Hi all, I'm happy to be home, was out all day again today. Definitely gonna be in bed by 9pm tonight 😅 In the last ' Observations in the Field' post, we talked about feet and how our footwork quietly shapes clarity and/or confusion. Today, I would like to talk about hands. Good horseman’s hands are not busy. They’re not grabby, poking, pulling, or pushing. 👉 They’re: - quiet - listening - consistent - patient - able to wait - AND close slowly and open quickly And that’s not easy, because as humans, we’re wired the opposite way. From the moment we’re born, we grab. We pull ourselves up. We poke to explore. We push to get a response. That’s how we survive and learn. But horses know this about us. They feel it in: - rushed corrections - constant adjustments - gripping instead of guiding - hands that act before the horse has time to answer When our hands are always doing, the horse has no space to think. And when there’s no thinking, there can be no true softness. Good hands don’t force slowness, they allow it. They give the horse time to: - process - respond - offer something back This is why developing good hands is often less about learning what to do…and more about learning what not to do. Just like with our feet, our hands are always communicating, even when we think they’re not. Curious to hear your thoughts: What awareness's and changes have you had to implement into your hands to get to you to your next best level? Adding to that, what do you need to learn/unlearn, to get to the next level after that...? Zoë 🐴✨🫶

✨ Something I help people change often and it’s a subtle one, is how often our feet give a very different message than what we think. For example: When asking a horse to move out on the lunge or stay out of their space, people are often walking backwards, and end up doing the opposite of what they intend. 👉 Why? Because walking backwards draws the horse in. It activates our magnetism which, by the way, is one of the real secrets of liberty when you know how to use it well. So instead of clarity, the horse receives: 🔹a push with one part of the 🔹body and a draw with another That conflict in the message can lead to horses becoming: 🔸dull 🔸unresponsive 🔸sticky 🔸pushy 🔸uninterested Not because they’re stubborn but because they’re trying to make sense of mixed information. Our feet matter. Where we step, how we step, and why we step communicates just as loudly as our hands, rope, or energy. It’s one of those small details that can completely change the feel of an interaction when we get it right. Curious to hear your thoughts: Have you ever noticed how changing your footwork changed your horse’s response? Zoë 🐴✨🫶

Ronnie's moving to a new home today. I was feeling really stressed about it, even though it's a good move for him and us. Rather than letting the stress get the better of me, I decided to listen to Zoe's One with Nature and Horses presence practice for support. I feel grounded and ready now. Thanks @Zoë Coade 🫶 Wish us luck! 💖💞

A bit of grooming... a bit of leading... a bit of liberty and a WHOLE lotta LOVE🤍 🐴🩶🐴 a couple of videos with both Percy and Storm and some lovely shots of this beautiful day... I feel so blessed!! xx

I've been keeping things simple to help me be consistent as I figured consistency was the most important thing for me to work on. It's something I've struggled with a lot, probably because I was trying too many things at once, so since joining this community I decided to scale everything back so I didn't get overwhelmed. The big thing that I've been working on is having Ronnie happy to just be with me. The two of us in one space just being. Together we've always had a kind of frantic energy about us, so my focus and goal has been on calming everything down. And I'm really noticing a difference. We've consistently been able to just stand together. His head is lowered, he's had a droopy bottom lip, even some yawns and sighs. It feels so good to be with him like that 💖 I've also worked on keeping my space and the consistency I've shown up with in this has made a huge, noticeable difference. It's definitely helped with us being able to be together in a calm way too. I've been conscious of him not making me move my feet too. I've introduced the relaxation whistle and been mindful of tension in my body. Today I put into practice Zoe's tip for his habit of pawing at the gate and again, more good stuff. He quickly caught on and the pawing got softer until he just stopped doing it and relaxed. Now to keep that up. These things are all small, no big or complicated training for us right now, but they have been very powerful lessons for both of us and will feed into everything that comes next. I've shown up with my chin up, my heart open and full of love for him, and a big smile 🥰 Thank you @Zoë Coade and everyone else here for your guidance, advice, inspiration and support 🫶 I'm so grateful and it feels so good to finally feel like I might actually be able to do this horse thing 💞