Redemption Ride - Fall River Chapter

04/05/2024

Now that’s talent!

Her high jump record was held for 98 years! It wasn’t broken until 2013! Wow!

Her 'frail' physique belied the amazing ability Esther Stace had when in control over a large horse. She was known as an outstanding equestrian and even broke a record or two.

Born in Port Macquarie, Esther Martha Stace made her debut horse-riding at the Walcha Show in 1891 at 20 years old. At the Walcha show that year, there were three women who entered the ladies jumping contest. While one contestant failed at 5 feet 2 inches, Esther and her last competitor made it to 5 feet 6 inches before the contest was stopped. There were around 1500 people watching the event.

Esther went on to spend a good 20 years on the Royal Agricultural Show circuit showing off her skills with the horses. She was one of the best known figures in NSW when it came to steeplechases and hunting contests.

Esther always rode side-saddle and wore a scarlet plush outfit when she was competing. Her regular horse was the great jumper Desmond, owned by Mr H. D. Morton, and who she guided to many victories in numerous contests. Her ability to calm even the most difficult horse was legendary,

Her record of a side-saddle high jump of 6 feet 6 inches on Emu Plains wouldn't be broken for another 98 years, until Irish jumper Susan Oakes on Atlas would clear a 6 feet 8 inches wall in Dublin in 2013.

Source: Walcha Historical Society

Photo: Esther Stace completing her record-breaking side-saddle jump on Emu Plains at 6 feet 6 inches at the Sydney Show in 1915.

03/24/2024

“Let’s see you do it without the treats.”

Ah, yes, a common way people try to shoot down R+ training as if this is some type of gotcha.

What about this?

Let’s see you do it without the ear plugs.

Or shadow roll. Or blinkers.

Let’s see you do it without the gag bit.

Or bit with abrasive mouth piece.

Or any bit at all.

Or any bridle at all, for that matter.

Let’s see you do it without the spurs.

Or the whip. Or the stud chain.

Let’s see you do it without any tack and equipment at all.

Entirely at liberty.

Let’s see you do it without pressure and release.

That’s your primary reinforcer, stop using that and let’s see you train.

Because that’s the equivalent of what is being asked to R+ trainers when you ask them to stop using any type of reinforcer.

Oh, is that unfair to ask you to throw out your “necessary” equipment and still maintain the same results?

Funny how that works.

And interesting how people don’t like their own attempts to derail the efficacy of rewards based training thrown back at their own training methods.

If you can’t do it without — don’t ask other people to.

Duration can be built with food and reinforcement becomes less frequent.

But, it still needs to occur intermittently to retain behaviours.

Just like with R- / pressure and release (but fortunately you can usually build more duration with food rewards).

Using reinforcers that your horse enjoys and finds valuable isn’t a weakness.

Being able to compel horses to do things you ask, without needing to coerce their response using harsh equipment, is a strength.

Let’s stop pretending it’s inherently flawed.

02/26/2024

I’d say this lady is goals!

01/31/2024

When I was competing, if someone pointed out that my horse was displaying very clear signs of stress, I would have been triggered.

I would have taken it as a personal attack.
I would have agreed that my horse was not 100% comfortable, but they were still learning.
I would have dismissed their viewpoint if they were not a competitor “because they dont know what they are talking about.”
And I would have easily been able to find a group of people to validate my opinions.

I would have expressed that my horse gets the best care and that they’ll be “fine” enduring moments of stress given everything else they receive.

Back then, I wouldn’t have been able to receive the information that my horse wasn’t happy because, in my mind (and subconscious), I had told myself that they were happy.

I thought it was ‘normal’ and part of the process for your horse to sometimes express adverse behaviour, be quite hot, be anxious in new places, be “a bit ulcery”, noise sensitive, hard to catch sometimes, difficult to load sometimes, need working down, need more miles, suck back at times, go behind the verticle, not stand at the mounting block… and the list goes on.

And I thought I was giving my horses the best life by keeping them paddocked on their own (so they dont get hurt, of course), stabled overnight (even if they were super fresh in the morning, weaved and windsucked), rugged up to stay warm and worked consistently (even if they found it hard sometimes).

I thought I was giving them a great life, and we were happy.

That is until I realised that they weren't happy.

That they were displaying signs of resistance because they didn't like what I was doing with them and to them.

And when that really sunk in for me, it was a hard fu***ng pill to swallow.

It felt like I was opening my eyes to the truth, and my intuition was saying, YES, THIS IS THE TRUTH!!

But it cut me like a knife.

And then, I tried to ignore the truth, shove it down and keep competing and training like normal because that was my life.

I didn’t know who I was without that routine.
Without those goals.
Without the belief that my horses were happy with how I was treating them (and had for years).

But once my eyes opened to the truth, I couldn't unsee it anymore.
And it got to the point where my body was screaming at me to find another way.

A way that actually honoured how my horses felt and set them up for success without needing to force them through it just for the sake of a felt ribbon and an ego boost for me.

It’s been about 7 years since the moment I opened my eyes to the truth.

It took me about a year of learning more about horsemanship and pretending that everything was “fine” until I decided to stop competing, and my guilt took over.

I spent 2018-mid 2019 heavily immersed in horsemanship and learning everything I could. This allowed me to transform my relationship with my horses and develop a harmonious connection (I couldn’t believe how different they were).

I started my own horsemanship coaching business in mid-2019 and even prepared a young mare for her first competitions in early 2020 (with a very different approach).

In 2019 I also started my own personal healing journey, which helped me release so much guilt and shame from how I treated my horses in the past (it was a lot to move through).

And in early 2020 I transitioned my business online and have been mentoring equestrians from around the world of all ages, with a wide range of horses and in a huge range of disciplines to teach them how to help their horses (and themselves) feel more confident in any environment. And most importantly, honour how their horse truly feels and how they feel.

And now I have no desire to compete (not that it can’t be done in a harmonious way - this is just my current personal desire).

I struggle to watch competitions as most of the horses look really unhappy and express clear and frequent stress signals.

I get so much more joy out of spending time with my horses, having two-way conversations, doing things that they like, listening to them and honouring their emotions, taking time to train them new behaviours with no attachment to the end goal and just in deep gratitude over the opportunity to connect with them in this way.

This is now my reality because my subconscious beliefs and values shifted over time, so now I quite literally see things differently.

And holy moly it has been a journey.

My awakening didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow, difficult process and one that I know many have embarked on and are embarking on right now.

I have compassion for people at all stages of their journey because it’s likely that I can resonate with you in some way, shape or form…

However, if you are in the spot where you are forcing your horses through discomfort, please know that there IS another way and that even though it might feel hard to know that your horse isn’t happy, you can get through this.

You are not a bad person.
You are just doing what you have been taught.

However, when you know better, you can do better, and you don't have to do it alone.

If you would like support on your journey, just reach out. I'm here for you x

For more on this, check out my latest Equestrian Perspective podcast, episode 133 here - https://www.felicitydavies.com.au/podcast-guide

01/29/2024

The harsh reality of being wild. It is not all rainbow and freedoms as some would lead you to believe (for their own gain).

01/26/2024

Training Aids that make your BODY BIGGER.

Sticks. Whips. Crops. Flags. Targets. Spurs. Ropes. The list of physical tools available to us as horse people continues to grow each year. I remain conflicted about their use. My mind is not yet fully made up on all of them.

Some of them I have made my mind up on. Spurs, for instance, are a No from me. In the effort of being open minded and accommodating, I have welcomed spur wearing riders at clinics in the past, watching very carefully for their appropriate use and leg control. But recently, I have made a clear decision on them. They are a No from me. And I will be inviting all clients to leave them behind in trainings going forwards.

You see, all horsemanship requires our judgement. It just does. When we shame people for making a judgement call, we incapacitate them from having good judgement. And another persons judgement call is not their passive aggressive comment on what you do differently. We must allow people their basic freedoms to make choices for themselves. So, my decision as a trainer, coach and instructor to remove the presence of spurs from all of my work is not a judgement against those who use them. I can fully intellectualise and rationalise that it is possible for their use to be non-harmful and even very helpful with the right instruction. But my MO is to avoid things in training which reinforce strongly our desires. And I have specific reasons to do this. It took me 1.5 years, for example, to slowly make this choice about spurs.

Whips. Sticks. Wands, euphemistically labelled, is in a similar category.

I can rationally understand the concept of "The stick is an extension of my hand". I really get that. I also understand that sticks, and flags, can be important for safety. I have had such experiences too. One horse in my past, about 10 years ago. Was very dangerous to handle on the ground. I needed a stick to protect myself... unfortunately. I had to wave it in front of my body to stop from getting kicked. I was participating in this poor horses rehab at the time, and eventually the stick helped me do the following.

It helped my body feel bigger than it was.
It helped me feel more powerful than I felt.
It helped me see that I was more effective and skilled than I believed I was.

This is not everyone's journey or use of a stick in training. But I remember personally, this specific scenario, where this was the case for me.

But then a funny thing started to happen. Week after week, I realised that though the stick was on my person, I wasn't using it. But my body felt more powerful, more effective, more confident. That I knew that if push came to shove and I was in real danger I could defend my space without striking at a horse. That was a transformative experience in working with this very volatile and dangerous horse.

I remember the day that I dropped that stick. But the feeling the stick gave me, stayed with me. I have often wondered if I still have the somatic stick inside me, and ask myself that question before I interact with fearful horses. I don't want them to feel the stick they can't see, and give me responses tied to fear of retribution. Horses are sensitive you see. They feel the embodied stick in the (over) confident trainer. And can give you the illusion of trust, when what might be happening is their fear of non-compliance.

It is such a tricky subject. I have not made my mind up. And if you're reading this hoping to extract "Lockie's Defininitive Point Of View On Training Tools" I am sorry to disappoint you, this writing is a tool of thinking. Not an instrument of declarative endings. Shall we think through this one together? Can't hurt right?

In my experience, it is exceedingly rare to find horses for whom the stick has never, and truly never, hurt, stung, concerned, worried, frightened or harmed them... ever. Even if recent historical use was skilled, fair and appropriate extension of the arm, often those horses, way back in their lives, remember the stick being something else. What if they forgave but never forgot. And their ability to be more responsive, "respectful", forward or calm with the presence of the stick is due to a healthy mistrust of the stick's potential?

If the stick is truly never used as punishment, and truly only used as an instrument of aid and signal, why not add a soft, foam covering to it's sharp ending? Because it is accidentally easy to sting a horse with the end when tapping or touch them for a response. That sting is not enough to harm, but enough of a veiled low level threat of potential, or enough of an annoyance that their response can be more immediate. But is a more immediate response worth the trade off for a response motivated by low level manageable fear, or low level annoyance and anger? Do we want responsive movement embodied by the root of those emotional states? I certainly don't.

My horse Sani, was beaten horribly by sticks when he was a 4 year old stallion, sold, and loaded to a trailer without any preparation. One of my earliest trainings with him. I just picked the stick up from the ground, he blasted away, gave me rope burn (melted the palm of my hand) jumped a 1m fence, crossed a road and ran into the neighbouring mountain.

For years he forbid me to have any arm extention what so ever. Colleagues around me at the time, proponents of arm extensions, said (gaslightingly)
"It is your energy behind the stick"

I had no energy behind the stick except the question of
"Is this ok with you"

My horse said "No." End of story.

Except it wasn't the end.

Years later, I started using CAT-H and then Clicker training to positively condition the stick as a target. Initially a raw stick was forbidden but a flag or a target was ok. Pool noodles too. Sani seemed to understand that sticks can sting and hurt, and the other arm extenders did not. So enter my chaotic era, where every traditional horse person in my vicinity thought I was the madman riding my draft horse with a pool noodle, where my horse thought they were the man people holding weapons.

Recently, I have been able to hold a raw stick in his presence. But what it gives me, still, is the illusion of trust with him. It has the power to reinforce him into actions that he internally is not ready, or willing for.

And I think this is the root of it for me.

I am extremely invested, and interested in exploring unexplored places in Emotional Horsemanship. One of those places is the horses absolute, inviolate, non-interfered with internal state (emotional state). Their opinions. Their desires.

I understand that some tools, even positive and kind tools, are powerful enough to give a horse an external reason to do something. But not powerful enough to connect that external reason to a true internal desire to do that thing in the world... together WITH me. They do it because of the thing. Not because it symbolises our potential together as a team.

I know I will be gravely misunderstood in these above writings. I hope you know my intentions are pure, and these are musings alone of where I am right now in my horsemanship. Not bold forever declarations for what will always be.

But I remain interested in neurologically quiet techniques, that don't blindfold the horses emotionally while they explore new behaviours, and give them something their heart is not ready for.

01/26/2024

Might have to try this in our pasture! Shedding season won’t be far off and it’s an itchy time of year. Currently the herd runs their rear ends on trees and brush.

01/25/2024

Important tips to consider. Horses are sensory creatures. Excellent advice from Dr. Grandin.

8 Top Tips for Equestrians from Dr. Temple Grandin

01/23/2024

Important for our neck of the woods!

📌 Save this for later!

11/11/2023

The story of how Brooke began – taken from ‘The Lost War Horses of Cairo. The Passion of Dorothy Brooke’:

Dorothy Brooke’s soul was awakened one fall day in 1930 Cairo, when she first glimpsed sick and starving cab horses at the city’s main train station, English horses with the arrow brand of the British Army still visible on their flanks. A woman of privileged background, who was only in Egypt because her officer husband was posted there, Dorothy looked at these animals’ ravaged bodies and into their lifeless eyes, and she knew that something needed to be done, and that she was the one to do it.

She would spend the next quarter-century of her life working to help ease the sufferings of these betrayed warriors. Once she had rescued all of the war horses that she could find, she turned to the sufferings of native horses, mules and donkeys. And she developed a philosophy for their human owners, caught in the same wheel of pain as their working animals. Blame poverty, Dorothy said, not the men degraded by it. Strike the problem at its root – the need for education of owners in proper, regular care for their animals - and you will have improved the life not just of animals but of owners, of families, perhaps even of society as a whole.”

To this day we continue our work across Asia, Africa and Latin America following that very message that Dorothy voiced back then in Egypt.

Learn more about our history here: https://bit.ly/3Qt0RcS 🐴

10/25/2023

We named her Eris. She DID grow, the tallest in our herd. A true unicorn. Not only with her cream coat, blue eyes, and feathered legs but with her spirit.

She was the youngest of our first three mustangs, and quickest to come around. Despite that, she lashed out the most aggressively out of any mustangs we have when she was first interacting with us. Pawing with her front hoof or that first time I picked up her hoof and she BIT MY SIDE, leaving a full bruise in the shape of her teeth. 😮‍💨 Yet, she and I learned together and formed a bond. Very curious and friend to all, especially if you have a snack to share. The first of our herd to be started under saddle!

Here’s what I wrote four years ago about her:

“Last night I sat on their hay bale, she came up and ate but no touch. Today she approached me at the fence and touched her muzzle to my hand. 😍 Our neighbor stopped by with her gentled, trained mustang gelding and this lovely mare came up to him too! She is the most curious of the three, probably because she is the youngest. However, she is the tallest and has giant hooves so I am thinking she has more growing to do! What should I name her?”

10/25/2023

Majestic indeed, his name is Nero. I called it wrong on him coming around easily. He is suspicious of most people, but the cutest pasture ornament at a whopping 13.2 hands in height. All the foals have outgrown him, he’s the size of our b***o but looks like a Friesian. I enjoy how he loves to boop/kiss in exchange for alfalfa pellets. He is a dominant herd member, spending much of his time with Artemis, though he’s now settled in well with our intact c**t Apollo. We hope that the smaller herd size will help me get through to him better.

My first comments when we brought Nero home:

“Curious but shy, very chill for having been a stallion for a decade prior to this month. Large pony size, very baroque appearance. I think once I get him one on one with me he will come around quickly. I need a majestic name for him lol.”

10/25/2023

Four years since we brought home the first of our mustangs! Artemis is still very wild at heart, and more or less a one man horse. Her bond with Roger is strong, she’s raised a beautiful and fiery filly, and is lead mare of our herd.

Here is my original post about Artemis:

“This redhead sounds like a raptor, very vocal and nostril. The most suspicious of us, which is fair after 11 years wild. She turns her rear toward me, kicks the other horses or pins ears, very sassy and opinionated. Nothing I haven't experienced with a domestic mare. Go figure Roger would pick her, he loves a challenge. She did touch her muzzle to his nose through the trailer though! It'll be well earned when he gains her trust.”

08/30/2023

Important information to keep in mind!

For those who think horses don't feel pain as we do - you could be right. They may feel far more.

08/30/2023

Freedom ✔️Friends ✔️ Forage ✔️

We rarely engage with other equestrians, because witnessing some of the treatment others find normal is traumatic. I have learned more about horses since having a herd we have yet to fully gentle and ride. I have learned to treat them as friends and fellow beings, to listen to what they have to tell us, and in doing so learn a lot more of their language. 💜

I am fine when I stay on my fb page, everyone is so lovely, caring, and knowledgeable here, all 11,200 of you. You do not know how much you mean to me! 💛

Then I scroll on FB and insta for interesting information to share with you guys from knowledgeable and caring people, which I find a lot of.
I Feel great and think that things are finally moving forward in this revolution for species appropriate horse keeping and training.

But then FB and insta start suggesting content to me… It is horse related, so I must like it, right?
Then my heart sinks into my shoes…😞

Expensive matching sets and bling bridles and saddles… but shown with curled up horses, forced frame, leaning all on the forehand.
Super clean gleaming horses, locked up in prison cells, only going ‘out’ to be trained in the ‘beautiful’ indoor arena, literally never seeing the light of day…

Crushed heels, pressed together by metal shoes, very high hooves crushed by metal shoes…

Legs heavily bandaged beyond the knee joint… hello?

Underdeveloped and atrophied muscles, horses standing in stalls looking to the wall, without hay, but with hanging plastic balls ‘to play with, to fight boredom’…

I can go on and on.

Then people say, not everyone has the means, not everyone is knowledgeable, one has to start somewhere, and I surely agree on that.

But these are people who have more than means! When you can spend EUR 1400,- on a helmet and EUR 300,- per matching sets, surely you can buy posts for a track, or mats to put down in winter, so your horse can go outside with every weather? If you can build these expensive buildings, why not make a surfaced track or outside accommodation for your horse, so he can have choice and a life with the 3 F’s? Freedom, Friends, Forage?

Surely, if you can afford all that, you can afford unlimited hay, to follow courses on nutrition and hoof anatomy and care?

These are also not beginners, but mostly Equine professionals!

So, I really do not get it. It is like putting people in charge of baby day care, without knowing anything about babies, feeding them raw Brussels sprouts and putting the diapers over their head instead of around their little butts.

I mean… Everything is out there… on your phone, which you use to show your matching sets and bling to post on tik tok and insta… All the info you need to inform yourself how to care for horses to make them actually healthy and happy, is under the touch of your finger!

Apart from that it is common sense. No one thinks it is good for any animal to be locked up for 8 hours a day, let alone 23 hours. You let your dog and cat have a free life? Why not your horse? Why?

Is it not common sense to not pull on a horse’s mouth, and spur his sides? Would you not call the police when you saw someone doing that to a dog or cat? Or another human being?

Can someone tell me?

Thanks,
Josepha

08/26/2023

Feeling safe is so important! Our trust and relationship based approach emphasizes that heavily. With trust, connection and communication grow which is where the healing therapeutic qualities come in. ☺️

Comparative neurobiology

The size of the brain isn't what determines the intelligence of the animal, the amount of wrinkles do!
If it was the size of the brain that determined the intelligence, then a German Shepherd would technically be more intelligent than a Chihuahua, which we know is not the case.

The more socially complex the animal is, the more wrinkles they have. We know dogs are socially complex, they have social skills that often challenges human emotional fitness.

Now compare the dog brain to the horse brain!

We all know how intelligent dogs are, maybe we're not giving horses enough credit for their intelligence?

Why is it then that horses don't often offer us cognitive behaviours like dogs, such as problem solving, reasoning, impulse control, etc?

Because, for the brain to access these areas, the individual needs to FEEL safe. If the brain doesn't feel safe, all brain functions will be carried out automatically using the deeper structures of the brain. These deeper structures are subcortical, meaning they're under the wrinkly stuff (neocortex) you see in this picture, and their role is designed to help the individual stay safe and alive.

This area of the brain is called the limbic system (AKA primal brain, survival brain, flight/fight brain, emotional brain).

I refer to it as the primal brain. This brain is automatic and unconscious. It doesn't require thought process and is not concerned with responsiveness. It's job is to react and it is best friends with the sympathetic nervous system (stress response nervous system).

When you, your horse, or your dog receives sensory input or a memory and perceives it as unsafe, ALL behaviour, movement and body language will be coming from the primal brain, NOT the wrinkly stuff you see.

We expect our fellow humans, horses and dogs to be operating out of the wrinkly thinky stuff, but that can ONLY happen when the brain feels safe.

Most humans, horses and dogs in today's world are suffering with chronic stress, which means their brains are not only perceiving their world as unsafe, but they are in this state for the entirety of their waking hours.

This has major physiological, mental and emotional repercussions.

How can we help downgrade this chronic stress and start accessing the wrinkly stuff in ourselves, our horses and our dogs?

🧠 Consciously communicate in a way that creates a calm brain 🧠

A calm brain will downgrade the sympathetic nervous system and stress response hormones and allow access to all the juicy cognitive performance areas of the brain that we ALL want access to!

Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 😊

06/22/2023

05/30/2023

Artemis was not interested in being photographed, but here is our 7th herd member. In her teens, she came to us heavily pregnant but quickly built a repoir with Roger, and is very much a one human kind of mustang.

She’s mother to Persephone, a lovely red roan, and once had a gorgeous tail than her naughty daughter chewed off.

Like myself, Artemis was a full term nursing mother. We allowed weaning to happen at an age it would have in the wild, although when Percy grew taller than mom and Artemis struggled to hold weight we did encourage a gentle weaning.

Artemis can be bought with cubes and mints, has begun groundwork and exposure to saddling, enjoys long in-hand walks and isn’t afraid to leap up embankments and trek through creeks.

Her only fault is giving birth to a red headed wilding. A filly that rebels against domestication, wishing to be free while her mother happily enjoys constant hay access. 😆Though I sometimes wonder if she tried to get rid of her filly, after deciding to birth in deep snow.

05/30/2023

Herd member six is Eris! She’s a 7yo from Devil’s Garden HMA. A beautiful cremello, she has blue eyes. Thankfully their pasture contains lots of shaded forest to help protect those sensitive baby blues! I can’t relate, having very light sensitive blue eyes myself.

She is my girl. It took some blood, sweat and tears out of me to gain her trust but now we are friends for life. I have done the initial groundwork and saddle training, and now that weather is cooperating I plan to continue under saddle and get her out on the forest trails asap.

Alfalfa cubes and chest rubs are her love languages. She grooms me, gets silly and runs with me at liberty, and has an inquisitive mind that picks up skills quickly.

05/28/2023

Our fifth herd member to be featured is the last of our babies. Apollo turned 3 in April, and has been quite the late bloomer with a missing testicle until literally his birthday! We found it when we went out to celebrate him. ❤️🫣Now we can held without needing major surgery.

Like Persephone, Apollo was born at our last property. His dam Calypso came to us two months prior to his birth, from Granite Range HMA. He was born in the tiny window of time that we left home during a lengthy foal watch. His mother is much older and more suspicious of humans.

He is the sweetest boy, but may scare you when he swings his butt around to face you. Don’t fret, he is only begging for butt scratches! I swear he learned this from one of the dogs.

Apollo has some unique traits. He is a chestnut tobiano that roamed out but has begun showing signs of carrying his mother’s Appaloosa genes. Only missing feature is mottled skin but we are on the lookout as it can be very subtle. Last but not least, he has a curly mane and some times of the year his coat waves as well. We would love to eventually have him genetically tested to confirm, and see if perhaps he is hypoallergenic.