Cactus Belle Horsemanship

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Cactus Belle Horsemanship Psychology based trainer specializing in c**t starting, problem solving and building partnerships

Not local or busy work schedule and not able to come out for lessons? Don’t forget to join my Patreon, where my top-tier...
09/04/2025

Not local or busy work schedule and not able to come out for lessons?
Don’t forget to join my Patreon, where my top-tier offers a monthly video submission, and virtual training! 
Mid-level offers a monthly Q&A and topic request submissions!
First level get you access to videos that are not posted on my public social media! 

Waylon’s looking a little fit 🤷🏼‍♀️
09/04/2025

Waylon’s looking a little fit 🤷🏼‍♀️

02/04/2025

🐴✨ Trail Riding: Where Confidence Goes to Die
(and how to do something about that😆)

Trail riding.
That romantic fantasy where you and your horse glide along in spiritual synchronicity—
they’re reading your mind,
you’re breathing deeply,
the scent of eucalyptus filling your lungs and aligning your chakras,
and not a single muscle in your body clenched in terror.

HAHAHA—no.😎

Here’s a common version for many lovely people😱:

Trail riding is a shared panic spiral.
You and your horse, locked in a feedback loop of fear, reacting to shadows, rustling leaves, and plastic bags possessed by demons.

Each of you nervously amplifying the other, like a badly tuned emotional guitar.

It’s not teamwork.
It’s co-dependent doom anticipation.
One of you is wearing a helmet.
The other has hooves and better faster reflexes.
Neither of you is helping.

If this is you—I see you. Once I was you....

Luckily, trail drama is highly treatable.👩‍⚕️

Spoiler: the horse is not necessarily the problem.🫣

I didn’t know how to help my horse—or how much I was making things worse.

I wanted them to be chill and brave... while I rode like a caffeinated meerkat at a fireworks show🎆.

Then somewhere between “I never want to do this again” and “Why is my Apple Watch registering this as a cardiac event💓?” I learned the secret:

👉 Look up. Ride somewhere.

Yes, really. That’s the whole thing.
Stop scanning for threats like a doomsday prepper.
Pick a direction. Ride with intention.
Your horse doesn’t need you to narrate the trail. They need you to act like you’ve got a plan and you’re not afraid of crunchy leaves.

But let’s be clear: this didn’t happen because I lit a candle and whispered affirmations into my saddle pad.

I trained for it.

I worked on myself.
I trained away from the trail, and on it.
On windy days. On weird days.
I built my seat. I built my horse’s understanding.
I stacked experience and skills like bricks—until we had a foundation we could ride out on.

Because confidence isn’t a vibe.
It’s a skillset with receipts.💪

🐴 Want to actually enjoy trail riding? Try this:

1️⃣ Expose your horse to nonsense.
Tarps, prams, balloon-wielding children.
Let them freak out in a controlled fashion somewhere safe, so they don’t do it at a canter near a cliff.
And yes—it’s as much about training you as it is them.

2️⃣ Ride with someone unbothered.
Find the trail boss whose horse would walk through a Bunnings calmly.
Study them. Channel their energy. Borrow their calm until you’ve built your own.

3️⃣ Start where you won’t die.
Stick to familiar tracks. Know where the monsters live (usually it's that one letterbox).
Then expand like a cautious amoeba.

4️⃣ Lead on the ground.
Yes, groundwork.
Be the bushland tour guide your horse didn’t ask for.
Confidence grows when you both experience the trail without pressure.

5️⃣ Learn what a freeze really means.
When your horse turns into a statue, they’re not plotting your demise.
They’re buffering. Investigating. It’s called the orienting reflex.
Don’t poke the buffering horse. Wait. Then look up and ride somewhere like the kind of human they’d follow into a dark alley.

6️⃣ Train your seat like it’s a seatbelt.
If you can’t sit a spook, fix that.
Balance isn’t about elegance. It’s about not eating gravel. Or at least get a saddle that gives you an advantage against physics!

7️⃣ Be less dramatic than your horse.
It’s not their job to keep you safe.❌
It’s your job to keep them safe.✅
Be the Wi-Fi they can plug into. Be the calm. Be the “we’re good” human.🦸‍♀️

Trail riding isn’t for the faint of heart. Or the unprepared.
And confidence? It’s not magic.

Confidence is like IKEA furniture.
There is a clear way to build it:
Start with instructions. Work on yourself. Build your skills. Prepare your horse.
It’s all there in the metaphorical Allen key of training.

But most people approach trail riding like they approach flat-pack furniture:
No prep. No tools. No plan.
Just blind optimism and a pretty photo in a catalogue.
Then they wonder why it’s wobbly, missing screws,
and held together by hope and the ramifications corner-cutting.

Confidence isn’t a gift.
It’s self-assembly—
built through repetition, strategy, and mildly uncomfortable effort.

Not because you’re broken.
But because you’re a detail-oriented control freak who really hates uncertainty.🤓

And honestly? That’s not a flaw.
It’s a superpower—
once you learn how to aim it properly.🎯

So if you want your horse to be calm,
be the one who stops feeding the panic loop.
Do the work. Ride forward. Ride like you’re in charge of this amazing two-headed organism called you and your horse.

They don’t need you to be fearless.
They need you to be competent.
And ideally…
not freaking out at every snapping twig.

If you're ready to stop white-knuckling trail rides and start riding like you mean it, come hang out with me. I teach this stuff.😉

IMAGE📸: A couple of trail bosses (Fiona & Mary-Anne) and the magnificent Clarence River in the background 😍

Please do hit the share button if this post sparked something for you. But don’t copy and paste it—I wrote this with my own brain cells and more emotional processing power than I usually admit to. Be a sharer, not a pirate. Respect the source code. 🤓

01/04/2025

We are pleased to announce the introduction of the Miniature Horse Class to our lineup of approved weekend show classes.

This new class aims to provide a competitive platform for miniature horses and their riders, promoting inclusivity and diversity within the sport of cutting.

This addition reflects NCHA's commitment to evolving the sport and providing opportunities for all equine athletes and enthusiasts.

For comprehensive details, including specific rules and regulations pertaining to the Miniature Horse Class, please visit bit.ly/New_Weekend_Class

We look forward to welcoming competitors to this exciting new class at upcoming weekend shows.​

Monday Morning ThoughtsEmotional Regulation We want our horses to stand tied quietly, while we anxiously groom them in a...
31/03/2025

Monday Morning Thoughts

Emotional Regulation

We want our horses to stand tied quietly, while we anxiously groom them in anticipation of the upcoming ride.

We want our horses to move forward willingly while we are afraid to lope them.

We want our horses to remain calm in a high energy situation on the trail, while we ourselves cannot manage that.

We expect so much of our horses and don’t expect the same from ourselves.

Your horse is not your babysitter.
Your horse is not your therapist.
Your horse IS a prey animal that is just trying to keep themselves safe – which is supposed to be your job.
Most of us, however, can’t even regulate our own emotions in day-to-day experiences.

But if we can’t regulate our own emotions, why do we expect our horses to be able to do so?

Horse and human both being able to regulate emotions is the key to a successful partnership. Think over react, right?

Practice what you preach to your horse.

Cooper gets to go on another adventure tomorrow! Any guesses where??
25/03/2025

Cooper gets to go on another adventure tomorrow! Any guesses where??

21/03/2025

Go Hug Your Horse

“It’s absolutely mind boggling if you think about it.

Your horse gets absolutely nothing out of being competitive for you. Not a darn thing. Of course horses are bred for specific jobs, or they’re bred to be athletic to a certain degree. However, horses don’t wake up thinking about chasing cans, or cows, or flying over jumps.

They have no idea how much money is added to the pot. They have no idea that this is a qualifier. They have no idea that this is the short go.

And DESPITE us... DESPITE our nerves, our flaws, our incorrect ques, our huge emotions, they get the job done to their very best ability. Even when we fail them by letting our emotions get in the way, they come back and they try again. For US. Whoa. Let that sink in. If only we could all be so understanding.

To think of an animal that is forgiving and flexible enough to put up with the repetition of practice, the intense nerves of the rider, the stress of hauling and still meet you at the gate for scratches is MIND. BLOWING.

If you haven’t done so lately. Thank your horse.

If you’re successful, thank the horses that put you there and made you. Thank the horses that gave everything they had for you simply because you ASKED them to.

If you’re still on the journey to success, thank the horses that made you fall in love with your sport and who have helped give you the confidence to want to learn more and be better.

We can never stop learning as horsemen and horsewomen, and by continuing our education every horse in our future will be better off.

Next time you head to the arena leave your ego at the door and thank your horse!” -Samantha Roffers

Love this guy….. “Swagger In The Skye”
He is such a love bug and he and I have been learning lots this winter!

Can’t wait to meet the 2025 foal crop sired by Shiners Got Swagger!!
Count down is on❤️🙏❤️

SOLD👑 LADY NOELA 👑10 year old OTTB mare ready for her new job!Lady is currently in training with me to be restarted afte...
21/03/2025

SOLD

👑 LADY NOELA 👑

10 year old OTTB mare ready for her new job!
Lady is currently in training with me to be restarted after an unsuccessful broodmare career. She was injured as a three year-old, but has been x-rayed, Vet cleared and is 100% sound. Details can be provided for serious buyers.
Lady is as sweet and kind as they come and easy to handle on the ground. I have absolutely loved having her in the barn. She is affectionate, loves attention and is the first to greet you at the gate!
She is barefoot with SOLID feet.
She ties, bathe, leads, loads, stands for the farrier. She absolutely LOVES to be groomed and loved on. She would make a great companion, or great athlete.
She now has a couple weeks of light rides, and tons of ground work done.
She is a big, forward mover and would not be suitable for beginners or timid riders.

Located in Lakeland, FL.
Low x,###
Please PM for more details.

21/03/2025

Cooper got to join me on a trail ride yesterday! It was perfect weather!

Waylon out and about!
21/03/2025

Waylon out and about!

21/03/2025

Still have 9am haul-in spot available tomorrow morning!

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My time with Shooter has come to an end as he heads back home today. I am so grateful for the opportunity to ride and show him for the last 8 months. Thank you so much to Whitney, Stephanie and Dayne of La Florida Farms for this incredible opportunity and trusting me with such a special horse and being so supportive every step of the way. You guys are once in a lifetime clients and I am truly blessed to be a part of your business ventures for your farm. Shooter has been such a pleasure to have in the barn, he is such a gentle soul and I looked forward to every ride. He allowed me to make mistakes while working on myself, and was a confidence builder for me in the show ring as someone who is normally working with babies. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I’m so grateful that you guys came into my life when you did and that this opportunity worked out. 💗

Cooper is the best boy! You guys won’t want to miss out on taking a ride on him 🥰 @floridabeachhorses @nancyslaterhorsemanship

Trot in like you own the place 💪 happy Friday

Since everyone was super fascinated by my little trick to stop pacing, here it is in action. And Toby performing safety inspections

Clover was my first horse. She is my heart horse. She turns 18 this year on St. Patrick’s Day, in just a few short weeks. She came back from a severe suspensory tear that I was told she probably wouldn’t even be pasture sound after. She was a state champion barrel horse in my 4H days, setting arena records. She was my liberty/trick horse that took me through my Parelli levels back in the day. She is my SAR/mounted unit horse for the sheriffs department. She has spent the last few months babysitting a youth kid, in which I have not been riding her. I threw a bosal on today and hopped on, and she rode around like this. I truly have no idea how any other horse is ever supposed to fill her hooves, but I’m hoping to have many more years to add new things to our resume. I’ve tried to retire her, and clearly she is just not ready. Tell me about your heart horse

Thanks to the women like Erin Taormino who keep paving the way and shattering glass ceilings 💫

Did you know that horses don’t naturally want to separate their feet? They like to keep their front feet together in a pair, and their back together in a pair. Lady was a good example of that, she constantly wanted to JUMP onto things like loading in the trailer, rather than stepping up. I had to teach her that she could separate her feet individually. She wanted to show you guys her newfound knowledge 😁 doesn’t she look proud of herself? A super fun Clinic is in the works at the place where I learned this concept. Stay tuned to learn where!

@happily_ever_acres is on Team #NoExcuses with Jinx! Are you? Join my Patreon to learn more!

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