Countrydale Thermal Riding Leggings
Thank you Countrydale for keeping me warm this winter and now during the spring snap. I get so cold out teaching and having to keep Tao moving whatever the weather. It’s so hard to find riding leggings that don’t slip down and that are true to size. Really happy with these 🥰 They are great value for money too #ad #countrydale #ridingleggings #horsetraining #horsemanship #horsetrainer
Training needle-shy Stallion
Oasis was severely needle shy and has had to be sedated (oral sedation) for it to even be attempted. Despite that, it had become increasingly dangerous as he is so fearful. The gentle approach works for all horses. Look at his gorgeous expression with Vicky 🥰 If I could have taken him home, I would! Very trainable, lovely boy ❤️ #needleshy #clickertraining #horsetraining #cooperativecare #horsemanship #positivereinforcement #stallion #pre #prestallion
Oasis MAC - PRE/Spanish Stallion
Worming
Dear Zoetis,
Please make your wormers taste better.
Sincerely,
Horses, owners and trainers.
I was having a conversation with trainer friends about this. It doesn’t matter how positive you make training, there are certain things that horses just do not like. The taste of Pramox is one of them (video was from 2 weeks ago). You can make it as nice as possible but ultimately, if something is really unpleasant or painful it’s very hard to convince them otherwise.
I will have a lot of work to do before next year. He’s been having quick fix so think he was expecting that 😅. I try and do this training with the actual wormer and thought he would be able to smell it, but apparently not 🙈. My fault as I had no time and hoped it would be fine because it was last year, but I should have done training leading up to the day of worming. Trainer fail. Never make assumptions!
You can see in his expression how much he enjoys training and this is what I love the most about R+ (positive reinforcement). He is free to walk away. But he doesn’t. He wasn’t so keen after tasting the wormer 🙈#horsetraining #worming #syringetraining #positivereinforcement #clickertraining
@zoetisuk Zoetis
Needle Shy Pony
Little Pickel had an extreme fear response with needles after a bad experience 💉. He has since jumped out of his enclosure and been very handy with his back legs if he thinks he’s about to be injected. As he suffers from laminitis, regular blood tests are important. This was such a quick change - he is a smart cookie and is already clicker trained (his owner is one of my long-standing clients). The hand touch and head positioned forwards is the start button. Then he drops his head. I got Nikki to do it first as he feels safe with her and I was the first ‘new’ person to come in and try. Such a good boy. Still lots of homework to do building duration and slowing everything down, but a good start. Nikki has a plan and her vet is very supportive and will come and have a practise when he is next on the yard so that when it comes to having the blood tests, Pickel is well prepared and everyone will be safer. Ideally, you’d always have another source of food but it’s not always possible. Please note, my pockets are full of treats 🤣. I haven’t just been eating a lot 😅 #horsemanship #horsetraining #cooperativecare #minishetland #clickertraining #needleshy #keepyourvetsafe
Camp 2024
Come and join us for our fun, supportive and horse-centred 3 day summer camps ☀️ We’ve added a second one this year due to our campers coming back from last year! Non ridden and ridden horses welcome - you can do everything from the ground or you can ride (or do a mix of both), irs up to you.
Dates: June 27-29th & July 4-6th 2025
Location: Churt GU10. Liz’s place.
Run by: Lucy Chester and Liz Wenman
Spaces: 8 per camp (16 total) 18+ only. Only 8 spaces across the 2 camps left.
Cost: £475PP (£100 deposit required) payment in instalments.
Includes: - All meals and snacks except Saturday night (pub meal).
- Stabling or paddock - 3 full days of fun, education and support from Lucy & Liz.
- Toilet & shower facilities
- The opportunity to enjoy the onsite facilities and local hacking.
- A talk/demo.
- 3 days with likeminded people and quality time with your horse 🐴
For more info including full itinerary, FAQs and how to book, please comment or message me your email addressLiz Wenman - Veterinary Chiropractor - MSc MAA MMCP
Liz Wenman - Veterinary Chiropractor - MSc MAA MMCP
4 Y/O JD standing at the mounting block
JD is a typical high energy young gelding. Standing still is HARD for him. But he’s doing so well 💪🏻. He was more tense away from home but managed to hold it together. Charlotte has worked so hard on this and it has paid off 🤩 Really proud of these guys and Charlotte is setting a solid foundation for future behaviour. #horsemanship #horse #younghorse #welshd #horsetraining #clickertraining
Haunches in
A fun lesson in the rain last weekend. Fay has done so well with Georgie. Bareback and bitless, just changing her seat slightly and Georgie understood exactly what she meant ❤️. No leg or rein needed, Georgie is happy to work for food and to listen to Fay. This was the first time trying and because Fay marked and rewarded the first one, Georgie was much more confident the second time. Learning something new should not be stressful. #dressage #bitlessdressage #horsemanship #horsetraining #clickertraining #horsetraining
The Lay Down
This never feels less special ❤️ I remember trying for months and months to get the lay down during the early years with Tao. It was my biggest dream. I kept asking the question and one day, he did it, but right up the other end of the arena. He got more and more comfortable being closer to me over time. It took so many little steps. Due to everything being instantaneous and at our fingertips now, we are conditioned to expect things to be immediate and get easily frustrated when they aren’t. But there is so much joy in celebrating each little step of progress, however small. Some of Tao’s tricks have taken years - like the classical bow. Spanish walk took around three months. It’s supposed to take time, especially when we are learning ourselves. Enjoy the process ❤️. The end goal feels sweeter when you know you’ve not compromised your relationship or rushed your horse. #horsetraining #horsemanship #liberty #libertytraining #laydown #horse #cutehorse #clickertraining
Merry Christmas from the Clicker Trainers 🥕
MERRY CHRISTMAS from the clicker trainers🎄Maja put together this awesome video showcasing some of the things that can be achieved with clicker training 🥕 None of these behaviours were trained using a whip or stick and the horses are free to leave and say no (but of course, they don’t want to). Their comfortable body language and happy expressions are really important to us ❤️❄️ Aren’t the horses (and mule!) awesome? ❤️
Hear Your Horse Whisper - science based information and education Gaia Horsemanship Dorothy Heffernan #horsemanship #horsetraining #horse #christmas #liberty #tackless #bridleless #clickertraining
Building Confidence with Clicker Training
How to Build Confidence with Clicker Training 🥕❤️
This was actually the same session 😂 I just put my elf outfit on for the ridden bit. No way was I setting all that up twice 😅. Of all the things I had set up from inflatable candy canes, to giant baubles and the agility arch (that he’s never seen) - he was only scared of the Christmas presents 🤣🙈
I always allow him the space and time to check anything he’s not sure about at his pace. Loose rope, calm talking and body language while rewarding any sign of confidence. The fear was short-lived. Tao built positive associations with the scary object and became confident with it. I really don’t want big reactions during training - even this snorting is a rare occurrence. It might be exciting to watch when horses go over threshold, but learning doesn’t happen when they’re in fight or flight and they will make negative associations with whatever the scary thing is as well as the handler and even the arena.
Here, Tao quickly realises that it’s very rewarding to engage with the Christmas decorations. Many positive associations made between things like this, me and the arena over the years have meant he wasn’t at all bothered by anything else and he actually finds it enriching.
He isn’t just a ‘safe’ and ‘confident’ horse. In fact, he was very much the opposite when I bought him and didn’t want to leave the safety of the herd. You can build a horses confidence with training and you don’t have to use flooding or excessive pressure until the horse shuts down. You can make desensitisation fun 🤩
#horsetraining #desensitisation #horsemanship #horsetrainer #liberty #bridleless #tackless #clickertraining #positivereinforcement
Why is he so dramatic 🤣 👑 He takes it very seriously when there is a target involved and kicked it clean out and of my hand 😅. #horse #horsetraining #horsemanship #liberty #libertytraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement #cutehorse #christmas
The moment they join the dots and get 3 steps 💪🏻 the third step with the Spanish walk is always the hardest because they have to move their back legs too. I couldn’t get my camera on fast enough to get the first few but Melody had a lightbulb 💡 moment. Some lovely trot work at liberty too. Hard to believe that Melody wouldn’t trot in hand for years! It’s all about motivation 🥕 very proud 🥹 Gail is a wonderful owner and really puts the work in. #liberty #tricktraining #horsemanship #horsetraining #clickertraining #positivereinforcement
LIMA Instructor and Horse Trainer based in the UK using clicker training (positive reinforcement R+). Surrey, UK Instructor and trainer based in Surrey, UK.
