Horse and Human Harmony

20/10/2025

🐴 The Groundwork Gap: Or How Being Brilliant in the Saddle Isn't Enough

There’s a certain irony with equestrians: the better people get at one thing, the more allergic they become to feeling like beginners again.

A talented young event rider once brought me her young Clydie cross - anxious, unpredictable, and prone to bolting. The vets had cleared him, the tack was fitted, but something didn’t add up.

So I stripped everything off and turned him loose in the round yard. Within two laps, a problem revealed itself - he couldn’t canter a balanced circle to save himself. He’d rush and get discombobulated. I told her, “You’re asking him to gallop cross-country and jump stuff when he can’t even stay upright on a circle. He’s not naughty—he’s freaked out he’ll fall over.”

The logic landed. Until she said, “I don’t do groundwork.”

Ah yes—the phrase that has quietly ended more riding careers than kids and financial resources combined.🥺

It made her feel clumsy, awkward, uncoordinated - a beginner again. She would apologise profusely as I coached her. Apologising because she wasn’t learning fast enough… and then apologising for apologising when I told her to please stop apologising 😕.

She stopped after two sessions - apologising she was just hopeless at groundwork - and went back to riding through it. A few weeks later, she fell off and broke her ribs. That was over ten years ago, and her name hasn’t appeared on an eventing start list since.

It’s sad - not because she didn’t try, but because she felt so much shame at the discomfort of learning something new. That awkward, messy stage that’s actually normal.

Versatility isn’t optional; it’s what separates capability from calamity. You can be brilliant in the saddle, but if you can’t help your horse from the ground, you’re only half a horse person.

Versatility makes you adaptable to the horse's needs.

So be versatile. Be curious. Embrace the messy. Fight those shame demons in your head 💪—for the sake of both you and your horse. ❤️

Collectable Advice Entry 57/365 to hit SAVE, SHARE...and no copying and pasting!

19/10/2025

I've deleted my competition post 🤦‍♀️ but not to stress, I got everyone's name in!

CONGRATULATIONS Crawford-Ferguson 🎊

Your choice of a $50 Horseland voucher OR a 1-on-1 lesson if local to me!

16/10/2025

🎉 Exciting News! We Have a New Name! 🎉
After much thought, reflection and rein alignment (pun intended 😉), I'm so proud to officially announce:

✨ Horse and Human Harmony ✨

TradiE-Questrian is a pretty memorable name and I need to get word out of the name change!

This name perfectly reflects what I do, helping you understand your horse on a deeper level, so together you can move with clarity, confidence and calm connection. It's not about obedience or quick fixes, it’s about building new associations, partnership, feel, and learning to train your own horse with trust and understanding.

To celebrate, I’m running a little giveaway! 💝

🌟 WIN a $50 Horseland voucher OR a 1-on-1 lesson (if you're in the Banjup/Oakford area)!

👉 To enter:
✅ LIKE this post
✅️FOLLOW this page
✅ SHARE to your story or timeline
✅ TAG a friend who loves horses and would love this approach too!

Entries close Sunday 19th Oct
Winner will be drawn at random and announced here!

Thanks for being part of the journey and here’s to more harmony, more understanding, and more confident horses and humans 🐎💛

19/09/2025

Super excited to have helped Sassy transition from the breakers!
She's getting ready to start her racing career and she's a filly with a fight instinct so teaching her how to redirect those thoughts before they become an action will give her the confidence to become a winner 🏆

17/09/2025

Sassy is sassying!

This exercise helps horses get comfortable with movement and sensation around the saddle area, so they can stay relaxed and thinking while processing new stimuli.
The goal isn’t to “desensitise” but to help your horse process stimulus and stay confident, even when things move in their blind spots. This creates a calmer, more adaptable horse under saddle.

16/09/2025

My most common and most disliked exercises I do with horses.
Awareness, meaning and confidence in the halter is sometimes ugly, but necessary for safe leading.

This little filly is Sassy, Carrots half sister from the same mum!

09/09/2025

Have you heard a trainer say 'there's nothing wrong with the horse, its the rider' or 'they're incapable'? Well, they're not wrong, but they're also letting you know that they don't have the skills to teach people. This course gives you a wealth of knowledge 💪 I have watched every day horse people go from novice to experience in such a short time through Calm, Willing, confident horses 🐎

HORSES ARE EASY – PEOPLE ARE… 🤯

When you work with people and horses long enough, two things hit you in the face like a wet saddle blanket:
Horses are, in fact, ridiculously gentle creatures. Even the “crazy” ones are usually holding back, politely not killing us despite ample reason.

People… well, they can - let me demonstrate with emojis - 🤯😱🫣🤬🫠

Let me tell you a story....

A woman brought me her horse, swearing it was dangerous. It charged people, wouldn’t lead, hated saddling, planted under saddle, threatened to buck.

Another trainer had already branded it “crazy” after strapping it in leg restraints, watching it panic, flip, and nearly spear itself on a fence.

I took it to the round yard. It didn’t charge. It didn’t buck. It relaxed, it learned, it was delightful...

The real “dangerous” bit showed up when I handed the woman the rope. She had about as much body awareness as a wind sock in a gale. Fifteen minutes to teach the horse. Ninety to teach her to stop spraying random pressure like a busted garden hose. 😫

This horse wasn’t dangerous. It was confused. Just trying to survive the chaos raining down from the end of the rope. 😞

We made a plan: groundwork, foundation, building skills, moving into under-saddle work. She nodded, it made sense, she was in. She came back for a few weeks, improvement was happening, horse was going well. All smiles. 😀

Then months of silence… until the phone call.

She’d been bucked off and broken her leg. A friend had been bucked off too, and hurt her back. She wanted to put the horse down, unless I’d take it.

Turns out, the “friend” had told her what I was teaching was "that slow rubbishy stuff" and offered to get on and “get the horse going” for her. And because learning new skills felt slow and uncomfortable, she chose the shortcut. Humans always do.

Did I feel sorry for the horse? Absolutely.
Did I want to scream at the woman? Hell, yes.
Did I? No. Because she wasn’t evil. She was just being human. And humans are wired to dodge discomfort like it’s lava.

Here’s the kicker: learning is hard. Self-awareness is hard. Most people will grab the first “easier” option waved under their nose. That’s why working with horses is often the easy part. The real puzzle, the proper Rubik’s Cube of chaos, is people. ☢️

Bottom line: when you work with humans and horses, you’re always up against beliefs, fears, shortcuts, and the eternal human allergy to effort and a heap of other fascinating stuff. The magic is in inspiring them to take the harder, slower path — because that’s the one that actually works. And that is an art and a science! And I’m pretty good at it - because I am so interested in how humans get good at things that I went and did a whole PhD on it.

THIS is why I created my Teaching People How to Work with Horses course (1 Nov to 13 Dec, 2025). It’s for anyone fascinated by the real game: us. The gloriously messy, frustrating, fascinating human side of horsemanship.

My life’s quest is to spark a movement in this industry - one where we stop blaming horses for everything and start having the guts to look in the mirror. That’s how we make horses safer, welfare stronger, and the whole bloody thing a hell of a lot more enjoyable.

More info in the comments.

Because horses are easy. People? They’re the real project.😎

And this is totally notebook challenge worthy, this is entry 17/365. Collect them all by saving and sharing ❤

02/09/2025

Picking Up a Feel: The First Step to Connection with Your Horse

One of the simplest yet most powerful skills you can develop with your horse is learning how to pick up a feel through the halter. Before you ask your horse to walk on, step sideways, or back up, the very first step is getting their attention and preparing them.

When your horse’s mind is somewhere else looking at the paddock, thinking about other horses, or distracted by the environment, any cue you give will be muffled. But when you gently connect through the halter, you bring their focus back to you, setting up clear communication.

So what does “Picking Up a Feel” mean?

It isn’t about pulling or dragging. It’s about creating a soft connection through the lead rope and halter that the horse can notice and respond to. Think of it as saying, “Hey, I’m talking to you now.”

The feel should be soft, steady, and consistent, not sharp or jerky. You’re not telling the horse to move, you’re inviting them to bring their attention back to you.

Why Attention Comes Before Movement

A horse is doing their best to action their thoughts. We need their mind and body together before we influence their thought for quality movement. By taking the time to gain your horse’s attention first, you:

Set them up to understand the next request

Prevent confusion or resistance

Keep communication clear and fair

Build trust, because you’re not surprising them with sudden pressure

How to Pick Up a Feel

1. Start Neutral- Stand quietly with your horse, smile of the lead rope on the ground.

2. Pick Up the Rope- Slowly lift the lead rope until you feel a light connection with the halter.

3. Wait for Awareness- Pause. Don’t rush. The goal isn’t movement yet. it’s your horse flicking an ear, turning an eye, or shifting their focus towards you. Make a noise or shake a flag if the horse is fixated on something.

4. Release- The moment your horse acknowledges you, soften and return the rope to neutral. That release tells them they got it right.

5. Start adding movement- Now that you have their attention, you can clearly ask for the movement you want like step forward, back, or sideways.

Common Mistakes

Pulling too hard- If you drag your horse’s head, you lose the softness and create resistance.

Skipping the pause- If you ask for movement immediately, the horse may not be mentally ready.

Not releasing- Holding constant pressure even when the horse gives you their attention teaches them to ignore it.

The Payoff

When you make picking up a feel your starting point, you’ll notice your horse becomes more responsive and calmer. Instead of just reacting to pressure, they’ll start checking in with you, waiting for guidance. Over time, this small step transforms your partnership into one based on clarity and connection.

29/08/2025

Stays consistent across all settings.

Integrity seeps into how one treats clients and horses.