The story of our life begins the moment we take our first breath. We are shaped by every experience, every thought, every feeling. By every interaction… from the smallest event to the most life‑altering moments. We are the products of a culmination of events, and those events shape who we are and how we see the world.

As we grow and develop, the shadows of these experiences follow us. They guide our decision-making. They influence how we interpret our interactions, our conversations, our emotions…

When we are working towards a goal—whether it's a career milestone, gaining skill in a sport, or something else entirely—having someone who can keep you accountable goes a long way. Even when we're putting in the effort, it's easy to find ourselves training as the person we were yesterday, rather than striving to become the person we want to be…

Failure can be incredibly challenging, often difficult to accept and hard to stomach. We are conditioned to believe that failure is something we should always avoid, as if it somehow makes us less worthy as individuals…

Once we have built a base of connection with our horses, then it’s time to begin blending it into performance work. The important thing to remember is that performance and connection aren’t separate things but instead complimentary pieces of our training journey… 

When we look at balance in a horse, we need to take a holistic approach.

Healthy movement in a horse starts with a calm mind and their emotional and mental needs being met, creating a feeling of self-carriage…

Don’t discourage the try

Try is such a precious resource when it comes to working with horses. It’s so important to recognize and encourage a horse’s try, even if it isn’t something that we ‘wanted’ or asked for. When we have try, it’s simply about shaping behaviours to the outcome that we want and releasing on greater degrees of better. Most horses have a strong desire to figure out what we would like from them. When their needs are met, there desire to work with us allows for them to offer themselves more freely.

In some cases, when a horse has had experiences that have caused them to look at us skeptically or if we haven’t quite met their needs yet, it can seem like it’s much harder to work with them. It can feel like we’re doing our best to communicate, but it’s like our horses aren’t speaking the same language. This can feel frustrating and discouraging. In these instances, it’s important that we pause and really listen to what our horses are trying to say. Do they feel unsafe? Do they feel under stimulated in the work? Can they hear us? Are they confused? We need to understand what they need from us so that we can feel like we’re on the same page!