Suzie School Horsemanship

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Suzie School Horsemanship

Suzie School Horsemanship I am a horsemanship trainer and coach based in Shropshire. My aim is to help people have happy, safe and confident relationships with their horses.

Specialist in anxiety management and confidence building for horses and humans.

25/03/2025

A fantastic session for Abi and Vera expanding their comfort zone for leading out.

Vera was far more confident and explorative of her environment whilst remaining very connected to Abi ❤️

24/03/2025

Longlining on grass as a prep for h*cking out with LB and Holly.

It's easy to look at LB and think he's just a greedy cob which is why he gets obsessive over grass when he's on it. When you really know and observe LB you can see that he's a lot more sensitive and insecure than he appears on the surface.

He's never been excellent on grass and will either sn**ch for it obsessively or, if he can't do that, he'll try to canter off. This behaviour is down to anxiety about the open space so he tries to self soothe with something that he knows usually relaxes him, which is eating. When his head is down he's distracted by the grass and he doesn't have to look at the environment. If his head is up or there is no option for eating then the environment becomes overwhelm and he wants to take off. So his two options are hide from it or run away from it.

We worked to help LB feel relaxed before entering the open grass space and Holly did an excellent job of remaining consistent and focused with him so that he could find his relaxation out there and his trust in her.

Still plenty do do in this process but it was a fantastic start.

Quote from Holly towards the end of our session "the thing I like is that I always get more than just the next step in our sessions"

I love when people are just looking for the next step on their journey because it tells me that they're committed to the process taking as long as it takes. But they rarely get just the next step. Sessions help to accelerate your journey without rushing, pushing or forcing and you'll find yourself many steps forward each time.

23/03/2025

After all the equipment handling that Meg has been working on we have got quite a different Pixie.

When we work with our horses we elevate them in their development. I think of it in terms of reading.

When we start out we are learning the ABCs. As we move on we start introducing words, then sentences, then paragraphs, then chapters and so on.

Issues can arise when we don't elevate our development at the same rate that we are elevating our horses. The horse can get frustrated because they are ready to move on to the next stage and yet we're still communicating at the same level.

Example 1. The horse has been doing chapters for a while and is ready to learn the whole book. The person doesn't elevate their skills to accommodate that. The horse starts to get frustrated and conflict behaviours arise. The person sees the conflict behaviours and figures the solution is to go back to basics (the ABCs). This p*sses the horse off and the conflict behaviours get worse not better.

Example 2. The person has elevated the horse to reading the whole book and because the horse is doing so brilliantly the person becomes complacent. In comes sloppy handling and a reduction in clarity and accuracy from the person which then p*sses off the horse. Conflict behaviours arise so the person goes back to basics...which makes things worse.

Example 3. The horse is ready to read the book but the person doesn't have the skills yet to take the horse there. The person isn't really interested in getting their either because at the chapters level the horse became pleasurable to deal with...so they just stay there. I'm sure you can guess what happens next.

In all situations the horse becomes mentally resistant, can develop anxiety, can lose confidence and things can go drastically backwards in the relationship.

Going through these levels is not about physical tasks. It's about subtlety, refinement in communication, creativity and connection. People can see "reading the whole book" as riding dressage and the ABCs as long lining which is not the case. You can read the whole book on whatever it is you're doing because it's not about what you're doing but how you're doing it with your horse.

By taking this time to elevate Meg's communication to an even higher level, we didn't need to go back to basics. We could continue on with the stuff we were doing but with a more willing, relaxed and confident Pixie 😊

22/03/2025

If you remember, this horse had terrible issue with anxiety in the outdoor arena which created panic scooching under saddle. The issue was only really evident in the walk. It has come to light over recent months that it is possible that at some point in his training that his anxiety was counteracted by pushing into a higher gait.
(I.e. if he got scoochy, he was made to trot). This means that whilst he regulates really well in trot and canter, he was struggling to find regulation in walk.

Each time I see him there is a huge improvement and his owner reported that she feels like he now sees the arena as his safe place.

This session I set them up with a new pole set up which can be used in many different ways. We even added in trot and canter to see if he could go up his gaits and then return to walk without scooching.

The session went brilliantly and because this is a pattern that I have never shown before, the student was good enough to let me film them doing the many variations of the pattern for the Suzie School - After School Club.

To join the After School Club and get access to all of my support videos for £14.99 per month, click the link below 😀

https://pay.gocardless.com/BRT00030PHQFSQ8

21/03/2025

Had a clear out of my tack room and have some things for sale 😊

20/03/2025

I first met Sarah in my transitional period between ACPT and full time professional pony botherer.

Sarah used to talk about her ponies to me so imagine the squees of delight I emitted when she asked for my support with a rescue pony that she'd taken on!

Dylan is a 3 year old coblet and the aim is to take him out for walks in hand, progression to long lining and maybe one day be the first pony for her grandchildren.

I'm having a great time working with them and Sarah has done a wonderful job of doing all her homework and helping Dylan to become more connected to her.

20/03/2025

A wonderful session with Kaycee and Ben working on not making assumptions.

Ben is very prone to this and it makes him quite anxious.

Kaycee did a wonderful job of helping him ❤️

20/03/2025

🌟🌟🌟TOMORROW🌟🌟🌟

In the Suzie School - After School Club

To join the After School Club and get access to all of my support videos for £14.99 per month, click the link below 😀 https://pay.gocardless.com/BRT00030PHQFSQ8

18/03/2025

Super proud of Joy who unexpectedly ended up riding ba****ck in her session.

This was a big thing for her but the changes that came from it were huge.

So lovely to be a part of her progress with Rambo. They're doing brilliantly 😊

18/03/2025

We are on week 4 of Regalo's latest set of pole exercises prescribed by Euro Vet Physio .

The exercises aren't prescribed to be done at liberty but sometimes we do because it provides a way for me to take some of the monotony out of it for Regalo. (Doing anything at liberty requires you to have that as a developed skill with your horse and is absolutely not a case of turning them loose and chasing them over poles).

It's been a full year since I started committing to pole exercises with Regalo and it has been worth every moment.

Benefits that I have experienced

● a fitter and stronger horse who is less prone to injury
●less vet bills because I have a fitter and stronger horse who is less prone to injury 😆
●a less prolonged return to full fitness after his stifle was retreated
●ongoing support and a knowledgeable and trusted friend in Catherine to ensure that I'm helping Regalo in the best way
●a happier, more relaxed horse who is more motivated because he's not in discomfort
●a accelerated development in my own understanding and knowledge so I spot things sooner and ask for advice
●elevated connection with Regalo as we work though new challenges together
●a horse that now regularly uses his upper gaits to move around and play in the field.
●a horse that I can be confident is strong enough to carry me and do the things that I want to do
●a consistent way to work with my horse every week.
●when the weather is not cooperative with riding I can do the pole exercises which a)gives me something to do and b)will give me a stronger horse when riding picks up again
●a more forward, and energetic horse whilst maintaining mental relaxation
●the freedom to just enjoy my horse and my time with him

I'm not going to kid you all and say that this level of commitment is easy. It's not. It's hard. But with a list of benefits like that it's a no brainer for me. It might be challenging but I love that pony and I'll do whatever it takes to help him be happy and healthy for as long as he walks this earth.

17/03/2025

I have a small amount of cancellation slots which have come available for April.

If you're interested in booking in please message the page.

Deposits required for all bookings. Participants must be over 18 years old.

11/03/2025

Working with obstacles to help Hannah's accuracy and communication with Margo.

A very fun session with lots of learning 😊

10/03/2025

Lovely session in the sun with Sophie and Floss who have been having some issues since Floss' veterinary treatment.

I see commonly (and I'm not exempt from this either) that when our horses have been poorly we can get very paranoid about that happening again which gives us anxiety. As a result we start treating the horse differently, and that makes the horse anxious.

This session we looked at saddling, bridling, and leading without diving for grass. All issues that have come about since the veterinary treatment and all 3 went away with a gentle re-establish of the connection that they had before.

Wonderful 😃

08/03/2025

Equipment handling is one of the most essential parts of having excellence in communication with horses.

It's also the area where I find that people put the least focus in their own development.

Clumsy handling of equipment and poor communication lets our horse down with the clarity and consistency that they require in order for them to feel confident, relaxed and connected to us.

In one of our sessions I noticed that some of Meg's communication had gone a bit wonky so we've been working on this away from Pixie for the last couple of sessions.

Meg has done so well with this despite how hard it's been for her to get her body under control.

There have been moments of despair (pictured 😆) but the process has really hit home for Meg how easily things can slip and what a big change this can have for Pixie.

I'm really excited to see how things have improved when we put these things into practice with Pixie next week.

This stuff isn't easy but anyone who actively puts a focus on themselves gets gold stars from me every time 😊

06/03/2025

Well this was definitely good for my soul.

Both Odin and Fozzie have been out of work for some time so Kim and I took them out for a h*ck in the woods to blow out the cobwebs.

04/03/2025

Another session peeling back the layers of ex racehorse Isha.

Cain wanted to work on helping Isha find tolerance for being brushed.

As with the lots of things with horses the problem you think you have isn't the problem you actually have.

When Isha is being groomed she will back up to the end of the rope but what I saw was that she didn't have a problem with being brushed but more an anxiety about Cain being along her body and behind her. The backing up is an attempt to maneuver Cain to being back in front of her where she feels most comfortable.

We worked on a completely separate exercise to develop this confidence and tested with the brushing afterwards. No more backing up 😃

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Wednesday	06:00 - 20:00
Thursday	09:00 - 18:00
Saturday	09:00 - 18:00

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One of the other things that Diva would do is set her neck and dive for grass when leading around the yard. The work that we did with the stable door helped Diva to feel safe and connected with Dawn so the grass wasn't even an issue after that. They could walk around the yard together nicely and when Dawn stopped, Diva stopped with her 🥰

It feels like it's been far too long. So happy to have had a short ride with Regalo this morning 🥰

We also had a little look at bridling with Pablo. When presented with the bridle he can have a tendency to back up and put his head up in the air which not only makes it difficult for Emily, but it's not pleasant for Pablo to feel like that about it. Emily is a competitive rider (and very bl00dy good at it) but the thing that I love most about her is that the competing is always secondary to how the horse feels. She wants her horses to be happy, relaxed and confident with everything so that they can enjoy the experience as much as she does 🥰 She's a gentle and empathetic person by nature and this is truly reflected in how she handles her horses. First step was helping Pablo to seek the bit. By making him a part of the process it felt less like it was being done to to him and more like he and Emily were doing it together. This in turn helped him to have a more positive perspective on the experience and builds their relationship further. Once he was seeking the bit, the rest of the process was easy 🙂

Just a casual pootle about post pole exercises on a single rein. It was exactly what I needed and the best feeling. I didn't want it to end. I finished by just laying on his back in the halt and breathing in the smell of him. I wish he knew how incredibly special he is and how he heals my soul in ways I could never describe ❤️

I had a little liberty session with Regalo after our pole exercises this morning. During the session he kept telling me that he wanted to kick and push the barrel so I sent him off to let him play with it. What I hadn't counted on was him changing his mind on the approach and half attempting to jump it. My heart was in my mouth because of his leg. He however, looked quite chuffed with his attempt but then confused as to why I wasn't beaming with joy 😆

I'm just like everybody else when it comes to my pony 😆

Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?

Mid shoot pony nuzzles. Despite the not ideal weather I think NL Equestrian Horsemanship & Bodywork got some super cute photos this morning 😀

Great, guess I'm not needed anymore. If I could teach him to set the poles out as well I could have a lie in 😆 Pole exercises designed and prescribed by Euro Vet Physio

Me, me, me and me have all wasted my day 😫

Visiting Regalo in hospital

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