Coolabah Equine

30/03/2025

Coolabah Equine’s Introductory mini Cattle Clinic was a great success. Everyone braved the torrential rain and headed down to Cooinda Park’s stunning facilities in Mulgoa. We had riders from all walks of life with one thing in common, they had never worked cattle before.
We ran through some warm up exercises and began by learning to read cattle and where to place yourself. And then everyone had to muster them as a mob together around the arena, which required teamwork and forward thinking.
We then proceeded to cut one beast out at a time and let riders have a go at tailing and boxing them down the end of the arena.
Everyone had a red hot go, even a big purebred Percheron got his cowpony on. It was a great afternoon where we finished with champagne and a grazing platter back at home. Well done everyone and look forward to getting you all back out for the next one.

Huge thanks to for the beautiful photos.

26/03/2025

Very proud of these kids. Handling their weaning so well. Pep’s mum has headed home to Sharleens place and he hasn’t fussed once. Gentle weaning over a week or two is simply setting your foals up for success.

24/03/2025

Our yearling, ‘Maverick’ enjoying his pedicure with

23/03/2025

Great morning out at Castle Hill Show with the boys.
Results:
“Braeview Titanium”
1st - Led ASH Stallion
Champion ASH colt/Stallion
1st - Stallion Hack
1st - Hack 4 years and under
1st - Working Stallion
2nd - Working 4 years and under
3rd - ASHLA

“Coolabahcreek Iron Maverick”
1st - Yearling ASH Gelding

Always so proud of my ponies, Titan is the most reliable horse I’ve ever had the pleasure of swinging a leg over, and baby mav was a perfect gentleman, doing lovely workouts for his champion class and then proceeded to be tied to the float for the next few hours without a worry.

Yet again proving how wonderfully quiet these titanium babies are 🥰

It was great to see my show fam again and thanks to my show mum Chantel McDonald for all her help, juggling the two horses on my own was abit of a struggle. 😅
Congratulations everyone on a fantastic show.

Proudly sponsored by:
JENT Bodywork

19/03/2025

Weaning time for the babies. They are handling it all very well, such good kids. 🥰

14/03/2025

We love seeing these updates of the beautiful yearling stockhorse we sold recently. He is absolutely thriving in his new home. Stockhorses are the best 🥰

14/03/2025

The most beautiful brumby in the whole world. (But I might be bias)

12/03/2025

Our next two babies up for weaning shortly.
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07/03/2025

After a super busy week with client horses and lessons it was really lovely to end the day with a cruisy ride on my beautiful stallion. Words cannot describe how much I adore this horse. 🥰🙏🏽
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06/03/2025

A fantastic read.

Do horses understand respect??

Many say NO horses do not understand the concept of respect while also saying the human should respect the horse… Practically speaking that doesn’t quite make sense.

How can one respect the other when one party lacks the ability to understand what respect is…? Now I’m NOT going to allow this post to be a whole post about the meaning of words - I’m going to get into the practical application here in a second- but if our perspective is off we cannot be effective.

The idea that horses cannot respect us because they don’t understand the concept of respect is a line of thinking that holds us back.

The truth is, whether or not your horse understands what respect is doesn’t change the fact that we, as humans, understand it.

I’ve worked with thousands of horses and riders, and time and again, I see the same thing: when people call a horse ‘disrespectful,’ they’re often reacting emotionally to behavior that’s dangerous, undisciplined, or out of line in a domesticated environment.

What happens next? Emotions run high. Some riders get angry, others frustrated or scared. But here’s the problem: Those emotions don’t fix the issue. If we can’t separate our emotions from the situation, we end up focusing on the wrong thing — such as feeling disrespected instead of solving the problem at hand.

Respect in the human sense is a concept that we understand clearly. If a horse is pulling, pushing, crowding your space, or not yielding when asked, it doesn’t matter if the horse ‘understands’ respect. What matters is that the horse’s actions are unsafe and undesirable in our world. And we need to address it. The issue isn’t about whether a horse knows what respect means; it’s about how we respond to the horse’s behavior.

And here’s the reality — when we get stuck arguing semantics over whether horses understand respect, we miss the point entirely. The question isn’t whether the horse grasps the concept of respect. The real question is: What are we going to do with the behavior we deem disrespectful or respectful?

As professionals and for all horse people, our job is to understand the horse’s needs — physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. And then we have to channel that energy into something productive. That’s what real horsemanship is: Recognizing the needs of the horse, creating a vision of what you and that horse can and will accomplish together, developing your understanding, developing and responding with skill, and leading the horse in a way that serves both them and us.

When we focus on fixing the behavior, not the emotions attached to being ‘disrespected’, we stop getting hung up on whether the horse “respects” us, and we start building a partnership based on clear communication, expectations, understanding, trust and purpose. We start solving the problem, not spinning our wheels in emotional frustration.

I’ll leave you with this. Don’t get distracted by the semantics. As horsemen and women, it’s our job to lead, to guide, and to communicate in a way that’s clear, fair, and effective. We’re not looking for blind obedience. We’re looking for a partnership based on mutual understanding — one that focuses on real solutions for the horse and rider alike.

Respect is a human construct that is surface level in the horse world.

We must go deeper if we want us and our horses to have the skills and partnership that we can depend on and enjoy together regardless of discipline, regardless of what you enjoy doing with your horse.

And it all starts with us making a change. The horse will respond accordingly.

Together We Rise.

-Colton Woods

03/03/2025

Can you tell which one the filly is? 🤣

03/03/2025

Something I tell all my lesson clients.

Quick Tip from Angie & John Wicks : Turning Resistance off the Leg into Softness

If your horse resists leg pressure, don’t take your leg off. Keep steady pressure with one leg and use the rein to guide them. Hold the pressure until they soften or step over, then release as their reward.

Work in a small circle, using the inside leg to encourage the horse to step under with their inside hind leg. The goal is to help them respond to your leg with a positive attitude.

Be patient and consistent. With time, your horse will learn to respond softly and willingly.

· Reward Relaxation: Reward softness or deep breaths.
· Imagine a 5- or 6-sided shape on a small circle, asking for counter bend and weight shift as you ride this pattern.

With patience, you’ll build your horse’s relaxation to your leg cues.

For more tips on Turning Resistance off the Leg into Softness : https://wicksequine.com/videos/inside-outside-bend-relaxing-a-sensitive-horse-that-loses-forward-gets-anxious/

02/03/2025

Special appreciation post to our yearling Gelding.
This boy has such an old soul and such an easy baby to take out and compete, nothing phased him. 🥰
We would love for him to eventually go to a wonderful show home.

Proudly sponsored by:
Jent bodywork - Mel Coleiro
Performa Ride
Jojubi Saddlery
Hi Shine Equine
Nags To Riches
Hair Test Lab

02/03/2025

Great morning at Luddenham Show with this father and son duo.
I wanted to take Mav out for a led class and brought Titan along as his emotional support friend. Turns out Titan was the one needing emotional support from the persistent little yearling that wanted to play with him all morning. 🤣
Both boys were faultless, Titan certainly passed down his beautiful temperament to Mav.
Results:

“Braeview Titanium”
2nd Led ASH Stallion
Reserve Champion ASH Stallion

“Coolabahcreek Iron Maverick”
1st led yearling ASH Gelding

Congrats to all competitors.
Was nice to have a quick and easy morning.
Proudly sponsored by:
JENT

01/03/2025

I know we have a great community of equestrians on here so I’m hoping this finds the right people.
My good friend Billy welcomed her beautiful daughter Hazel into the world, sadly a few weeks later, eager to get back to the sport she loved so dearly, she fell from her horse and suffered a traumatic brain injury requiring emergency surgery. Billy is one of the toughest women I know, a good ol’ Aussie battler and I know she will get through this. But in the meantime, she has a long road to recovery in hospital over the next few months whilst she regains function in her body.

Please consider donating to their go fund me as I know every cent will count with a newborn baby and the added medical bills, this would be so helpful to them.

Billy and Nathan recently welcomed their beautiful daughter, Ha… Elsa Ribal needs your support for Support Nathan, Billy, and Baby Hazel in Their Time of Need

26/02/2025

“Knowing when to quit.”

Knowing when to quit is like saying "Thank You, you've done your best today" to your horse. The more experience you have, the quicker you look to praise and reward your horse's efforts.

22/02/2025

Second week into our show prep and little Mav is coming up a treat. Fingers crossed we can make it out to Luddenham show next weekend 🤞🏽
Fed on
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