Finca Soley

07/11/2024

Riding Lesson with Heredero.

05/10/2024

Important information !

02/10/2024

✨ Embrace the Process ✨

The path to mastering the classical art of riding is long and rarely follows a straight line. With each horse, we uncover a whole new world, discovering unique approaches and gaining valuable knowledge. On this channel, I want to share my journey with my horses honestly—without the makeup. Why? Because this is exactly the kind of information that helps me most.

Of course, I love perfection, and a beautiful piaffe is one of the most desirable achievements. But no horse or rider starts there. It can be intimidating—at least, that's how I feel—when all we see is perfection. The truth is, nobody is perfect—neither rider nor horse. Learning to embrace the journey is how we encourage each other to keep trying.

Another overlooked truth is that every horse has its own piaffe. We often think in rigid terms of how things must look, instead of embracing the differences. Sure there are measurements that need to be taken.

Some horses’ piaffes will be more impressive than others, but piaffe is still one of the most valuable gymnastic exercises we can offer a horse. It’s not about beauty—it’s about the horse’s well-being. We can simply enjoy the beauty and honor the effort.

Sharing the process makes us vulnerable because people often expect perfection. But I want to share the process and the joy I experience, hoping to inspire you to embark on new paths with your horse, toward balance and lightness. In this process, we can all learn from each other.

In this picture, you can see Guapo and me beginning our journey into diagonalization. No, not piaffe—but I’m happy we’re starting to develop rhythm and diagonalization.

Thank you Oliveira Stables for being so open and for sharing the process and the paths to balance with our horses.
Thank you to my horse Guapo and all my horses for walking this path with me as a remote vertical rider in Costa Rica.
And thank you, world, for learning to navigate the enormous amount of information we’re offered online—and for choosing where you wish to learn and where to walk away.

28/09/2024

Transformation of my horse Guapito to Guapo. ..and we are still in the process...

When I got Guapito he still was a baby. Came in straight from a great mountain pasture where he had grown up with a big group of youngsters.

His conformation is not ideal. This is what makes developing a horse like this so special and where we really can see what can do for the horse. In our training I am using the principles from the old masters also known as . To be more specific I follow the school of by Manuel Jorge de Oliveira and combine this with this with my own knowledge and experience.

Now back to Guapo who might not have the ideal confirmation what makes working on his physical well being so important in order for him to stay healthy and get old. He has an outstanding mind and working attitude what certainly plays an important part. His mindset is an absolute "can do" no matter we are going on. He never said that what I am asking is too difficult what makes traiming together absolutly joyful.

23/08/2024

Would you like to refine your riding? Book now your Classical Riding Intensive Course at Finca Soley with a disount of 10% for all dates in 2024.
Save your spot now.

20/08/2024

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

We have been talking lately quite a bit about fear here and I think many riders will be confronted with their fears at one point of their life as a rider.

Sometimes its an event like a fall or accident and sometimes it is getting older and just fearing the fall. No matter what was the trigger fear can become a handycap when riding and knowing that the horse senses our fear and multiply the stress.

Here are a few stratiegies to deal with fear when working with horses and riding:

●prepare your horse well from the ground or if you are with a horse you dont know take a moment to get go know him before you mount

●use this phrases: "This is simple. I can do it. This is fun."

●use a simple breathing technique like:
breath in for 4 sec. - hold breath for 4 sec. - breath out slowly - repeat

Enjoy your ride.

Love, isa & the horses

08/08/2024

The Horse's Hip

A riding horse needs to learn to bend his hip and knee so that he can use the large joints of his strong hind legs to carry both itself and his rider without damage. Unfortunately, most people focus on how the horse's neck looks instead of observing his hip and knee alignment. The position of the neck will develop naturally when the horse has developed strong hind legs and a strong back.

Proper training techniques that focus on strengthening the hind legs and back are crucial for the horse's overall well-being and development.

My horse, Guapo, has a higher croup than his withers, so he naturally carries more weight on his front legs. For him, this kind of work is especially important to maintain his health and longevity. Through consistent practice and attention to Guapo's posture, I've seen significant improvements in his balance and overall health.

Have you noticed similar issues with your horse? Share your experiences and tips for strengthening the hind legs in the comments!

Thank you Louison for captring this nice picture on a training with Guapo.

02/08/2024

01/08/2024

The natural head position of the horse.

When we work with a horse, we need to analyze his body, his spirit level, and his emotional and mental well-being, as all these aspects are interconnected. A horse that is awake, connected, and self-confident will carry his head upright, have bright and clear eyes, and will display pride in his expression.

I love how the expression of my horse, Guapo, has changed since he developed in our training. From being the cheeky little boy who was always bullied in the herd, he has become calmer and much more confident in everything he does. It's been a joy to watch his transformation and to see him thrive.

When we ride a horse, we need to respect his natural head position and develop his strength and flexibility from there. If, as riders, we force our horse's head into an unnatural position, we will cause not only contractions and cramps but also emotional damage. This is true for the so-called 'rollkur,' where the horse is ridden in hyperflexion, as well as for the long and deep or stretched position where the horse has his nose low, which is a natural position for resting or grazing but not for exercise, and even less for carrying a rider well. A head below the withers signifies a horse in a submissive and devout position, not a proud horse. The physical as well as emotional consequences for the horse are severe.

Take a look at your horse just after you dismount him, and you will get a lot of information on how your training went and how beneficial it was for him.

Thank you, , for taking this wonderful picture of my partner Guapo just after our training session.

20/07/2024

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Leo Tolstoy
The outside is always just a reflection of our inside. We can only see the world with our eyes; there is no doubt about this, from my point of view. 😉 Changing oneself and working on ourselves is much harder than blaming the circumstances, the teacher, the horse.

After riding bitless for almost two decades, I had to really question my thinking and observations to come to the conclusion that the bit was not the problem that horses have, but the way it is handled. Anyway, questioning our own belief system is challenging and is a process that can take time or sometimes happen in a quarter of a second. And it is hard to realize that what I thought might have been my truth for that time frame but is no longer.

The way I embrace change without breaking with myself in a destructive way is to think, "This is the best I could do then; now I wouldn't do it like that as I know better." And probably, when I learn more, I wouldn't do certain things the way I am doing them now.

Your horse will always give you the answer if your change was for his good; you only need to be open-minded and listen carefully.

Thank you Tessa Wrice - Photography for this wonderful shots.

10/11/2023

Dancing with horses.🐎💃

The moment your horse starts to dance with you you are shifting from doing sport to living art.

Dancing is a sport too, no doubt. But it requires mainly two (ore more) individuals to be perfectly prepared and in tune to each other. The individuals need to be strong, flexible and mobile. In horses this means daily, consistent and correct preperation.

When in the dance both individuals need to find the rythm, togetherness and harmony. Then the spotlight can be shining on the beauty, strength and pride of the horse.

"The art of riding is to put your horse dancing" MJO

01/10/2023

Horse Connection, Liberty and Yoga Retreat.
Take time for yourself, surround yourself with the intense and pure nature of Costa Rica and immerse into the world of horses by learning to communicate with horses in there natural language during this one week intensive course.
*Horse Connection
*Liberty
*Riding in only a rope halter/ or stick
*Daily Yoga
*hot springs & coffee tour
*homemade and fresh meals
*and more...
Dates:
24.Dec 2023
4.Feb 2024
Visit our website for more info and to book your unique horse retreat now!
https://www.finca-soley.com/libertyandyoga

31/07/2023

www.Finca-Soley.com

22/07/2023

That's how it all starts.
A building project will always start with a vision: What do we want? what do we need? Functional, an eye candy, practical, simply the perfect barn. Then comes the planning, drawing lines and corners, walls and doors... ✍️
Where do the water lines go? How can we catch rainwater? Where is the best spot for the horse wash area? And the incountable ideas that we get when planning. 🤯

Then it's time to bring out the lines and ideas from paper that are being dug into the soil: building the foundation of our dream. I love this process and it als is pretty scary at the same time, once the lines are set there is no way back. 🤨
Between the first idea and the finished building there is a long process of many heads and hands and some machines. Many adjustments will be made, some things just turn out different, new ideas will come in the way. The terrain, the rain, earth slides, a matter of missing materials or just the simple fact of different ideas within the participating minds will be creating the result within some pretty intense interactions. Yes building is an quiet intense progress with highs and lows and sure with sweat and energy going into it.

I had to think about how similar actually this process is to training a horse. The better the lines are put in the beginning the better the result will be. The clearer we are able to communicate our idea the more chance we have to get there together and still and in any case, adjustments need to be made along the way. There will be surprises and there will be things happening that will need us to find new solutions.
The path is the way; and though a horse might never be "finished", I am excited to get the new barn up and offering a splendid home to the Finca Soley horses. 🏠🙏🐴

16/07/2023

The domestic natural wild horse?

For a long time in my life I wanted to keep the horses that surrounded me as "natural and wild" as possible. I thought the horse's happiness would be found in imitating a "natural" environment. Pasture, herd life and some fun when playing would be enough to keep a horse. I still think in certain ways this might be right, but aren't horses more aware of the path they are on with us than we can even imagine?

When starting the search for balance I went on to new terrains of development and I must say that the feedback of my horses is overwhelming. Them being able to find more balance through our time together seems to impact their daily life (as well as mine) into all kinds of details. A horse that is kept within whatever kind of fence is not a wild horse. But is being a wild horse the ultimate goal in life of a horse born in a human environment?

Can the search of balance, physically as well as mentally not be as fulfilling for my horses as it is for me and be a great replacement for the search for food and shelter, being on the run as a prey and reproduction? Now this might not seem as fun motivators when you think about it from a human perspective but it certainly gives meaning to a life, a wild horse life. In a human environment all these factors are usually taken away, no matter how natural we try to keep it. Or do you send once in a while a mountain lion into your active stable? Well I dont.

So for the domestic horse there is room for a different kind of progress in his life. One that will give him a meaning, a line and lead him to become a strong and proud being in balance and harmony.

❤

14/03/2023

What a special moment when Cayetano gave me a hug.

Working with horses teaches me so many different things about so many different aspects of the world on a daily basis. And one thing I love to practice is humbleness.

I feel so grateful for every moment I am able to stop and hear the horse's teachings. I am grateful for my studies and being able to offer my horses help for their learning. I love getting aware about all the small details that will make the difference. And grasping a second of deep connection and friendship with a horse in stillness teaches me to be more humble.

04/02/2023

dominance in horse training. 🧐😬🤠

This is a hotly discussed topic in the horse world and I would like to share one of my points of views on this topic.
In the Natural Horsemanship approach one intends to become the dominant leader of the horse. Now there are a million shades of grey within this concept and how it is gonna look like.

Some horsemen like to have their horses respond promptly and always in a soldier- like manner. This requires a very high dominance leadership attitude and a horse that willingly takes this position and likes to be here. Well done it really is impressive to observe a horse-human couple when they have reached perfection in the horse following the humans requests.

Personally, I love when you can see a spark in the horse's eye. When the horse may not always function perfectly fine but enters the horsemanship games with his own ideas and corrects me when I am tense or off somewhere. This certainly takes away some of my dominance and keeps part of it within my horse. But since I want my horse not only to respond and follow but raise him to become a proud and strong partner I need to leave him some of his dominance or even in a very shy and timid horse grow his self confidence and dominance to be able to develop pride. In other horses that are always over the top I might need to demonstrate my clear and strong ideas more in order for him to accept me.

On the other hand the grade of dominance being put out and shown also depends very much on our appearance to the horse. People that have difficulties making decisions, standing their ground or maybe saying no to others might need to work on their own strength and pride in order for the horse to respect their place. Now here the horse really takes on the place of a teacher just pointing out to us on how others might see us and how we maybe can improve our life by standing straight up for the things we are, believe in or want. Using "dominance" here is actually more the understanding for the human about how to communicate clearly and without fear, then it actually is about the horse. Now people who might not like other humans see their lack of confidence and compensate it with blaming the world around them, or in this case the horse next to them, can be assured the horse will always only be honest without judgment. Confidence comes from our deeply inside and this is what our horse experiences crystal clear. "Dominance" training here will need the human to open his heart to the teachings the horse is willing to offer and probably will take us on the path of humility, but this is a different post to write.

After a lot of theory I wish to share with you a practical advise: No matter where you and your horse are right now, when you face trouble, your horse maybe goes the other way you intended, he offers you something but not what you have asked, he didn't stop where you wanted etc. just try to relax your body and give yourself a smile. Then try to get out of the situation, at least mentally and observe what has just happened by asking yourself: Where have my thoughts been? Was I 100% here or did my focus wander off for a quarter of a second? Where was my body positioned? Was my horse even able to do what I asked him or was it actually not possible for him for various reasons?
Analytic thinking will help us more than blaming our horse and trying to become more "dominant" when most likely the mistake was ours. Nevertheless a clear idea and standing firm will be needed in order for our horses to respond, no matter what training approach we use.

If you want to learn more about horse training and yourself feel free to visit us on our mountain farm in Costa Rica!