No Ordinary Horse

25/07/2025

💖💖💖

Healing Is Not Linear

💫 One step forward. Pause. Two steps back. Cry. Leap ahead. Rest.

Healing doesn’t follow a straight line—and horses remind us that this is okay.

They don’t rush, and they don’t expect perfection.

They hold space for every version of us—whether we’re in pain, in joy, or in process.

If you’re feeling frustrated with your progress, take a breath.

You’re not behind. You’re becoming.

08/06/2025

This 🙏🏼

This, this, this 💖

07/06/2025

"our judgements are just another form of pressure, and for sensitive, powerful horses like these, that pressure could easily become too much"

Beautiful reflections on shadowing the work of Nahshon Cook.

Thought provoking writing 🙏💖

In May, I had the opportunity to watch Nahshon Cook train a herd of horses in Wisconsin. Nahshon is one of my greatest teachers, guiding me to change my life and my horsehumanship, as he calls it, for the better each time I see him. Watching this group of 9 horses and talking to Nahshon about them p

22/05/2025

Time doesn't matter to a horse, feel does.

Another beautiful example of caring, adaptive 'Being' with horses from Rosca Horsemanship 💖

I really do love this little dude!

Late last year, after just beginning some consistent rides under saddle, we had to make the decision to move Badger, and for those of you who really know your horses, you know what a difference that can make to them.

Even the most adaptable horse, when you can see the nuances of change in their behaviour, give away changes that may often get overlooked.

The environment plays a huge factors on a horse feeing of safety and regardless of the support we can offer, it will still take time for them to feel comfortable in new surroundings.

I began to integrate a three phase plan for Badger back in January with a little more dedicated ‘training time’ spent with him to help his overall feelings of safety and focus, revisiting the foundational basics that Badger has learned previously.

This blended nicely into February where we began brining a few sequences together alongside increasing softness and connection, which included a re-introduction of the saddle, weight and mounting block exercises; all of which he was golden with after 6 months off!

As we continued through March, his third planned phase of ridden re-integration, Badger began to show a few signs that something was not quite right and his behaviour, though subtle, was enough.

Therefore after a little investigation, a soft tissue injury became apparent in the distal limb, with a combined hoof imbalance/hard ground combination.

Interestingly, as we have have taken the expectation off the plan, Badger seems more connected than before as we focus primarily on straightness work, a little light lateral introductions from the ground and continuing to refine, play and hang out.

I am a believer everything happens for a reason, and the three phase plan I outlined is completely adaptable to Badgers needs; if he needs 6 more phases, that would be fine, or more time within them, again, that would be fine!

At six years of age, he is my preferred age for starting a horse, therefore whilst we wait for his hoof balance and tissues to settle, we can focus on continuing to make headway with his mind and body in other ways.

Remember, time doesn't matter to a horse, feel does.

04/05/2025

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
- Leonard Cohen 'Anthem'

Quoting lyrics from Leonard Cohen to illustrate how to find a starting point in the journey of a horse's healing tells what an artist Nahshon Cook Horsemanship is.

The video is evidence of how beautiful his work is 🙏

There is No Ordinary Horse💖

29/04/2025

Beautifully expressed 🙌

We can have it all.

Pictured here are two straight lines representing two extremes of a spectrum. One line represents “I don’t care how my horse thinks, feels, or what they need…they are going to do what I want. They have no choice.”

And on the other side, that line represents “I only care about what my horse thinks, feels, and what they want, and I never ask them to do anything they don’t want to do. They always have complete choice.”

We live in a world of duality and polarity within that duality. Hot needs cold, hard needs soft, connected needs disconnected, and the idea of choice needs the idea of no choice. This is how we can know things, and how we can know where we are, at any given time.

Those two straight lines in this picture…they are extreme, simple, and easy. They’re easy because the answer to every situation has already been made before we’re even in it. The extreme viewpoints in those two straight lines are also very dangerous. They are disconnected from intuition, flow, change, and most of all—what the moment wants and how we can best serve the horse in that moment.

Because how we can best serve the horse sometimes means haltering them up and getting them into a stall even when they don’t want to, all for their health and safety. It can mean being firm with our boundaries and asking them to not walk into our space. And it can mean inspiring them to move even when they don’t want to.

These things all serve the horse. In the domesticated horse world, horses need our help to guide them. When it comes to crossing the road, even with the smartest horse in the world, it usually better serves the horse if we’re leading the way.

How we can best serve the horse, though, can also mean listening to them when they don’t want to come in a stall and letting them have the choice to stay out. It can mean letting the horse walk into our space in the right moment when they’re letting their guard down and connecting. And it can sometimes mean respecting their “no” when they don’t want to move for us.

These things all very much serve the horse just as much. Recognizing the thought and feeling of a horse, and honoring it, is a game-changer. And when a horse is allowed true choice and chooses to be with us in the work…great try, confidence, and beauty comes with that.

Because there is a third line pictured. The middle one. And that’s the one with the greatest opportunity for true connection, trusted relationship, and reciprocal giving. It’s also the hardest line. Because the answer can change moment-to-moment, situation-to-situation, horse-to-horse, human-to-human. It takes feel, intuition, experience, and true being in the moment and letting go of any story of how we think it’s supposed to go. This is when true intuition and guidance comes that truly serves both the horse and us equally.

What helps me is to take a good deep breath, relax, find stillness within, and ask…

1 — how may I best serve the horse?
2 — and what does the moment want?

And sometimes it’s inspiring them to try their hardest to follow our guidance even when they’d rather not.

And sometimes it’s letting go of asking them to do that when they’d rather not.

In the end, neither “yes” or “no” are better than each other. “Yes” is “no” to something else, and “no” is “yes” to something else. It’s all just truth and opportunity. This is true freedom, where anything can lead to everything.

Following that middle line takes a lot of work. But it’s so very worth it. Because when it’s in balance, there’s a place there where we can say “I respect, honor, and care very much about the horse’s thoughts, feelings, and choices…while they also do their best to follow my guidance whenever I ask.”

And the thing is, it can all be infused with the same intention, the same presence, the same gentle, soft, confident energy. A lifetime of a journey this middle line is, with no end to the learning and growing and discovery.

😊🐴🙏

24/04/2025

Episode 17 is out 🤩

Tracey Duncan Taking Care of Training is well known in the UK as an 'alternative' equestrian coach where connection is a fundamental part of her approach. Here, Tracey talks of her journey with horses and how they led her to find a different path in her own training and the training she offers to others.

No Ordinary Horse 💖

08/04/2025

🥳 Episode 16 is out!

As Gareth Mare's post brought Cindy Jarrett (Ep14) & I together, and knowing that Steve Miller (Ep 4 & 12) has chatted with Gareth online & in person, we decided to see how a conversation would unfold together.

Such richness and depth🙏

Find Gareth at Heartfelt Horsemanship
Find Cindy at www.HorseJourneys.com

05/04/2025

We can choose to look at the change in the world through fear, or we can stay open and help future generations choose a different way of being.

And isn't Captain just gorgeous! 💖

For so long, we’ve been taught to follow the rules, find the "right" answer, and fit into a structured system. I used to believe that was the only way until a horse showed me otherwise.

That moment changed everything. Suddenly, a whole new world opened up, a world where curiosity leads the way, where there isn’t just one right path, and where we create our own reality rather than fitting into someone else’s mold.

The younger generation already knows this. They haven’t lost that openness. Our role isn’t to teach it out of them, it’s to nurture it. To guide, support, and empower them (and their parents) to trust their own intuition, to stay curious, and to follow their hearts.

This is why tools like HeartMath and deep self-awareness matter so much. It’s about keeping things real, simple, and accessible so that every child, every parent, and every person can find their inner peace and move toward it.

-Clare

Listen to the entire Episode 24: https://www.intuitivelearningfoundation.org/compass-conversations/