✨ There’s this moment with young horses that catches a lot of people off guard where in the beginning they feel soft, willing, almost like…“wow this is easy.” They try, they follow, they don’t question much, and then one day…they do. Not in a bad way and not because they’ve suddenly turned into a “problem horse.” But because they’re starting to understand their world a little more. They realize they have options. They realize pressure can be avoided, or delayed, or questioned. They realize…you’re not actually in their head. And this is the point where people often say “He’s getting cheeky” “She’s being difficult” “He’s changed” But really…this is just a young horse starting to get getting wise. And honestly it's not a bad thing. Because a horse that starts to think is a horse that can learn properly, but only if we meet them there with understanding, not frustration because it can go south pretty quickly and the horses dignity is very questionable. 👉 In my world of horse training, we start horses, we don’t break them in and that matters more than people realize. Because in many cases (not all), to “break” a horse does exactly what it says - it shuts them down, it takes away the try, the curiosity, the personality. Not all, but most. Starting a horse is something completely different. It’s a process and one that takes time…so what you build becomes something permanent, something you can come back to, something that actually gets better over time instead of falling apart under pressure. And this “wise phase”…is part of that process coz it's where the holes show up and it's where your consistency gets tested. It's also where your young horse asks, in their own unique way. “Do you really mean this?” “Is this always the answer?” “Can I trust this?” If you rush it here, you will lose something. If you get frustrated, you dull them. If you overpower them, you might get control…but you lose the conversation. But if you stay clear, consistent, and fair, this is where everything locks in.

Hi all, I've been away for a little while but I'm getting back into this course again. My ultimate dream would be to ride bridleless - it seems like a very far away dream right now - and to explore true liberty. I'd also like to improve my groundwork with my horse, we have some basics but we get a little stuck when we try to move on to more challenging things.

I already told you about Lotus and how our training is progressing. Today we hit another big milestone! I told to about how he would start bolting and running with no brakes when put on a circle. Tuesday he still did that at the beginning of our session but at the end he got that just walking would be way nicer than putting himself to work the wrong way. So today, same training. I expected that when I put him on a circle he would try and do it again because old habits are ofcourse hard to get rid of. Lotus proved me wrong today, he really did. When put on the circle today he just walked, sometimes with a little bit of tension but he stayed in walk and controlled . In the video is the first minute of cirle work. You can even see him slow down sometimes. I am so proud of this little eager Stallion. Even though he finds his body hard to use he works is heart out for me. And this was only the third session with him. At the start of our groundwork session today his under neck was really tense and hard. Afterwards it was soft. He felt way more relaxed today. So proud of the both of us! And this also goes to show how important groundwork and just pure communication is. No torture for "bad" behavior, just making clear what you want, not what you dont want. Horses only know as much you teach them. Trust, peace and clear communication goes a long way✨

✨ Let’s share some wins 🥳 What’s something you and your horse did this week that went right and / or felt good? 🐴✨🫶

Very proud moments today. Second training session with Lotus First video: Jojo (going forward and than backwards) and "park" (standing still while I back up. Second video: the start of lunging. He knows lunging. Well... Lunging his way; bolting of when put on a circle so I am very happy with how this went today. No bolting... After my 1st session with him the owner already saw a big, positive, change with him. I still have to get to know him a lot more but already really happy with how it is going so far.