NL Equestrian - Coaching & Horsemanship

03/01/2025

Yes 🙌 not long now!

03/01/2025

❄️🐴 How Do Horses Stay Warm in Winter? 🌨️

Horses are naturally equipped to handle cold weather with unique adaptations that help them conserve heat and stay cozy. From their hair coat to their digestive system, they’ve got tools to help them thrive in winter conditions.🐎❄️

While they’re built for the cold, extra care—like proper forage, shelter, and monitoring—can help support them all winter long.✨

Want to learn more about how horses stay warm and how to support them during the colder months? Visit our article:

🇺🇸 https://madbarn.com/feed-horse-in-winter/
🇨🇦 https://madbarn.ca/feed-horse-in-winter/

23/12/2024

All finished for Christmas 😝 I am back to work for next weekend though. Thank you to all my old and new customers for the support over the last 12 months. Merry Christmas 🎄 🎁
to you all 🐴 enjoy time with your horses and your loved ones xx

19/12/2024

As part of my Animal Behaviour and Welfare degree I’m researching animal stereotypies.

If anyone has a crib-biting horse past or present or experience with crib-biters please would you complete my 2 very quick questionnaires please. Each is approx 3 minutes long. Survey monkey would only give me 10 questions!

I will be truly grateful if you could help my research. Thank you 🙏:)

Survey part 1: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CDT28GZ

Survey part 2: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DVMRNBV

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

14/12/2024

Giving this lovely cob a confidence giving ride today and testing all paces out in the open for his owner.

A few sticky moments napping but he responded really well to positive reinforcement and giving him the opportunity to make his own decisions with a bit of encouragement! It’s important to keep the feet of a napping horse moving when they won’t go forward (easy when you know how).

For the spooky or looky horse not wanting to approach or go past something, ‘making’ ‘them walk up to the scary object loses trust and confidence (flooding only causes more worry). Instead encourage without any force having a ‘look’ and waiting for the feel they are listening to you and willing to go and check it out and eventually letting them decide to get a bit closer each time.

Using your time wisely when training horses and lowering your expectations thinking they must do it, can really help you achieve more. Reward with positive reinforcement and you’re on a winner!

30/11/2024

It’s taken Bubba 6 months to settle in but think we’re finally there adjusting from a racing life to a chilled out one! She’s adapted really well to 24/7 turnout, ad-lib Haylage and friends that will scratch her bum and give the princess a groom when she asks for it. She is no longer fizzy in the school and no longer do I need to wear a hat and gloves or a bridle when lunging. Cantering across open fields and hacking out past cars is very sensible and she seems brave with no spooking to date. I do believe I have a cracking mare. I’ve never owned a horse that’s as sweet and affectionate as her. She’s a keeper ❤️

10/11/2024

06/09/2024

Working on a light contact on a forward going ex racer that takes hold. A beautiful 15.1hh pocket rocket and what a delight he is. Going to enjoy riding this one and in a bitless too.

31/08/2024

When we rush our horses in their training, we aren't expediting their fitness or building muscles faster - we are breaking them down and rushing to a place that will require more veterinary intervention, more alternative therapies, more time off, more risk of injury, more wear and tear on the fragile structures, and a quicker end to the riding career and soundness of our equine partners.

You cannot rush fitness, you cannot rush collection, suppleness, relaxation, it's impossible. Wherever you do rush and cut corners, you will end up with holes and issues in other areas of your riding and the overall health and welfare of your horse.

Don't want to take the time to teach your horse to collect, and instead just force him into a false frame? Well, you're going to be stuck with fixing the slew of problems that come with the tension that was just created.

Don't want to work your way up the scale to create true endurance and stamina? You now risk your horse pulling a muscle or injuring themselves from overexertion and being pushed too hard for too long when the body simply isn't ready for that workload.

Don't want to get a saddle fitted to your horse? Your horse will suffer the consequences of altering his posture and way of going to alleviate the pressure and pain caused by something that isn't suited to his build, even going so far as risking injury to yourself when he can't pick up his feet enough, causing a stumble which can be catastrophic.

Don't want to do boring small jumps to build up to the larger ones? You risk your horse not being able to find a good take-off spot, knocking rails, refusing and even crashing through the jump. You will also make the horse more nervous, anxious and again, tense and sometimes unwilling to jump again.

Don't want to waste time working up the scale of collection to achieve the proper head set without force? Let's just throw a harsher bit in his mouth, maybe tie the nose shut with both noseband and flash to get him into "frame". You've now lost all relaxation, the wrong muscles are activated and depending on how deep you yank the horses face in will determine if he's even able to swallow. Tension throughout the jaw and neck translate all the way to the hind legs, so zero collection is possible, even the slightest bit of engagement and lift of the back cannot be achieved.

Rushing will lead you nowhere except to more problems that could've been avoided had you taken the proper time for development.
📷 Myself and 5 yo OTTB
📝 Unknown

24/08/2024

This is a very real threat to the equestrian world and it’s not going away. Do we love our horses more than love riding or competing? I wonder how many people would care and commit to horse ownership if riding was no longer allowed.

The Charlotte Dujardin scandal was the latest in a long line of equine controversies and, perhaps, we should get out of the saddle for good

24/08/2024

In my instructing role, I find it very sad when a horse owner recognises that their horse does not suit them, so there is no surprise, it saddens us when we feel its within our coaching responsibilities to inform our customers of this too.

Within a riding school setting, instructors aim to pair up horse suitability and sometimes have to change horses a few of times until the right one is found but once we have bought a horse, changing them frequently to find that perfect match is not as easy. We explain to our client why a different horse or pony may be better for their next lesson, but when you have bonded with your own horse, paid large sums of money for your horse, had them for a suitable period of time and have expectations of how your life will be together, it’s sad when reality hits and you do not suit each other!

I feel it’s really important for a riding coach to inform their customer if their horse does not suit them, it is not something we want to do, but I do this for several important reasons:

1. Safety: My primary concern is always the safety of both the rider and the horse. A mismatch has a much higher probability of leading to accidents or injuries. A novice rider on a highly spirited horse might struggle to control them which will increase the risks or falls and injuries.

2. Progress and confidence: Riding a horse that is not suitable is highly likely to hinder a rider’s progress and will damage their confidence. If a rider is constantly struggling, not making progress and still feeling worried or scared which they can’t overcome on this particular horse, this can eventually lead to a loss of interest in riding altogether.

3. Horse Welfare: A horse that is not suited to its rider is also likely to suffer. If a rider is unable to communicate effectively with their horse, this can lead to confusion and stress for the horse. The stress can result in behavioural issues or even physical problems which will only worsen the situation. This also applies if a rider has high expectations for their horse that is not/no longer capable of certain activities. It saddens me to see people jumping/riding old and lame horses and giving them extra bute just so they can attend that competition they want to go to.

4. Effective Training: A good match between horse and rider allows for more effective training to take place. The rider can learn and improve their skills more efficiently, be able to work on improving themselves, their seat and balance or work towards more advanced skills and the horse can perform better and be more responsive.

5. Long-term Goals: Coaches often have a broader perspective on the rider’s long-term goals and can provide guidance on the best methods to help achieve those goals. Whether it’s competing at local shows or just going out enjoying leisure rides, the right horse can make a significant difference.

For those of you who will not let your horses go and know they are not suitable for you, that is ok too! There are lots of wonderful moments you can enjoy with your horse without putting yourself in any unwanted riding situations: working in-hand, liberty training, trick training, spending time grooming them or just admiring them in the field.

You can alter your expectations, so if you need to accept that your elderly horse shouldn’t jump again and you put his welfare first, or you’ve over horsed yourself which is making you fearful, do what’s right for the both of you x

15/08/2024

COACHING / SCHOOLING
AVAILABILITY
Monday 19 August 11am
Saturday 24 August
10am and 11.15
Flat, Jump, hacking, groundwork, horsemanship

15/08/2024

Saturday 31st August availability. Covering Horncastle, Woodall Spa, Coningsby and surrounding.

I have spaces for 1 x 2hr behavioural session or available for 2 coaching/schooling sessions 🐎 🥰

12/08/2024

Team hopes findings will help improve equine welfare after showing cognitive abilities include being ‘goal-directed’

30/07/2024

Loving the attitude of newbie OTTB 5yo Bubbalicious. Looking forward to slowly and kindly bringing on this beautiful mare 🥰 Rough Diamond Equine

27/06/2024

Let’s repeat it for the ones in the back - or front, depends how you see it:

We can train and manage and condition our horses - but we can’t change the fact that they are horses.

Horses are prey animals. Their whole existence is wrapped around the ever on going play in nature between prey and predator.
Their whole being has evolved around the behavior and skills they need to play this game.

They played this game more than 50 million years.
The 5000 years of domestication won’t change that soon.

Your horse is supposed to spook from noise and sight.
Your horse is supposed to bolt when it feels threatened.
Your horse is supposed to buck off what’s on his back.
Your horse is supposed to search for food.
Your horse is supposed to be buddy sour.

All what we call „vices“ is simply a surviving mechanism, implanted deeply into the DNA of every horse.

Your horse lives in a human world, where he has no handbook for in his genes. He is just being a horse.

It’s your task to show him trust, patience, calmness, strength, assertiveness and fairness. But you have to be like this yourself.

You cannot expect what you are not ready to give.

It’s your responsibility to help your horse navigate.

Acts of aggression, confining him, calling him names, defining him as „naughty“, does not teach or proof any horse to behave the right way. It only shows your capability of teaching a horse.

There are so many techniques, methods, tools and trainers all defining „bad behavior“ and their solutions, all hustling and managing around a horse to bend and press it into a form. All of them, that claim to be so knowledgeable, so experienced, so wise, have forgotten, that the horse is just a horse.