Helping Horses Excel
Standardbred retraining and Rehoming
Horsemanship and riding lessons
(7)
“Confidence equals competence and competence equals confidence“ is something that got quoted to me by a very talented person.
In reality this is noticeable when we start something new, we are inexperienced and that leads to a lack of confidence.
After we gain our skill set we grow in confidence.
They work hand in hand with one another and share the reins in many days.
This means you can’t truly have one of you don’t have the other. ✨💡
Make Them Carry Their Saddle
A father of a darling girl and I were talking last week and he said that he wanted his daughter to ride more and not have to do the work part of the catching, grooming, and saddling. I smiled as I explained.
Riding horses is a combination of strength, timing, and balance. Kids in this country are physically weak (unless they are actively involved with weight training and physical conditioning 4+ times a week.)
When you walk out to the field, you are clearing your stress from being under fluorescent lights all day; feeling the sun soak into your bones. As your body moves on uneven surfaces, it strengthens your legs and core.
When you groom your horse (especially currying), you are toning your arms and stabilizing your core.
When you carry your saddle, your arms, chest, and back are doing isolated strengthening work.
Being near horses, calms and makes you tune into the splendor of these empathetic animals.
When you ride at a posting trot, it’s equivalent to a slow jog calorie burn wise.
After a lesson, the riders are physically tired and mentally quiet and balanced.
Horses feel your heart beat and mirror your emotions back.
Riding large and somewhat unpredictable animals makes you resilient and pushes your expectations.
Working with horses is so much more than learning how to ride.
So parents, make your children carry their saddles. Don’t do the hard parts for them, as long term it actually hurts them. To advance with their riding, they must get stronger. You can help by doing the high parts.
I love having you all at the farm, and am so grateful to get to share these fascinating animals with you.
Hannah Campbell Zapletal
I’ve termed it the “smudge” period and this is the exact thing I’m describing.
"New Home Syndrome"🤓
I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.
Why call it a syndrome?
Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.
Let me explain...
Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).
Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.
A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.
Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.
Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.
They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.
But there is more...
Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.
So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.
The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.
Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.
So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤
I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️
Feeding the real MVP 😜
This is so true 🙌🏻
I read a theory about why so many riders lack a deep command of basics, and it was explained like this---
Correct basics are hard to master because there is an enormous amount of repetition involved, and if someone has tried something hundreds, possibly thousands of times, and still can’t do it, it is easy for the person to conclude that he/she is taking on an impossible challenge.
In his book “Mastery,” George Leonard wrote that on the quest to become good, there will be long stretches of “seeming non-improvement.”
Like watching grass grow, change is happening, but so slowly that it can’t be measured daily, weekly, or even monthly. But at some point, for those who stick with it, “suddenly” they can do things that before they couldn’t do.
The issue is giving up in frustration before putting in those many many many many months of practice.
That is ONE theory. I am sure there are many others, but this one does ring true.
Still bang on 💪🏻
This 🙌🏻 the truth in this is resolute. We need to listen to our horses as they tell us different things 🐎
Today we rehomed these two lovely boys on behalf of Hunter Valley Standardbred Rehoming.
The little man has landed all the way in Ipswich to start his new adventure with his little rider and family 🥰✨
Get in touch to see if we can find the perfect fit for you and your family 😍🤩
I’ve been busy working with the kids and getting them some experience away from home. They have also enjoyed the services of another rider to help round out their time ✨🤩
Loving on the little brumby Willow 🥰
Don’t let Mum see I’m swinging on the clothes line 🤣🤣😅
Good day full of testing bounds 😜 and learning new tools 💪🏻
Lesson day @ Rockley this Sunday 28th. Message to book in 🤩
Watching confidence and a love of horses soar higher and higher is super rewarding 💙😍
Updated again because some days I’m hopeless. 😅🤦🏻♀️
Lesson day in Rockley Sunday 28/4/2024
Message to book in.
Own horse required.
Photo dump of some of the cool stuff we’ve been up to 💙😍
For those that remember foal number 1 from last year. Here he is grown up. Bentley, now a yearling is a striking and handsome man who has us eager to see his career on the track play out 😍🤩
Bonnie and her lovely lady smashed it at the SPPHA NSW State Championships this past weekend ✨🥰
We’re so grateful to get to see partnerships flourish 🤩
Late night edition of Free thinking Friday.
Let yourself be your biggest and best accomplice, not enemy.
Learn to be kind to yourself, encouraging and caring.
This will allow you to have this with your horses and you will be rewarded with only good things ✨
Everything is a choice and we sometimes need to use our discipline to get us through the tough days. Be disciplined in your mindset and the rest will follow.
“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins” Benjamin Franklin
Personal pony and I went out and put ourselves to the test for her first time out 🤩 very grateful for this little gem and her work ethic ✨
Free thinking Friday; “you only grow to your environment“
This could mean different things regarding different aspects of your life.
Let’s focus on the horse side, this could mean that your self talk has created an environment that is restrictive. Possibly the people who you surround yourself with aren’t aiding you in growing bigger.
More often than not it is because we get comfortable being where we are.
Push yourself to be uncomfortable. This will allow you to stretch the rubber bands in your mind and you will soon find yourself somewhere you didn’t imagine possible ✨
Get comfortable with discomfort and be ready to push yourself with discipline.
Happy horsing for the weekend 🐴 🤩
For everyone who has a standy and might want to enter for a chance at a cool prize 🏆
Be sure to comment your standy on the original post 😍
Have you opened your heart and home to one of Harness Racing NSW Rehoming beloved retired Standardbreds?
Pop a photo below and a quick update of what you and your best friend are doing now to go in the chance to win a $250.00 Horseland voucher.
Winner to be drawn Friday 23rd February at 2pm, in office at Harness Racing NSW.
Good luck to all 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
*** Please note there is a fake account circulating, we will not ask for any details at all, no private messages, emails etc.
Please only like and comment on this post.
Fabulous weekend, fabulous people and fabulous horses enjoyed hitting some goals and finding joy and fun with their horses again 🥰
Thank you to for hosting us at their lovely farm
Haven’t had any drinks but I’m seeing double 😜
Confidence Boosting with Equine Magic 17/18 February 2024
$660 including GST
(Yard and powered campsite included)
Details: Join Cindy Bourke of Equine Magic for two days of slowed down teachings, aimed at establishing confidence between you and your horse.
This clinic is the IDEAL weekend for you if you’re a rider needing that extra bit of time and guidance to find your feet with your nerves.
Cindy will take the time needed to focus on improving your skills in the saddle to set you up for confidence in your riding.
A particularly good choice for Standardbred owners, as Cindy is a wealth of knowledge with this wonderful breed.
Rider Suitability: Nervous Beginner upwards
Horse Suitability: All breeds. Not suitable for horses with serious behavioural issues.
Accomodation:
Cottage: $150 bed for the weekend. Shared space.
Powered Camping: Included in clinic fee.
Yards: Included in clinic fee.
Stable Upgrade: $60 unbedded for the weekend.
About your clinician:
Cindy Bourke is no stranger to the horse world with a career in harness racing spanning Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Since an introduction to horses at 5 years old, Cindy began as a groom in the racing industry and progressed to a driver then trainer- winning races both in Aus and NZ. In more recent years, Cindy has taken her passion for Standardbreds in the after racing space and opened ‘Equine Magic’- a specialised Standardbreds retraining stable in New South Wales. After meeting the wonderful riders that her horses were homed with, she noticed a huge gap in the confidence boosting area and began teaching horsemanship clinics with a focus on nervous riders. Adding equine remedial massage and body work to her toolbox, Cindy and Equine Magic is truely the gem that new or nervous riders have been searching for.
Tuesday vibes 😜🙃
This cute trio ✨
Maggie is the bay mare. Poles is the black mare. Poles and Maggie are glued together and where Poles goes, Maggie goes. Poles now has her baby and he has the cruisiest life with his Mum and his Mum 2.0.
Maggie is not confined in any way here, she chooses to hang out with her “people”
🤩🎉💙
Blayney, NSW
2795
| Monday | 12pm - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 12pm - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 12pm - 5pm |
| Thursday | 12pm - 5pm |
| Friday | 12pm - 5pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 5pm |
| Sunday | 9am - 5pm |
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Always losing time from loving on them some extra 😃🥰
Having a blast playing with horses and helping people find enjoyment with their partner ponies ✨
Happy, relaxed vibes with Oaky ✨
Don’t let Mum see I’m swinging on the clothes line 🤣🤣😅
Good day full of testing bounds 😜 and learning new tools 💪🏻
Summertime fun with Swizzle living his best life 😉😝
Might not look like much but this is absolutely phenomenal. My young offsider came along to some clinics and was struggling with confidence. She came out for two weeks over the recent holidays to work and learn and ride the trusty Earl. From never having cantered before she has now decided she is unstoppable and won’t stop cantering in all the open spaces 🤩 Truly a privilege to watch confidence unfold in front of me ✨😃
Cantering into the weekend with Dusty ✨🤩 This guys first canters under saddle today 😍
Excuse me while I take a moment to gather myself to contain the excitement of what has been achieved today 🤩😃✨Goals, confidence and fun all had and attained today with the trusty Earl 😍
Sunday shenanigans with Hagrid 😜
Wayne took a little bit of convincing to go for a dip, however he absolutely loved it once in there 😃🌟
Wayne, raced as Jerulas Grin, is a rising 7 yr old, 15.2hh, compact lover boy. Successful on the track recording some fast miles and winning six races. Wayne is making the transition to ridden life nicely. Looking forward to watching him flourish 🥰✨
This sweet mare has been with us for a week learning to be proactive in facing challenges. Initially she would only react and not think about the problem at hand or consequences of her reactivity. Often leading to her being more worried than if she just takes her time and thinks through the problem at hand. Starting with on the other side of the paddock while a paddock was between us she was able to ride through cows today, weaving between them, alongside them and instead of having a system shutdown she was actively working to think about the problem and how she addressed it. 🙂 so proud of her 🤩✨
Harry and I tried jumping and other shenanigans today 💪🏻😍😃 he really is a cool critter 🤩
Fun with flags on a Saturday 🏁 ft. Benny, Harry and Callie 🤩
Harry did cows and water for the first time today. In true cool 😎 man Harry style 🤩⭐️
🤩🥰
Benny 🌟 Sunday 2/4/23 😍
Bobby, 2012 model, 15.2hh super lovely dude. Will make a great plodder
Sunday started right. Man we hit some crazy goals today 💪🏻🤩 always grateful to watch partnerships start to thrive 🌻
