The Young Horse Confidence Club (2024)

09/07/2024

We, humans, are wired to always want more. How many times has "one more" become four more, or five more?

There's no such thing as "too little" with our young/green horses. Sometimes, when our horse is calm at the mounting block, waits patiently to be asked to move off and walks quietly on a loose rein... that's success right there! Job done, good work, no need to do more.

'Quit while you're ahead' is never bad advice when we're building confidence and trust between horse a rider. 5mins might be all that you need, while 6mins might be too much.

Once things start to get "less good" we, humans, want to get it back to good again... and we keep going, keep trying, and often end up getting a whole lot more "less good" instead.

We want to 'finish on a good note'... but what if that actually means stopping while it's good, rather than trying to get back there once the moment has passed?

Next time you're working with your young horse and he does something so well that it seemed effortless, stop there; thank him and finish up. There's a risk of wanting more, wanting the horse to do it twice, and depending on your horse's age, confidence and training, that risk might not be worth taking.

There's no harm in having a break and doing another session later on. Allow your horse time to process what it was like to get it right and feel good about it, before asking him to do it again.

The best thing we can do for our horses is become aware of when our human nature is getting in the way. It's not easy and it's not always going to be what we want in the moment, but it might be exactly what your horse needs, and the best thing for your partnership in the long run.

06/06/2024

Horses that get "stuck to the ground"

It's not just because Nutmeg here is a bit of a heavyweight... it's more to do with her being a "freeze horse" more than a "flee horse".

Yep, we're back to the good old fashioned "fight or flight" response that all animals (and humans) have. Although modern science and research into Polyvagal Theory has recently added a third F word to the equation...

despite the F word that might slip through our lips when our horses have a fight/flight moment, it's actually FREEZE 🧊

How many times have you heard "he's never done that before, he's normally so quiet!" when a horse that appears to be well behaved and well adjusted, unexpected loses his cool and does something extreme.

Horses that "freeze" when they're feeling uncomfortable, uncertain or anxious can appear to be ok; but really they're not. One of first things I teach at Young Horse Confidence Club is how to spot your horse's subtle signs, so that you can start to recognise the red flags before something goes wrong.

In those moments where Nutmeg is "stuck to the ground" in her freeze mode, that's when I know she needs time to process and that pushing her through before she's finished would be a mistake.

Is your horse a "flee horse" or a "freeze horse"? Post either a runner 🏃‍♀️ or an ice cube 🧊 in the comments to let me know.

16/05/2024

For me, winter is all about the young ones. It's all those small things you can do that make a big difference to the way your horse copes with the big things when they come up.

I'll be running my Young Horse Social Days (in Romsey VIC) again this winter to offer support and a low-stress social outing to riders who are taking the time to bring on their young horses slowly and carefully.

If the recent cold mornings have got you feeling like you'll just have to wait it out over winter and get going again when springtime comes around, remember, there's plenty you can do (even if you don't have access to an arena) to keep ticking boxes along the journey from young and green to a calm and confident riding partner.

If you'd like to know more about the Social Days, there's a Sign Up button at the top of this page that will take you to my mailing list.

03/12/2023

A time of possibility - December is a time that's full of possibility, anticipation and potential... and what I'm meaning is the complete opposite of opening Christmas presents, by the way!

For me, December is the possibility of summer holidays, good weather and long days out with the horses. It's time off work for rest, reflection and re-inspiration.

It's the joy of looking forward to that time that's coming soon, a time of seemingly endless possibilities of all the things I could give my attention too...
.. it's about getting started, building some momentum, refreshing motivation and giving myself permission to focus on the things that bring happiness and reward to my days.

Taking the time for all the good things, and letting going of "being busy" because it no longer serves me. There's time for self-care, which for me is yoga and tai chi. Time for reading and writing and creativity.

December moves swiftly and the all the possibilities will be before us very soon, which ones will you choose?

21/06/2023

When does a young horse stop being "young?"

No, it's not a trick question (although it may seem like riddle with some horses!) Our little Echo is rising 7yo but I still consider him to be a young horse because he is the kind of personality who still needs a lot of support from his handler to give him reassurance and confidence in his work.

How old is your young horse?

20/06/2023

Baby Falko having a turn in the round yard 💜 you'll be seeing a lot more of this little guy as we being his foundation training this winter

12/02/2023

A little bit of green pick as a reward for Echo after his training session today. He was calm and confident and didn't put a foot wrong... also he didn't try to eat my straw hat this time either!

09/01/2023

Spend more time doing 'nothing' with the young horses than doing something."

I've been working with this spunky guy and his human for the last few months and to be honest, I've spent a fair bit of our session time leaning on the fence not looking at the horse...
Why? That's what the horse needed. Magic is a beautiful gentle soul, but he has some gaps in his training and carries quite a lot of worry about being touched. At the beginning even being in an enclosed workspace with me where he can't get away had his anxiety levels up before we'd even tried to do anything.

Magic's human only wants the best for him and is in no rush to get anything done, and so we've taken this journey one small (sometimes micro) step at a time and waited for Magic to show us when he was ready for the next one.

I feel really blessed to have horse owners like Magic's as my clients, people who truly believe in kindness and put the horse above their own agenda or ambition.

Over the last few months we've seen this horse transform from one who couldn't leave his haynet if I was in the yard with him, to one who can be haltered without needing a treat anymore, presents his wither for a scratch and follows us to the gate after a training sessions because he wants to be with us.

This is my inspiration for 2023 and I'm looking forward to connecting with more horse owners who are taking their time to bring their young horses on slowly and carefully.

The Young Horse Confidence Club was a bit quiet in 2022 abut my focus has returned to connecting with riders and helping them with their horses, both online and in person. Dates for my next few Young Horse Social Days are: Sundays 22nd Jan, 26th Feb, 26th Mar and 23rd April, please send me a message if you'd like to come along. (Gordon, near Ballarat VIC)

If you're not local to our home base or can't transport your horse, and would like to have a chat about our online options please send me a message. x Jessica

19/05/2022

My assistant trainer - I've been spending some time handling Baby Falko this week getting ready for halter training. He wasn't too sure about sniffing and investigating the lead rope while I was holding it, so I draped it over Mumma-Belle (aka the assistant trainer) and he was more than confident to check it out on her 💜

30/04/2022

Time to breathe -in moments of quietness the nervous system can reset and reorganise itself. Taking in what is has just experienced and integrating it into proprioception (body awareness) neural pathways and cognitive understanding.

We can learn a lot about our horse, how he is thinking and feeling in any given moment, by tuning in to his breathing. By joining him in this moment and becoming aware of our own as well, we can bring a whole new element to our training and communication.

Have a great weekend everyone, and don't forget to pause for a moment to breathe and connect with your horse. x Jessica

24/03/2022

Float training always goes better with lucerne hay 💜

16/03/2022

Just the cutest little cob around 💜

23/02/2022

Just having a chat mid training session this afternoon - Young Horse Confidence Club founder Jessica Bryce with Abdi 💜

19/02/2022

Training is over for little Echo today but he followed me out of the round yard and couldn't take his eyes of our training tools... finishing your training in a good place leaves both horse and human looking forward to doing some more 💜💙💚

09/02/2022

Not a sticky beak at all... Echo was supposed to be having a little break mid training session, but clearly he couldn't get enough of my attention! Anyone else have a horse that likes to smell shoes?

07/02/2022

Our first turn at the tie up... we've done all the prep work and now it's time to start practicing being tied up.... we start with a "mock tie" where the rope is not actually tied, but still gives the horse the feeling of being limited by the lead if she turns her head too far or tries to step away.

A whole lot of damage can be done from even just one nasty pulling back event, so taking your time to set your horse up for success... by giving him all the answers he needs to know before the questions even get asked... can prevent the need for physical, mental and emotional rebuilding (and all the time that takes). A stitch in time saves nine 😉

04/02/2022

Are you the guardian of a precious young horse? 💜 Are you taking your time to bring him on slowly and carefully? 😍 Are you looking to surround yourself with a network like-minded and supportive riders? 🤩 If so, The Young Horse Confidence Club is for you 💜

If you'd like to know more about our online course and social support community just shoot me a message and I'll give you all the details. x Jessica

02/02/2022

An important thing that's often overlooked in the early training of the young horse, is their confidence in themselves when they are alone.

We may take it for granted to catch our horse, bring him out of the paddock and away from the herd and that he will feel okay about it.

Furthermore, we often tie the young horse up and leave him alone... perhaps not with intentions of abandonment, but we disappear into the tack room and out of our horses sight and he may be left feeling vulnerable.

Here Abdi is learning to feel okay about being in the yard on her own. I have positioned her paddock mate within her sight and I am going about my chores in the vicinity so she can see me as well. We keep these sessions short and bring her out again before she gets upset, and so far so good.

I'm so proud of this little horse and how far she has come in just a few short weeks of training. It's all these little things that add up to a well-rounded and "user-friendly" riding horse, so well worth spending the time on them 💜💙💚

11/01/2022

The Social Network - Suzie joined the herd last week and was immediately "unfriended" by the youngsters who are a tight-knit and affectionate group. Peronel (pictured) in particular seemed to be the one delegated to telling her to go away if she got too close...

This week Suzie is on the "friends list" and allowed to hang with the herd... so what has changed? She has learned to behave in a social acceptable way. The herd has taught her what behaviours they will tolerate and what they will not...

Suzie has learned, through the social network, how to self-regulate her behaviour... basically, to be polite!

Interestingly, the previously hot-headed Suzie has been a lamb to handle and train this week, thanks to the invaluable lesson she learned from the herd carrying over to her interactions with me.

Living in a herd environment is the absolute best start a young horse can get on their journey toward being a well-rounded and reliable riding horse.

09/01/2022

So much more than just a horse 💜💙💚 our horses bring us so much joy in so many ways, we wouldn't be without them for the world!

05/01/2022

It's all about developing a deeper understanding of your horse, so you can connect with him on his level and help him understanding his job so he is calm in his work...

who wants to ride a nervous, spooky or stressy horse? Not me, so I take make my time to ensure my horse has all the "buttons" that I'll need when riding before I even get on...

I'll make sure he knows how to regulate his nervous system so he can return to calm quickly after being startled, and that even if something should come up when we're out riding, we both have strategies for coping already in place.

If this sounds like the kind of thing you and your horse need, send me a message to find out more about the program. x Jessica

04/01/2022

To be a good horse trainer you have to be ready to adapt... it's always good to have a plan (my plan for today was some saddlecloth desensitisation) but we had such a bit breakthrough in the preceding rope-over exercise that I decided to stop there and save the saddlecloth for another day.

Sometimes the really big shifts need some time to sink in before moving on to the next thing, so knowing when to give up on the day's plan and be happy with what came up instead, is a powerful mindset for all horse handlers.

03/01/2022

Our time spent with horses is as much about self-discovery and personal growth as as it is about the horse 💜

31/12/2021

The power of self-confidence - even the most gentle training method places some level of stress on the horse as we ask him to give over his free will and perform the tasks we ask.

The ability (or lack of ability) to self-regulate the nervous system will determine how well the horse copes with this pressure, and if/how he returns to a state of calm when the pressure is removed.

In The Young Horse Confidence Club we use The Pizza Game to help the horse improve his self-regulation abilities, as well as to help riders learn to read the subtleties of equine body language.

If your projects for the New Year include bringing on a young horse and you'd like some help with that send me a message to find out more. x Jessica

26/12/2021

It's fly mask training season here right now - there are so many little things that make up a well rounded, easy to handled and "user friendly" adult horse.

If you're looking for a quick win over the holiday season, fly mask training is a great place to start... and your horses will appreciate the sun protection 🕶

Tip: always make sure your fly masks are UV rated, otherwise they may still stop the flies, but won't protect your horse's eyes from sun damage.

17/12/2021

Did you know? Foals get their first teeth coming through around 2 weeks of age, which means they can start eating small amounts of grass and other things to supplement their mother's milk from quite early on... but what if your Mother is a meany who won't let you share her food... then you need a little portion of your own 💜 6-week-old Falko now gets his own serving.

13/12/2021

There's more to confidence than being brave enough to go it alone...

Finding the RIGHT support crew, so you can surround yourself with people who are going to build you up and are happy to meet you where you're at right now...

with no judgement, and no expectations, just kindness and a calm presence, is an important element that's often missing in our riding network.

The Equestrian community at large is geared around competitive riders, and for those of us who are not ready to compete, or just not wanting to, there's a bit of a black hole that we fall into where it can be near impossible to find people who really "get" you.

If you're looking for a social and supportive network, a place where you can meet like-minded riders, ask for help without fear of the replies, and share your wins and woohoo moments, then jump into our group and post a pic to introduce yourself :) https://www.facebook.com/groups/3417469914980030

07/12/2021

What does this guy have to do with the modern recreational rider?

Not much... I certainly haven't seen that outfit at my local saddlery!

I've prepared for you a Mini Series that's all about confidence, register here https://mailchi.mp/jessicabryce/register_confidence_week to find out why we are still letting this guy's historical principles control our riding mindset...

and how to make a change now, so you can get back your lost riding confidence.

01/12/2021

Next week is Confidence Week - register using the link in the first comment.

"I won't ride today because..."

it's too windy...

there's no one here/too many people here...

the dogs are barking...

he spooked coming in from the paddock...

there are a million "monsters" in our mind stopping us from enjoying our horse time as much as we'd like to...

Next week is Confidence Week, so put your name on the list and join me (link in the first comment) for a free minis series all about stopping the stress and worry and getting back to enjoying riding the way you used to.

x Jessica

30/11/2021

Would more confidence mean you'd ride more often?

Link to register in the first comment 👇

Confidence around horses (whether riding or ground handling) can be lost in a split second and take months, or years to regain. We've dedicated a whole week to the problem, and this is your official invitation.

It's time to work through those worries, with a whole week of free training and some things to try at home.

Get your name on the list using the registration link in the first comment, and feel free to share this post if there's someone you know who might benefit too 💜💙

The Young Horse Confidence Club