first place.*
A horse in your space does not mean they love you more, it also does not mean your relationship will be stronger. Especially if the horse has come into your space without you inviting them to! It is how they come into your space that is the most important scenario. The best is by an invitation from you, or by you stepping into their space instead. Perhaps, for that cuddle you crave or to rub them on the forehead, etc. For me, what is most important from the initial moment I meet a horse is the first approach between us. It is also the monitor and key to my next steps in that communication.
I like it when the horse comes to me from personal choice or an invitation. What I do not want and do not need is the horse busy pushing on me, walking over my toes and so forth. A great relationship building goal for you and your horse starts when you first meet each day. My advice is to get things so good that your horse comes, waits and helps you put the halter on without pushing in your space. This is a great and simple set-up, and helps your horse take you more seriously if you do need to correct or teach them something. Then of course, the horse knows with his nose. It teaches you to not break the rules. The rules are the language and anything outside of that is confusing to them, or you can teach them to simply not care in the end. Horses only break rules when we do.
Where we have to get things good is when the horse has learned that they can come into their humans’ space and this communication needs to be changed. This means preventing them from coming into your space. It is not always possible if the human is less handy or a bit weak in their energy and timing. But it is possible if there is consistency and the promise is kept. Feeling sorry for a horse because they cannot come in your space is something you have to figure out. With all of this information combined if you can see, if they are pushing you with their nose, they are not really thinking about anything else. So if you are trying to teach them something and they are busy with their nose, the likelihood of your training session being successful is greatly reduced because you do not have their attention.
Some horses have gotten so good at pushing their humans around and it does not have to be big either, it can also be the smallest of gestures; that when the horse starts to learn they cannot push with their nose anymore, some not all, will then proceed to test this with a shoulder and sometimes with a front leg. Predominantly, and in 95% of cases, this is stronger on the left side. In rare cases, I have also seen horses then try to kick with the hind legs because now they know with the front end it is not possible so will test another way. Usually, when all of this is resolved, the horse succumbs to a mutual understanding that when in Humansville this is not acceptable, and if taught well with relaxation and confidence, it becomes unquestionably resolved. Unless of course the human breaks the promise.
## **MY CONCLUSION OF THE SUPER SENSORY SYSTEMS**
In my personal observations, I have noticed that a horse's hearing is the primary sensory system. Secondary is smell and maybe touch. Vision is connected when required simply to see where they are going (of course), out of curiosity and the decision or need for flight or fight. These three functions can change in a nano second according to their thoughts, needs and the environment. It does not mean the horse is using their smell or vision in that order all of the time, but what I do mean is that when the horse feels the need to fight or flight, it usually comes in that order.
- If the horse is relaxed, their ears and body are soft and they do not feel the need to use their eyes to focus on something, you have got yourself a horse ready to learn something. The nose should also remain politely confident.
- If they are busy pushing you around with their nose, they are just busy with their nose, so they are probably not concentrating on anything else. This means they are not in a good place to learn what you want to teach them.
- If they are busy playing with the lead rope or pawing at the ground because they know they cannot push with their nose or are limited to be able to do so, they are not in a good place to learn also, and sometimes these kinds of behaviours need more understanding and time.
- If they are walking you from A to B or you are dragging them from A to B, they are also not in a good place to learn.
- If it is windy and your horse is tense because of it, their super sensory systems (ears and nose) are now limited, and the one true system they can rely on is their vision. Usually, when a horse feels the need to look and use its vision, especially the binocular vision, this automatically triggers adrenaline (fight/flight). The wind does not allow the horse to hear too well, they cannot smell too well either, or at all, so vision is the final resort.
This is why relaxation and confidence are important. The big question then is how do we ask the horse to trust us and do their best to remain calm and/or ready to learn even when it is, for example, windy? Well, apart from knowing what you have just read which will help immensely, we then need to learn how to ask the horse to relax via communication. We also need to keep our promise and understand that if the horse is busy with his nose towards his human and they have no control of that, then there is a big chance they do not have control over the nose when the horse is afraid, and the same when teaching them something.
We need to understand, nurture and have some sort of message (and control) over the nose. Remember, the nose is without a doubt a great indicator of how the horse feels at any moment. All of this can be taught very easily to the horse in their basic education during haltering, leading, standing and tying by keeping the head and neck relaxed and having a way to communicate to the horse how to relax.
---
[**Zoë Coade**](https://www.getgoodwithhorsescourses.com/zoe-coade/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) **|** Horse Professional, Content Creator, Instructor, Coach, Author and Poet.
_This post is for subscribers only._
### Beyond Bridles: Understanding True Liberty Horsemanship with Zoë Coade
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/understanding-liberty-horse-training/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T15:54:23.000Z
In the evolving world of equestrian practice, liberty horsemanship stands as one of the most profound yet misunderstood approaches to building a genuine partnership with horses. Far from the trick training that often comes to mind when we hear "liberty work", horses rearing on command or bowing for applause, True Liberty represents something much deeper: a conversation between species based on trust, relaxation, and mutual understanding.
Zoë Coade, founder of Get Good With Horses joined us on Curious Equestrian to discuss this transformative approach to horsemanship. Her insights challenge conventional thinking and offer a fresh perspective on what's possible in the horse-human relationship.
## What Is True Liberty?
"True Liberty is when I go into my bubble and every communication that I ask from the horse is returned in a conversation," explains Zoë. Unlike traditional horse training or even trick training that relies heavily on food rewards, True Liberty focuses on communication and developing a herd-of-two instinct.
Zoë distinguishes between two fundamental approaches to training:
**Reward-based training** (often used in trick training):
- Uses treats or goodies as incentives
- Essentially "tricks" the horse into performing actions
- May create dependency on treats for compliance
**Communicative training** (the foundation of True Liberty):
- Based on release for effort
- Encourages horses to solve puzzles using their brains
- Builds on the horse's natural instincts
- Creates a conversation rather than a transaction
"A successful True Liberty session should be like watching paint dry," Zoë notes. "Everything should just be really slow, easy. The horse feels great... It should be unified and very beautiful, and the horse should not be nabbing at your pockets every five minutes for the cookie because it's now performed its task."
This approach creates what Zoë describes as an "energy flow"—a connection so tangible that observers can see and feel it, even if they can't necessarily explain what they're witnessing.
## Breaking Through Barriers: Zoë's Journey
Zoë journey into True Liberty work wasn't without challenges. She recounts her experience with her mare Mia, the subject of her award-winning book, "The Horse That Broke Two Legs and Survived."
After moving to the Netherlands in 2005, Zoë found herself working 72-hour weeks, leaving little time for Mia. The once-close relationship deteriorated to the point where the mare would chase Code across the field, making her feel physically ill at the prospect of retrieving her horse.
The turnaround came through consistent groundwork and dedicated time, rising at 5:30 am to work with Mia before going to her office job, then returning to the stables at 7 or 8 pm. The transformation wasn't instant but required fundamental changes:
1. Stopping self-pity
2. Respecting the horse as a species
3. Getting proper education
4. Committing consistent time
5. Rising in hierarchy above the herd dynamic
This experience proved transformative not just for Mia but for Zoë herself, setting her on a path that would define her approach to horsemanship.
## The Science of Trust: Understanding Horse Psychology
One of the most insightful aspects of Zoë's approach is her emphasis on understanding horse psychology and physiology. Her explanation of the brachiocephalicus muscle (what she calls the "flight-fight muscle") offers a practical example of how True Liberty principles translate to safer, more connected horsemanship.
This muscle runs along the horse's neck, and when engaged, it indicates tension and the presence of adrenaline in the system. "When that muscle is tense," Zoë explains, "you can bet your bottom dollar that there is adrenaline in their system, and then only the shuffle of a leaf or somebody's clapping their hands, the horse is going to spook."
Teaching horses to relax and lower their heads disengages this muscle, the foundation of building trust. This principle explains why Western-trained horses, traditionally ridden with lower head carriage, are often perceived as braver and more reliable: "They never had the opportunity to raise their heads to get flight."
By contrast, practices that keep horses' heads artificially high or overly flexed (what's sometimes called "rollkur" or "low, deep, and round") force the horse to operate in a state of tension, with limited field of vision and compromised relaxation.
## Horses as Horses: The Species-Specific Approach
Perhaps the most fundamental principle in Code's philosophy is remembering that horses are horses, not humans in horse bodies. This may seem obvious, but the tendency to anthropomorphise our equine partners often leads to misguided approaches.
"Sometimes we forget to look at them as a species," Zoë observes. "The anthropomorphism gets a bit too strong." While loving our horses isn't the issue, treating them as if they think, perceive, and process emotions like humans can create confusion and undermine training efforts.
Code shares amusing examples: a client who allowed her horse to play with (and ultimately destroy) an expensive coat, and another who prevented her horse from rolling to keep its blanket clean. These extreme examples illustrate a broader point about recognising and respecting horses' natural behaviours and needs.
Horses are, in Zoë's view, "species-specific thinkers," with distinct ways of perceiving the world that differ dramatically from human perception:
- They primarily see us as silhouettes rather than detailed forms
- They are masters of body language, often anticipating our requests before we make them
- They have very different relationships to pain and fear
- They live in hierarchical social structures that shape their responses
Understanding these differences doesn't diminish the horse-human bond but rather strengthens it by allowing for clearer, more effective communication.
## Getting Started with True Liberty
For those inspired to try True Liberty principles with their own horses, Zoë suggests starting with something seemingly simple but profoundly important: learning to lead properly.
Traditional riding schools often teach children to lead horses from behind, with the horse following. While this may work for lesson horses conditioned to the routine, it doesn't build the connection needed for True Liberty work. Instead, Zoë recommends:
1. Having the horse walk beside you, where you can see their face and read their expressions
2. Being mindful of rope and stick positions and how they communicate different messages
3. Understanding how pressure toward different parts of the horse's body creates different responses
4. Starting with clear positioning: the horse should be an elbow's distance away, neither pushing into you nor lagging behind
"If you can master that," Zoë explains, "you're already changing the way your horse perceives you. They'll take you more seriously, and you can already practice the first elements of 'stay with me.'"
This seemingly basic exercise sets the foundation for more advanced liberty work, establishing the communication patterns and mutual respect necessary for true partnership.
## The Future of Equestrian Practice
Zoë sees promising signs that True Liberty principles are gaining traction in the broader equestrian world. She notes that natural horsemanship recently ranked third in a survey of favorite disciplines in the Netherlands, a position unimaginable just five years ago.
Publications traditionally focused on competitive disciplines are increasingly featuring groundwork and liberty articles, and major events now showcase liberty demonstrations. In countries like Denmark, competitive classes using neck ropes rather than bridles are becoming established.
Beyond competition, however, Zoë's deepest wish is for a fundamental shift in attitudes: "I really hope that people start to realise that you don't need gadgets. The bigger the bit ain't gonna help ya."
She makes a poignant observation: if horses could scream like dogs when in pain or distress, many common training methods and equipment might already have been abandoned. "If horses could scream," she notes, "we would already not be training them half the way they're getting trained today."
## Conclusion: The Path Forward
As equestrians seeking deeper connections with our horses, Zoë's insights offer a valuable roadmap. Liberty isn't just a training method but a philosophy, one that places horse welfare, clear communication, and genuine partnership at its centre.
The journey begins with seeing horses as they truly are, not as human-shaped entities but as complex beings with their own ways of perceiving and interacting with the world. From there, it's about building trust through consistency, learning to read and respond to subtle cues, and creating a space where both horse and human can thrive.
For those interested in exploring True Liberty principles, Zoë can be found across social media as Get Good With Horses, and through her website [getgoodwithhorsescourses.com](https://www.getgoodwithhorsescourses.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). Her approach offers not just better performance but something far more valuable: a profound connection with these remarkable animals who share our lives.
As we move forward in our equestrian journeys, perhaps the most important question isn't what our horses can do for us, but what kind of relationship we want to create with them. True Liberty offers one path to an answer—one based on mutual respect, clear communication, and the joy that comes from true partnership.
Bonus videos for our inquisitive herd, courtesy of Zoë Coade
### Rupert Isaacson on Equine Assisted Therapy and the 'Horse Boy' Method
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/equine-therapy-autism-horse-boy-rupert-isaacson/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:20.000Z
Rupert Isaacson didn't set out to create a revolutionary equine therapy program for autism spectrum disorder. The journalist and lifelong horseman was simply following his autistic son's lead when three-year-old Rowan ran under the hooves of Betsy, a neighbour's quarter horse mare. What happened next changed everything.
"Whatever line he had to her was completely different to what I understood the human relationship with horses to be. This is on a whole other level."
Instead of spooking at the child, Betsy gently pushed other horses away, backed off, and began to explore Rowan with her muzzle. Isaacson observed something remarkable passing between them, a direct line of communication that defied everything he thought he knew about horse-human connections.
"There was this direct thing passing between them," Isaacson explains. "Whatever line he had to her was completely different to what I understood the human relationship with horses to be. This is on a whole other level."
## The Accidental Discovery
When Rowan was diagnosed with autism at age three, the prognosis was bleak. He had regressed at 18 months, losing words and seeming to float away. Doctors offered little hope, and therapies were expensive with uncertain outcomes.
Isaacson, applying his journalistic instinct to ask questions rather than accept defeat, sought advice from [Dr. Temple Grandin](https://www.templegrandin.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Her advice became his north star: follow the child, get out in nature, and let them move.
It was during one of those nature outings, a foraging expedition, that Rowan encountered Betsy. Soon, daily visits to the horse became part of their routine, with Rowan lying on her back while she grazed, his typically agitated behaviour suddenly calm.
The breakthrough moment came during their first ride together, with Rowan sitting in front of his father in a Western saddle. As they rode past a pond, a blue heron took flight, and Rowan said, "Heron" —appropriate, communicative speech that his speech therapist had deemed unlikely just days earlier.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## The Science Behind the Magic
What Isaacson didn't understand at first, but later learned from neuroscientists, was the profound effect that specific horseback movements were having on his son's brain.
"Through no intelligence of your own," one neuroscientist told him, "you've accidentally stumbled into a way to turn off what neuroscientists call the cell danger response of the brain."
The collected, rhythmic movements of the horse, particularly the soft, rocking motion of collected gaits like the Western jog or gentle lope, were triggering the production of oxytocin, the antidote to cortisol (the stress hormone that inhibits communication and learning).
Isaacson explains: "It's these collected rhythms because what they're doing is they're rocking the hips in such soft rhythm that they're causing the body to produce the antidote hormone to cortisol, which is oxytocin."
This oxytocin effect, combined with the production of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which Isaacson describes as "miracle growth for the brain," created optimal conditions for learning and communication.
## Horse Riding Therapy: The Mongolia Journey
Isaacson's observations led to a radical decision, a horseback journey across Mongolia to visit traditional shamanic healers. This adventure, documented in his book and film *The Horse Boy*, wasn't about "curing" autism but about following the path that seemed to be working for his son.
"When you find that God has put his boot or her boot to your arse and kicked you firmly outside the box, you're going to look for outside-the-box stuff, because you are no longer in the box," Isaacson says.
During their Mongolian journey, Rowan connected with shamanic healers. After their final healing session in remote Siberia with a reindeer herder shaman, Rowan experienced a breakthrough, his first intentional toileting, a moment Isaacson compares to "watching England win the World Cup."
"It's always a play date. What kid wants therapy? The therapy should be invisible to the kid."
## Beyond Therapy: A Philosophy of Following
What began as a father's quest evolved into a comprehensive approach that goes far beyond traditional therapy. Isaacson emphasizes that their methods aren't about forcing children onto horses but creating environments where connection can happen naturally.
"We never call the sessions therapy," he says. "It's always a play date. What kid wants therapy? The therapy should be invisible to the kid."
This approach extends to the entire family. Siblings get their own activities, riding lessons if they like horses, or football coaching if that's their preference. Parents connect with other parents, finding community and sharing information.
The horses themselves live largely natural lives, moving freely between shelter and pasture, and enjoying varied work that includes not just therapy sessions but dressage, jumping, trail riding, and what Isaacson calls "crazy time"—loose schooling with obstacle courses that keep them mentally stimulated.
## Dressage in Nature: Rethinking Tradition
Isaacson's experience has transformed his own relationship with horses, leading him to develop a program called "Dressage in Nature" that takes classical training out of the arena and into the world.
"We just go out and we'll take beautiful pictures of you, like piaffing under that lovely tree or doing your tempi changes coming up that lovely hill with the old church behind you," he explains. "And just play with it and have fun with it."
This approach reflects his belief that arenas, while useful for specific training purposes, can be inherently pressure-filled environments. By contrast, taking dressage into nature transforms it from a stress-inducing discipline into a joyful art.
For those who must use arenas, Isaacson suggests creative transformations—turning them into "forests" with disgared Christmas trees, or creating "beaches" complete with towels, let your imagine run and create fun spaces for humans and horses.
## The Horseboy Method
Today, Isaacson's approach has evolved into three distinct but related programs:
1. **The Horseboy Method** \- Using horses to help children with autism and their families
2. **Movement Method** \- Achieving similar results without horses, using movement in nature
3. **Takhine** \- Preparing horses for therapy through groundwork, lunging, and long-reining
With over 100 locations worldwide, these programs maintain the core principles Isaacson learned from Dr. Grandin: follow the child, work in nature, and keep moving.
"If it had been about balloons and bicycles with him, I'd have done that," Isaacson says of his son. "And the book would have been called the Balloon Boy."
## Beyond "Cure": A Different Understanding
Now 23, Rowan leads a fulfilling, independent life, travelling alone across the Atlantic, working in a state park, volunteering at a food bank, and occasionally helping his father with trainings.
"Rowan is still autistic. He'll always be autistic to the day he dies," Isaacson emphasizes. "But he's brilliant... and totally functional at the same time. It's a parallel path."
This perspective reflects Isaacson's broader philosophy: the goal isn't to eliminate autism but to alleviate suffering and unlock potential.
"You're not looking to stop the autism at all because the autism is brilliant. It's amazing. It's fantastic. There's so many qualities and gifts in it," he says. "What you're trying to do is alleviate suffering."
## Equine Therapy: Horses as Healers for Autism
For those interested in exploring this path, Isaacson offers a recommendation that seems to encapsulate his entire approach: don't limit yourself to just one method.
"If you're going to want to do some sort of equine-assisted thing, we're absolutely here to help you, but we're certainly not going to say you should only do our programs," he says. "No, you should do about five or six different ones."
This openness to multiple approaches reflects the fundamental insight that has guided Isaacson since that first moment between Rowan and Betsy—sometimes, the most profound connections happen when we follow, rather than lead.
*For more information about The Horse Boy Foundation and Rupert Isaacson's equine therapy treatments for autism spectrum disorder, visit* [*New Trails Learning Systems*](https://ntls.co/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) *or* [*Helios Harmony*](https://heliosharmony.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)*. These therapeutic riding programs offer support for autistic children and their families through evidence-based equine assisted therapy approaches.*
### Painted Anatomy: How Gillian Higgins Reveals the Inner Workings of Horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horses-inside-out/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:21.000Z
[Gillian Higgins](https://www.horsesinsideout.com/about-gillian?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) is revolutionizing how we understand horses - painting anatomical structures directly onto living horses to reveal what's happening beneath the skin. As founder of [Horses Inside Out](https://www.horsesinsideout.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), she combines her passions for horses, anatomy, and art to educate equestrians about how understanding a horse's internal structures can improve their health, performance, and well-being.
In our conversation, Gillian shares how her unique approach to teaching equine anatomy evolved, why understanding basic biomechanics is crucial for every horse owner, and how simple exercises can dramatically improve equine posture and movement.
## The Origin of Painting Horses
Gillian began painting skeletons on horses in 2006, initially for a small workshop at her local livery yard. "I started off just doing some workshops for my clients to answer many of the questions I was getting. My mum was a primary school teacher and had some kiddie paint in the shed at home, so I just used a little bit to indicate where things were," she explains.
What began as simple dots and circles evolved into full skeletal paintings when Gillian wanted to illustrate movement. "I thought, I know, I'll put a skeleton on," she recalls. That first attempt was completed in just 30 minutes - a stark contrast to the six hours she now allocates for painting two horses for her lecture demonstrations.
This initial experiment snowballed into something much larger. "Every event or little demonstration I did led to another one. It just happened," she says. "When you're passionate about something and you pour all your energy into it, it just works."
It is up to us as horse owners, horse riders, horse lovers... to do as much as we possibly can to make sure that they are fit, in good condition, and prepared and ready to do whatever we ask of them.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
## What We Can Learn From Anatomy Paintings
One of the most common revelations for viewers of Gillian's painted horses concerns neck anatomy. "When I first started years ago, people would say, 'I didn't realize the neck vertebrae were there. I thought they ran along the top of the neck,'" she explains.
In fact, the neck vertebrae are positioned lower than many assume. This makes biological sense - the head and neck account for 10% of a horse's total body weight (4% head, 6% neck), requiring strong muscles and ligaments along the top of the neck to support this weight against gravity.
Understanding this anatomical reality helps explain why certain head and neck positions are better than others - whether in training or everyday activities like feeding. It also illustrates how a horse's nuchal ligament (a strong elastic structure running along the top of the neck) serves as an energy-saving mechanism.
## The Responsibility of Riding
Though horses weren't specifically designed to be ridden, Gillian explains that their backs have evolved to carry weight - primarily the weight of their digestive system.
"The contents of the digestive system would weigh approximately 150 kilograms in a 500-kilogram horse," she notes. "That weight is designed to be slung underneath the horse's back. So although I say a horse isn't designed to be ridden, it is designed to carry weight."
This doesn't absolve riders of responsibility, however. "It is up to us as horse owners, horse riders, horse lovers... to do as much as we possibly can to make sure that they are fit, in good condition, and prepared and ready to do whatever we ask of them."
Books available in the Curious Equestrian Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/curiousequestrian
## Pilates for Horses
Gillian has developed a comprehensive [Pilates program specifically for horses](https://www.horsesinsideout.com/pilates-for-horses?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), containing 74 exercises designed to improve core strength, posture, and movement.
"Getting the right exercise for your horse to stimulate muscles that are potentially weak is really important," she explains. "If you want a healthy body, you need to stretch muscles that are short and tight, and strengthen muscles that are long and weak."
These exercises don't have to be time-consuming. Many can be integrated into daily routines:
- Walking horses over raised poles on the way to and from the field
- Backing up while leading to the arena
- Using treats to encourage specific stretches
- Incorporating exercises during grooming
"I'm a big advocate of trying to fit things into the routine," Gillian says, "so that we get as much out of it as possible."
## The Art and Science of Painting Horses
Creating anatomically correct paintings on horses requires deep knowledge and precise technique. "You've got to know your subject to be able to either describe it or draw it," Gillian explains.
Her paintings aren't generic - they're tailored to each individual horse. "Every painting that I do, I feel for the bony landmarks to make sure that that horse's skeleton is correct for that horse," she says. "If we've got two or three horses, obviously their skeletons are all different."
The process takes six hours and requires special materials. "I use water-based hypoallergenic non-toxic paint," Gillian says. After a demonstration, the paint washes off easily - "put the hosepipe on them and it'll be off in the time it takes to wash them."
Our standards have gone up. We want our horses to have the best possible lives.
## The Horse-Human Connection
Beyond the technical knowledge, Gillian emphasizes how understanding anatomy can deepen our connection with horses. "If a horse is misbehaving or not performing well at something, there's something either within their body - musculoskeletal discomfort, they're in pain somewhere - or somewhere along the line, the training's not quite right, maybe the tack doesn't fit," she explains.
By understanding anatomy and biomechanics, we can better interpret what our horses are telling us, leading to improved well-being and performance.
"I think we nowadays really understand more and more about horses," Gillian reflects. "Our standards have gone up. We want our horses to have the best possible lives."
### Rethinking the Traditional Riding School: How Think Like A Pony is Transforming Young Lives
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/rethinking-the-traditional-riding-school/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T15:33:11.000Z
The memory still brings a smile to my face: a crisp Yorkshire morning, the wind gusting across the hills, and an atmosphere of calm that seemed to emanate from every corner of the facility. When Anna Louise first interviewed Lynn Henry for our podcast last year, both of us found ourselves reflecting on our own early riding school experiences. Those conversations sparked our curiosity - could there be a different way to introduce children to horsemanship? Armed with cameras and microphones, we set out to discover how Think Like A Pony is reimagining the traditional riding school model.
What we found was remarkable. In an era when many equestrian centers buzz with competitive energy and rushed lessons, Think Like A Pony offers something different.
## **A Comprehensive Approach**
***"If you can make a pony feel calm and happy, then you can make anybody feel calm and happy,"***
While many riding schools focus solely on technical skills or competitions, Think Like A Pony recognizes that true horsemanship requires both precise technique and deep understanding. Students learn correct riding methods alongside the crucial skills of reading equine body language, developing clear communication, and building genuine connections with their mounts.
"If you can make a pony feel calm and happy, then you can make anybody feel calm and happy," explains Henry. This philosophy enhances riding instruction, creating riders who understand both the 'how' and 'why' of proper horsemanship.
## **Excellence Through Understanding**
The center's approach to teaching riding skills is methodical and thorough. Students learn the importance of correct position, clear aids, and proper technique. However, they also discover how their own emotional state and body language affect their horse's responsiveness. This comprehensive understanding allows them to achieve better results through cooperation rather than force.
During a demonstration, Henry explains, "When I use my voice, my voice has to bring the same authority, that same connection, that same calmness." She emphasizes the importance of being "grounded and powerful" while maintaining softness.
***self-confidence, the ability to stop, to pause, to think, to make plans.***
## **Transforming Young Lives**
Jo Backhouse, who works in special educational needs safeguarding, has been bringing students to Think Like A Pony for seven years. She's witnessed remarkable transformations in children struggling with various challenges, from ADHD to selective mutism. The center's structured approach to both riding and horsemanship provides these children with clear frameworks for success.
"The list is endless," Backhouse says of the benefits she's observed. "The big one is confidence, self-confidence, the ability to stop, to pause, to think, to make plans." These skills enhance not only their riding but their overall development.
## **Building Skills Through Connection**
At the heart of Think Like A Pony's approach lies a fundamental truth: respect for self, respect for others, and taking responsibility for one's own actions. This ethos shapes every aspect of their programs, from basic handling to advanced riding skills.
Students learn practical strategies that enhance both their horsemanship and personal development:
- Controlled breathing techniques that calm both rider and horse
- Conscious body language that communicates clear intentions
- Voice control that conveys confidence and authority
- Understanding of equine communication and herd dynamics
The center's impact is powerfully illustrated through students like Eva, who discovered not just horsemanship skills but a deeper sense of purpose through working with horses. By learning how ponies communicate and form relationships, students develop invaluable skills that extend far beyond the arena.
## **Comprehensive Programs**
Think Like A Pony's structured approach includes:
- [Holistic riding school](https://substack.com/redirect/d18cbb61-ac32-4da3-b2b1-9426a92199c3?j=eyJ1IjoiMnFtMjhnIn0.Vc8uZi3bKWB8H6ko7sX41aOcUcTaL1q7dsGdnyTDRII&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) programs combining technical excellence with emotional intelligence
- [Youth development initiatives](https://substack.com/redirect/4ed0e2fd-47aa-4cc4-b7ae-487937ec8690?j=eyJ1IjoiMnFtMjhnIn0.Vc8uZi3bKWB8H6ko7sX41aOcUcTaL1q7dsGdnyTDRII&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) for personal growth through horsemanship
- [Empowered Parenting courses](https://substack.com/redirect/0e12b96b-f0ac-4251-bf80-8338538ccbd3?j=eyJ1IjoiMnFtMjhnIn0.Vc8uZi3bKWB8H6ko7sX41aOcUcTaL1q7dsGdnyTDRII&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) that extend equine-learned skills to family dynamics
- [Online horsemanship Club](https://substack.com/redirect/0cc97797-1528-44fe-956f-0bc10251629d?j=eyJ1IjoiMnFtMjhnIn0.Vc8uZi3bKWB8H6ko7sX41aOcUcTaL1q7dsGdnyTDRII&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) connecting children nationwide
- Specialized support for vulnerable children referred through Leeds City Council, schools, and NHS mental health services
***This approach doesn't just produce better riders - it helps develop more emotionally intelligent, responsible young people***
## **Setting New Standards**
Think Like A Pony demonstrates how riding schools can nurture deeper understanding. Through their nationwide network of freelance instructors and online resources, they're spreading this holistic approach beyond their Leeds headquarters.
By teaching children to understand how ponies think, communicate, and form relationships, they create an environment where personal growth and riding skills develop naturally together. This approach doesn't just produce better riders - it helps develop more emotionally intelligent, responsible young people.
Watching the children work with their ponies that morning, I couldn't help but wish such a place had existed when I was learning to ride. Think Like A Pony shows us what's possible when we combine riding instruction with genuine understanding - creating spaces where both children and ponies can truly flourish.
Below is the full podcast episode with Lynn.
A McCaffrey Productions Film for Curious Equestrian
**Producer** \- Theresa McCaffrey
**Presenter** \- Anna Louise Claydon
**Videography** – Adam Rhodes
*Special Thanks To Think Like a Pony CIC for welcoming us to their facility in Leeds, Yorkshire UK*
**Featured Participants**
Jo Backhouse - Special Educational Needs Safeguarding
Eva & Eva's Mum
Caitlin & Millie...
### Horse Training the Evidence-Based Way with Lucy Butt
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/equine-behaviorist-lucy-butt/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T11:09:31.000Z
Talk into any stable yard, and you'll hear the familiar chorus: "That's just how we've always done it." But Lucy Butt, an equine behaviourist whose career sprouted from a childhood bond with a frightened show pony, is quietly dismantling these age-old assumptions about horse training—one scientific paper at a time. Reflecting on her pre-university mindset, Lucy says, "I thought I knew everything. And then my world completely changed." This transformation to an evidence-driven professional makes Lucy's approach so compelling. Where traditional methods often rely on pressure and release, Lucy's toolkit includes terms like "LIMA" (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive) and discussions about the neuroscience of equine learning.
## **Breaking the Mold: From Theory to Practice**
The horse world loves its traditions, but Lucy's methods challenge conventional wisdom without dismissing it entirely. Take the simple act of asking a horse to walk forward. While most riders instinctively squeeze with their legs—a negative reinforcement technique—Lucy demonstrates how horses can learn the same cue through positive reinforcement, using target training and carefully timed rewards.
"It's the difference between dragging someone along versus gently guiding them," she explains, making complex behavioural science accessible through everyday metaphors. Here's how she transforms this concept into practice:
From Pressure to Choice: A Training Example
1. Begin by teaching the horse to touch a target (like a cone) with their nose
2. Initially reward generously with low-value food (such as chaff) to establish the behaviour
3. Progress to moving between two targets, introducing a verbal cue like "walk on"
4. Gradually increase the distance between targets
5. Phase out the targets while maintaining the verbal cue
While requiring more initial setup, this method creates a horse that moves forward willingly without physical pressure. "When we give horses clear communication and choice," Lucy explains, "they become more confident learners."
## **The Winter Challenge: Practical Solutions**
When Anna Louise and Lucy start talking about winter, Lucy's passion really shows. After all, these dark, wet months are when UK horse owners face their toughest challenges. With increasingly erratic weather patterns and shrinking land availability, the traditional approach of reducing turnout during wet months creates a welfare crisis that Lucy confronts head-on.
**Making the Most of Limited Turnout** Lucy offers several strategies for owners facing turnout restrictions:
**Evening Turnout Advantage**
- Turn out in the evening instead of morning for longer overall outdoor time
- Typical 8am-3pm turnout: 7 hours
- Evening turnout (4pm-8am): 16 hours
**Stable Enrichment Ideas**
- Create multiple hay stations around the stable to encourage movement
- Use treat balls designed for horses
- Make DIY foraging boxes using cardboard boxes filled with hay and hidden treats
- Install horse-safe lick mats to reduce stress
- Vary feeding heights and locations to mimic natural grazing patterns
**Arena Access Solutions**
- Schedule structured walking time if arena access is available
- Create simple obstacle courses for mental stimulation
- Use target training exercises in confined spaces
## **Case Study: Transforming Anxiety into Confidence**
Lucy shares the story of a client's horse who demonstrated severe separation anxiety and stable-bound stress behaviours. "This mare would box-walk constantly when stabled and become extremely agitated when separated from other horses," Lucy explains. Here's how they addressed it:
**Environmental Changes:**
- Repositioned stable so the mare could see other horses
- Created multiple hay stations to encourage natural foraging
- Installed a mirror to reduce isolation stress
**Training Progression:**
- Started with brief separations while engaging in target training
- Gradually increased duration using positive reinforcement
- Developed confidence through choice-based exercises
After six weeks, the mare showed significant improvement, with reduced stress behaviours and improved independent confidence. "The key was addressing both the environmental and psychological aspects simultaneously," Lucy notes.
## **Youth in a Traditional World**
At first glance, Lucy's age might seem like a barrier in an industry that often equates experience with years lived. Yet her academic knowledge and hands-on experience—from working with rescue horses to training in America—bring a fresh perspective to age-old challenges.
"The more you know about horses, the more you realize you don't know," she reflects, a statement that carries more weight coming from someone who's dedicated their life to continuous learning rather than settling into comfortable assumptions.
## **Looking Ahead: The Future of Horsemanship**
Twice a week, Lucy heads to Remus Horse Sanctuary, where the harsh realities of modern horse ownership are impossible to ignore. Fields that once housed horses are being swallowed up by development. Feed bills are soaring. And rescue centres are bursting at the seams as owners face impossible choices during the cost-of-living crisis.
Despite these stark realities, Lucy remains hopeful. When she talks about her work at Remus, you can hear the passion in her voice - especially when describing how small changes can make a big difference. She's not interested in telling people they're doing everything wrong. Rather, she takes what already works and adds a scientific twist. "The horse world is full of good traditions," she tells us. "We just need to understand why they work, and sometimes, how they could work better."
## **The Path Forward**
That frightened little show pony who started Lucy's journey is still with her today - they've grown up together, both turning 23 this year. In many ways, their story mirrors the evolution happening in the horse world. Just as Sam taught Lucy there was more to learn beyond traditional methods, a new generation of horsemen and women are discovering that science doesn't replace good horsemanship - it helps explain why it works.
In an industry often resistant to change, Lucy represents a new generation of professionals who are as comfortable discussing neuroscience as they demonstrate practical skills. Her work suggests that the future of horsemanship lies not in choosing between science and tradition but in finding ways to blend both approaches for the benefit of horses and humans alike.
### Lessons from a Life in Horse Breeding
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/lessons-from-a-life-in-horse-breeding/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:22.000Z
The story of Jeanette Gower begins with a teenage girl who simply wouldn't take no for an answer. Armed with library books and an unshakeable determination, she chose to ignore the naysayers who insisted she'd never succeed at breeding horses. Five decades and over 300 foals later, her Chalani Stud demonstrates what happens when passion meets persistence.
Curious Equestrian on Spotify
In our latest episode, Jeanette takes us back to her first encounter with horses—being placed on a two-year-old polo pony with no prior experience. This sparked a journey that would reshape Australian horse breeding practices.
What strikes me most about Jeanette's narrative isn't just her success, but how she arrived at it. Jeanette's approach has always centred on one fundamental question: What's best for the horse?
This philosophy manifests in surprising ways. She keeps her horses in paddocks rather than stables, feeds them simply without elaborate supplements, and maintains detailed records of every foal born. She vets potential buyers and even asks about horse floats (trailers), not as a status check but to ensure emergency veterinary care is accessible.
Her stance on the "forever home" myth is particularly thought-provoking. While many sellers promise forever homes, Jeanette argues this concept does more harm than good. Life is unpredictable – illness, accidents, or financial hardship can force even the most dedicated owner to rehome their horse. Instead of clinging to this unrealistic ideal, she advocates for creating robust support networks and maintaining traceability throughout a horse's life.
Perhaps most refreshingly, Jeanette tackles the thorny issue of responsible breeding head-on. "If you can't sell horses, don't breed," she states plainly. This might seem harsh, but it cuts to the heart of a serious welfare issue. Too many horses are bred without consideration for their future, leading to neglect, abandonment, or worse.
Curious Equestrian on YouTube
This commitment to preservation while questioning tradition echoes through her recent Substack article "Back to basics - Preserving the Legacy of the Working Horse" (December 12, 2024). There, she tackles a fundamental challenge: how to maintain the qualities that made working horses invaluable – durability, intelligence, and sound disposition – in an era where fewer horses work full days on ranches.
> "Breeding for a 'using horse' isn't just about selecting the right stallions or mares," she writes, "it's about embracing the values that guided programs like the King Ranch."
[Back to basics - Preserving the Legacy of the Working HorsenullREFLECTIONS ON 50+YEARS OF HORSE BREEDING](https://jeanettegower.substack.com/p/breeding-the-tough-using-horse)
This philosophy mirrors the conversation about the evolution of breeding practices over her 50-year career, where she's consistently prioritized substance over show ring flash.
Looking ahead, Jeanette hopes her legacy will endure not just through her horses but also through the knowledge she shares. Her message is clear: successful breeding isn't about producing the most foals or the flashiest colours—it's about creating healthy, well-adjusted horses with bright futures.
As the conversation winds down, she confesses with a laugh that she's "addicted" to breeding horses. But unlike many addictions, this one has produced something remarkable – a blueprint for ethical, sustainable horse breeding that puts welfare first.
For those interested in learning more, Jeanette shares her insights through her newsletter "[Thinking Horse Breeder](https://thinkinghorsebreeder.chalani.net/resources/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)" and her books, including the internationally acclaimed "[Horse Colour Explained](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/horse-color-explained-a-breeder-s-perspective-jeanette-gower/1473832?aid=4745&ean=9781626541313&&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)." Her latest e-books tackle practical aspects of horse buying and selling, continuing her mission to educate and inspire responsible horsemanship.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
### Horse Healing with Margrit Coates
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-healing-with-margrit-coates/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:26:33.000Z
When was the last time you approached your horse without wanting anything? No training goals, no competition prep, just pure presence? It's a challenging question in today's achievement-focused equestrian world, but one that lies at the heart of Margrit Coates' approach to horse healing.
## The Accidental Pioneer
Margrit's journey into horse healing began with a simple request from a terminally ill client: could the peace she found through healing be extended to her horse? This question led to a startling discovery – not a single book existed about healing specifically for animals. Rather than see this as a roadblock, Margrit saw an opportunity.
What followed seems almost mystical: two insistent cats, a cleared desk at Random House Publishing, and a series of "coincidences" that would lead to her groundbreaking book Healing for Horses—the first of its kind in the world.
## What Horse Healing Really Means
"Healing is not about performing miracles," Margrit emphasizes. There's no promise of eternal life or instant fixes. Instead, it's about something more fundamental: recognizing horses as spiritual beings and connecting with them on a soul level.
The process is deceptively simple:
- Gentle hand contact or sometimes no touch at all
- Complete inner stillness
- No agenda or expectations
- Working through unconditional love
- Allowing the healing energy to flow naturally
## Beyond Traditional Care
One thing becomes clear in conversation with Margrit: horse healing isn't about replacing conventional care. Every client must confirm veterinary consultation before she'll begin work. "I'm not going to get involved with horses suffering that might simply need a new farrier or teeth done," she states firmly.
This grounding in practical horse care, combined with her emphasis on energy and connection, creates a bridge between conventional medicine and complementary healing. It's not either/or – it's both/and.
## The Transformation Process
The results can be profound. Margrit shares a recent example from the Netherlands, where a mare carrying years of trauma showed remarkable transformation. Within days, photographs revealed the shift from distant, sad eyes to a bright, engaging presence. "She's calling to people now," her caretakers reported, describing a horse who had rediscovered joy in connection.
## Breaking Down Barriers
Perhaps most surprisingly, Margrit suggests that healing ability isn't limited to a gifted few. "Everyone can do this with the right mindset," she asserts. The key lies in approaching horses without an agenda, through unconditional love rather than performance demands.
What stands in our way? Often, it's our modern lifestyle. "We're all connected to our phones 24/7," Margrit observes, noting how this constant connection paradoxically disconnects us from deeper awareness. Her workshops require participants to switch off their phones – creating space for a different kind of connection.
## The Simple Question That Changes Everything
At the heart of Margrit's approach lies a disarmingly simple question: "Who are you?"
When she asks this of horses, something profound happens. "That instantly makes a difference," she explains, "because that horse might never have been seen as a spiritual being."
She shares a poignant story of a traumatized mare at a rescue centre. Kneeling beside the horse, Margrit simply said, "I see you. I know you."
Whether you embrace the concept of energy healing or not, there's undeniable value in Margrit's core message – the importance of approaching horses with genuine presence, without immediate goals or demands.
## Looking Forward
In an era where equestrian sports face increasing scrutiny over welfare concerns, Margrit's approach offers a valuable perspective. She challenges us to question not just how we train our horses, but how we relate to them at the most fundamental level.
"Let's step into our highest power," she urges, "of being a species that understands this." It's an invitation to move beyond the mechanical approach to horsemanship that dominates much of the equestrian world towards something more profound – a connection that transforms both horse and human.
After all, who knows what might change when we stop asking, "What can you do for me?" and start asking, "Who are you?"
## A Note for the Skeptics
If terms like "energy work" and "soul connection" make you raise an eyebrow, you're not alone. As curious equestrians, we value critical thinking and evidence-based approaches. But strip away the terminology, and what remains is a fundamental truth that any horse person can appreciate: our everyday rushing, agenda-driven interactions with horses often get in the way of truly seeing them. Whether you embrace the concept of energy healing or not, there's undeniable value in Margrit's core message – the importance of approaching horses with genuine presence, without immediate goals or demands. Even the most pragmatic among us might find that taking a moment to simply be with our horses, free from expectations, opens up new possibilities in our relationships with them.
---
[Find Margrits Book in our Bookshop.org store](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780712601382?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
*Want to learn more about horse healing? Margrit teaches workshops internationally, including upcoming sessions in the Netherlands and Czech Republic. Her groundbreaking books, including "*[*Healing for Horses*](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9780712601382?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)*," "Horses Talking," and "Connecting with Horses," have been translated into multiple languages and continue to influence the field of animal healing worldwide.*
**Social Media** Instagram: @margrithealer
**Website**: margritcoates.com
### RDA Success Story: How Therapeutic Riding Transformed One Rider's Life
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/rda-uk-therapeutic-riding-success-story/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:56:23.000Z
When Bryony Moss first discovered the [Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA)](https://rda.org.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), she never imagined how profoundly it would change her life. Today, behind her home, a miniature farm bustles with life—a testament to that transformation. Ducks quack their morning greetings, chickens scratch in the yard, and goats peer curiously over their fences. At the heart of this menagerie stands Lola, a miniature horse whose presence represents far more than just another animal in Bryony's growing family—she symbolizes a remarkable journey from RDA beginner to advocate.
"The first time I went on a horse, it was too high up, I was petrified," Bryony recalls. That initial trepidation could have defined her relationship with horses forever. Instead, it became the first step in a transformative journey that would reshape her life.
Through the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), Bryony discovered that riding could be more than just a sport—it became her therapy. Without stirrups, she learned to rely on core strength, transforming physical challenges into opportunities for growth. "It's like physio for our body," she explains. "My hamstrings are quite tight because of my cerebral palsy, so being on the horse and letting the horse give me that motion really helps me to stretch out all my ligaments."
The connection between horse and rider transcends physical benefits. These sensitive creatures possess an almost supernatural awareness of their riders' needs. "I can have a seizure, and the horse will literally stop," Bryony shares. "He'll know I'm having a seizure before I even know I'm about to have it, and he'll just stop and not budge. He'll only walk on when he knows I'm safe."
Para-dressage emerged as Bryony's chosen discipline, a pursuit she describes as "dancing with your horse." From regional competitions to nationals, her journey exemplifies the sport's power to transcend physical boundaries. Her experience riding Paralympic horses like Lambrusco, whom she describes as "the most gentlest little giant," reveals the extraordinary precision and trust required at elite levels.
Yet the equestrian world faces significant challenges. Since 2018, over 250 riding schools have closed, eliminating more than 1.5 million opportunities for people to discover the transformative power of horses. "The prices of just a normal riding lesson are insane now," Bryony observes. "I have loads of people say to me, 'I really want to learn, I just cannot afford it.'"
Beyond accessibility, Bryony challenges deeper misconceptions about who belongs in the equestrian world. As a South Asian woman with disabilities, she advocates for broader representation: "It doesn't matter where you come from, what you look like, you can have these opportunities."
For Bryony, horses provided sanctuary during difficult times. "When I was getting bullied, it was my safe space. The horses accepted me for me," she reflects. "I say to my mum and dad, I would not be here if it wasn't for the horses and the people at RDA. I would not be here."
Her dreams extend beyond personal achievement. "One day I'd love to have my own RDA stables," she shares, envisioning a future where she can offer others the same life-changing opportunities she received. Currently preparing for international para-dressage competitions, Bryony embodies the determined spirit that defines the curious equestrian.
Through social media [(@defeating\_disability)](https://defeatingdisability.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), Bryony connects with others facing similar challenges, building a community that extends far beyond the arena walls. Her documentary about living with cerebral palsy, PTSD, and anxiety opens important conversations about invisible disabilities and the healing power of human-equine partnerships.
"There's no one way to be disabled," Bryony emphasizes, challenging preconceptions about both disability and equestrianism. Her journey reminds us that transformation often begins with a single choice to face our fears—and perhaps climb back into the saddle one more time.
### Nature's Answer to Sweet Itch
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/natures-answer-to-sweet-itch/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T16:57:05.000Z
For the estimated 30% of horses suffering from skin conditions in the UK, sweet itch represents one of the most challenging allergic skin conditions owners face. Also known as summer seasonal recurrent dermatitis or insect bite hypersensitivity, this allergic reaction to midge saliva can transform even the most placid horse into a constantly itching, uncomfortable companion.
"The clinical signs can be heartbreaking to watch," shares ethnobotanist Jane Acton from her straw bale barn in Devon, where she runs [Common Flora](https://www.commonflora.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), a social enterprise dedicated to organic herb cultivation and natural remedies. "When you see a horse with severe itching, rubbing their mane and tail until there's broken skin and hair loss, you understand why owners are desperate for solutions."
## Understanding Sweet Itch: More Than Just an Itch
Sweet itch symptoms typically emerge when horses are exposed to biting midges, particularly the Culicoides midge, whose saliva triggers an intense allergic reaction. The resulting skin irritation leads to:
\- Constant itching along the mane, tail, and belly
\- Bald patches from excessive rubbing
\- Thickened, irritated skin
\- Hair loss, particularly affecting the mane and tail
\- Raw or broken skin in severe cases
"What many people don't realize," Acton explains, "is that sweet itch sufferers face challenges beyond just the physical symptoms. The intense itching can affect their behaviour and overall well-being, especially during midge season when biting insects are most active at dawn and dusk."
## When Traditional Meets Scientific
Acton's journey to treating equine skin conditions began with an Icelandic horse named Proffi, whose sweet itch had stubbornly resisted conventional treatments, including steroid creams. With a BSc in plant biology and an MA in environmental anthropology, Acton approached the problem through both scientific and traditional lenses.
"Although horse skin is thicker than ours, it's still mammalian skin," she explains. "Sweet itch might be equine-specific, but there are human conditions with similarities – like severe eczema and psoriasis. The plants that help these conditions have been tried and tested for millennia."
## Natural Sweet Itch Treatment: The Power of Simple Solutions
Her solution? A deceptively simple combination of just three organic ingredients that work together to provide sweet itch relief:
1\. **Marigold (calendula):** "Marigold is your supreme soother," Acton explains. "If the skin's inflamed and raw and itchy, it instantly soothes it."
2\. **Comfrey:** Historically known as 'knit bone', it's rich in collagen, supporting the skin's natural healing process
3\. **Sunflower oil:** Creates a barrier that biting flies and midges "really don't want to get stuck on" while carrying the therapeutic compounds from the herbs
Acton advises using the treatment "sparingly but regularly over time" for horses with long-term conditions as part of a comprehensive management strategy.
## Beyond Chemical Dependencies: A Holistic Approach
This natural approach offers an alternative to the cycle of increasingly potent steroids. "Once steroids stop working, where do you go from there?" Acton asks. Her oil provides a gentler solution, though she emphasizes it should be part of a comprehensive sweet itch treatment plan including:
\- Proper use of [sweet itch rugs for physical protection](https://tidd.ly/49MK2BT?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
\- Environmental management (avoiding turnout at peak midge times)
\- Strategic placement of water sources away from muck heaps where midges breed
\- Appropriate feed supplements to support healthy skin
\- Natural insect repellents
## Learning from Our Horses: Nature's Wisdom
Perhaps most intriguingly, Acton suggests we might learn more by letting our horses guide us. "Our horses will know better than we do about what's good for them," she observes. This wisdom extends beyond treating conditions – it's about reconnecting with natural instincts that modern life has dulled.
For owners interested in exploring herbal remedies for their sweet itch horse, Acton recommends starting small and doing thorough research. "Cross-reference over two or three books or reference points," she advises. "Use websites that are local to the UK and respected."
## A Return to Traditional Wisdom in Modern Horse Care
Acton's approach represents a broader movement in equine care – one that balances modern understanding with traditional knowledge. In the Northwest of England, where she grew up, herbal medicine traditions never died out. "My great-grandmother was a herbalist," she shares. "Just a kind of domestic street herbalist. This was urban Northwest, post-industrial. It wasn't in the middle of nowhere in beautiful surroundings."
Today, from her Devon sanctuary where vulnerable people and plants find healing together, Acton continues this tradition. Her work reminds us that sometimes the most effective solutions for maintaining healthy skin aren't found in laboratories but in the wisdom of generations past and the natural world around us.
## The Science Behind Sweet Itch: What Research Reveals
\[References listed at end of article\]
While Jane Acton's natural approach draws on centuries of traditional knowledge, recent scientific research helps us understand why some horses suffer more than others. As Acton explains from her experience, "There seems to be an awful lot of horses with skin conditions, so... thirty percent of horses in this country have some sort of skin condition."
Her observation points to the widespread nature of equine skin issues, and research has revealed fascinating patterns in sweet itch prevalence and risk factors.
### Who Gets Sweet Itch and Why?
Studies indicate that approximately 10% of horses worldwide are affected by sweet itch, with genetics and environmental factors playing crucial roles in determining a horse's risk (UC Davis Center for Equine Health)\[2\]. A comprehensive study in Israel found that 21.8% of horses showed sweet itch lesions, with several notable correlations:
\- Higher altitude locations showed decreased prevalence
\- Male horses demonstrated greater sensitivity
\- Lighter-colored horses appeared less affected than darker ones\[1\]
Certain breeds show particular susceptibility, including Icelandic horses, Welsh ponies, and Shetland ponies\[2,7\]. This aligns with Acton's experience working with Proffi, an Icelandic horse whose severe sweet itch led her to develop her herbal treatment.
### The Immune System Connection
"Sweet itch is obviously an equine based problem, but there are human similarities," Acton explains. "Like eczema, really bad eczema and psoriasis are things that are difficult conditions for a lot of people."
Recent immunological research supports this comparison, showing that sweet itch involves:
\- Immediate skin reactions to Culicoides midge extracts in sensitive horses\[1\]
\- Presence of IgE antibodies and eosinophils across all disease models\[3\]
\- Transfer of maternal IgE antibodies against Culicoides allergens to foals through colostrum\[3\]
### Promising New Directions in Treatment
Current research explores various treatment approaches that complement traditional methods. As Acton notes, "What you're doing with more natural products is stopping that cycle of more and more chemicals, stronger and stronger steroids."
Scientific studies are investigating multiple approaches:
\- Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT), though with limited efficacy so far\[8\]
\- Targeting specific interleukins (IL-31 and IL-5) for symptom improvement\[5\]
\- Nutritional interventions showing promising results\[4\]
One notable study examined the effects of feeding micronized linseed, finding that horses receiving 500g daily for 42 days demonstrated reduced skin reactions to midge saliva\[4\]. This aligns with Acton's holistic approach: "Let the horse choose... if you can lead your horse around a wild area of hedge or grassland where there might be a wide variety of herbs... you'll learn from your horse."
### Traditional Wisdom Meets Modern Research
"Herbal medicine is, of course, what we've all done forever," Acton reminds us. "Animals will, in nature, seek out and find plants which help us." She points to fascinating examples: "I've got some land here and I've got a few thousand trees and one species of tree that I've planted is Scots pine and deer will jump high fences to get into the Scots pine just to rub their skin against it because it helps with tick bites."
This observation of animal self-medication behaviours provides an interesting parallel to current research into natural remedies and immune responses. As science continues to unlock the mechanisms behind sweet itch, it often validates traditional knowledge while opening new avenues for treatment.
## Looking Forward: Hope for Sweet Itch Sufferers
For horses suffering from sweet itch, Acton's work suggests embracing a both-and rather than either-or approach: respecting modern veterinary medicine while rediscovering traditional plant-based remedies that have served horses and humans for centuries. This combination of old and new wisdom might just hold the key to better management of this challenging condition.
---
## References
\[1\] Braverman Y, et al. (1983). Epidemiological and immunological studies of sweet itch in horses in Israel. Veterinary Record, 113(26), 521-524.
\[2\] UC Davis Center for Equine Health. Insect Bite Hypersensitivity.
\[3\] Mad Barn (2023). Sweet Itch in Horses: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.
\[4\] Science Supplements UK (2023). Sweet Itch in Horses: Management & Prevention.
\[5\] Cvitas I, et al. (2023). Immunological and Clinical Effects of Insol Dermatophyton. Vaccines, 11(8).
\[7\] Schaffartzik A, et al. (2012). Equine insect bite hypersensitivity: What do we know? Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 147(3-4), 113-126.
\[8\] Wageningen University & Research. Immunotherapies for Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH) in horses.
---
Note: Always consult with your veterinarian before starting any new treatment regimen for your horse's skin conditions. While herbal remedies can be effective, they should be part of a comprehensive care plan developed in conjunction with qualified professionals. For a complete poisons guide and information about potentially harmful plants, consult your veterinary surgeon.
### Rain Rot in Horses: A Complete Guide to Prevention, Treatment, and Management
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/rain-rot-in-horses-a-complete-guide/
Last updated: 2026-08-08T12:41:15.000Z
Rain rot ([**dermatophilosis**](https://www.msdvetmanual.com/horse-owners/skin-disorders-of-horses/dermatophilosis-rain-rot-in-horses?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)) is a common bacterial skin infection that affects horses, particularly during wet and humid conditions. This comprehensive guide will help you understand, prevent, and treat this uncomfortable condition effectively.
## What is Rain Rot?
Rain rot, also known as [rain scald](https://www.bhs.org.uk/horse-care-and-welfare/health-care-management/horse-health/equine-diseases/rain-scald/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or dermatophilosis, is a bacterial skin infection caused by Dermatophilus congolensis. This bacterium naturally exists on horses' skin as part of their microbiome, but excessive moisture can disturb this delicate balance, leading to infection.
### Understanding the Skin Microbiome
Your horse's skin hosts a complex ecosystem of beneficial bacteria that contribute to:
\- Natural immune defence
\- Skin barrier function
\- pH balance regulation
\- Protection against harmful organisms
The skin's natural oils and salt secretions typically keep these bacteria in check. However, prolonged exposure to moisture can disrupt this balance, allowing D. congolensis to overgrow and cause infection.
## Identifying Rain Rot
### Common Symptoms
\- Crusty, scab-like lesions
\- Matted or tufted hair
\- Hair loss in affected areas
\- Tender or sensitive skin
\- Most common locations: back, neck, head, and hindquarters
\- In severe cases, swelling and inflammation
### Risk Factors
\- Humid climate conditions
\- Prolonged rainfall exposure
\- Poor ventilation in stables
\- Compromised immune system
\- Ill-fitting or wet rugs
\- Poor grooming practices
## Prevention Strategies
### 1\. Environmental Management
\- Ensure proper shelter from rain
\- Maintain good ventilation in stables
\- Provide clean, dry bedding
\- Regular pasture rotation to avoid muddy conditions
### 2\. Grooming Practices
\- Daily grooming to monitor skin condition
\- Regular bathing with appropriate [equine shampoos](https://tidd.ly/4fpURuQ?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
\- Thorough drying after bathing or exercise
\- Special attention to heels and pasterns
### 3\. Rug Management
\- Use [breathable, waterproof rugs](https://tidd.ly/41Ht8mc?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) when necessary
\- Change wet rugs promptly
\- Clean and maintain rugs regularly
\- Ensure proper rug fit to prevent rubbing
---
[Guide to Horse Rugs: When, What and; How ManyHorse Rugs GuideCurious Equestrian](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/guide-to-horse-rugs-winter)
---
### 4\. Nutritional Support
\- Balanced diet rich in essential nutrients
\- Vitamin E and selenium supplementation
\- Omega-3 fatty acids for skin health
\- Zinc and biotin supplementation
## Treatment Options
### 1\. Immediate Care
1\. Gently remove scabs and crusts
2\. Clean affected areas thoroughly
3\. Keep the horse dry during treatment
4\. Consider isolating affected horses to prevent spread
### 2\. Natural Remedies
\- Tea tree oil solution (1:9 dilution with water)
\- Apple cider vinegar and baby oil mixture (50:50)
\- Betadine or chlorhexidine solutions
\- Natural antibacterial shampoos
### 3\. Medical Treatment
\- Antimicrobial shampoos
\- Topical antibiotics
\- Systemic antibiotics (in severe cases)
\- Anti-inflammatory medications if needed
### 4\. Follow-up Care
\- Regular monitoring of affected areas
\- Continued preventive measures
\- Strengthening immune system support
\- Maintaining clean, dry conditions
## When to Contact a Veterinarian
\- Severe or spreading infections
\- Signs of pain or distress
\- No improvement after initial treatment
\- Presence of fever or lethargy
\- Deep skin involvement
\- Multiple horses affected
## Long-term Management
To prevent recurrence, implement these ongoing practices:
1\. Regular skin health monitoring
2\. Seasonal preparation for wet weather
3\. Maintenance of proper stable conditions
4\. Routine grooming schedule
5\. Appropriate nutrition program
### From Track to Hurricane: A Story of Equine Love and Survival
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-owner-hurricane-preparation-cammie-story/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T17:06:13.000Z
Sometimes, the most extraordinary stories come from ordinary moments of courage. When former jockey Cammie Papineau brought her horses into her house during Hurricane Milton, she wasn't trying to go viral – she was simply following her heart. But her Facebook post struck a chord with horse owners worldwide, reminding us all of the lengths we'll go to protect our four-legged family members.
With tornadoes touching down in her area and Hurricane Milton approaching, she faced the kind of decision no horse owner wants to make
In our latest episode, Anna Louise sits down with Cammie to unpack not just the hurricane story but a lifetime of breaking barriers in the equestrian world. From her 22-year career as a professional jockey to her current pursuit of barrel racing, Cammie's journey is a testament to the unbreakable bond between horses and humans.
## When Nature Forces Your Hand
"I would rather pay for new flooring, new rugs, new whatever we had to do to protect these horses because they are my life," Cammie told us, recounting the moment she decided to bring her horses inside. With tornadoes touching down in her area and Hurricane Milton approaching, she faced the kind of decision no horse owner wants to make – but one many of us might encounter as extreme weather events become more common.
What happened next was remarkable. Her horses walked straight into the house "like they'd been waiting to come in." They settled into their temporary living room stable as if they'd been there all their lives. "I turned the light off," Cammie recalled, "and I never heard another peep from them all night."
The episode dives deep into practical hurricane preparation for horse owners, including:
\* Creating emergency evacuation plans
\* Assembling hurricane preparation kits
\* Understanding when to evacuate versus shelter in place
\* The importance of having identification on horses during storms
\* Considerations for building hurricane-proof barns
## Beyond the Storm
But this isn't a story about weather preparation. It's about our relationships with our horses. After spending the night in her house, her horses' behaviour changed – their bond deepened in ways she couldn't have predicted. The next morning, she found her young filly sleeping peacefully on the floor, with the other standing guard over her. A short time after the hurricane, her barrel horse won his first competition. "They've looked at me differently since then," she shared. "I know it sounds crazy, but they have."
## A Life Reinvented in the Saddle
Just when you think you know all there is to know about riding, life throws you a curve – or, in Cammie's case, a barrel. After 22 years of racing flat-out as a professional jockey, she took on the challenge of barrel racing. "I thought it can't be that hard," she laughed, telling us how she had to unlearn two decades of muscle memory and rebuild her riding style from the ground up.
Cammie spoke candidly about balancing motherhood with a high-risk career and the devastating loss of her best friend in a racing accident.
Her journey began at a small bush track in Union, Oregon, where she won her first race with her eyes closed – literally. "I don't think I opened my eyes till I was about halfway through," she chuckled, remembering her father's advice to "take two fistfuls of mane." That victory launched a remarkable career that would see her become one of the top female quarter-horse jockeys in the United States.
But it wasn't all victory laps and winner's circles. Cammie spoke candidly about balancing motherhood with a high-risk career and the devastating loss of her best friend in a racing accident. "There was several times that I struggled," she admitted, "but I think in life you have to do what you love and you have to do what you're passionate about and do it well."
## A Horse Girl at Heart
At her core, Cammie remains that same girl from a tiny town of 270 people who found her peace in the saddle. "If I have a bad day at work or I have a bad day in life, I go get on my horse, and it all goes away," she shared. Everything's good, and I can focus and look at the positive things."
P.S. If you found this episode valuable, please consider leaving us a review on your favourite podcast app. Your feedback helps other curious equestrians find our content.
### The Art of Horse Whispering
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-whispering/
Last updated: 2026-04-03T14:55:07.000Z
As we approach the close of 2024 and the first anniversary of Curious Equestrian, I've found myself reflecting on the conversations we've shared with leading voices in the equestrian world. One theme that consistently emerges is the fascinating intersection between what we call "horse whispering" and "natural horsemanship".
The Hollywood mystique surrounding "horse whisperers" – popularised by films and novels – has perhaps inadvertently created a barrier for many horse owners. It's painted a picture of an almost magical ability accessible only to a gifted few. Yet, through our conversations with trainers, behaviourists and experts over the past year, a different narrative has emerged: one that speaks to the attainable nature of these skills when approached with patience, dedication, and genuine curiosity.
I've observed how this mystification can deter passionate horse owners from exploring what is, at its core, a deeply practical and learnable approach to horsemanship. The distinction between "horse whispering" and natural horsemanship often seems to blur – perhaps because they share the same fundamental principles of understanding, respect, and clear communication.
Through the insights shared in our podcast episodes this year, we've discovered that this approach isn't about possessing mysterious powers but rather about developing keen observation skills, emotional intelligence, and a willingness to see horses as they truly are – not as we imagine them to be.
## Understanding Horse Whispering
The term "horse whisperer" gained widespread recognition following Nicholas Evans' novel and the subsequent film starring Robert Redford.
The practice of horse whispering extends far beyond Hollywood portrayals. Horse whispering is about understanding horse psychology and developing communication based on trust and mutual respect.
"We can never be recognised as their leader because we are human, not horse," explains Melanie S Watson, founder of Instinctive Horse Training. While we might not be "part of the herd" in the literal sense, we can still earn trust and build a strong bond through natural horsemanship techniques.
## The Science Behind the Whispers
Despite its mystical-sounding name, horse whispering is grounded in solid principles of equine behaviour. Rachel Draaisma, a horse trainer and behavioural consultant, provides insight into the subtle language of horses:
"Calming signals could be chewing, licking and chewing, showing hindquarter, showing flank. It could be head lowering, ear lowering. It may be sustained lowering. It may be turning the head away, turning the neck away. It might be looking away. So there are many signals."
Traditional horse training often relied on dominance, but horse whisperers take a different approach.
Equine relationship specialist Andrea Wady advocates for a more balanced partnership, stating, "I don't want to use violence and too much dominance." She emphasises that horses "mirror us to a certain degree" and reflect our own emotions and energy.
## Equine Ethology: Unlocking the "Horseness" of the Horse
Equine ethology is the scientific study of horse behaviour in their natural environment. It provides invaluable insights into their innate instincts, social structures, and communication patterns. It helps us grasp the concept of "telos"—as coined by veterinary ethicist Professor Bernard Rollin—meaning the "horseness of a horse" or the essence of their being.
"Observing horses in their natural habitat reveals a more authentic representation of who they are". Explain Bonny Mealnd, "By studying their interactions within herds, we can better comprehend their complex communication systems, intricate social hierarchies, and the profound impact of social connections on their overall well-being."
## Building Trust and Communication
Success with horses lies in establishing trust. Renowned horseman Warwick Schiller offers a profound perspective: "When people look at a horse, a lot of times, and they can't see the horse, you see your perception of the horse, and you see your hopes, your dreams... Sometimes, we don't see the horse."
Professional equestrian trainers who embrace these methods focus on:
- Reading horses' body language with acute awareness
- Developing clear non-verbal communication
- Maintaining consistent positive reinforcement
- Fostering mutual respect through patient interaction
As Elsa Sinclair astutely observes, "Horses actually want to do things with us. That's the big thing I'm trying to do: You don't have to coerce them into doing things. If you can go about it the right way, they want to do things with us." This profound insight challenges the common misconception that horses must be made to comply with human wishes, instead suggesting that willing partnership is not only possible but natural when approached correctly.
## The Future of Natural Horsemanship
Any equestrian can embrace these techniques if they choose to. There's no mystery to horse whispering; we just need to be curious and challenge the status quo.
### Horse Lameness: A Revolutionary Approach to Detecting Pain in Horses
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/horse-lameness-a-revolutionary-approach/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:24.000Z
Have you turned to your fellow horse owners in the yard and uttered, "Does my horse look right?" or "Does my horse look lame"? I certainly have or had others say things like, "He looks a bit footy," I nod along, not wanting to admit that I don't know the subtle signs of lameness. Well, no more. Dr Sue Dyson is changing all that.
For Dr. Sue Dyson, understanding equine lameness became a forty-year quest to revolutionise our understanding of how horses express pain.
What started as clinical observation at the highest levels of equestrian sport has evolved into a groundbreaking system for lameness diagnosis that's transforming how we evaluate horses for pain and challenging everything we thought we knew about "problem" horses.
And, most importantly, it's something any horse owner can learn and use, empowering us all with the knowledge to better care for our horses through improved hoof care and gait assessment.
## Understanding Horse Lameness: Beyond the Traditional Lameness Examination
When most equine veterinarians perform a lameness examination, they focus on obvious signs: the horse's abnormal gait, limb movement, and response to flexion tests. But Dr Dyson's journey reveals a more complex story. "I've been a veterinarian for many, many years," she shares, her voice carrying the weight of countless clinical examinations, "it's been very clear to me for a long time that people were rather poor at recognising lameness. And that includes not just riders and trainers, but also veterinarians, saddle fitters, across the board."
Her perspective is unique: not just as an equine orthopaedic specialist and researcher who has published over 370 peer-reviewed research papers but as someone who has lived both sides of the story. Her own horse, Kenvara, jumped clear in the Olympics in 1988 and 1992.
This combination of clinical expertise and practical experience led her to realise that traditional lameness evaluation methods were overlooking critical signs of equine pain in both the forelimb and hindlimb.
It gives voice to what many horse owners have felt in their gut but couldn't prove: their lame horse was trying to tell them something was wrong.
## Revolutionary Approach to Lameness Detection
Dr Dyson describes the catalyst for her research. "I was witnessing firsthand the influence that pain can have on performance," she explains. "And because people were slow to recognise lameness, they would tell you to bring the horse for lameness investigation when problems had been present for many, many months, if not years."
This observation led to her groundbreaking study identifying 24 key behaviours that indicate pain in ridden horses. Her documentary on the subject, "The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain," has captivated over 420,000 viewers worldwide, not because it's revolutionary science (though it is), but because it gives voice to what many owners have felt in their gut but couldn't prove: their horse was trying to tell them something was wrong through changes in their trot and overall gait.
## Advanced Lameness Diagnosis: Moving Beyond Basic Assessment
Dr. Dyson addresses a fundamental issue in veterinary medicine. "Most veterinary surgeons were taught at vet school to deal with all sorts of animals," she explains, choosing her words carefully. "They never received specialist training in lameness diagnosis or poor performance evaluation." This gap in education has resulted in many cases of chronic lameness being misdiagnosed or, worse, dismissed as behavioral issues.
But there's a deeper problem. Traditional lameness exams often focus solely on physical symptoms—the horse's response to nerve blocks, reaction during flexion tests, and gait during a trot-up. Dr. Dyson's research reveals that lameness investigation needs to encompass a much broader spectrum of observations, especially when assessing hindlimb lameness which can be particularly difficult to detect.
It's about understanding the entire biomechanical chain of events that leads to poor performance, and the relief that comes with knowing we can take proactive steps to prevent injury.
## Common Causes of Horse Lameness
Through her decades of clinical experience, Dr. Dyson has seen how soft tissue injuries, ligament damage, tendon problems, and even subtle gait abnormalities can manifest in ways that traditional examinations might miss. "The longer a horse has been uncomfortable," she emphasises, "the more likely it is to develop secondary lameness. It's going to stiffen its back, it's going to lose muscle, it may overload another limb and therefore develop lameness in another limb."
This cascade effect explains why many cases of subtle lameness eventually develop into more severe lameness, and why early detection is so crucial. It's not just about identifying forelimb lameness or hindlimb issues; it's about understanding the entire biomechanical chain of events that leads to poor performance, and the relief that comes with knowing we can take proactive steps to prevent injury to the affected limb.
## Identifying Subtle Lameness in Performance Horses
Perhaps nowhere is this more critical than in sport horses, where the line between peak condition and subtle lameness can be vanishingly thin. "We have to bear in mind," Dr Dyson notes, "that horses tend to try to protect themselves from masking lameness because they are inherently prey animals. So they don't want to look weak and vulnerable."
This protective instinct leads horses to develop compensatory mechanisms: taking shorter steps, reducing their hindlimb impulsion, and stiffening their backs, all of which can be misinterpreted as training issues rather than signs of underlying pain in the lame limb.
## Advanced Diagnostic Tools in Lameness Investigation
The revolution in Dr. Dyson's approach isn't about discarding traditional diagnostic tools: nerve blocks, diagnostic analgesia, ultrasound examination, and other clinical assessments remain vital. Instead, it's about complementing these tools with systematic behavioural observation, particularly when examining a horse at the trot where many gait abnormalities become most apparent.
## The Future of Equine Lameness Treatment
We find Dr. Dyson's work particularly interesting as its accessibile. Her system for lameness diagnosis isn't locked away in veterinary textbooks or restricted to specialist clinics. "Anybody can learn this," she insists, challenging the notion that detecting lameness requires special expertise. "Anybody, as long as you put your mind to it and you watch carefully and think about what you're seeing."
The democratisation of lameness detection marks a significant shift in equine veterinary medicine.
We're seeing a real shift in how we spot lameness, where it's not just about waiting for the equine vet to tell us something's wrong. Now, we horse owners are becoming more tuned in to our horses' subtle signals, combining what we see when we're riding or handling them with the traditional lameness examination. It's quite exciting actually; we're all becoming better advocates for our horses' wellbeing, catching issues like laminitis or mechanical lameness earlier, and playing a more active role in keeping them sound and happy.
By integrating traditional lameness evaluation methods with behavioural assessments, a new approach emerges—one in which horse owners actively participate in their horses' welfare rather than merely waiting for obvious signs of lameness or injury.
This perspective encourages us all to engage in a new era of horse care and lameness prevention.
## Transforming Horse-Human Relationships
The interview reveals a compelling paradox: while we've never known more about equine pain and lameness, the industry still clings to outdated practices and beliefs. "It's shocking the amount of misinformation that is spread," Dr. Dyson notes, her voice carrying both frustration and determination.
Yet she remains optimistic about the future of equestrian sports. "I sincerely hope that we still have horse sports in the Olympic Games," she says, "because I think that that is a very, very good thing for horse sports in general."
But her vision extends beyond competition. It's about creating a future where horse welfare and performance aren't seen as competing interests but as complementary goals.
The only question remaining is: are we ready to listen to what our horses have been trying to tell us all along?
## Conclusion: A Revolution in Lameness Detection
Dr. Dyson's message offers both challenge and hope for the hundreds of thousands who've watched her documentary and the countless more who will benefit from her research. Her work isn't just about identifying lameness—it's about fundamentally changing how we think about horse welfare and training.
"If you're training a horse," she reminds us, "various chemicals are released in the brain, just as we do if we're running, that make them feel better." This insight captures the essence of her approach: good horsemanship isn't about avoiding work—it's about ensuring that work is done without pain.
The revolution in horse welfare isn't coming, it's already here. Dr. Dyson's research gives us the tools to better understand and respond to our horses' needs, particularly in identifying and treating laminitis, soft tissue injury, and ligament injury before they develop into chronic lameness conditions.
The only question remaining is: are we ready to listen to what our horses have been trying to tell us all along?
**About Our Guest**
Dr Sue Dyson is a world-renowned equine orthopaedic specialist and researcher with over 40 years of clinical experience. Former Head of Clinical Orthopedics at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket (1982-2020), she has published over 370 peer-reviewed papers revolutionizing our understanding of horse lameness and pain recognition.
A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Dr. Dyson combines exceptional clinical expertise with practical horsemanship. As an accomplished rider, she trained her own show jumpers and event horses, including Kenvara, who jumped clear rounds at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.
Her groundbreaking research on behavioural indicators of pain in ridden horses, particularly "The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain," has transformed equine welfare assessment globally. The documentary of this work has reached over 420,000 viewers worldwide.
Dr. Dyson co-authors "[Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781416060697?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)" and "Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery," which are essential texts in veterinary medicine. She is also wrote [Harmonious Horsemanship: Use of the Ridden Horse Ethogram to Optimise Potential, Partnership and Performance](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781805140078?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) with Sue Palmer.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
### Scent Work for Horse Enrichment
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/scent-work-for-horse-enrichment/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T12:25:25.000Z
> *Think of the foal who finds his mother’s nipple moments after he is born, drinking milk to survive, who is later able to find water, grasses, and herbs, and who knows which plants to avoid because they are poisonous. Together with other senses, like sight and hearing, smell enables the horse to detect danger, as well as allowing him to find family members and herd mates.*
>
> *Our modern-day horses no longer perform many of these tracking tasks. Certainly, the ability to detect danger has not disappeared, to which many a rider or handler will attest. Who does not regularly see their horse raise his head, tense his muscles, perk up his ears, and flare his nostrils in order to take in and work out what he is - smelling, or seeing, or hearing? For the most part though, we humans tend to take over most of the horse’s tracking tasks. We put feed (rich in minerals and vitamins) right there in his trough, put down or hang up hay, make sure there is always fresh water nearby.*
>
> *We put him in a fenced pasture or paddock and manage his interaction with other horses. And it goes without saying that our domesticated horse must always have enough food and water, contact with suitable other horses, and time at pasture; we try to prevent any and all pain and discomfort. However, reintroducing or stimulating your horse’s urge to track is an immensely powerful tool that has many benefits.*
Speaking is researcher and [behaviour consultant Rachaël Draaisma](https://calmingsignalsofhorses.com/en/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). She has been a full-time behaviourist since 2003, first working with dogs and, these past years, focussing exclusively on horses. In 2013, under the mentorship of Turid Rugaas, she began a study into the communicative and Calming Signals of horses. This research is ongoing. The initial findings resulted in a book called ‘[Language Signs & Calming Signals of Horses](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4745/9781138070158?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)’. In our recent interview, Rachaël spoke of the Calming Signals, their applications, and about empowering your horse through Enriched Environments. In this article, she shines a light on one of the other major pillars of her work - tracking with horses.
If you buy through that link, Bookshop pays us a small commission and a share goes to independent bookshops. It costs you nothing extra and it doesn’t affect what gets recommended here.
Rachaël Draaisma: *“I started doing it in 2003 as a dog trainer and canine behaviour therapist and have developed tracking over these past few years so that it can also be used with horses. It is fully in line with my method of training horses in such a way that they handle the human world’s stimuli independently, autonomously, and in homeostasis. Using tracking as a fully-fledged technique in living and working with horses supports this and produces many benefits.”*
**The benefits of tracking**
- Tracking allows your horse to socialise optimally. He smells, tastes, and discovers the things he comes into contact with.
- Tracking enables the production of dopamine, a hormone that produces a feeling of positivity and well-being.
- Tracking calms a horse. If you regularly track for longer periods of time, you will see this calming effect last longer as well, meaning your horse shows, for instance, fewer fright responses in the days after a tracking session.
- Tracking can be used as a tool to tackle various behavioural problems in horses. It is a good counter to fear, and it is well-suited in a programme designed for horses who have a fear of abandonment, for instance.
- Tracking teaches a horse to concentrate for longer stretches of time and to calm himself down more quickly in case of agitation.
- Tracking is lots of fun for both the rider or handler and the horse. It increases team spirit and your trust in your horse.
- Tracking enables the horse to behave with a kind of freedom. This is a nice contrast with his usual, often highly controlled living environment.
- Tracking is a good tool for determining if your horse is in homeostasis. If your horse is too tense or too tired, tracking is much more difficult, or even impossible.
- Tracking is something you can do with horses you cannot or do not want to ride anymore.
- Tracking is also something you can do with horses who only have a small pasture or paddock or who (temporarily) are not allowed to move much. You could even do it inside the stables.
### **Good biomechanics during tracking**
When you look at a horse that is following a scent trail, you will notice a number of distinctive body features. The horse tracks in active relaxation. His back muscles, the muscles on his hindquarters, and his neck muscles are long and soft. His back is fully elongated, allowing his hindquarters to be fully engaged, which “carries” his body and relieves pressure from his forelegs. This enables the horse to flex and also fully relax his abdominal muscles, which optimises breathing. His hind legs step deeply underneath the horse's body. His buttocks, back and head are swaying from left to right due to his active relaxation. You also see this looseness of movement in the upper part of his neck, near his head. The head is carried during tracking, but the point where his neck and head meet is loose and relaxed.
Rachaël says: *“It could be that, at first, your horse is still looking for the right physical posture, active relaxation, and cognitive calm he needs in order to track. If this is the case, he will, for instance, take a little longer to pick up the tracking, or only be able to follow short scent trails at first. So far, it has been my experience that, by tracking, horses also make physical and cognitive progress. They learn to adopt the active relaxation needed for tracking and learn to stick with it for longer and longer. You can imagine, however, that horses with certain physical problems (diagnosed or not) can also present a different picture during tracking. Recognising these differences is important, of course, and it is also the subject of a future study.”*
### **Tracking activities**
Rachaël says: *“Turid Rugaas’s’ International Dog Trainers Education’ and Anne Lill Kvam’s ‘Nosework Education’ explore amongst others the following three tracking activities. They are also suitable for horses, with some adjustments. I use them a lot.”*
### Scent Garden
The Scent Garden is a very good socialisation tool. It involves gathering various scents and substances and scattering them around a paddock or pasture, like an Enriched Environment. You do not want to overwhelm your horse with scents. You distribute the scents in such a way, at the end of the pasture or paddock, that your horse has the option of approaching them or not.
There are lots of scents to be found in your own kitchen. You could bring tea leaves in various flavours and spread them around the pasture. You could save the juices from a jar of pickles or a can of sausages and dribble it on the ground. This can also be done with, for instance, milk or beer, or a bit of ketchup or mayonnaise. It is important, however, to dilute the substances with water before dribbling them around the pasture. The scent should be weak enough for the horse to be able to handle it and become curious enough to investigate instead of walking away from it. After all, you do not want your horse to have a negative reaction to a new scent. If your horse does not have much experience, use one scent at a time.
### Treat Search
For a Treat Search, you put down multiple pieces of food over a larger area. Be careful to cut the food into narrow pieces so the horse does not choke on it. You can choose to scatter the food when the horse is looking, or when he is not. You can use apples, bananas, or certain hay nuggets. Of these, cut apples have the strongest scent. You can also spread out food over an increasingly large area.
It is not healthy for your horse to imbibe sand when he’s eating snacks. If your horse is housed on sand or if you want to have him track in a sandy arena, go to a fish-bait shop and buy plastic containers meant for live worms. These containers have lids that have air holes in them. You can place the food inside one of these containers and hide it in the sand, making sure the air holes are above the surface so the scent gets released. Your horse can then search for the containers, which, once he’s found them, you can open for him. Of course, you can also make (paper) containers yourself and punch holes in them.
It could be that you start a Treat Search, scattering some bits of apple and carrot, and your horse does not begin to track, staying by your side instead. He could be associating the food with you because you usually hand him food, and he is now waiting to receive it from you. It could be that he has learned that he should stand still when he is around you, meaning he does not take initiative. If this happens, see if your horse will start searching if you keep your distance and have someone else scatter the food around the paddock or pasture. If there are more horses in the pasture, you can only do this if none of them have a tendency to defend food. If your horse starts searching at that point, you will know that he is capable of it, and you can slowly start to reintroduce yourself into the process. You can do this step by step by coming a bit closer every time the other person puts down the food until your horse has gotten used to the fact that you are there when he does this. Another way to do it is to hold some food in your hand, then slowly lower the hand down to the ground, and once your horse is following it down, put the food on the ground. If he eats it, you slowly rise again. Then, scatter the rest of the food step by step.
For both the Scent Garden and the Treat Search, you can let your horse loose in the paddock or pasture and observe him. You can also hold him on a long rope and walk with him. In that case, the horse takes the lead. He indicates what he does or does not want to eat or explore. You follow him. Only do this if it can be done safely, of course. I am assuming that the horse is used to walking on a long rope and that you can accompany him safely from multiple positions. I also assume that his emotions are not so highly strung that he unexpectedly wants to flee.
You can also have more than one horse explore scents or search for snacks at the same time. Whether you want to do this or not depends on your goal. If your horse gets a lot of support from other horses, it can be a good leg up to do it together. On the other hand, you can also choose to have your horse do it alone in order to increase his self-confidence.
Gradually build up the tracking and the gradations within it. If a horse has to track an item that has very little value to him and that he has a great deal of trouble finding (it takes too long and the search is too difficult), he will give up.
### Scent Trailing
In Scent Trailing, you teach your horse to follow a person’s footprints. With some practice, he will be able to follow a longer trail in the paddock, as well as in places like the woods or a field. In this way, you can teach your horse to search for a hidden bag of food or missing persons or animals. In Scent Trailing, you can walk behind or beside your horse.
Rachaël says: *“It is a fantastic experience to follow your horse as he is following a trail and wondering if he is going to find the bag, animal, or person. When he does, the horse, his handler, and I are always ecstatic.”*
### **Do not force your horse**
When you are riding or walking your horse, you can pressure him to do something he otherwise would not do by means of spurs, a whip, or pressure on the bit. The beauty of tracking is that this does not work at all. You cannot force your horse to start smelling and tracking. This presents the handler and the dynamic between man and horse with a wonderful challenge.
It is much more difficult for horses untrained in tracking to track when they are stressed or cognitively or physically tired. So, as a handler, you should plan your horse’s life and training in such a way that he is physically and cognitively content. For this, a good observation technique is crucial. A horse is able to track well when he feels safe in his environment, so good socialisation is necessary.
You must also train your horse in such a way that he is not afraid to take initiative on his own and that he has the courage to follow a trail with you following instead of leading. Another guiding principle is, of course, that the handler must have or acquire knowledge of learning techniques, motivations, and emotions in order to gauge which subsequent steps he will take when it comes to tracking with his horse.
Rachaël: *“I think tracking should be an integral part of our lives with horses, regardless of the horse’s level of training. Every horse, owner, handler, trainer, and behavioural therapist can benefit from its many rewards.”*
Pictures:
Picture caption: Rachaël follows Vosje during a tracking session in the arena. Photographer: Gijs Timmers Photography
Picture caption: Indy follows a trail in the arena. Rachaël follows her. Photographer: Gijs Timmers Photography
Picture caption: Ristin and Indy working in the woods. Indy is following my footprints and has almost found me!
The first time: Henk Jan, Hope’s owner, rides her while she tracks in the arena.
Picture caption: Vosje found a plastic container with a banana in it and is bringing it to the surface with a single scrape.
Author:
Rachaël Draaisma is a renowned equine behavioural consultant and author who has revolutionized our understanding of horse communication. After beginning her career as a dog trainer in 2002, she expanded her expertise to horses, conducting groundbreaking research on equine calming signals. Her 2017 book "Language Signs and Calming Signals of Horses" has been translated into multiple languages, including Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, and Polish. Draaisma pioneered innovative methods in equine mental stimulation and scent work, detailed in her 2021 book "Scentwork for Horses."
She travels globally as an international lecturer and workshop leader, sharing her expertise with universities and educational institutions. Her work focuses on understanding horse body language and tension levels and developing methods to expand horses' comfort zones. Draaisma is a patron of International Equine Professionals and Nurtured in Nature CIC, continuing to advance equine behavioural science through her ongoing research and educational programs.
### Warwick Schiller Horse Training
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/warwick-schiller-horse-training-interview/
Last updated: 2026-01-17T17:19:04.000Z
In a world often focused on quick fixes and dominance-based techniques, Warwick Schiller horse training offers a refreshing alternative. Riders who take the time to understand horse behavior find themselves building more meaningful relationships, as the relationship evolves from one of authority to one of mutual respect. For riders who take this path, the rewards are twofold: they'll develop a deep, abiding trust with their horse, and a strong sense of respect that follows them into every competition and pleasure ride.
## **Understanding Warwick Schiller Horse Training**
At its core, [Warwick Schiller horse training](https://warwickschiller.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) centers around the concept of "attunement." This term is often used in human psychology to describe the ability to understand and respond to the emotional needs of another. Horse care takes on a new dimension as Schiller applies this concept to the equine community.
He's totally attuned to the silent language of horses, picking up on the tiniest hints and responding in kind. Rather than viewing training as a series of commands and responses, Schiller encourages us to see it as an ongoing conversation.
### **The Power of Observation**
Central to Schiller’s method is keen observation – really seeing your horse. Let's not stop at the outer signs – there's more to uncover. It's not about staring people down, but rather being aware of the faint tells that give away their thoughts and feelings.
For example, notice a slight twitch of the mouth, a change in breathing, or the way they position their ears. Reading your horse's subtle cues can be like cracking a code, giving you a direct line to their emotions and whispers of what they're thinking.
The moment we grasp these silent messages, our relationship shifts – we're no longer just riding, we're actively resonating with our equine friends. As we work to understand our horses' needs, a stronger bond forms, built on trust and respect.
### **Building a Foundation of Trust**
Trust is not a given. Trust isn't offered on a platter; it's something you steadily build by being consistent, fair, and clear in your communication. That's the secret to earning it. Schiller drives home the point that boundaries and expectations need to be clearly spelled out. Respect and understanding are the litmus test for every interaction, he says.
Imagine working in an environment where you can count on things going smoothly – that's what this approach delivers. It's where their opinions count, their feelings are considered, and they're treated like royalty.
### **Beyond Mechanics: The Relationship Factor**
What truly distinguishes Warwick Schiller horse training is its recognition that training extends far beyond the mechanics of riding. The emotional tide that flows between horse and rider is potent, shaped by the intentions, energy, and emotions that each of us brings to the partnership.
As we tease out the results, they strongly echo the invaluable insights of Dr. Temple Grandin, an esteemed animal behaviorist. When we're anxious or overjoyed, animals seem to know. Her studies show that they tap into our emotional resonance by expertly interpreting our body language.
Our relationships with horses boil down to one essential thing: how well we can manage our own emotions and understand ourselves. We forget sometimes that our horses are more than just a means to an equestrian end – they're individuals with feelings, needs, and personalities all their own. Fear, anxiety, and a pinch of emotional grit - that's what makes them tick.
Understanding ourselves is the first step to forging deep connections with others - it's like pruning a garden, making way for new growth.
## **FAQs about Warwick Schiller horse training**
### **What is attunement in horse training?**
In the context of horse training, attunement involves developing a deep sensitivity to your horse's non-verbal cues, emotional state, and individual personality. Plain direction-giving isn't the goal here - it's about understanding the perspectives of others too.
To really connect with your horse, you need to listen with your heart and respond with empathy, not just read their mannerisms. With a connection this strong, you're effectively laying the groundwork for a partnership that's based on both trust and mutual respect.
There's a remarkable thing that happens when a horse is attuned: they sense a deep safety, and suddenly, they're flooded with a sense of being truly grasped. With this footing in place, the learning environment transforms into a cohesive unit, propelled by mutual understanding and respect.
### **Warwick Schiller's method of tackling horse problems - what's the secret to his success?**
With Warwick Schiller, the horse "problem" gets reframed as an invitation to learn and connect on a deeper level, shifting the focus from fixing to feeling. Frustration is not his style; instead, he emphasizes the importance of curiosity.
Schiller makes a passionate plea to equestrians: instead of reacting with force or punishment, try to understand what drives a horse's behavior. He zeroes in on the core issue, the foundation of which often lies in feelings of fear, anxiety, or a basic misunderstanding, rather than just slapping a Band-Aid on the surface problem.
If we can tap into the horse's thoughts and feelings, we'll find solutions that are both kinder and more effective. We're after harmony, not morediscord. Solutions that promote unity are the goal.
### **What are some key takeaways from Warwick Schiller horse training?**
One of the most valuable lessons you'll take away from Warwick Schiller's horse training methods is...
- **Prioritizing the relationship:** Building a foundation of trust and understanding should always precede more formal training.
- **Understanding over dominance:** Choosing empathy and compassion over force-based techniques creates a more positive and productive learning environment.
- **Effective communication:** Learning to communicate clearly with our horses through body language, intention, and timing is key to success.
- **The importance of self-awareness:** Recognizing our own emotions and their impact on our horses is essential for establishing a balanced and harmonious partnership.
## **The main takeaways from our exploration should now be clear, making it easy to summarize the main points.**
Horse owners of all stripes can benefit from Warwick Schiller's training wisdom, which emphasis shifted away from force and toward harmony and mutual respect. The time has come to trade in our stale assumptions for a brighter, more empathetic perspective - one that lets us work hand in hand with these remarkable beings.
With Warwick Schiller horse training, you're not just learning a new skill – you're immersing yourself in a transformative experience that goes beyond the rider-horse connection, becoming a catalyst for personal evolution. Suddenly, you'll find yourself attuned to your horses' subtle cues, reacting instinctively, and working together in perfect harmony – it's an experience that will awaken your senses and stir your soul.
### Boys Ride Too
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/boys-ride-too/
Last updated: 2026-01-15T18:41:07.000Z
I was 12 years old when we bought Bruce. He was a 14.2 Irish Sports pony and just six years of age. At the time, I was part of my local pony club and had been showjumping and eventing with my old pony, Gunner. Bruce came from a dealer, and as far as we knew, he had been show jumping successfully. He was well-behaved at home and did most things asked of him, but something was missing. I don't think I understood that at the time, other than just feeling I wasn't quite good enough for him.
After a few weeks, we took him to our first competition. He stood bolt upright, spun around and refused to enter the arena. I couldn't get him to move, and my mum had to lead him in. He then went on to refuse at the first jump. As my mum was training to become a [Think Like a Pony Instructor](https://www.thinklikeapony.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk), I understood enough to realise that my new pony was not only genuinely terrified but also highly likely in pain somewhere. Mum had used LM saddles, so we knew his saddle wasn't an issue.
Having watched my brother take Think Like a Pony sessions, I decided there and then that I was going to learn. We needed the groundwork. We needed Lynn Henry.
The first thing to check was his teeth. The dentist was horrified by what she found. The teeth themselves were not too bad, but the horrific part was the bruising to his gums, no doubt from rough handling. Bruce had two weeks off, and I started riding him in a gentle snaffle with no nose band. He was happier but opened his mouth every so often when I turned too tightly. One of the pony club instructors told me one day that I should have a nose band on to stop him from opening his mouth. I also remember my slightly cheeky but honest reply - that he most likely opened his mouth when I used my hands too much, and if I shut his mouth, he wouldn't be able to tell me.
The dentist returned after a month and sadly informed us that the bruising was so deep-rooted he would never be 100% comfortable in his mouth. Having watched my brother take Think Like a Pony sessions, I decided there and then that I was going to learn. We needed the groundwork. We needed Lynn Henry.
I can honestly say that my relationship with Bruce was amazing and one I will never forget. He looked after me as much as I looked after him.
Mum organised for us to go to the Think Like a Pony headquarters in Leeds for a week. Their mantra is "you ride what you lead", so that is where Lynn started with us. She taught me how to lead him properly, massage him, and try to see the world through his eyes. She taught me how to ride him correctly using my body, which enabled him to use his body correctly. We learned how to build each other's confidence and trust. Mum worked with us too, so that she could help us carry on with our journey once we were home.
We went from strength to strength and competed successfully at Hickstead, National Schools championships, and many Pony Club competitions and events. I can honestly say that my relationship with Bruce was amazing and one I will never forget. He looked after me as much as I looked after him. Things still went wrong sometimes. I remember well an incident at Hickstead, jumping early on dewy grass. Bruce slipped over and rolled down the slope. With every ounce of him, he tried to stop himself as he was rolling on top of me. He couldn't, but he lay still with my head between his feet until help got there. They rolled him up enough to get me out, and then he got up.
We still have Bruce, and although I'm now 22, I see him most days. He is enjoying a life of teaching other children the Think Like a Pony way. We are so excited to hear that the life-changing sessions we received all those years ago are now available to any child, anywhere, through the Think Like a Pony online Club.
*Story first printed in Horsemanship Journal March 2023.*
[The Charm of Pony Breeds and Why Children Love ThemIt's not just about being small and cute - there's much more to these sturdy and spirited equines. Sure, they're often beloved by children for their manageable size and gentle nature. But pony breeds are incredibly diverse and capable. Size isn't everything, and these horses are proof - with their remarkable mix of power and perseverance, they can sometimes outdo larger horses in specific competitions and tests of endurance.Curious EquestrianTheresa](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/p/charm-of-pony-breeds-and-why-children-love-them)
### Creating a Paddock Paradise: The Ultimate Guide to Natural Horse Keeping
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/creating-a-horse-paddock-paradise/
Last updated: 2026-07-26T13:39:30.000Z
## **What is Paddack Paradise?**
'[Paddock Paradise](https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/give-them-choice-why-track-systems-work/)' is both a term and a concept used to describe a natural and humane way to keep healthy, happy horses based upon the lives of the wild, free-roaming horses in the US Great Basin. Introduced by veteran hoof care professional and natural horse care advocate Jamie Jackson in his 2006 book 'Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding,' the premise of a natural boarding model is to provide safe, humane living conditions which use the horse's natural instincts to stimulate and facilitate movement and other behaviours that are essential to a mentally and physically sound horse.
Based upon a four year study of the natural behaviour of wild horses, the theory originally proposed that horses - like any other species - will thrive physically, mentally and emotionally if kept in an environment that takes into consideration the most basic elements of a horse's natural habitat. According to Jackson, who founded the Association for the Advancement of Natural Horse Care Practices (AANHCP) in 2002, the health of the horse shows up in their hooves. The creation of an environment that simulates a horse's natural habitat can restore natural integrity and soundness. This includes lots of movement and a reasonably natural diet with free access to a variety of low sugar / low carb grass hays.
> *Natural horse boarding is unlike a traditional horse keeping situation with stables, small paddocks and/or lush green pastures. It is designed to meet the basic needs of the species...*
In the wild, horses are observed moving along familiar tracks as they travel great distances to different places in their various territories. Because horses are animals of prey, they instinctively move in a close, single-file formation across these home ranges as they seek out forage, water, rolling spots and other activities essential to their biology and survival. In a natural horse boarding model, tracks are created to stimulate natural movement. Horses quickly reveal their desire to use these tracks by creating narrow, worn down paths just like in wild horse country where travel (or forward movement) is the sole purpose or activity.
Natural horse boarding is unlike a traditional horse keeping situation with stables, small paddocks and/or lush green pastures. It is designed to meet the basic needs of the species as social, nomadic animals of prey whose basic biology requires that they have access to the right sorts of forage 24 hours per day. A Paddock Paradise also facilitates other natural behaviours such as herd hierarchy (pecking order), mutual grooming, playing, resting and sleeping behaviours.
## **Facilitating Horse Health**
The principal goal of a Paddock Paradise is to facilitate health and soundness - both physical and mental - in the horse. In fact, it is an ideal preventative to many of the illnesses and disorders plaguing domestic equines who are forced to live in stalls or other forms of close confinement or, equally hazardous, in lush, sugar-laden grass pastures. In fact, Jackson believes that a genuine Paddock Paradise can virtually eliminate the risk of laminitis, colic, Navicular Syndrome, Cushings Disease and other debilitating conditions caused by an unnatural lifestyle of confinement, isolation and/or providing the wrong diet.
A Paddock Paradise will also encourage movement even on small acreages. It allows horses to live more closely to the manner nature intended, moving freely 24/7 and eating in a more natural way by having constant access to the right kinds of food placed strategically throughout their track. When horses are allowed to live in a manner that more closely resembles their natural habitat, not only are they healthier but happier.
## **Creating a Paddock Paradise**
Creating a Paddock Paradise can be relatively inexpensive and straightforward. An electric fence 'loop' can be installed inside a perimeter fence and surround a pasture or field to create a series of tracks. Along these tracks, you need to place various stimuli such as strategically placed feeding spots and watering holes to activate curiosity and movement. Many people will begin with plastic electric fence posts. This will allow you to find out what formation or configuration will work best before the time and energy is put into creating a more permanent interior fence.
Electric fencing manufacturers offer a variety of solar chargers that can be used if electricity is not readily available, although this may not be suitable in those areas where the sun disappears for months at a time. You can use the centre field or pasture to grow hay now that the horses are no longer accessing the area. Ideally, horses living on track will not be shod so that the nails do not become a hazard when the shoes are lost. The increased movement, preferably on dry tracks that have added gravel and rock, will help condition and callus the hooves so that shoes are no longer needed.
Hay should be scattered in numerous areas on the track that are specifically enlarged and suited for feeding areas. The hay can be fed from the ground or from a variety of feeding containment systems – from small hole hay nets to plastic tubs with proper drainage – placed strategically in a number of different areas so that the horses are not encouraged to stand in one place for long periods of time to eat. It may take some horses six months or longer before their bodies will become accustomed to ad-lib hay, especially if they have been on restricted diets in the past.
Horses secrete hydrochloric acid continuously, and if there is nothing in their digestive system for the acid to break down ulcers can occur. Horses living in a genuine Paddock Paradise no longer have these issues, but it can sometimes take a bit of time before they seem to trust that they will not be returned to this former way of life.
Shelter from harsh weather should always be provided along the track so that horses have a way to escape severe wet and cold conditions and the sun.
## **The Official Guide' Paddock Paradise:**
A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding' was written by Jaime Jackson and first published in 2006\. For more visit [www.paddockparadise.com](http://www.paddockparadise.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) or search Paddock Paradise on Facebook. The book is available at most online book retailers. The photos featured here are from the headquarters of the Association for the Advancement of Natural Horse Care Practices in Lompoc, CA ([www.aanhcp.net](http://www.aanhcp.net/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)).
### Guide to Horse Rugs: When, What and; How Many
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/guide-to-horse-rugs-winter/
Last updated: 2026-01-15T18:41:11.000Z
## **Horse Rugs Guide**
### **The Great Rugging Debate**
When to start rugging? What rugs to use? How many rugs to put on?
Rugging is a contentious issue, and I have witnessed many heated debates on this topic in yards. At this time, some horses might already have three rugs on, while others remain without any. So, what's the correct approach for our four-legged friends?
## **The Science of Equine Thermoregulation**
### **How Horses Naturally Cope with Cold**
The first thing to consider is how different species cope with the changing weather. Whilst we may be utterly miserable, the horse has developed some unique mechanisms for coping with the cold and wet weather.
### **What is the Thermal Neutral Zone (TNZ)?**
The thermal neutral zone (TNZ) is the range of temperatures in the immediate environment at which a healthy adult animal can maintain a normal body temperature without needing to use energy beyond its normal basal metabolic rate. For humans, the TNZ is about 18-30°C, but for horses, it is between 5-25°C; the lower and upper temperatures of this range are referred to as the lower and upper critical temperatures, respectively (LCT and UCT). So, for the vast majority of unclipped adult horses, there is no need to reach for a rug until the temperature drops to about 5°C. Foals, older horses and those who have been clipped are a different story.
The horse’s average core body temperature is between 37.5-38.5°C (99-101°F), and it is important that you know what is normal for your horse. Checking the rectal temperature with a thermometer is the best way, but placing a hand on the horse’s shoulder or trunk is the next best thing; your horse should feel warm to the touch. Feeling a horse’s ears to check if it is warm is a very poor indicator of temperature regulation.
### **Mechanisms of Heat Loss in Horses**
There are four ways in which heat can be lost from the body:
- **Evaporation** \- this is the main mechanism of heat loss for both humans and horses. Sweat or water evaporates from the skin, lowering the body’s temperature. Heat loss from respiration also occurs (although not via panting as in other domestic species).
- **Radiation** \- the emission of heat waves that may then be absorbed, reflected or transmitted through a colder body. The amount of heat lost from the skin is linked to the ambient air temperature and body mass. Smaller horses have a higher body surface-to-mass ratio, and therefore, lose heat more readily. A variation of radiation is radiant heat loss - this is when radiation (in the form of infrared radiation) is lost to solid surroundings (e.g. a solid-walled stable); this explains why keeping your horse in a stable in cold weather can actually increase the amount of radiant heat loss.
- **Conduction** \- where heat is lost by direct physical contact. Water conducts heat very well, so heat is rapidly lost from wet skin.
- **Convection** \- where heat is lost by the movement of airflow across the skin, e.g. standing in an exposed field can result in heat loss this way.
## **Factors Influencing a Horse's Need for Rugs**
Internal body temperature is maintained by a huge range of metabolic activities, including digestion, movement and breathing, and heat is also conserved by the insulating properties of hair, muscle, fat and skin. The delicate balance between heat generated and heat lost is what maintains the internal core temperature. Domestication, however, has changed this delicate balance. A full winter coat is not only designed to be insulating but also water-resistant to some degree; pilo-erection of the coat causes warm air to be trapped next to the skin, adding another layer of insulation.
There are several other factors to consider when assessing a horse’s ability to effectively manage its core temperature:
### **Considering Age and Body Condition**
- **Age** \- young (and sometimes very old) horses do not have the same level of insulation and are more prone to heat loss, and therefore, have much higher LCTs. Also, studies have shown that aged horses have an increased susceptibility for overheating, especially during exercise. This is due to age-related changes in the physiological mechanisms important for thermoregulation.
- **Body condition** \- underweight horses will have decreased muscle and fat mass, resulting in reduced insulation. Meanwhile, overweight horses have extra insulation in the form of fat, and therefore, utilise less of their ingested energy for heat production; this excess energy is subsequently converted into fat, resulting in a self-perpetuating cycle.
- **Activity level** \- immobile horses, or those left in restricted paddocks where they cannot walk significant distances, will have reduced metabolic activity, resulting in reduced heat production.
### **Breed Differences in Thermoregulation**
**Breed** \- warmblood types have greater levels of surface heat loss compared with cold-blooded types, but it is not known if this is due to body composition or differences in hair coat thickness
### **The Impact of Clipping on Heat Loss**
- **Clipping** \- clipping results in increased heat loss from exposed areas of skin. Furthermore, the neck, shoulder and trunk are the areas from which most surface heat is lost, as these are the areas most commonly clipped.
## **Making Informed Decisions on Rugging Your Horse**
So, how does this [help you decide what to do about rugging your horse?](https://horsepal.com/affiliate/?rtwwwap%5Ftab=affiliate%5Ftools&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) There is no easy answer to this, and every horse needs to be treated as an individual, and its need for rugging (or not) assessed by considering all of the factors listed above. It is important not to let our own feelings of being cold result in over-rugging of our horses.
### **Assessing Individual Needs**
Horses in good body condition, who have a full coat, access to forage, free-roaming exercise and with some form of shelter do not necessarily need any rugs, but those who are old, young, exposed to harsh weather conditions or liable to getting wet for long periods may require some form of help. Climate change will also impact when, and if, a horse needs to start wearing a rug.
At the end of the day, my advice is to be sensible; a horse will avoid conditions which promote discomfort or heat loss, so monitor them closely and adapt your management to subtle changes in your horse's behaviour but be mindful of the natural weight gain and weight loss cycle over the seasons.
### **The Risks of Over-Rugging**
It is now widely acknowledged that over-rugging is a far bigger welfare issue than under-rugging as it is a major factor in horses gaining and subsequently failing to lose weight. Obesity is probably the biggest welfare issue facing our equine population today.
---
About the Author:
**NIKKI PURSEY** | MA VetMB CertAVP(ESM) MRCVS
[Farr & Pursey Equine Veterinary Services](https://www.farrandpursey.com/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk)
Nikki graduated from Cambridge Vet School in 2007, having already gained a degree in Zoology in 2004\. She went straight into working in equine first opinion practice, initially in Devon before moving to the Home Counties in 2009\. In 2015, she founded Farr & Pursey Equine Veterinary Services alongside a former colleague, Ricky Farr MRCVS.
Farr & Pursey Equine is now a three-vet ambulatory, first opinion equine practice covering Herts, Beds and Bucks, and offers some of the most advanced diagnostic equipment in the area. Nikki’s primary area of interest is in equine reproduction and she has undertaken further studies in this subject.
As a result, in 2016, she was awarded the Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice in Equine Stud Medicine. She also has a keen interest in equine dentistry and preventative healthcare. When not at work, Nikki enjoys competing in obstacle races and mud runs.
---
Rugging your horse can be tricky. [Simplify the process with the Horsepal Comfort Sensor.](https://horsepal.com/affiliate/?rtwwwap%5Ftab=affiliate%5Ftools&ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) Learn more and order yours today!
### Compassionate Mind, Compassionate Horsemanship
URL: https://www.curiousequestrian.co.uk/compassionate-horse-training/
Last updated: 2026-01-15T18:41:14.000Z
## **How can our understanding of compassion and emotional regulation help us in our relationship with ourselves and our horses?**
The theory of compassion inspires my work in supporting horse owners who are seeking a more connected, [mindful and horse-friendly ‘way of being’ with their equine partners](http://www.compassionatehorsemanship.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk). In this article, I’ll explain and unpack a small part of this that might be helpful for those interested in human psychology.
Professor Paul Gilbert, a British Clinical psychologist and founder of the Compassionate Mind Foundation and Compassion Focused Therapy is perhaps an unlikely person to inspire an article on horsemanship. However, I think his work on compassion has clear applications to inform our interactions with horses. I’m fortunate to call Paul a professional colleague in the School of Psychology at the University of Derby where I teach. I also get to work with other inspiring colleagues such as Professor Frances Maratos and Dr Caroline Harvey who are building upon Paul’s work and creating training for educators in how to use, model and teach compassionate mind training approaches to emotion regulation and compassionate communication skills respectively. This way of working and thinking has certainly complemented the way I approach many aspects of the teaching and training that I do in my professional roles both inside and outside human psychology and behaviour change.
## **Emotion Regulation**
Professor Maratos explains that over the thousands of years of evolution, humans have survived successfully much to the credit of three aspects of emotion regulation within our nervous system. Let’s look at these and I’ll draw from situations I’ve encountered with some of my horsemanship clients to help illustrate them.
**The threat system** \- things we feel anxious, nervous, angry, hostile about e.g. your first competition, picking up your horse’s hind feet if you recently got kicked, or even riding at all if you’ve had a fall. These experiences activate the sympathetic nervous system, commonly termed the ‘fight-flight-freeze-fawn’ response, so our appraisal of them as threatening is accompanied by the release of glucose and stress hormones (e.g., cortisol and adrenaline) and associated physiological responses such as shallow, fast breathing and an increased heart rate. Additionally, negative self-talk such as being self -critical can also stimulate this threat system. Although this system has been helpful for us in surviving sabre tooth tigers, we tend to over-activate this system by perceiving many things unnecessarily as threats.
**The drive system** \- things we are excited and energised about- e.g., looking forward to riding with friends, going to an event you are well prepared for, having a lesson with a great instructor who is always encouraging and helpful. Although this also activates our sympathetic nervous system, we interpret these events as motivating or positive challenges and, in addition to the release of adrenalin, cortisol and glucose, we get a dopamine release which we experience as pleasure rather than threat. This system is linked therefore with pursuit of goals, acquisition of resources and achievement. When we overdo the drive system, we can get into addictive and compulsive behaviours, perfectionism and burnout as we lose sight of balance, and often forget to step back and replenish our minds and bodies via activities that activate the soothing system.
**The soothing system** \- things we do that deeply relax us and shift us into the parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ side of the nervous system. ‘Feel good’ neurochemicals such as oxytocin, endorphins and opiates are released. When we do things we truly enjoy, time seems to pass quickly, and we are relaxed and content. By taking time to take care of ourselves in this way, we can soothe ourselves, and soothe others better – we can give and receive care, affection, acceptance, encouragement and kindness. Soothing time seems to fill us back up and replenish us if we are feeling run down or disconnected from things we’ve previously enjoyed. Examples of soothing activities are completely individual of course, but perhaps you enjoy a few moments of watching your horse graze in the field on a summer evening, reading an inspiring novel, or having a relaxed hack with no time pressures (if you like to hack!). These activities and their neurochemical responses help to offset the damaging effects of the threat system, or overdriven drive system, bringing us back to a more centred, calm, and peaceful place.
In the world of compassionate mind training, the idea is to check that we are not spending too long in threat or drive in particular e.g., we are not pushing ourselves too hard so that the drive system is overloaded (this shifts us into the threat system) or we have no time for soothing activities. This can take the joy out of riding as the things that were enjoyably challenging now feel stressful, or one more thing we have to cram into a busy schedule.
It can also be useful to think of this in terms of our comfort zones, learning zones and panic zones, a concept I heard cited by American horsemanship trainer, Kathleen Beckham, and which originates in learning theory (Senninger, 2000; Vygotsky, 1978). The activities in our comfort zone are likely those linked with the soothing system - it feels safe and easy here. Activities where we are happy to learn and stretch ourselves with a positive attitude are linked with the drive system, and situations where we feel anxious, overwhelmed, or start to hear messages in our minds that sound alarmist, are linked with the panic zone.
I invite you to take a few minutes and think about your time with your horse. When you think of all the activities you do with them, how would you classify these in terms of the threat, drive and soothing systems (or panic, learning and comfort zones)? Does your time with your horse fit into the soothing system, the drive or the threat system? How balanced are your equine activities?
It’s also good to think about this in your normal (non-equine) activities too. It can be useful to think back over your day and think about times when you were in drive or threat, and, if the threat system was activated, what soothing activity might have been good to employ to reduce the negative effects of this on your mind and body. I’ve also found this activity to be really helpful when considering larger life choices e.g., do you have enough time in your week, month of year to look after yourself and nurture that soothing system or are you always on the go? Is the ‘go’ something that energises or drains you?
If you feel you spend a lot of time in the threat area, I’d recommend discussing this with a confidence coach who can help you learn psychological strategies to support you. Using techniques such as breath work, visualisations, and reframing can be helpful. An example from one of my clients was that any time her horse increased his energy in the arena, even in walk, she worried he was going to buck as she’d previously experienced this in there (at a trot, within the first weeks of his arrival). This would make sense if it had been a recent event and no training had happened since. However, it had been nine months since that event, and she’d been having consistent groundwork lessons and her horse had been ridden by professionals too and he was working calmly and well at walk and trot. Her threat system was over-activated. To help to soothe this, one of the strategies she learned was to reframe this idea of ‘energy meaning panic’ to ‘energy meaning… energy’, and, if all the other parts of his body language were lining up as being calm, focused and connected, the interpretation of this as being something to panic about was unfounded. The more times she experienced energy as being OK, the more her brain began to believe this - in psychology we call this the recency bias - our brain gives greater importance to most recent events (I should note that in some cases the perception of threat is due to PTSD and this needs to be supported by a clinical psychologist).
Acknowledging what triggers our threat system can therefore be really good to understand, as this is a place where we might benefit from getting some help, or stepping back and re-evaluating the situation. We might ask- am I driving too hard here? Could I step back and remove some of the stress from the situation? Is my horse also in the threat mode? Are we both there? Do I have the skills to manage this? Our bodies don’t lie, so if you feel your heart rate increasing, you feel emotional or anxious, you are probably in over-drive, or threat. In that place emotionally it is very hard to be a calm and effective teacher for your horse. They pick up on subtle body language as this is their ‘native’ language and how they communicate with each other.
## **A Foundation for Success**
Using groundwork to build the connection between human and horse can be really useful. By doing groundwork we are essentially, as horsemanship trainer Joe Midgley says, ‘riding from the ground’, therefore creating transferable skills for the horse to build upon. This way of working also supports the horse and rider’s confidence. You see their foundation being built, which can translate to you knowing, for example, that by asking your horse to do something when ridden, they aren’t going to panic, as they have already gained some experience and success in that movement on the ground.
Without it, ridden work is less likely to be as successful and the ‘holes’ in the training are more likely to become apparent under saddle. This is where problems can arise, as a horse can get confused, get pushed into threat, and move into the flight, fight and freeze sympathetic nervous system, which may push us into that place too! A vicious cycle begins.
Groundwork can build confidence and understanding in both horse and rider, as progressive skills that have been built on the ground will transfer into ridden work without the threat system being activated
So, in conclusion, finding harmony in both our own and our horse’s emotional regulation systems can be a helpful way to consider how we spend time with our equine partners. It can also help us to appraise where this time fits within our broader lives. Building a foundation for both horse and rider is an essential element to success, and finding a compassionate trainer who helps you and your horse to learn, stretch and build confidence can also be an important part of a horse owner’s journey to making their time with their horse as enjoyable and rewarding as it can be.
### **Compassion and Emotion Regulation Resources:**
Gilbert, P. (Ed.). (2017). *Compassion: Concepts, research and applications*. Taylor & Francis.
Maratos, F. A., Hurst, J., Harvey, C., & Gilbert, P. (2022). Embedding compassion in schools: The what's, the why's, and the how's. In *Applied Positive School Psychology* (pp. 81-100). Routledge.
Maratos, Frances A., et al. "A Mixed-Methods Study of Compassionate Mind Training for Pupils (CMT-Pupils) as a School-Based Wellbeing Intervention." *Mindfulness* (2024): 1-20\.
**About Fiona Holland**
Dr Fiona Holland learned about horsemanship over 30 years ago when she was living and working in North Carolina, USA. She has been practising and learning about this style of working with her own and others’ horses ever since. She is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Behaviour Change at the University of Derby, the Director at Behaviour Change Partners (www.behaviourchangepartners.com), a freelance training and consultancy business, and she also helps people as a horsemanship coach in her Peak District-based business, [Compassionate Horsemanship](http://www.compassionatehorsemanship.co.uk/?ref=curiousequestrian.co.uk) .
She is passionate about helping people new to horsemanship as they develop their skills and understanding of a good foundation, and brings her training in sport psychology, motivational interviewing and compassion-based communication to her human clients, and horsemanship inspired by her mentors Buck Brannaman, Jan Leitschuh and Joe Midgley to her horse clients.