In this blog, I share how letting go of perfectionism with your horse can change the way you connect and train together. If you’ve ever felt stuck when your horse seems to tune out despite your best efforts, this might be the shift you need.
“I just want to stroke her,” he says with a smile, already moving forward. His energy is big. His steps are firm and direct. He means well, of course. He’s trying to connect. He’s there before I can prevent what’s happening: Ulysse tenses, pins her ears, turns away sharply, and bam, in a split second she lashes out with her hind leg...
I still remember the moment so clearly...I was teaching a lady how to do circle work with her horse. Her horse didn’t quite understand her request to go out on the circle to the left. So I gently suggested: "Maybe you could already take a few small steps in that direction, to show him what you mean."She turned to me and looked at me with eyes like tennis balls.
You finally found the horse you always dreamed of. You felt an instant connection, and you imagined all the beautiful moments you would share. But once your horse arrived, things didn’t go as planned. Instead of joy, you are facing trauma... Your horse is tense, fearful, reactive, or even completely shut down. You start wondering: "What went wrong? Why is this so hard?"
Some horses can be difficult to touch, and this can be due to a variety of reasons. If you're dealing with horse trust issues or you are trying to understand why your horse shies away from physical contact, it's important to recognize the root causes behind this behavior.
High-frequency words are words with a strong and positive energy. They are often linked to good qualities or feelings, like love or kindness. These words can change how we think, feel, and act. When working with horses, high-frequency words can help you connect with your horse on another, deeper level.
“You always remain so calm and patient when working with horses, also in challenging situations. How do you do that?” The answer is very simple: I just know that things will get better and a solution is on its way. This will be within 5 minutes, the next day, within the next week, or within a few months.
“You always remain so calm and patient when working with horses, also in challenging situations. How do you do that?” The answer is very simple: I just know that things will get better and a solution is on its way. This will be within 5 minutes, the next day, within the next week, or within a few months.
We should let go of the idea that everything and every moment (or training with our horse) should be a happy, joyful, or successful moment. When that would be the case, we would not learn a lot, and we would less appreciate the good moments.
I recently had a conversation with a new student. This new student - my guess is he was about 50 years old - came to me because he had a few problems with his 14-year-old mare: biting him when he wants to saddle her, pushing him against the wall when he wants to clean her hoofs, pulling on the rope
Some days, some situations, and some experiences can be difficult... You might wonder how you will cope with it, or if you will be able to solve the problem you're facing. This is also the case when it comes to horses and training horses...
Horses are intelligent creatures and are able to find solutions to problems, challenges or questions they are faced with. Take simply the fact of putting on a halter. What often happens is that the trainer brings the halter up to the head.
Big Deal was a horse at the stable in Portugal where I worked 20 years ago when I was 23-24 years old. I moved to Portugal in 2001 to work for a riding stable to teach riding classes, and train horses in dressage and trail riding. The day I arrived at the stables ...
Today is International Women's Day. And that is necessary. Because worldwide women still receive less or worse education, violence against women is higher than against men, women are still paid less for their job, etc.
My first own horse was Niki. She was 12 when she was given to me by an acquaintance. She was sweet and willing, but very energetic and quickly stressed. She also couldn’t stand still easily.
I was 15 when one day I arrived at the riding school and a young black horse named Farao was standing in one of the boxes. He was beautiful, but there were quite some problems: Farao didn’t like to be touched and he didn’t let himself be haltered without trying to kick you first.
Fella was a 12-year old mare, that was tensed and angry during lunging. No bend, short strides, ears flat, swishing tail, nasty looks. The previous weeks her owner focussed mainly on liberty training, to build a..
Do you sometimes have difficulties with a certain character trait of your horse? A trait that arouses irritation, incomprehension, or frustration in you? And have you been looking for a “solution” for this character..
Wico, a young black Shetland stallion, didn’t hold back to kick out firmly with his hind legs when he was being fed. It was also very difficult to touch or stroke him, he usually ran off quickly if someone..
Some horses have difficulties opening themselves up to their owner. They don’t feel safe enough. Or they feel uncertain. Sometimes they have fear, fear of humans or fear of what is to come. Some horses even..
A while ago I was shown a horse video. The video was titled “funny horse video”, or something like that… The intention was that it was a video to laugh with. You know such videos: horses that open..
A few years ago I noticed something very special with my horse Niki, who then stood in a stall for about 3 hours every evening (she was fed a special kind of dried grass before she joined the group again at night). ..
Horses are naturally curious. They are curious as a foal, when they start to discover the new world where they are born in, and this continues for the rest of their lives. That is, if their trainers and handlers are..
Everybody knows somebody who always seems to have fun when training his horse, even if it’s not going that well. A trainer like this sees every difficulty as a possibility and sees opportunities where others..