Engaged Equines

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Engaged Equines

ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMS & IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS. Unlock Your Potential. Unleash Your Unicorn!

A fusion of compassionate horsemanship and biomechanics that develop correct posture, mobility & willingness through maximising mental & physical engagement.

12/11/2024

🐴 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧? 🐴

I’ll admit, I’m patient in my work but my nearest and dearest might also say that I have a stubborn streak…🙄

So how do we differentiate during time spent with our horses and why is it important to know the difference?

🟠 Patience…is taking a deep breath in and a slow breath out, patience feels like softening our body.

⚫ Stubbornness…is holding your breath, shallow breaths or exasperated sighs, stubbornness feels like tensing our body.

Stubbornness creates resistance, brace and tension and can easily escalate a situation…patience encourages softness, willingness and motivation and can diffuse a situation.

It’s important to feel the difference, and if we get really good at our own body awareness and control, we might even be able to stop stubbornness in its tracks and replace it with patience!

If you’re unable to find a better, more positive energy, walk away and try again tomorrow!

No…your horse hasn’t ‘won’, you’ve just avoided an antagonistic situation that was unlikely to have a positive outcome for either of you!

Happy Horsing! Katrina ☺

08/11/2024

🧡🧡 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!!! 🧡🧡

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮???

I’m on the search to help TWO lucky partnerships kick goals in 2025!!

As an Engaged Equine Ambassador, in return for sharing your story you will receive:

🦄 Discounted clinics, workshops and events for 2025!!!

🦄 Monthly check ins, to give you the support and guidance you need to get on track or stay there!!!

So…what do you need to do??

Message me or let me know below if you want to be the NEXT ENGAGED EQUINES AMBASSADOR and I can send you an application.

🎄 And…with Xmas coming up I’m feeling festive so if you know a horse or human in need you can 𝑷𝒂𝒚 𝑰𝒕 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅!!!

Simply let me know on the submission form why they deserve to be part of the team 🥰

Spread the word! And…..go! 🏃🏻‍♀️

06/11/2024

🧡 CONGRATULATIONS!!! 🧡

To the ladies of my Wednesday Workshop group! On completing Series THREE!! 🥳

I’m so looking forward to the next Series - where we’ll be looking to Expand Our Inhand with a range of exercises that are useful inhand but also under saddle to test and maintain our alignment and suppleness!

The changes in each horse and human have been so great to see - today I really noticed some fabulous changes in posture and muscle tone AND some great problem solving and critical thinking from the humans! Great work guys! 👏

The two ladies below are making sure their note taking is meticulous!! 🥰😆

01/11/2024

🧡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧… 🧡

You bring your horse out for the day, you want to try that exercise you’ve been working on or something new you’ve learnt…but you get mixed up with your sequence and end up with cues in the wrong order.

You’re at a clinic, the clinician hands you the rope…you freeze…what if I stuff this up, in front of everyone?!

You’re taking your horse home from the trainer…but what if I get it wrong?! Will I break him?!

Any of these sound familiar?

When I’m training, my first pass is always used to see what will happen.

If I don’t see what happens, how do I know what to work on?? My horse doesn’t have to give me the ‘right’ answer. Because there is no right answer.

The mark of any good foundation exercise is that it’s a tool for both diagnosing AND fixing and should be able to be used to find out if your basic buttons are working correctly, not just to ‘fix’ an issue.

If you identify an issue you can then use your exercise (or switch to something more useful) to help your horse find the right answer, feel better in their body and mind and guide them to mental and physical engagement as well as improve your communication skills, timing and feel.

31/10/2024

🤩FINAL CLINIC OF 2024 DONE & DUSTED!!🤩

Last weekend was my final 1-day clinic of 2024 😲….my 5th clinic in less than 2 months!!

This one was my Connection and Confidence Clinic, part of my 1-day series which focuses on the key concepts I feel everyone needs to understand for their training to actually stick!

Congratulations on our participants for making such huge and visible changes in just a day!

One of our participants was literally selling her horse and cancelling her spot the Tuesday prior to this clinic. She had totally lost confidence, as had her horse and didn’t know where to turn - they both arrived feeling very lost but I’m so happy they were able to not just attend but drastically improve their understanding and communication. So much so that…he’s no longer for sale 🤗.

Another of our horses was an adorable young lady who was so inquisitive but lacked self-confidence and was unsure of what to do with her nervous energy, which caused disconnect first in her feet, then her mind.

She brought her two humans with her, one a young rider - who did a fantastic job with her.
I know these concepts might seem a little intimidating to a younger generation but it was an honour to be able to introduce these concepts so early in her riding career and be able to shape these views at such a young age. These are our future horsemen!

Huge congrats on your hard work to everyone who attended! I can’t wait to see more of your journeys!

✨ Stay tuned for the 2025 clinic schedule!! ✨

There will be several half day workshops on the calendar to finish out 2024!

22/10/2024

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘆? 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲? 𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? 𝗡𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲? 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄? 𝗨𝗻𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱?

The first steps to ‘fixing’ these issues are figuring out the why and improving your horse’s mental fitness.

🐴 Gain a better understanding of what your horse is trying to tell you.

🐴 Equip them with essential skills such as emotional regulation.

🐴 Structure your training to compliment their learning style - so you can make maximum progress.

🦄 Do away with the yo-yoing, the inconsistency and the unpredictability!

🦄 Develop a more mutual partnership and keep your horse willing and motivated.

🦄 Learn about the link between mental and physical engagement - it’s deeper than you might think!

Do you have your spot yet????? Message to get yours! Katrina 😁

21/10/2024

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠…

Well, one of them anyway, there were many.

This was me with my team and a very special mare.

You might not know, but my background is largely in equine rehabilitation, I managed a facility in Kentucky US from 2006 to around 2011 after earning and completing a 12 month international internship at Kentucky Equine Research.

I’d had a lot of valuable equine education to this point, but these years were so pivotal. I joined the professional equine industry for the first time and I was privileged enough to do it across the other side of the world after growing up in the UK.

When I began training I honestly didn’t make the most important links between what I’d been implementing during the rehab. That took some years, BUT there are some people in this picture who had some of the biggest impacts on my training and vision.

Steve and Linda Caddel took a chance on a young intern fresh off the boat! And boy did I hit a learning curve. 18 years later and not only are they mentors but family.

In my first days I remember watching Linda assess horses for lameness, the horses being walked up and down the barn and her pin pointing their soreness in seconds. I said to myself ‘one day I hope to be able to see what she sees’ as I squinted next to her.

The lead stablehand walking young colts that had been rested and confined for healing, as they flitted around like butterflies, within moments taking a deep sigh and dropping their heads as they tuned in to the calming energy.

SO…what things still influence me today?

* always think outside the box - what works for one might not work for another, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

* you can always do more - if a horse was struggling to cope with their rehab or stalling during healing, Linda would always ask, what else can we do? Sometimes the smallest additions would make the biggest differences.

* See the best - a lot of the horses that came in were difficult to treat, they were uncomfortable, painful or frustrated. I might be thrown against walls, bitten or kicked. But I always knew that wasn’t their true personality. I would spend time sitting with them, talking to them and reassuring them outside of treatments. In time some of my most difficult patients became my best friends, nickering to me when I turned on the barn light in the morning.

There are probably many more, but these stick with me daily.

Last week I was reunited with Linda after 5 long years and I’m so proud to show her what I’m working on while she’s here AND have her as my guest of honour at this weekend’s Connection & Confidence 1-Day Ground Clinic, Nar Nar Goon VIC.

Come and join us! Message for details, horse and non-horse spots available!

18/10/2024

𝐈𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?

🐴 Is your horse a space invader?
🐴 Do they lack confidence in a herd situation?
🐴 Or struggle to actively think through situations independently?

Relationship building is common place in many forms of training, with trust the goal, trust to look to us for help and trust to take our direction. This is a great tool moving forward, however it is also important to balance this with self confidence.

After creating security (for our horses and through being with us), we can build on this to avoid over reliance, pacification or placation.

Why?

🟠 Because we may be in situations where pressure becomes greater than our ability to pacify
🟠 To help our horses confidence not only when they are with us but away from us
🟠 To maintain healthy boundaries
🟠 To maximise our horses use of tools

How do we do this?

🟠 Teaching self regulation
🟠 Teaching body stability and balance
🟠 Teaching body awareness and improving proprioception
🟠 Building the distance at which our horses are comfortable

REAL LIFE situations where building self confidence alongside security can amplify and maximise training results:

✅ Horses who like to be ‘in your space’
✅ Horses lacking confidence in a herd
✅ Transferring skills from the ground to under saddle, particularly during the starting process when you might ‘disappear’ or offer support from above rather than below
✅ Separation anxiety
✅ Taking or moving horses to a new space

Building self confidence gives another layer to our training! And who doesn’t love more tools in their tool box?!

There are many simple exercises that can be performed in a short amount of time that make a world of difference.

☀️☀️I’ll be covering the first steps in my 1-Day Clinic NEXT WEEKEND October 26th! ☀️☀️

I have ONLY 3 horse spots left! Get in touch if you’d like more details or to join us 😁

14/10/2024

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘆? 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲? 𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? 𝗡𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲? 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄? 𝗨𝗻𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱?

The first steps to ‘fixing’ these issues are figuring out the why and improving your horse’s mental fitness.

🐴 Gain a better understanding of what your horse is trying to tell you.

🐴 Equip them with essential skills such as emotional regulation.

🐴 Structure your training to compliment their learning style - so you can make maximum progress.

🦄 Do away with the yo-yoing, the inconsistency and the unpredictability!

🦄 Develop a more mutual partnership and keep your horse willing and motivated.

🦄 Learn about the link between mental and physical engagement - it’s deeper than you might think!

I have space to help a limited number of horses at my next clinic! Let me know if you’re ready for the next step! 😁

10/10/2024

🧡 NEW DATE!!!!!! 🧡

✨October 26th✨ This will be the final repeat of this clinic for 2024! So make sure to grab your spot if you’ve been wanting to attend.

With horse spots are strictly limited.

Theory, discussions & practical sessions included. Morning tea & lunch also included!

Let me know if you want more details!! 😊

09/10/2024

🤭 Got to have a cheeky sit on this handsome fellow at this morning’s monthly workshop! 🤭

Transitions was the theme for this month and Jax tends to have a high level of anticipation in his work, which means he can rush through any tasks or movements and be in a hurry to move around. His posture and movement suffer in that he can then become very short and tight through his body.

Today we worked on slowing his brain and lengthening his body by patiently waiting for him to find more centre and balance, only using one aid at a time and focusing on slowing and lengthening out the aids when asking him to move. He mirrored this in his body by giving us a lovely soft and engaged walk!

Thanks so much Rhonda for letting me play with your awesome guy 🧡

02/10/2024

🧡 Your horse deserves patience, time & respect 🧡

I think if we’re honest, we’ve all tried to find the quicker way, the easier way, the way that involves the least effort, but I also know that many of us knew that down the track we’d come most likely come full circle.

There’s definitely no shame in mistakes, growth and learning but I’ll save you the time in case you haven’t figured it out yet…there is no simple fix with horses!

So instead of spending time searching for it, invest in finding training approaches that resonate with you, allow you to enjoy the journey and have fun being a student of the horse! 🐴

25/09/2024

🦄 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞?? 🦄

24/09/2024

🐴 TWO SPOTS 🐴
have become available for this Saturday’s…

Posture, Muscle Tone & Movement 1-Day Ground Clinic, Nar Nar Goon VIC

20/09/2024

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞!

Physical fitness helps your horse more easily achieve tasks and keeps them sound.
In-hand and ridden work focused around strength and functional movement help to build this. Assessing topline and muscle tone gives us a good gauge of progress.

🧠 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆?

Mental agility and strength can be much harder to gauge and quantify and tedious to build as the balance between increasing and depleting it is a very fine line.

𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘?

That it’s not just confidence your horse’s mental fitness affects, it also influences:

🐴 Posture
🐎 Movement
💪 Soundness

Through its connection to the central nervous system and the intricately intertwined aspects of mental and physical balance.

If I cannot access the mind of a horse, I will never be able to positively influence their body, and so, mental fitness is the first thing I assess on any horse I meet.

When I gauge mental agility some things I look at…

🧡 Self regulation cycling
🧡 Behavioural patterns or loops
🧡 ‘Go to’ posture
🧡 Ability to process what’s around them
🧡 Body awareness
🧡 Willingness to connect
🧡 Focus
🧡 Learning style

Simply by accessing the mind and having the central nervous system in a calm, aware state physical attributes can be greatly improved, which allows us to maximise our physical progress!

…which feeds mental state and frame of mind!

🌟 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝’𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬!

🐎 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟖𝐭𝐡 - 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐞 & 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

🦄 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 - 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

Message for more info! Strictly limited spaces!

16/09/2024

🧡 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄… 🧡
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I’LL MEET YOU THERE.

I’ve had lots enquiries this week for my upcoming 1-day Clinics at the end of the month, as is common, a lot of people I’ve spoken to or messaged are feeling unsure, nervous or lacking in confidence. Many also have horse’s who have their own stories.

The conversations begin with a something along the lines of…

“𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝”

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙”

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚/𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩”

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚/𝙖𝙣𝙭𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚𝙨”

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙧”

I also meet many people stuck, confused or at a crossroads with their horses, conversations and teachings can be hard and emotional.

Firstly I want to say, I am so glad you feel comfortable to express your concerns and to open up about your fears, it helps me to help you.

Secondly, I’m used to taking things at face value and working with what I’ve got right in front of me and from moment to moment…at least I hope so as it’s a BIG part of my job. I try not to have any preconceived ideas about the horses I meet too.

Thirdly, I am so passionate about creating an environment that brings people together, allows you to learn, no matter what level you or your horse are and encourage everyone to support each other. We need more of that in the world and less judgement if we truly want to help each other and the horses.

I’m always going to start where you or your horse need me, if I need to work backwards to get to the root of an issue I will, otherwise I’m just going through the motions of teaching a party trick in the form of an exercise. It’s the principles and concepts I’m interested in, not how far we get or the end goal because that’s what determines the efficacy of the training.

𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱.

𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁’ 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀.

𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆.

𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲…

𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

So what are you waiting for?! Stop feeling stuck and start getting excited!

Join me at one of these upcoming days 😊

🧡 Connection & Confidence Clinic, 29th September, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

💬 Developing A Dialogue, Body Energy & Body Control Clinic, 5th October, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

🐎 Posture & Movement Clinic, 28th September, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

Message me with your questions!

13/09/2024

🛑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏! 🛑

🐴 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧?

🐴 𝐎𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧?

There are lots of ways to train a horse but obedience is usually a primary goal, alongside gaining or regaining control. But why is this?

Obedience makes it more likely we’ll get the response we want and tools for control are often designed with safety in mind…

…but do they come at a cost? And do they really provide the safety we’re looking for?

Skills aimed at control usually involve shutting down a response by reprimanding or correction or off balancing the horse, think disengaging the hips and tight circles.

Disengagement is probably one of the most practiced ground exercises, it gives confidence that we can regain control in an emergency.
So we teach our horse the desired response is to disengage and disconnect the body ‘just in case’.

Then when it comes to our day to day training, we want fluidity, softness, responsiveness and yep, you guessed it, ENGAGEMENT!

This is a very conflicting message if the amount of time spent training each is disproportionate to their amount of use.

Secondly, if our horses understand how to be balanced, travel optimally and comfortably, without brace and tension - the very situation you need the disengagement for would not arise.

Lastly, off balancing a horse mentally OR physically depletes trust and shuts down the lines of communication, which means your horse will forego looking to you for help or guidance before a bad reaction, before you take a nose dive or when they are feeling tense or uncomfortable.

🦄 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲! 🦄

Teaching self management skills, regulation, body awareness, body control, positive postures and balance make it far less likely you will end up in a situation where you need to substantially regain control.

Your horse will also exceed in confidence, making them more reliable, more willing and more predictable.

Plus, they’ll thank you for creating positive situations, listening and your patience, so much so that they will value your opinion and look to you for guidance instead of leaving you in the dust!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝟭-𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵!

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲. 🐴

🟢 CONNECTION & CONFIDENCE Clinic 🟢
September 29th, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

🟣 DEVELOPING A DIALOGUE, Communication & Body Control Clinic 🟣
October 5th, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

🔵 POSTURE, MUSCLE & MOVEMENT Clinic 🔵
September 28th, Nar Nar Goon, VIC

Strictly limited spots, small groups!

Attend with or without your horse!

Message for more details! 😁

Address

Nar Nar Goon, VIC

Telephone

+61468390675

Website

http://www.engaged-equines.com/

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🎉 First solo ride for young Warmblood gelding, Bon Voyage ML! What a champ! 🎉 So what are we looking for in this session? It’s not flashy movement or a high tempo, but straightness, forward from the hinds and softness. Our goal here is to use the body control we have taught on the ground to help align his body in a way which enables him to carry the rider, shift his weight and reorganise his body. When he becomes sticky or crooked, we realign his body, this allows him to stretch, balance and gain fluid forward motion. #cadencehorsetraining #harmonioushorsemanship #engagedequines #startingnotbreaking #warmblood #horsetraining #horsetrainer