Susi & Hercules Liberty Clicker Training

01/05/2024

🔊 Thankyou for all the new interest and following. Unfortunately this page is still inactive. Please follow our journey at Susi May or Instagram 🪽

03/04/2024

🔈Just a reminder that this page is still inactive. You are welcome to follow us at Susi May or susimay22 for Instagram.

31/03/2024

A beautiful example of what clicker means for me. The tool of my personal magic. Hours and hours of my life that flowed into this strangely alluring thing, that was indeed my destiny. 🙏

"Perhaps, you remember a moment when something you would come to love first registered in your consciousness. Maybe you saw a phrase written in a language so beautiful you simply had to learn it, or heard a particular instrument being played and felt the sound entrance you. Maybe you knew, right then and there, that hours and hours of your life would flow into this strangely alluring thing. That the thing was part of your destiny, a tool of your personal magic." — Martha Beck

12/03/2024

2 Day Horsemanship Clinic 🪽
First retreat of the year! Empowering horses to learn through positive experience.

🌵Womans Wellness Retreat is a nurturing based equine experience set over two days on our 20-acre Dongara property.

Prioritising relationship at the core, you will learn how to read your horse and increase your feel and timing with training techniques that build your horses confidence through relaxation and clear communication.

Surrounded by like-minded people and the love for your horse, this clinic is a great opportunity for any young horse, green horse or anxious horse needing self regulation practices.

A little about Susi.

Over the past twelve years, Susi has developed her training technique from a range of different disciplines but these days Susi is focused more on partnership before horsemanship. She provides the basic foundation to self-regulation practices bringing awareness to the horses nervous system and basic principles of horse psychology. She specialises in confidence building and behaviour issues.

Susi’s gentle and effective training method is used allowing horses and humans to connect on a deeper level. "To be able to share the delicacy of connection between horse & human and into the realm of energetic connection" is what she aspires to teach.

"After having a full knee reconstruction and 6 months out of the saddle, I can honestly say that having being forced to only work with horses from the ground changed my life! Horses have raised my awareness and my consciousness, and I am now able to focus on the messages that they are giving me. The more you stop to observe and learn from animals, the healthier and more peaceful your life will be. They are our earth schoolteachers."

Clicker training is being used successfully by horse owners, riders and trainers all around the world. It is based on behavioural psychology and is backed by decades of scientific research.

Clicker is considered one of the best practices by international animal training organisations and is used in zoo’s & marine parks around the world. It works with horses of all ages and breeds, and it can help build basic steps in your groundwork or if you want to achieve your goals undersaddle the competition arena.

Location Dongara. Special rate $400 per person. 📅 20th & 21st April. $200 deposit to secure your booking. Maximum five.

05/11/2023

Thankyou for the new followers 🙏 unfortunately this page is inactive. Your welcome to follow me on Susi May

30/05/2023

➡️ Just a reminder this page is NOT active! Please follow my Susi May page for continued awesomeness 🌟 Note: You are also able to follow my page without sending a friend request. Please reach out if you are having trouble doing this. Regards, Susi

04/02/2023

Shame wants you to hide.

But then you become ashamed of how much you’re hiding. How much you’re missing out on the life you long for.

It’s a vicious circle for sure. Disconnection from self, disconnection from life, feeding on itself.

It takes so much courage to step out into the arena of life. To come out of hiding. To tell the truth about yourself. To risk being ridiculed, rejected, laughed at. To risk being abused, re-traumatised, gaslit, ignored, whatever.
To risk failure. To risk losing all your friends, even your family.

But now you have a Great Ally. Yourself!
You are with yourself at last. And if you are mocked, jeered at, good. You get to experience that fully.

You taste the terrifying thrill of freedom.

You want to run back to safety and hide, but you don’t.

You taste more of yourself, more of life.

Shame is healed by bowing to it but not listening to it anymore. By taking the courageous steps anyway, despite shame’s protests.

Shame then loses its grip on you.
You have shame, but it no longer has you.
You are the powerful one, not shame.

You are life itself, dying and being reborn, endlessly.

Endlessly.

Jeff Foster (www.lifewithoutacentre.com)

25/12/2022

You will know the Ancients when you meet them. You will recognize them. They are the ones who lead by their example. They are the courageous ones. They are the furious ones. They are the singing ones. The ones with otherworldly eyes. The ones who make you dance in their aliveness. The ones whose faith keeps you afloat in dark-womb waters.

You will know the Ancients when you hear their voices rumble through your mortal coil. You will know they are near when the downy hair on your forearms stand up in a salute as they enter the room.

Some Ancients like to make an entrance. Others slip silently through the back door. But they know you. They know that you are there.
Some come wrapped in furs and skins; bones and animal heads adorn their crowns. Some wear feathers in their hair. Some come dancing in with jingling swinging hips, in waving, silky fabrics from the Orient.

The Ancient ones smell like campfire smoke, or exotic flowers. Some smell like the sea, briny and wild with sand on the scalp. On others yet, the scent of pine needles. Some burn hot, like the lava that made the land your stick house sits upon.
Even in the most gentle of Ancients, is something fierce and mighty. It keeps them humble. It keeps them true. It liberates the extended family from the bear-trap lie, and the caging of the mind.

Most Ancients are not easygoing. They died brutally too many times to take the medicine they carry lightly. They do not throw their diamond tears to those who dare not weep themselves to the rivers of peace.

The Ancients are deities-in-training, soon to be in practice. They are the new gods and goddesses emerging from the primordial waters of the red sea. Most of them insist that they are human; they do not want to frighten off the children they have sacrificed themselves to heal, to feed, to love. Hundreds of thousands of lifetimes over, they have died to help you now. Today.

The Ancients are a dignified lot. They may be young or old, fat or skinny, beautiful or terrible in their appearance. They wear an invisible mantle of Divine Authority. They are spiritual royalty, and to them your suffering is an insult to the Kingdom to which all of us belong.

19/12/2022

Just a reminder this page is inactive due to time management. If you would like to continue to follow Susi & Hercules Liberty Clicker Training, please go to the Susi May page

06/12/2022

11/09/2022

While each horse is different, here are some common behavioral signs that can help you tell if if your horse is happy, sick, or painful, as well as keep you safe.

08/09/2022

Mental Health for Professionals,

Some thoughts and rules to live by if you want to not lose your sh*t and enjoy a long, happy career in the equine industry:

1- not everyone has to appreciate you. Quit expecting others to value your work if they have a different expectation. Don’t waste a moments energy chasing after the need for someone to appreciate you if they don’t- because there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of others who desperately want your help. It’s a waste of your time and energy.

2- never stop working on yourself. The best people in their field work hard on themselves. Take lessons. Get therapy. Work out. Eat better. Never settle- keep pushing to be your absolute best. Don’t let your work swallow you whole and steal everything you have- if you develop yourself first, do your work second, you can pour from a full cup and truly serve the public.

3- make sure you ride your horses first. Don’t walk by your gorgeous horse one more time before you work with them- they aren’t getting younger and neither are you. Your training horses will all go home and you don’t get to decide what happens to them. Your horses are your true friends who won’t let you down. They deserve your attention.

Thankyou Amy Skinner Horsemanship

06/09/2022

Sadly I've seen alot of horses with this mental concept of being chased around in a round pen. It can bring back alot of sour memories including the use of the whip. I spend alot of time in the roundyard re-introducing the whip and the energy behind it. A whip has many purposes and the horse should know each purpose "energy" behind it whether it means halt, go, move out or move in. Vaulting horses for example, the signal to halt is to put the whip infront of the horse. But for me personally it's not about the cues it's about allowing your horse to connect with you in a way where he or she understands your energy, your intention. A tool is just a tool but connection is the true communication.

Does chasing a horse to catch them work?

It can, but, as I have often said, whatever you practice is what you perfect.

If we practice the experience of catching a horse by running them off their feet, and making running more miserable than being caught, we will always need the threat of running to catch them. These kinds of things teach a horse that being with a person is only slightly less bad than exhaustion. Is this what we really want to say about ourselves? Is this what we want to leave a horse with?

It is a sad thing to me to get a horse in a round pen and find them go into autopilot. The expression sours and they do manic laps as if there were an invisible whip behind them. These horses have often been run in circles in a round pen endlessly. They have not learned how to learn, or how to connect, but only to avoid, submit or bounce between a combination of the two.

Some folks have nothing good to say about a round pen. I happen to love mine and the work that can be done in it- but it’s far too easy to run a horse off their feet in one and create a poor experience and association with one.

A round pen is just another place to connect with a horse- no different than an arena, a stall, or any other place we might work. It’s limited size allows us to connect a little more easily in some cases, but it should not become a place to run a horse into a lather.

08/08/2022

There are two basic motivating forces....
Fear and Love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life and set a path of destruction. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer.

Learn to love yourself in all your glory & imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others and our potential to create.

Education & all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open hearted vision of people who embrace life.

24/07/2022

When we take on an Off the Tracker we sometimes forget or underestimate the rehabilitation that needs to be done. They require a lot of time and a team of professionals to help rehab them both mentally and physically. There are many aspects that need to be understood. However, the benefits are so rewarding if everything is introduced in the right way. Time, knowledge and patience.

This is Luna, a 4yo OTT with only 5 starts.
She's now had four months of inhand work and is ready to be started undersaddle again. My son Liam here being a great helper, not only tackling the weight of a 520 quad and watching the track but reading Luna at the same time, watching her body language, her ears and ensuring he allows space for her to move. Despite squeezing through the sharp bushes, Luna too is always listening and has learnt to read the revs of the bike. When we slow down she will slow down and the same with speeding up and stopping. I can't wait to see her evolve into a beautiful strong mare. ✨️

20/07/2022

In the wild, horses track every movement—who is moving, what is moving, what sounds are out of the ordinary. The herd notices and signals their concerns to the leader, who then urges the herd to move if needed. If the herd leader notices the concern but isn’t worried, the horses relax. This is exactly what Hercules is doing here as the lead horse 'confidence builder'. Not only guiding them on their first ever treks to the unknown but holding his weight in gold as an alpha herd leader and welcoming each and every horse 💗

14/07/2022

September is approaching fast! 👀💥

Don't forget to lock your seat in for our demonstration with Candida Baker on Saturday 17th September 9am- 2pm, Dongara.

Due to working with a trauma horse, this event will be child and dog free. 🐕‍🦺👶

$60 per person and please bring plate of food to share. 🥐🍡🍴

If you are travelling from a far like most, camping will be available on Friday the 16th for an additional price. PM for details.

05/07/2022

When you have a highly sensitive or traumatized horse, you hear so much about how she needs to be pushed, exposed, forced.
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But… you’ve seen the terror in her eyes. You know she needs time, compassion and space to heal as she tries to survive the human world. Not more pressure, more constriction, more force, more projection.⁣
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You have this soul-deep empathy for your equine teachers you cannot ignore, no matter how intense outside pressure becomes.⁣
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People misinterpret your kind heart for weakness and criticism comes.
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The strongest thing you can possibly do is hold true to your values, not conform to the harsh norms around you, therefore facing shaming and rejection from community.⁣
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When you stand so firmly in your own values, you will begin to draw in people who understand you....understand your ways, and who value compassion in the same way you do.⁣

16/06/2022

[Note: The following content is what I have personally observed over the past few years and the present and is NOT directed to any trainers in particular]

Most horses are never taught touch. Most horses are never given time, care or tuition on pressure, both Physical and Emotional.

Many horses are weaned too early, then when the time comes to be started undersaddle, professional horse trainers have too many horses at one time....not enough time, not enough energy, money or patience to really go over "touch".

Alot of horses are left in the roundyard throughout the whole training period and for weeks at a time! No freedom to move around and graze, to really be able to process all the questions and demands applied. Then comes windsucking and herd bound behaviours and the horse hasn't really learnt to be able to self regulate. ⚠️ Fear and submission embedded in the brain and the horse is viewed as just another horse $$.

Years later they find themselves in a softer place....but "my horse hates touch".....
"I cant catch my horse, my horse doesn't tie up, my horse is herd bound, my horse runs off when I try to do liberty, my horse is tense" and the list goes on. It becomes the normal and it becomes part of the horse.

Of course, not all professional trainers are problematic. Alot do really amazing work but some are just not open to change either which can be a problem within itself.

However, it is not touch and pressure that is the problem, it is the human misuse of touch and pressure which is the problem.

Now to confuse you, I may of done wrong with applying touch to one horse in particular. My own horse "Hercules", who at moments, previously didn't cope well with pressure.
The reason being, is that I believe touch can be misused by being too soft. I'm not sure if that's the correct word but you get my drift. Let me explain.

Hercules was a horse that I only ever dreamt about. So when my dream came true, I needed to be his best friend. I was in awe of him. My intentions were to do right by him always.

Hercules is naturally very sensitive which is a blessing but he suffers from soundness issues so naturally I was aware of pushing any boundaries. I spent 12 months simply just walking him inhand exploring the coastline and then at liberty. I only ever used positive reinforcement and his very first ride was bridleless on an open beach. 😱

He was a big puppy who could do what he pleased.

As years passed it was time to ask something big of him. I needed him to get on a truck and travel to the otherside of the country without me. He became unwell. So unwell I wasn't sure if he'd pull through. He didn't cope with new handlers, and different environments. It took him 6 months to settle in to his new home even after we were reunited? All of a sudden he became saddle shy and I couldn't hard tie him anymore.

These issues are resolved now, but the point of the story is that there is a limit to how touch and pressure is applied in the reverse ⬅️ and horses really do need a leader and not just a best friend. Did I set him up for success by only using positive reinforcement?

With the many horses ive worked with over the years, and the relationships between horse and rider that Ive witnessed and helped, teaching your horse to "self regulate" comes with applying pressure. It enables your horse to deal with stress but it needs to be done the right way. ✅️ There are many methods to doing this and clicker training is just one.

I now ride Hercules in a bit and bitless. I believe Its important to do both. He now has to push through some situations as oppose to walking away from the situation. In turn I now have a better relationship than I have ever had. He is still by my side at liberty and or with pressure.

Using positive emotions to train your horse is crucial in my world 🌎. Combining positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement, pressure release and liberty is a fantastic way to set your horse up for success.

Here at Beachbootcamp, I slowly introduce touch in a way which allowes the horses consent. I slowly introduce pressure in a format that a horse can understand and fully digest! 😀🙌

I am so proud to call myself a connection trainer. Most people question what that is exactly. What is connection training?.
Well, of course the focus is on creating the best experience possible for your horse – we want him or her to be relaxed and joyful in their training. But, Connection Training, is about the connection between you and your horse. We care deeply about you and want you to feel supported as you learn.

Introducing horses gently into the human world is my priority. From starting young horses undersaddle, to dealing with horses with behavioural problems, to teaching people the foundations of horsemanship.

Love ❤️

12/06/2022

Calm, focused and relaxed in the work. Confident as a learner. THAT is what we aim for in the horse's education - ESPECIALLY at the beginning, as that is where we set the stage for future growth.

09/06/2022

When you begin to understand that real horsemanship comes from self development, you stop looking at difficult situations with horses as problems. They become opportunities for growth. Each problem becomes a stepping stone to self mastery - regulating your emotions, improving your timing, learning to observe, and learning to set up situations in the future for success.

09/06/2022

Which is better — positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement?⁣
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It’s a trick question, really 🤔⁣
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There isn’t one simple answer, but rather a nuanced discussion to be had about which type of reinforcer one may choose to use.⁣
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It’s easy to get wrapped up in a fundamentalist view of one being objectively better than the other in any scenario 👀⁣
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As a refresher, positive reinforcement means to *add* an appetitive stimulus (something the horse wants) to increase a behavior, while negative reinforcement means to *subtract* an aversive stimulus (something the horse wants to avoid) to increase a behavior. The terms positive and negative refer to adding or subtracting stimuli.⁣
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Most commonly used positive reinforcement is clicker training, and commonly used negative reinforcement is what’s known as natural horsemanship 🐎⁣
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Simply using food rewards doesn’t mean your horse is going to have a great experience, and using pressure doesn’t mean your horse is going to have a painful, scary or forced experience 🧠 ⁣
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Both reinforcers can be used so well that the horse is relaxed and confident nearly all of the time. They can also both be used poorly.⁣
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If you use positive reinforcement but have a super low rate of reinforcement, for example, the horse can become incredibly frustrated over the lack of control or understanding of when she will receive the food 😤⁣
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Similarly, if you have a low rate of reinforcement using natural horsemanship, you may cause extreme reactivity or total shut down 😵‍💫⁣
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If the horse has little control over her environment, such as behaving a specific way to receive a reinforcer, she’s going to be having a really hard time in the training.⁣
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Control is a primary motivator, and can be offered with both reinforcers 💫⁣
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Clicker training allows for a HUGE amount of choice and control for the horse in training, while still being effective. This is why we advocate for its use🥕⁣
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Well applied natural horsemanship can give the horse choice over whether or not she’ll experience pressure by using excellent shaping, a sequence of cues, and high rate of reinforcement 💫⁣
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There’s no shame in either one. Just aim to do it well 😌

06/06/2022

Dog trainers and Horse trainers ✅️🐴

27/05/2022

Sunset in WA.

13/05/2022

3 ways to Stop Unwanted Behavior — *Without* Punishment⚡️⁣
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Sound familiar?👇⁣
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You want to train your horse in a more ethical manner… but when he acts in ways you don’t want
(that even have the potential to become dangerous), the standard horse industry talking points keep running through your mind, or maybe someone’s saying them in your external reality 🗣⁣
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“You gotta get after him”⁣
“If you let him get away with that he wont respect you”⁣
“You need to be more aggressive to be seen as a leader”⁣
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But you know punishment, aggression & what people call “leadership” isnt the answer.⁣
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Here’s what you can do instead ✨⁣
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1️⃣ Extinction⁣
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This is the act of letting a behavior go “extinct” by simply not reinforcing it. It works well for trained behaviors that you want to put on cue control. For example, if you’ve been teaching the Spanish walk, your horse may offer it randomly. To avoid this, don’t reinforce the behavior unless you’ve cued him to do it. Keep in mind, extinction doesn’t work well to stop behaviors that are self reinforcing!⁣

2️⃣ Replacement Behaviors⁣
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In this case, you’re going to train your horse to do something different or even totally incompatible with the unwanted behavior 💫⁣
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If your horse is pushing his muzzle into your space to get food, you don’t need to use punishment. Instead, you can train him to stand quietly anytime you’re not actively cuing. This is called “calm default stationing”⁣

3️⃣ Change the Motivation⁣
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This is where you get to the root cause of a behavior and ask *why* your horse is doing it. You may be able to avoid the issue entirely by changing the environment, and therefore his motivation to use that behavior!⁣
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Thankyou Mustang Maddy 🙏

Get on board with positive horse training! Setting your horse up for success 🙌

13/05/2022

Thankyou to my gorgeous son Liam 💙 who painted this for me on Mothers Day 🪶

12/05/2022

So excited to announce Candida Baker is coming to WA! 🙌

Candy will be coming to Dongara and demonstrating the amazing effects she has with horses through her essential oils.

Through her work with rescue horses,
Candy first discovered the calming effects of Marjoram oil over twenty years ago!
Since then, she has used oils to help calm horses, ease anxiety, depression and increase feelings of happiness for horse and human.
Oils are an essential tool in her work as
"The Horse Listener". She also runs an equine charity, Equus Alliance and her latest book is 'The Heart of a Horse'.

The day will consist of an inhand demonstration with 2 different horses from the audience using connection based training and positive reinforcement by Susi May.

Candida Baker will then demonstrate the calming effects of Marjoram and Bergamot on the horse's nervous systems, the restorative powers of Sandalwood and the gentleness of Rose as the main oils in her 'toolbox'.

If you would you like to learn more about building positive emotions around your horse and if you would like to learn how to develop trust, incorporate more willingness & development of self regulation, this day is for you! Not only will you be helping your horse, you could be increasing YOUR feel, timing, awareness & ability to truly read your horse.

Finding ways to train positively and prioritise boundaries, relaxation and confidence is the foundation of Susi May's training.

Testimonial for The Horse Listener: "Empathy, connection to horses' magical power and energy. Honesty & awareness. Helping people and animals deal with the unknown and trauma. The ability to listen, observe, ponder and respond." Robyn Walton

Book your seat now and save the date!

September 17th! Limited spots available.

01/05/2022

Thankyou Chapman Valley for having me and everyone's love and support 🙏

02/04/2022

Goodbye Shadow 💓

27/03/2022

When I started training horses, I thought I was going to be outside, by myself, with just me and my thoughts and the horse in the great outdoors. Nice and quiet.

I had no idea how much I’d have to stretch my comfort zone again and again. I threw up before one of my first clinics because the thought of talking in front of a crowd filled me with dread. I was also scared to death to share my first posts publicly.

Not long ago, I didn’t see the value in public speaking or getting out there. I just wanted to work horses.

But the lesson I learn over and over again is that none of this is about me and what I want.
I was put here on earth to do this work. And to do this work, I have to get it to the people who own the horses who need the help. And those people are “the public.” So I have stretched my introverted self into the public over and over for the good of the horse.

And for everything I’ve learned about training and riding, this getting out of my comfort zone may be the bigger lesson- you can do hard things, and not just you will be better for it- but so will everyone around you.

Thankyou Amy.