The Horsemanship Journey

01/11/2023

This just proves what can be achieved bridleless! Poetry in Motion!!

21/10/2023

It's so fun to watch horses work on their own! It allows us to truly learn their strengths and weaknesses. It allows them to tell us when they are ready to try something new. Physically and mentally. There is no ability to force a certain bend, no ability ask for too much poll flexion, no ability to ask for collection before they are physically ready.

Bridleless gives us as their riders one thing. The ability to listen! If we listen they will tell us the lesson plan for the day. Often we forget that horses bodies work the same as ours. When you go to the gym and work on something hard, you get sore! You also don't work that same muscle group again the next day. Lower your expectations and just listen, they will speak!

20/09/2023

Hi all. This is just a quick update on my upcoming clinic dates for the rest of the year. All clinics scheduled for November onwards have been postponed, so I now have just 3 more clinics to run this year. Please book in advance to secure your place and check out my event pages. Send me a message if you need more information and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Remaining 2023 clinic dates:
24th September - Advanced clinic
15th October - Foundation clinic
29th October - Advanced clinic

Clinics run from 10am - 4pm at Rusty Barn, Ottery St Mary. Alternatively, if you are interested in 1-1 tuition anytime, please get in touch.

30/07/2023

Who says you need a bridle and a bit for good posture!!!!
Awesome picture!

"Horses can't talk but they speak if you listen!"

29/07/2023

Love this!

Through the years we have worked on lots of horses bridleless. Something that is very fascinating is that some horses struggle to bend or keep the bend with a bridle on, but don't with the bridle off. There are so many reasons this could be the case......

-Rider holds on one inside rein more than the other, which creates tension and bracing.
- Horse has a natural imbalanced and relies on the riders inside rein too much.
- Horse has a physical limitation
- Horse doesn't actually know true bend.

These are just a couple things we see. But what we find interesting is that when you take away the bridle and the horse learns to bend from the neck rope they bend and keep the bend easily. Again there are so many reasons this could be the case but the first one is you take away the ability to use/overuse the inside rein. With the new rope you have no inside rein to turn or to force the bend. The horse has to offer it when they are strong enough and when they actually understand the bend.

When Bridleless you have to use movements and exercises to teach them bend so when they do offer it, they are ready and bending from the outside of their body. No inside rein means no forcing the bend to the inside. We love it because it shows you your holes in you training.

Vlad in the bridle is stiff on the right rein for people when they ride him in the hack, but bridleless bending right is a non issue. He is stiff on the rein so what do most people do instantly? They pull the inside rein to try to get the bend. He right away becomes more resistant to the rein and it becomes a pulling match.

Lyric in the bridle is stiff on the left rein. His comes from a physical stiffness in the right hind, poll, TMJ. Bridleless he bends great but he tills his pole in and his nose out. He was telling us he needed an adjustment and he was not strong enough to hold a bend on his own. They tell you what they need you just have to listen :)

11/06/2023

This is the truth of it, but I still wouldn’t do any other job!

I know your riding lessons may seem expensive, but I have yet to meet a riding instructor who’s rolling in it. Not unless they’ve done something very sensible like marrying a millionaire. Typically they’re scratching about to make ends meet.

So where do your hard earned pennies go when you hand them over?

* Insurance. I have 3 separate policies to cover the work I do and they stack up. There are likely professional registration costs too.
* Venue hire. Almost everywhere I teach I have to pay out of the lesson cost for the venue. These are never cheap because they cost a lot to run.
* CPD. Any teacher worth their salt is ensuring they’re still learning so that they are constantly quality assured. This can (and for me does) cost thousands per year.
^Travel. We have to get there, and most us can’t cycle to everyone. Sadly.
* Phones and computers and dull things like that are also funded by your lessons, as there is no employer to stump them up.
* Admin costs. We may have to pay for help with this side of things or do it ourselves, or a combination of those . Either way, that’s reflected in your lesson costs.
* PPE, when you work for someone else they pay for things like your boots. When you are a freelance instructor you have to cover all of these costs yourself.
* Most of us are keeping our edges sharp by working with our own horses. This enable us to keep honing what we can share with others. Its rarely a sensible financial idea to do this.
* Sick days and holidays, now these rarely happen but if we want that to ever be possible, those are also included in our lesson costs.

Which means that if any riding instructor really thought about it, they wouldn’t do it. You’re basically in the business of not making money. Which may mean that actually it’s not a business, technically.

So give them a little pat when you see them next x

29/04/2023

Last minute availability for my Advanced Horsemanship clinic tomorrow. £60 per horse and rider. Spectators welcome at £15. Pay on the day. 10am - 4pm @ Rusty Barn, Ottery St Mary, EX11 1QL. Please message me directly to reserve your space.

15/03/2023

This is so plain to see!

Weil schon wieder einmal unsere Zeichnungen geklaut und als eigenes Werk verkauft werden, hier für Euch noch mal das Original... Das Poster gibt es zum Ausdrucken kostenlos beim Link.
https://dressur-studien.de/richtig-und-falsch-das-auge-schulen/

21/02/2023

The truth of it!

Riding without a bridle is easy.⁣
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Teaming up horses to perform at liberty is easy.⁣
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IF…⁣
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You have a solid foundation in the *basic principles* of horsemanship.⁣
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People often assume that the very advanced work pro trainers achieve is the hard part.⁣
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But the REAL challenge is in learning the fundamentals 📖⁣
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When you understand precisely how to communicate with horses, how to read them, and how to motivate them to do what you ask—then consistently put this knowledge into hands-on practice, you’ll finally be able to do the “basic” stuff such as:⁣
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👉🏼 Riding at a walk/trot/canter on a loose rein with a nice stop and good steering 🙌⁣
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👉🏼 Have body control in groundwork; a fluid backup, leg yield, hindquarter yield, and forequarter yield 🐎⁣
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👉🏼 Your horse stays with you at liberty by choice ✨⁣
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THIS kind of stuff is the work (and there are many prerequisite steps to these “basics”!)⁣
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Once you have these things down-pat, you’ll find that it’s incredibly easy to do the “advanced” stuff.⁣
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Here’s where people go wrong:⁣
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They have a big goal, and attempt to start the “hard work” at that level. They may try to take off the bridle before they have a good stop. Or ask for a liberty circle before training a leg yield, etc etc. ⁣
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When they try and fail, they may believe it’s just too advanced for them, and totally out of reach…⁣
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When in reality, they just accidentally skipped some steps!⁣
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If you want to advance in your horsemanship, you need to:⁣
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1. Get education & support on principles⁣
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2. Be willing to work on your foundation until it’s impeccable, even when it’s not as shiny and exciting as trying to ride at liberty, for example⁣
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When you look at it this way… it’s really the fundamentals that are the advanced work, and the fancy stuff you see is the cherry on top of a hard-earned foundation.⁣
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Don’t be bummed if you’re still working on foundational level stuff. THIS is the work.⁣
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You are on the path 🐾⁣
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Keep your devotion and focus here, and one day… you’ll be as free as you’ve always wanted to be 🦅⁣
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What foundational things are you working on now, and what’s your ultimate goal? Let us know in the comments 🌱⁣
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- MM team 💫

03/02/2023