Solid Foundation Equestrian

17/09/2024

Sneak peek 👀!! Please form an orderly queue 🤭😍

Look at this cutie who was dropped off tonight!

Meet Harry 🦄

Harry’s show name is Black River Royal Cadet bred by Doug Hough from Black River Cobs. He is a 12 year old, 14.1hh, strawberry roan Welsh cob with very low mileage!

Harry has been well schooled with buttons installed and has jumped up to 80cm as that is what his current owner is happy doing. He is more woah than go and is safe on the ground and being ridden. He loves kids and would make a great mums pony/small adult or a pony club mount for a kid who wants to have fun doing anything and everything!

Great to do everything with - farrier, dentist, float, clip etc. he just doesn’t like to be paddocked alone.

Harry’s full brother just won first season hunter of the year at his hunt club up north 🏆. His owner had planned to show him this season as a novice cob as she feels this is where he would excel. Unfortunately life didn’t work out the way she planned so is very reluctantly finding him a new 🏡.

Harry will come with a full wardrobe of rugs including a brand new show set and named halter, his bridle, show boots and personalised saddle cover!

I will get on him this week for a test drive but from what the owner has said, he is very straight forward, so watch this space 😍. Don’t waste time thinking about this one, I don’t think he will be here for long 😉.

He is in the 🟠🟠🟠

15/09/2024

Sunday smooches with my favourite orange 🍊”Star”🦄

15/09/2024

I have seen the results myself time and time again. This treatment really helps with horses that tend to stress when away from home and are prone to ulcers. It helps with the changes in pasture and feeds too. This is my go to every single time!

13/09/2024

✨Being spring time and my books filling up fast, grab this opportunity while you can to prepare for the season ahead!✨

Due to one horse heading home early from progressing ahead of schedule I suddenly have one space available for schooling, sale on behalf, bringing back into work, starting, pre-starting and handling. I am small enough to work with ponies too.

I have produced horses from starting them myself to competitive 120cm show jumping, schooling at bigger heights. Multiple wins in show Hunter also from self produced horses from small to 1.15cm heights, with wins at a national level and produced horses up to 1.05m eventing.

I have also produced horses in the show ring with multiple Champion placings and Supreme Champion placings.

I place a high emphasis on flatwork, schooling horses up to level 5 dressage with a focus on being soft, relaxed, through from behind and responsive.

All of this success steams from ensuring groundwork and manners are taught correctly by teaching horses how to carry themselves correctly to maintain balance throughout training (which is a key part of horses feeling safe) and how to handle themselves mentally and emotionally when approaching scary situations including loading into a float/truck.

I also have the privilege to have cooperation with a qualified bodyworker to ensure horses are comfortable and to assist in getting to the bottom of behavioural problems associated with pain and to help horses and owners reach their goals.

I have qualifications in horse care, stabling, sport horse (level 4 merit), I am a qualified coach and tutor in Equine and Agriculture as well as a National Show Hunter Judge.

I ensure that there is plenty of variety in their training so horses don’t get sour. The roads are great for hacking with a lot to see without it being overwhelming for them. I have plenty of poles for good pole work sessions as well as jumps with fill! With plenty of arenas around too that can be hired.

I am within close proximity to the beach/forest and a couple of pony clubs are also close by for cross country training if that is what you want your horse trained in.

13/09/2024

✨Golden Five Fibre Pellets✨

I am doing another run on Monday to grab some more pellets.

The fibre/meal pellets are great for this time of year for horses that don’t need extra weight or energy. $55/bag.
The Lucerne/meal is great for those needing more energy and weight. $65/bag.

I will be coming back through Oxford/Cust/Rangiora/Amberley so am happy to meet you on the way back through if that suits.

PM me if you would like to order.

12/09/2024

✨Energy and Intention✨

🐎 I challenge you to notice how your body responds to your engagement when watching a close jump off, or a difficult cross country combination when you can see that the rider and or horse are about to get into trouble on tv or real life, or even the photo sequence of a rider nearly falling off and manages to climb back in the saddle.

💗 Do you notice your heartbeat increase?

💪🏻 Do you notice that certain muscles start to tense up as though you are in the saddle and try to “help the rider”?

🤯 Did you know that if you are constantly thinking about the “what ifs” like “what if my horse spooks at that baleage wrap blowing in the wind, does a 360 degree turn bucking or bolting all the way home”, then your muscles instantly start getting ready for that to happen? Your horse then feels that change not only in your muscles but your energy and intention and responds by also getting ready for action!

🔁 This increase in energy in the horse then further increases your energy and worry and the cycle continues! It’s a very easy cycle to get caught up in!

⚛️ If you are also worrying about the day’s stresses it will have the same effect. The majority of the time you may not even notice the small things but your horse does.

🐴 Horses are herd animals and respond to other horse’s energy as a survival mechanism. They do the same with us.

🥾 In this video I was taking this young Warmblood out for a walk up the road and down to the river. He was very high energy as we walked down the road so it was super important that I didn’t respond to his high energy to further increase his worry. I had my energy calmly pointing in the direction of where we were going (intention).

🪢 Despite his high energy I didn’t have a death grip on the lead rope as that creates tension in my muscles and that in turn would increase my energy, “feeding” his worry. I was absolutely ready to respond if necessary (key wording there 😉 - if necessary!).

🏞️ It didn’t take him long to realise that I was aware of our surroundings and I was confidently leading the way making him feel safe. He began to relax and walk along nicely next to me.

💦 Once we got to the river I stood next to the water (I was only wearing sneakers so didn’t fancy walking home with wet feet 😉) with my intention and energy directed towards the river and asked the question:

“Can you walk into the river?”

💡He first responded with no I don’t think I can. I allowed him to take a step back and process what I was asking with only my intention and energy. He then walked straight in checking out the water and footing and quietly walked out again. All while having a loop in the lead rope and a soft grip. Yes I had a Monty Robert’s halter on him “just in case” but I never had to use it as he was very in tune with me.

🎯 This type of training is just as important as schooling in the arena. Once they understand energy and intention without force, tension and fear then training will become much easier, you then create trust, connection and partnership.

11/09/2024

Stormie had her debut solo hack around Leithfield Village today. Hacking is definitely her happy place, she is an absolute sweetheart and was foot perfect, I was very impressed with her, she was not phased at all by traffic, pushbikes, dogs, geese and lots of school kids 😄. In fact she is very fond of kids!

I spent the majority of the ride on the buckle once I realised how cool she is. I put a softer bit on her today as she was a little heavy on my hands with the myler yesterday. She was much happier in a rubber Mullen mouth and was much more responsive. She is forward moving but I feel safe riding her. I also stopped close to home to have a yarn with our neighbour and she happily stood waiting patiently.

I can see her being an amazing farm hack, trekking horse and competitive trail riding horse! Stormie craves connection and partnership and just wants to be loved, the more she connects with you the more she gives ❤️.

This video is a little long but there were a number of you asking how she is out hacking alone so I wanted to give the full picture.

06/09/2024

Sneak Peak 🫣😍

I had this lovely girl turn up today to find a new home. She is a really lovely mare that you just have to meet in person, the photos do not do her justice.

Meet Stormie 🦄

Stormie is a 15.1 (approx.) 8yr old Pintaloosa mare. She is rather sweet, she walked nicely off the float and stood happily next to us while we chatted for a good hour and took photos.

I will have a play with her next week and put updates on here so watch this space 👀. However if she looks like what you are wanting to put in your paddock, do not hesitate to contact me!

Videos are from the previous owner.

06/09/2024

Texas Flit

I managed to get some decent standing photos of Flit today. She is a really nice wee mare who will need someone who is kind and soft, she tries really hard to please. She is absolutely amazing to do anything with on the ground and has good manners.

I hopped straight on her today, she is very tuned in to me and what I am thinking about doing she will do it, I think canter and within a few strides she pops up into canter. She is very green but is very intelligent and has a great work ethic!

05/09/2024

The lovely Onyx that has only been here for 10 days already feels like he can trust me to the point of letting me sit with him while he has a lunchtime nap 😴 💤.

This is a pretty big deal!

Every horse has a story to tell and sometimes all the horse needs is to be seen, heard, felt and gotten to feel safe and to connect with me.

I like to take the time that is needed to provide each and every horse that comes through my gate that opportunity.

Some horses are very obvious with their communication and some only show subtle signs, so it is my job to see this and show them that I see them, I hear them, I feel them and I get them ❤️.

It has been a long journey of self discovery and healing to get to this point of noticing what is mine and what is theirs. It is an ongoing journey and I love every part of it, even though it can be tough!

03/09/2024

Onyx had his first outing to the beach! The waves were quite big that day so were ultra scary, he tried very hard to be brave, didn’t he do amazing 👏🏻😍.

02/09/2024

Would you like the opportunity to get a lovely project mare to produce?!

Let me introduce Texas Flit 🦄

Flit is a 6yr old chestnut mare, 14.3hh, Quarter Horse registered with the NZ and American Quarter Horse Association. She is by King Clarence out of Cloverlea Sandalwood.

She was started as a 4yr old in English and then restarted in November ‘23 by Nye and Andrea Harborne of Rafter H Horsemanship and has done very little since being restarted due to having a sore back (which has been sorted). She has been out of work since February ‘24 due to her owners declining health. The owner did a 3 day clinic with Ben Longwell after being restarted and has been for river rides.

Flit has good conformation, is very intelligent and is eager to have a job to do.

She is currently 6🍏🍏🍏 as is but will go up in 🍏🍏🍏 as I start to work with her, so if you would like a good deal and she is what you have been looking for then get in contact now!

I will be getting some more photos and videos this week but here are some to get you started. The first two photos are from today with me and the rest are from the owner along with her registration papers.

PM me for more information.

31/08/2024

So very true ❤️.

Every. Single. Horse has something to teach us and young horses in particular are great at bringing that to the surface.

If we open ourselves up to learn and to grow we become a better person, not only for ourselves but for our horses 🐴 💜

Working with young horses is tough.

And not just in the "hold on and hope you stay in the saddle" kind of way.

No one warns you how challenging it truly is. How often you'll doubt yourself, wondering: Am I doing this right? Am I moving too fast? Too slow? Is this too much? Not enough? You'll constantly be questioning your approach, trying to figure out the best way forward while tuning out the opinions of the trainer down the road or the livery next door, who throws judgmental glances every time you do groundwork.

No one tells you how, on some days, you'll feel like you're failing. You'll question if this horse would be better off with someone else, convincing yourself you're either wasting their potential or outright ruining them. After all, there are four-year-olds excelling in young horse classes while yours is still struggling to trot in a straight line.

No one tells you how attached you'll become. This horse is your baby, maybe one you helped bring into the world. Every setback feels personal, like a wound to your heart. You care so deeply about their well-being that it physically hurts when things go wrong. You’ll also become fiercely protective—God help anyone who dares to criticize your horse.

No one tells you how humbling, even brutal, these horses can be. They'll expose every weakness you have and practically shout it from the rooftops. While they are forgiving, they have a way of knocking you down a peg, reminding you there's always more work to be done.

No one tells you how these horses will change you. They'll force you to look inwards, to question everything you thought you knew. If you thought you had everything figured out, this horse will quickly show you that you don't. But they'll also ignite in you a fierce determination to prove everyone wrong and show them what you saw in this horse from the very beginning.

No one quite tells you how difficult young horses can be, but anyone who's been through it knows...

As tough as they are, they’re absolutely worth it.

31/08/2024

It brings me so much joy watching Wish’s owner, Emily, ride Wish on the beach before taking her home today. She was really nervous to begin with, especially taking her into the water as her other horse is scared of the water.

Wish was so confident in the water that she faced all the big waves head on filling Emily’s boots with water 🤣🤭.

30/08/2024

The horses that come to me don’t just go round in endless circles ⭕️. They have a variety of work including hacking, flatwork, pole work, jumping and outings to the beach/forest or other venues and riding tracks if requested by the owners.

Pole work is an excellent way to build strength, straightness, balance, accuracy and add variety into your schooling.

There is a horse here that is lacking in balance, he struggles to hold the left rein canter and would disunite in the hind end about 1-3 strides after striking off on the left canter lead. After using poles to encourage him to bring his hind more underneath himself he was able to hold the left canter lead for an entire large circle!

28/08/2024

I have 2 dressage saddles here to sell on behalf of a client.
17” black Trainers dressage saddle, in good condition. $400
16.5” black Prestige “Lucky Idol” dressage saddle, also in good condition. This saddle rides more like a 17” so could quite easily fit a small adult with a short coupled horse. $1800

24/08/2024

Wish had her first outing away from the property and her first ever visit to the beach 🏖️.

She found the beach to be very scary but tried her best to be brave! We spent a bit of time chasing the waves back out to build confidence before we had the first wave approach us.

She said NOPE 🐎, “exit stage left” to the first approaching wave 🌊, and the second! I kept guiding and encouraging to build confidence ✨.

Once she realised she survived, had all 4 legs still attached and that it was just water 💦 she began to enjoy the experience!

She built so much confidence in herself and in me from this outing and did exceptionally well doing this without another horse. She has come such a long way in such a short time frame 🦄.

18/08/2024

🌟Guide and Encourage 🌟

Wish had her debut solo hack through Leithfield Village this week. As you can see she found it quite overwhelming stepping through the gateway into the big wide world.

Before I started videoing she tried to go back to the gateway. I encouraged and rewarded every time she faced in the direction where I wanted to go up the road. She would then stop and process and take it all in whilst I had my energy gently asking her to walk on when she was ready.

It would have been so easy to get frustrated and start kicking but all that would have done is built tension and fear. By guiding and encouraging and letting her process in her time, it very quickly became “her idea” to take me for a hack as it was a really nice experience.

You can see towards the end of the ride she was happily taking me towards the scary “metal cap gratings” in the middle of the road. She built so much confidence in herself throughout this hack that she was happy walking on the buckle even as we approached the safety of the paddock.

16/08/2024

It is rewarding to see the transformation in this lovely mare. She came to me anxious and worried about people after a rushed breaking in process, but now she is relaxed and happy in her ridden work and with me by her side. Her soft, relaxed muzzle and eye show her contentment.

She heads home tomorrow, so I have a spare paddock available for another horse to school, start, pre-start, handle, or sell on behalf.

15/08/2024

I like to take a holistic approach to training horses. The involvement of body workers, farriers/trimmers and vets in conjunction with a deeper look into their diets is crucial to getting to the root cause of an issue with a horse. The majority of horses that come to me need a problem (or multiple problems) worked through.

I’m here for the horse and to help their owners, not to just “clip the ticket”. They all get treated as if they are my own horses.

It has been a full on start to the week that has highlighted the above statement!

A horse that is here to be started has been “stuck” in the fight/flight response of the nervous system. Although this horse has made a huge amount of progress I knew that there was something else going on. Thankfully the owner understands the importance of body work and was happy to have her seen. Sure enough, the body worker picked up an old accident which was causing her to be in pain. This can quite often cause a horse to hold itself in a certain way triggering the nervous system to go into fight/flight (survival response). A couple of days after the treatment the whole demeanour of the horse changed, the horse was much happier and freer in the body and in the mind.

There are times where you have to free the mind to free the body and there are times where you have to free the body to free the mind.

Photo is not of the horse being discussed but of 2 of my own horses still releasing after their own body work sessions ❤️.

06/08/2024

Wish had her debut outing today with Storm leading the way. She was so well behaved! When you set them up to succeed the next step is just a natural progression that is not stressful at all.

Maybe I should just keep Storm here 🤔, he is proving quite useful teaching the young horses how to behave out hacking 🤭. Even cantering and leading is not an issue, he doesn’t try to race the other horse or the ones racing in the paddock along side us on the other side or the cows chasing us from behind 🤯

05/08/2024

Wish is another stunning but ultra sensitive mare that has come to me to be started. This is her second day learning how to present to be mounted.

I nearly edited it back to just show the highlights but after yesterday’s post I thought I would show a horse that says “I’m not ready yet” for those of you that are interested. She needed more time and a few more steps in between which you can see me giving her.

I took a bit longer than what the video shows as there was a fair bit of repetition and patience but you can see towards the end where she offered it without me asking. It was her saying “ok I’ve got this”, which was just the signal I needed to hop on her then hop off again and finish.

04/08/2024

This lovely mare came to me a couple weeks ago needing to be restarted as she had been rushed through the starting process leaving her worried and anxious around people and not wanting to be caught.

Little by little I have gained this mare's trust and I have been teaching her to look for a connection, which you can see her do a few times as well as licking and chewing which is massive for her.

This is only her second time learning about presenting to be mounted, which ended in her waiting patiently to be backed! Didn't she do well?!

Teaching them to present to be mounted allows them to decide if they are ready for the next step. If they aren't ready they simply move away, which tells me I need to work more in an area, take things slower or I just ask again and check if they are ready next time.

31/07/2024

It was a bitterly cold day today🥶, I was super thankful it had stopped raining long enough to work the horses without getting wet!

Storm had the privilege of teaching Ridley about the adventures of Leithfield village today.

I very nearly made a terrible weather pun with Storm’s name but I have decided to exhibit self control and refrain from sharing bad jokes 🤭🙃….you’re welcome 😉.

30/07/2024

Yesterday Jess (12 years old) came down to have a ride on Storm, she told me she had fallen off her pony recently so was a little nervous. Storm rose to the occasion and looked after Jess and adjusted to what she needed.

It didn’t take long for Jess to gain back her confidence and start to really enjoy him (the feeling was mutual, Storm enjoyed the attention and being given a job).

While jumping Jess said she “really loved how he was forward and took her to the jump but wasn’t strong or hot and came back to her straight after the fence. He looked after me when I made mistakes.”

He was happy to try to learn new tricks - Jess decided to teach him to neck rein which you can see in the video.

Storm connected very quickly with Jess and he showed just how perfect he would be with a teenager who wants to have fun doing a bit of everything. He wants to learn and please and wants to look after whoever is on his back.

He is such a rare, kind, honest horse! In the video there is the highlights of the ride at the start followed by the long version for anyone who is interested in seeing their journey as they got to know and understand each other ❤️.

Thanks Jess and Karen for letting me video and share this!

More words of wisdom from Jess:
“Whoever gets this horse is so lucky”. 😇🦄
“You’re underselling him, you need to put the price up”. 🤔💁🏼‍♀️
She’s right, however the owner just wants him to find a home where he will be loved and doted on.

26/07/2024

I thoroughly enjoyed working with this young mare, seeing her change and then connect with her owners was such a privilege ❤️.

Thank you for the lovely feedback Rachael, I am looking forward to watching your partnership grow and seeing you out and about with Becky!

25/07/2024

Storm went for his first outing cross country training. Even though he hasn’t been there and done that he certainly took to cross country like a fish in water! He didn’t understand the ditch or the water jump to start but once he watched another horse go he was away! He loved it and I can certainly see him becoming very much at home as an eventer very quickly!

23/07/2024

This stunning young mare is still available! There are a range of her younger siblings looking for a new 🏡 too!