Lucy Churches - Horseman’s Log

26/03/2024

Amazing! So well deserved, a huge win for Tik Maynard Company and horse-centred training in the modern world!!!

10/01/2024

This is a really super opportunity to take your horse care and knowledge to the next level.

If you are a self-motivated, passionate and keen learner then this is the job for you.

The Horsemanship Hub Centre NEEDS YOU!!!

*** PART-TIME GROOM POSITION AVAILABLE ***

We are looking for a part time groom, for Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Hours and timings are flexible. 2 - 6 hours per day, 3 - 5 days per week.

Please get in touch if you would love to spend your time with horses, and are passionate about great horse health, grooming and everything else that comes with running a yard.

Please do share this advert if you know anyone super whom this might be of interest.

08/12/2023

Horsemanship Showcase is NOT a legitimate profile, despite following myself and others involved in the event, please unfriend, report and block alongside any other profiles and pages.

Horsemanship Showcase - The Horsemanship Event of The Year is the ONE AND ONLY page for this amazing event ✨✌️✨

07/12/2023

I love this!

SENSITIVE VS STOIC HORSES AND RELATIONSHIPS

Every horse sits on the scale between being emotionally sensitive and emotionally stoic.

Before I go any further I want to state that for the purposes of this essay, stoicism is not the same as dullness. Stoicism is the ability to bear hardship or stress, but dullness is a lack of care about hardship or stress. I believe that for the most part horses are born with a level of stoicism, but dullness is largely taught. Maybe this is a point of argument but let’s leave that discussion for another time.

The difference between a sensitive and a stoic horse is their sensitivity to emotional stress. It’s how they deal with trouble. The more sensitive a horse is the more anxiety they carry and the more desperate they are to resolve the trouble. This means sensitive horses tend to react badly to small degrees of trouble and may even be prone to panic when a butterfly in the jungles of Borneo farts.

Stoic horses can be just the opposite. It can take quite a lot of trouble for some stoic horses to get upset. Of course, all horses exist somewhere between being super stoic and super sensitive.

Now to the point of this article.

Our job as horse owners is to meet the emotional needs of each of our horses - the sensitive ones and the stoic ones.

A horse views the world in terms of safety and comfort. They are among the animal kingdoms' most avid avoiders of discomfort. Their sense of self-preservation depends on it.

With that concept in mind, the bond we form with our horses is largely dependent on how well we meet their emotional needs. The more our horses see us as the solution to their emotional worries, and not the cause, the stronger the bond we form with them. Of course, the opposite is also true in that if we ignore their emotional needs the more our relationship looks like a master/slave co-dependence.

Sensitive horses have a lot of emotional needs - more than stoic horses. If our horses look to us to solve those needs, they look to us as an important, welcomed, and necessary part of their life. Instead of our sessions together being viewed by our horses as an interruption to their day, they become a welcome relief because we offer a degree of emotional comfort. For this reason, if the training is good, a sensitive horse offers the most rewarding opportunity for a brilliant relationship.

I want to emphasize that I’m not saying that you can’t have an amazing relationship with a stoic horse. You can and they can be awesome. But appreciate that a stoic horse tends to carry less emotional baggage and they become less dependent on you to fix all their worries. They just lean towards being more emotionally independent which means it can be harder to form an emotional attachment for them. It also means they could be more resistant to change because their “care factor” is weaker. They may form a strong bond with people as treat-givers, but not necessarily as “trainers” who have things to teach them.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If the training is poor our ability to damage any relationship with a sensitive horse is massive. If we don’t address the sensitive horse’s emotional needs (or even add to them by our incompetence or lack of concern) we do more harm than good. Their life would be better if we left them to spend their days in the paddock. On the other hand, if we don’t meet the emotional concerns of the stoic horse we are going to do less damage than we would with a sensitive horse because of their strong coping mechanisms.

When looking to buy a horse most people assess a horse by what it has to offer them - looks, education, age, size, breed, experience, etc. Not everyone assesses a horse by what they have to offer it. When was the last time you saw a horse advertised with a description something like, “A terrific horse, but the owner was unable to meet its emotional needs”?

It should also be appreciated that you can’t separate a horse’s emotional comfort from their physical performance. To give its best, a horse needs to feel emotionally comfortable. If its focus is conflicted by emotional troubles, performance will inevitably suffer. Even a blue ribbon winner can’t give its best if it carries trouble inside.

Photo: This is Chops from a few years ago. She is the most sensitive horse I have ever been honoured to share my life with. And a champion in every sense of the word - even at 30.

24/11/2023

What a day!

Horsemanship Showcase - The Horsemanship Event of The Year is more than ever before, and Destiny is back, with new and expanded everything! 

Jobs have been jobbed all day long, and I noticed at least 3 different opportunities to take photos or videos of set up that I just missed! New goal acknowledged!

I am relaxing now after taking an hour at midnight (lol) to do a little self-care with a face mask and a portable back massager, and I feel SO good for it! Gotta catch a few zzzs now before another early start and a looooong day! Feeling so blessed to be here and I absolutely cannot wait for Destiny to open tomorrow and then the whole venue to fill for Showcase weekend! Crazy times, I am so stoked to get to see everyone and to keep having amazing, progressive, positive conversations! ☺️

15/11/2023

Join me for my MUST SEE top picks from the FULL Horsemanship Showcase - The Horsemanship Event of The Year 2023 programme!

✨✨✨https://youtu.be/rszbh7xgiSc?si=LGl34wjc3inySxtW ✨✨✨


Hot off the press from the full programme, straight from the horse’s mouth! I’ve seen all 4 arenas for both days and I have to say, I think Horsemanship Hub - Horsemanship Showcase have outdone themselves this year 👌 Come and get a sneak peak of some of what’s on offer!

This year is chock full of great session titles from both newcomers and returning trainers, and I just couldn’t resist indulging myself and writing my own dream schedule! I LOVE the deep educational content and absorbing myself in new and expanding ideas and I think this year is the richest spectrum of content yet. It is so exciting to see the show grow!

Below are my top picks for Saturday and Sunday, plus some honourable mentions for sessions that I just couldn’t quite squish in (despite leaving no slot for lunch! 😂) that I would be delighted to catch and highly recommend!

Find out how and why I built my perfect Showcase this way as I dive in and go through each choice in my latest video!

Who are you excited to see? What makes your perfect Showcase? Let me know in the comments!

Also, I want you to think of my daily schedules as an eye test…and zooming in as working smarter, not harder 😳🤪🧐🙈

Featured trainers and exhibitors including:

Balance Horsemanship
Sabre Holistics
Steelehorse
Ben Atkinson
Equisentient Coaching
Rachael Beesley
Tracey Duncan Taking Care of Training
The Horse Place
Alison Zuend 5-star Senior Parelli Instructor
Rachael Shawyer 4 star Senior Parelli instructor
Flying Changes Mindset
Equus with Millie - Behaviour and Psychologist
Coleman Savvy Centre
Simple System Horse Feeds
Warwick Schiller's Attuned Horsemanship
Parelli Natural Horsemanship UK
Joe Midgley Horsemanship
Finer Forage

13/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 365!!!

A huge and emotional achievement as I bring this project to a close…

In this video I discuss key learning points from 365 days of horsemanship, including improving my mindset and using self-reflection to move from being:

Transactional to compromising

Task-focused to feeling-focused

Outcome-focused to problem-solving

Thank you to every single person who has joined this journey with me, I appreciate every single one of you more than you know.

Stay tuned for more exciting content and a new era!

A huge and emotional achievement as I bring this project to a close…In this video I discuss key learning points from 365 days of horsemanship, including impr...

13/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 365!!!

A huge and emotional achievement as I bring this project to a close…

In this video I discuss key learning points from 365 days of horsemanship, including improving my mindset and using self-reflection to move from being:

Transactional to compromising

Task-focused to feeling-focused

Outcome-focused to problem-solving

Thank you to every single person who has joined this journey with me, I appreciate every single one of you more than you know.

Stay tuned for more exciting content and a new era!

12/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 364

I reach a HUGE milestone with my first ever experience of assertive leadership with Lawrence! It feels so validating and fulfilling to know that the slow and right journey I am convincing myself I am on is producing magical results! I admit the challenges of leading Mijas theough the juicy grass, and discuss how to help myself feel more patient with the process whilst i learn to stop fighting her and let her eat.

I reach a HUGE milestone with my first ever experience of assertive leadership with Lawrence! It feels so validating and fulfilling to know that the slow and...

11/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 363

Mijas and I go back to the poultice and I appreciate being able to help her and stay connected. I notice the difference in the optipns for working at night with Mijas versus Lawrence and feel gratitude for the depth and strength of Lawrence and I’s bond. This gratitude is enhanced when he goes through a colic scare and I am so relieved that he got through it unscathed

Mijas and I go back to the poultice and I appreciate being able to help her and stay connected. I notice the difference in the optipns for working at night w...

09/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 362

I enjoy a lovely day prioritising horse time and getting to really dig in with Lawrence. Our relationship and progress benefits from my change of mindset about him wearing the rug and finding touching with it on, and we manage a few repetitions of focus changes associated with the touching distance and supportive leadership. Mijas and I spent some time together enjoying flow with small focus changes, and I reflect on the difference between supportive and insistent leadership.

I enjoy a lovely day prioritising horse time and getting to really dig in with Lawrence. Our relationship and progress benefits from my change of mindset abo...

05/11/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 360 and 361

I manage to slow down and check in after a hectic few days dealing with abscesses (winter eh?!) i feel delighted with how strong and reliable Mijas and I’s relationship has been through her abscess and have been able to recognise how my better timing and conscious awareness of my choices has helped us maintain connection, harmony and trust. Lawrence and I are getting some fantastically reliable focus changes now based on supportive leadership at the touching distance, and he is also living his life with many more small focus changes every day.

I manage to slow down and check in after a hectic few days dealing with abscesses (winter eh?!) i feel delighted with how strong and reliable Mijas and I’s r...

27/10/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 359

A super interesting and progressive Freedom Based Training day where I push the boundaries and ask difficult questions to both horses about touching and yielding. I make deliberate mistakes, learn lots, make new plans and observe some interesting differences between them both!

A super interesting and progressive Freedom Based Training day where I push the boundaries and ask difficult questions to both horses about touching and yiel...

22/10/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 357 and 358

Learning to live less in a fight/flight mindset benefits me and both of the horses as we take a couple of days to feel our feelings and flow with our energy. Mijas and I take some time today to healthily process the introduction of the new horses into her herd, and find a beautiful connection by doing so.

Learning to live less in a fight/flight mindset benefits me and both of the horses as we take a couple of days to feel our feelings and flow with our energy....

20/10/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 356

Lawrence and I enjoy the first of his winter „gym” sessions and I discuss how my mindset has evolved around the balance of freedom and meeting physical needs. Learning to build training programs is a new skill for me and I discuss my happiness in gaining this ability. Mijas and I continue to work together on contact work and introduce a couple of tiny jumps at liberty.

Lawrence and I enjoy the first of his winter „gym” sessions and I discuss how my mindset has evolved around the balance of freedom and meeting physical needs...

19/10/2023

Love this! Rugging is such an individual task. Just like us and our jumpers - some of us feel the cold, others are wearing t-shirts in January! Know the science, know your horse, and trust your gut!

We keep seeing blanketing guides going around the internet…

RUG - NO RUG that is the question!!?!

This is our opinion..

Horses like us are individuals, with so many unique factors, you can’t just generalise.

Different breeds, ages, metabolisms, coat density, clip, no clip, environment - top of the hill or sheltered valley, shelter, no shelter, the varying degrees are endless..!

To us it’s simple, rug as late into the wet/ cold season as possible, so they have the opportunity too develop their own protection, only rug if necessary, by this we mean if a horses ears are cold, if their movement changes, if they show any signs of being cold, we really try to drag it out and go straight to mediums, if a rug is needed it’s needed.
We have some sensitive horses in light weights now for this weather window, there are no rules only guidelines!

Too cold tends to be safer than too hot!

But just right, is of course just right!

Each of the 30 ish horses with us have rugs, some have many! some just a few, despite around half remain unrugged throughout the year - but the rugs are ready in case they need them.

Currently - 5 rugged, 25 naked!!

Know each horse as the individual they are ❤️

Check rugged horses, make sure they are not too hot when the temperatures rise in the afternoons, that they are not to cold when the temperatures drop, these are very different conditions… can your current rugs adapt well to these changes..

This is why naked it SO much easier 😂 but it’s not always the right thing..

You know your horse better than any diagram, trust your instinct, stay vigilant and let’s get this winter done ❤️

* just our opinion, stemming from a lifetime of horses, traditional, natural, horsemanship hybrid 😂 and a yard of 30 horses for 15 years or so.. Giving us the opportunity for hands on research, but still it’s just our opinion.

19/10/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 355

I discuss the progression of Mijas and I’s work together, enjoying the improvements we have both made towards rhythm and relaxation. We work on some contact in the arena, and I reflect on how important focusing on my body is to give her a relaxed balanced frame to work with.

I discuss the progression of Mijas and I’s work together, enjoying the improvements we have both made towards rhythm and relaxation. We work on some contact ...

17/10/2023

365 Days of Horsemanship: Day 354

I observe a cycle of anxiety with Mijas around other horses leaving her field and consider how I will use dominance with a horse-centred purpose to promote safety around the gate in the field, and start working on approach and retreat in our own work together, to facilitate opportunities for Mijas and I to watch the scary movie of being far away from other horses and start feeling better about it. I discuss contrast in training and Lawrence and I continue to work on touch

I observe a cycle of anxiety with Mijas around other horses leaving her field and consider how I will use dominance with a horse-centred purpose to promote s...