Loving Presence with Horses

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Loving Presence with Horses

Mindful dressage that blends biomechanics, connection, and awareness — for riders who want softness and skill. .

Grounded in 50+ years in the saddle, 35+ years in upper level positive-reinforcement dressage, and 25+ years training in mind-body awareness.

14/11/2025

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝟵𝟬% 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿–𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸. When this happens, you get your horse adding at least one or more strides of trot on the way down.

The problem starts in your mind. The moment you 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 “walk.” your mind and body unconsciously want to make it happen immediately right then and there. This is just one of 3 major mindset problems that can cause the trot steps you don’t want.

Let me show you a quick way to fix your mindset. When you’re cantering along and think want to walk, pause a nanosecond. Then say 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺… 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘴. (𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘵: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 “𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺….𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺….”)

Those few heartbeats give your horse time to organize their body and step into the walk with few or no trot steps. Try it next time you ride!

13/11/2025

Most dressage riders train their horse but don't train their own mind.

That's the missing piece.

Here, you'll find arena exercises that refine your horse's training and mindfulness trainings that strengthen your mind so you can ride smarter dressage.

07/11/2025

You're trying to collect your horse, but it feels like you're just making them tense. Sound familiar?

The difference between truly collected and tense is subtle—but once you feel it, you can't unfeel it. And that changes everything.

The riders who make it look effortless aren't guessing; they've trained their awareness to recognize one little subtle thing.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹. Not something you have to be born with.

You don’t have to be "advanced enough" or have the "right" horse. All you need to get started is to train yourself to recognize one little thing.

𝗜𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿

🎧 Get the free audio here → subscribepage.io/wGkCX9

04/11/2025

Grooming isn’t just about clean coats. It’s where you can find out what you need to work on when you ride.

30/10/2025

You don’t make yourself relax around horses.
You just do.
That’s horse-gifted mindfulness.

29/10/2025

People often think positive reinforcement is mostly about timing and treats.
Get the click right, deliver the treat on cue.

That’s part of it. But there's a part happens before you ever reach for the clicker.

It’s in how still you can be inside your own thoughts while your horse is searching for what to do. It’s in noticing the way her ribcage shifts when she takes a deeper breath, or how his ears flick toward you when he starts to understand.

These are little things that you do when you know how to be mindful. Otherwise positive reinforcement can get to feel like a checklist, click, treat, repeat.

Sometimes I still catch myself wanting to do more,
to help my horse get it, to fix, to move things along.
But then if I remember to be mindful and simply notice,
that’s when the training gets focused
and we get real success in training.

24/10/2025

I often notice that what people call good social skills (chatting easily, filling up gaps in conversation by making more comments, knowing what to say) - these things don’t come naturally to those who spend much of their time with horses.

Around horses, silence isn't awkward and you don’t need the right words. What matters is a special kind of mindfulness that I call horse gifted mindfulness, being aware of the quiet wonder of the being you’re with. It's something many horse people may not actually realize they’re practicing when they brush, walk, or ride their horse. It's a presence of listening that can come naturally in the barn, yet can feel rare everywhere else.

You step into the human world and suddenly the rules are different. You’re expected to smile more, talk faster, and act like you know what you’re doing. The wonder and quiet awareness you have around horses can feel out of place. But maybe it’s not.

Maybe being the kind of person who listens before speaking, who notices what’s going on before reacting, and who is comfortable in quiet company, be it human or horse, maybe this is the kind of social skill the world could use more of.

16/10/2025

The love for your horse runs soul deep. But sometimes it gets complicated.
Swipe to see if you recognize yourself ➡️

14/10/2025

Just breathe." Those familiar words before entering the show ring or anywhere you go that gets your nerves on edge. That quick breath that helps... for maybe a minute.

Taking that deep breath is important - it's your first step toward settling your nerves. But what would happen if there could be more to it than a temporary fix?

This is where Horse Gifted Mindfulness changes everything.

Instead of that brief moment of calm that slips away as soon as you step into the saddle, you discover a presence that stays with you:
➡️ Through your whole ride
➡️ Beyond the show ring
➡️ Even when the pressure's on, anywhere, anyplace

Horses show us this deeper way.

09/10/2025

Some canter departs go right and some go wrong. There’s a certain kind of canter depart that makes you smile… and another where your horse runs, resists, or pops their head up, and you're left wondering what happened.

Most riders try to fix messy canter departs by adding stronger aids—more half halts, more leg, more seat. But the real culprit might be balance. If you tip forward at the thought of canter, your horse feels it right away and can’t lift into a nice depart.

Test it for yourself: Trot along the long side toward F, K, M, or H. Plan to canter at the letter, but don't. Instead, just notice - does your body tip forward even a quarter inch when you think about cantering? That tiny shift could be messing up your canter depart.

Next, do the same thing again but this time, ask your horse to canter, staying centered and not tipping forward. If you don't lean forward and the depart still isn't right, Great! You've just ruled that out and know to look elsewhere.

Notice how this approach is different? Instead of adding more aids, you're developing awareness of small details you normally miss. This quiet observation becomes your guide for what to do next.

07/10/2025

The training scale missed something crucial - and it's why 90% of 'bad rides' have nothing to do with technique.

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