Equi-Trust Programme

28/08/2024

💭 A thought that often pops up in riders minds.

🗯️ Its also a phrase I’ve had many a rider say to me on first meeting in an exacerbated manner. I’ve also been able read it in their bodies when working with their horse.

↔️ Our thoughts, inner beliefs about ourselves, and negative thinking patterns - which can often be rooted in early conditioning - will all be felt by our horses. It then feeds back into us.

🗻 Recognising and accepting these thoughts and beliefs is the beginning of the process. Learning to deal with them and retrain your brain can feel a bit like climbing a mountain. That’s why it’s worth enlisting help.

🧗 You wouldn’t climb unknown territory without a guide who knows the right paths and trials.

🧠 Your brain is an amazing structure, very plastic in its ability to relearn and form new thinking patterns. Techniques are available to help you learn and then practice the mindset that is healthier for both you and your horse.

🤔 And what’s amazing and very very helpful to you in this process, is that THE IMAGINATION IS STRONGER THAN THE WILL. So even if your motivation is at rock bottom, we can work together with your imagination to get you climbing that mountain and changing your mindset. Then your behaviour will match your mindset and your horse will feedback your positive vibes.

💣 You can change from “oh, I’m never going to get this” to “oh my god, I’m doing it” in as few as 6 sessions with the Equi-Trust Programme and sometimes in some cases, even fewer.

🪄If you want to rekindle your horse-human relationship AND improve your mindset then do reach out, I’m here to help. 🙏🏼

24/08/2024

⛈️ The weather!

❓ Does it interfere with your time with your horse❓

🤔 Do you find yourself making excuses not to ride or work with your horse because of the weather?

🤯 Do you consider this for far too long and in doing so perhaps not allow yourself or your horse to learn valuable lessons?

⚠️ Maybe you once had an accident that has led to a trauma response or “triggering” when certain types of weather are present, leading you to become anxious and avoidant when the winter weather really sets in.

⛔️ Making an educated decision based on your unique circumstances, means that you can work with your horse in various weathers. It’s about discovering your blocks and being aware of the level of education that you are both at.

➕ Adding the appropriate level of challenge can bring about a new level in trust. Sometimes the environment/weather is that challenge. Being sensible about the level of challenge is vital.

❌ Knowing when not to do things is just as important as knowing when to do them.

🔍 If this resonates with you and you want to learn more about how we can help….just drop us a line 🙏🏼

22/08/2024

The Legend that is Diva! I’m so reluctant to lose my fab trimmer Kat Jay, after moving to Warwickshire that I took Diva for a “clandestine” meeting with said lady in the lovely village of Stoke Lyne….parked up next to the derelict pub and Diva got her pedi!! 😁 Thanks Kat! 🙏🏼 Testament to Diva’s training, relationship with me and attitude! 💪

15/08/2024

❓How is your relationship with your horse?

❓How is your relationship with yourself?

➡️ As part of this definition explains, how we connect or regard and behave with others leads to “relationship”.

🔄 The quality of that relationship could then be quantified by the quality or amount of understanding within each interaction.

🧑‍🧒 Specie to same specie relationship is one thing, but how clear and understanding is the relationship you have from your specie to another specie.

⁉️ Has something got in the way of the communication train that flows between the two of you?

➖ A negative thought that has stemmed from a negative experience and/or belief can have a huge impact upon how your horse perceives you.

💭 That perception will then be the filter through which the horse sees you, and thus each interaction or command you give will be tainted by something that has no relevance to the present moment.

🌀 The horse will then answer the “tainted” question/command/interaction, giving you a reply that can often be far from what you had expected in terms of what you thought you were asking.

⬇️ Very quickly a relationship can go down hill. With each new command and response being “dirtied” by the perception and incongruency of the human. The horse will always reply truthfully to what he has perceived.

🪄 As a Human Givens psychotherapist, and experienced equestrian I have techniques to hand that can dissolve the “muddied communication” and help you to monitor more closely the cleanliness of your language - body language, verbal and energetic - with your horse.

♾️ This learning then spreads throughout all your other relationships which is a bonus for all involved including yourself 🤩

🤔 If you feel something is blocking your relationship with your horse (or other mammal) then let’s discover the reason together and remove the blockage so you can carry on your journey.

14/08/2024

Janet of Horse Brain Human Brain is a very good resource when it comes to our equine relationships.

This little nugget is one of the very reasons the Equi-Trust Programme exists. Having seen and helped so many riders dealing with fear and anxiety over the past 25years of teaching, it’s well worth knowing that you can get a handle on your emotions. Not only that, we can help them disperse and learn about how they can be telling you something very important and enlightening. Thus allowing you once more to enjoy that special time with your horse.

Great mastery comes from truly knowing yourself. 💫

HBHB Tidbits - Did you know that a horse can tell the difference between the smell of human joy and the smell of human fear? This discovery comes from the lab of French animal physiologist Plotine Jardot and was investigated along with the help of her colleagues at the Universite de Tours. France is a leading country when it comes to the study of equine minds. There's still more much more work to do before the horse's ability to smell human emotion is fully understood, but we're getting there.

(HBHB Tidbits is a repeating post that offers pieces of little known information from the book "Horse Brain Human Brain." Occasionally, like today, I add in a nugget from my work on the next book.)

08/08/2024

✨Confidence….

That magic ‘thing’ that so many riders state to me, that they consider they lack.

This is one area that my form of psychotherapy can have a huge impact upon.

❓How will I work to help regain your confidence❓

1️⃣ Firstly, it’s about us working together. I need you to be committed and ready to get a little uncomfortable so that we can untangle exactly why you perceive their to be a lack of confidence. Rapport will be key.

2️⃣ Secondly, I have a variety of cognitive and behavioural techniques that I am practiced in, which can help to lessen the effects or even diminish the cause of the lack.

3️⃣ Thirdly, my experience with a huge number of horses and riders means my understanding of your troubles is thorough and thus it’s likely you are not the only one to be feeling what you’re feeling. I will recognise and put into context your current issue before working to resolve it.

4️⃣ Fourth and finally, we will use mental rehearsal to work on a thoroughly thought out and discussed “realistic to you” change of behaviour. In reality we will subtly imprint the change you need, in order for your brain to perform the “correct” action.

🦋 I hope this gives you some clue into how I am ready and willing to help you. 💫

05/08/2024

🤗 Welcome to Equi-Trust Programme. We are here to design programmes for you and your horse. We will listen to your current situation with your equine partner and work with you to resolve your difficulties ….

Demelza has extensive experience with horses; living with them and competing homebreds to high level, training (French Classical) and coaching for over twenty years. Further to this she is a graduated professional psychotherapist (HG).

Combining these two pursuits gives her the ideal footing to offer programs to help remedy your confidence issues and decision making processes…

In short Demelza can guide the relationship you have with your horse, help problem solve and support the challenges you may be facing.

Keep a close eye on this page for further details and please feel free to get in contact. A confidential service is of course paramount.

Assistance can cover…
✅ Rider mindset
✅ Known rider anxiety, “loss of nerve”, lack of belief
✅ Trauma recovery
✅ PTSD after a traumatic fall or accident for example, no matter how many years have passed.
✅ Mental rehearsal for big events
✅ Decision making, for example; should I still keep this horse, should I sell him, do I wish to continue with horses?
✅ As yet unknown rider mental blocks. “Why can’t I do ‘this’ anymore?”
✳️ Etc etc….there are many reasons as to why you can get stuck or confused when with your horse, so no case need be thought of as impossible following the model Demelza works from.

A note from Demelza…
“My life’s work has always been to improve the lives of horses. This, with each client in terms of training and coaching, I have endeavoured to pass on much academic knowledge as well as experience. I realised some years ago that to help more horses, I needed to help their humans. And so this offering has evolved. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to be of service to those that wish it, and to use my life’s experience to benefit”. 💫

Programmes developed with you in mind. Helping you to regain your connection with your horse.