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Hedera Horsemanship

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Gidgegannup, WA
Hedera Horsemanship

Hedera Horsemanship Founded by Mars Parry
📍 Gidgegannup, WA
🧠 Holistic Neuroscience-Based Approach
🫀 Emotional Regulation
🌟 Developing Brains through Neuroplasticity

18/03/2025

Watching the emotions and the body change between each moment. ⚖️

Whether or not he is in his thinking brain, emotional brain, or both. 🧠

What information he is processing, and what information he is not processing. 📕

How he is, or is not processing those things. ✏️

Why he is processing those things in that way. 🔍

The value isn’t really in what you do, but how it is received. Less so you do, but how and why you do it. Being able to look out for Neo’s needs allows for him to gain the most out of his learning experience. 🥰 We take a lot of time checking in with him and observing his emotions, cortisol levels and active thought processes fluctuate with each passing moment. 📊

With this in mind, I can tailor the session to exactly what he needs to work on, and keep it within his biological thresholds to ensure a beneficial learning experience. Everything we do is consciously for them, not meant at them or to them. If it is received that way, our job is to step in and help them to understand, feel understood, and feel safe. ❤️

14/03/2025

Understanding what a truly happy horse looks like compared to one suffering internally—whether from emotional, chemical, or physical issues—is incredibly important.

This is a photo of Scout, a gorgeous wee gelding who endured severe internal complications. After twelve months of paddock turnout and countless professional assessments, we made the heartbreaking decision to put him to sleep.

I delayed that decision for far too long, plagued by guilt, convinced I must have missed something. But after his autopsy, I felt an even deeper guilt—realizing I should have let him go sooner. I don’t believe in euthanizing a horse just because they have issues; I always exhaust every veterinary and professional avenue first. However, leaving a horse to live in chronic discomfort, confined to a life of quiet suffering, isn’t fair either.

This expression on Scout’s face is a classic example of what we call a "pain/worry eye." The pinched skin beneath the eye shouldn’t appear so wrinkled. When an animal is under stress, the levator anguli oculi muscle tightens, pulling the skin tight and creating wrinkles as a result. In a relaxed, happy horse, gravity should allow this area to soften downwards.

Another significant indicator in this photo is the way Scout is sucking in his cheeks. This was occurring because he was living in a dissociative state—a long-term freeze response—as a coping mechanism for his internal discomfort.

In a freeze response, a horse will often hold their breath as their body starts to involuntarily shut down in preparation for injury or death (causing the appearance of them sucking in their cheeks). This response can be triggered by intense pain, mental overwhelm, or a loss of hope—when the horse no longer believes that fleeing or fighting will ensure its safety. This is particularly relevant for horses trained under duress, where learned helplessness replaces their natural flight instincts.

Other key signs of a horse functioning in a strong freeze response include:

▪️ Short, shallow breaths through the nostrils or diaphragm
▪️ Glassy eyes
▪️ Rigid lips and muzzle
▪️ Tense ears
▪️ Difficulty swallowing (as the freeze response affects the salivary glands)

If a horse displays a pain eye, sucked-in cheeks, or any of these other behaviors, it’s crucial to start searching for the root cause. While physical and chemical issues are common culprits, psychological stress plays a significant role, too. Boredom, loneliness, lack of social engagement, feeling misunderstood, or—of course—abuse and neglect can all contribute to an animal's suffering.

11/03/2025

Emotional Processing: 100% Complete.

Sometimes, understanding just takes a little time. 🤍

09/03/2025

Reintroducing the Ba****ck Pad

With Neo’s foundation being restarted through neuroscience, we are going back over some of the things he has already done, like wearing a ba****ck pad. 📚

Through this, and his newfound conscious awareness of his own emotions, he is finding these emotions coming up again and the comfort to express + navigate them. ❤️‍🩹

This is not so much a new reaction, as this is unprocessed emotions coming to the surface, to a place where we can address them. 🔍

He does not cross the threshold into Distress, where there is limited access to the Prefrontal Cortex (limiting cognitive functions such as reasoning, problem solving, risk assessment, empathy, decision-making, judgement, etc. and some may go totally offline). This is because he is now comfortable enough being uncomfortable to be able to neutralise and process those emotions, rather than react and engage in unhealthy processes such as displacement, avoidance, extended activation of freeze/fight/flight, etc. 🧘🏻

We have spent the first 2 weeks really establishing this foundation as he had some very strong patterns. He is an older pony, and it took him some time to trust and see the value in what I had to offer. ⏳

Now his neuroplasticity is developing at an excelling rate, he is cortisol levels are coming down, he is able to learn more, all while creating true connection with humans rather than training through transaction, which he can only see so much value in. We can start to develop a foundation based around him + his person feeling understood, him + his person feeling like they understand, and him + his person feeling safe - emotionally and physically. 🫂

I feel neuroscience has been this pony’s absolute language. He wants to know the knows. He wants to feel the feels. He has been waiting a long time to be able to truly connect with and value people. It’s beautiful to be able to change his life, later on or not. I feel very lucky to be a part of it. 🥹🤍

03/03/2025

Neo 🖤

Late-teens brumby gelding who is learning to find true value, peace and connection with people for the first time.

7 years as a stallion, being rounded up from the wild and unsuccessful in being started under saddle twice. He has a lot of trauma - unprocessed emotions attached to context.

Day by day, we are both validating and processing each little part of it through a neuroscience-based approach.

I do adore this sweet boy. He makes me feel very much.

02/03/2025

Neo and his mum, Lynda.

This was their first deep moment shared from a neuroscience-based approach.

They are creating new foundations for their relationship to advance together, through feelings of understanding, safety and connection. ❤️‍🩹

28/02/2025

Training Spots for Perth Hills and Swan Valley Surrounds with Hedera Horsemanship

•••

👻 Does your horse struggle with anxiety, fear, tension, or maintaining confidence?

⚡️ Does your horse display disproportionate, extreme behaviours?

💣 Does your horse freeze up, or explode out of nowhere when they get overwhelmed?

😴 Does your horse appear dull, unmotivated, disinterested, disconnected, or shut down?

•••

😣 Do you feel totally lost for what to do, or where to go next, with your horse?

📕 Do you feel like you’ve tried just about every method in the books, yet nothing has worked?

❤️‍🩹 Do you want to better your relationship with your horse, prioritising connection, and self-empowerment of both horse and human?

🌱 Do you want to learn how to understand and read your horse (and yourself!) better, striving towards personal growth, with ongoing access to a support system?

•••

About Me -

My name is Mars (they/them), and I have been offering training for a few years now. I was operating from Dunsborough, but in the last year we have moved to Gidgegannup. Over time, particularly in the last year, my values and training style have changed significantly. I am starting this business page over, so it is reflective of what I now offer.

I am deeply passionate about an ethical, holistic approach of training that places value on the individual needs of each client. I want to create self-empowered horses + humans. The goal being, you and your horse feeling like you could conquer anything. We look at behaviour with neuroscience in mind, so we can address the root causes of surface level behavioural problems, no matter how major or mild. We can start to understand why both us and our horses feel and act the way we do, regardless of the context. Through awareness and understanding, we can find our own emotional solutions and have access to emotional regulation, even if we can’t change or control the contextual problem.

•••

Availability -

I service Perth Hills and the Swan Valley externally, and I offer on-property training spots.

🚨 I will be totally honest with you. I will always work to create a safe space for your emotions, and help you grow. However, you may find some hard truths, start to see things very differently, visit some confronting topics and take home very personal food for thought. But I promise I will be in your corner, and I will always try to understand you, help you to understand, and help you feel safe. I aim to create a space where you have ample opportunity to ask questions, communicate your thoughts, establish boundaries, and to understand. I am not a transactional person and I do truly love my clients and watching them grow, so I embody transparency.

If you feel you and your horse could benefit from a support structure that is truly invested in both of your happiness, confidence, sense of belonging, sense of self, and creating a place of peace…

Please flick me a message and we can have a chat. ☕️❤️

02/01/2024

Happy new year everyone! ☀️

This year, we will be operating from our 50 acre property in Gidgegannup which is very exciting. This allows for so many more exciting opportunities as well as the Perth clientele. We are still in the process of building more paddocks, a round yard and an arena, but will hopefully be taking clients very soon.

If anyone is interested in float training, groundwork, starting, general education, working on manners, developing your relationship with your horse, or bringing your horse back into work etc please don’t hesitate to send a message and I can let you know when we are available. If you are local to the Gidgegannup area, I can also travel to you.

Fingers crossed for a great 2024.

Pictured is the lovely friesian warmblood mare, Calliope, owned by Jayne T.

Address

Toodyay Road
Gidgegannup, WA
6083

Website

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Videos

Emotional Processing: 100% Complete. Sometimes, understanding just takes a little time. 🤍

Neo 🖤

Neo 🖤 Late-teens brumby gelding who is learning to find true value, peace and connection with people for the first time. 7 years as a stallion, being rounded up from the wild and unsuccessful in being started under saddle twice. He has a lot of trauma - unprocessed emotions attached to context. Day by day, we are both validating and processing each little part of it through a neuroscience-based approach. I do adore this sweet boy. He makes me feel very much.

Neo and his mum, Lynda

Neo and his mum, Lynda. This was their first deep moment shared from a neuroscience-based approach. They are creating new foundations for their relationship to advance together, through feelings of understanding, safety and connection. ❤️‍🩹