I did a self- exercise once around just being, seeing, observing my horses. I wanted to really see them with my eyes. I am no artist, but I chose to draw one and I painted another... I sat, quietly for hours just observing their eyes, mouths, their mane, their colours. How I saw them🤍 We bonded during that time as I asked for nothing. I just sat with them, soft music playing whilst they watched me too... occasionally coming over to nudge me, smell me, breathe over me🤍 Just wanted to share. Try it. Would be amazing to create our own gallery🐴🫶

✨ I want to share something that’s been sitting heavily with me the past weeks. Recently, I found out that a mare I knew of was put to sleep due to behavioural issues. From what I observed, she had all the right physical checks -chiro, physio, ulcers, bloods the lot. But what I saw daily was a horse showing very clear signs of distress during handling. During tacking up she would bite, strike, kick. It escalated to the point she couldn’t even be tied safely. Bridling would start in one place in the barn and end 20 metres away. There was no punishment - which is good but there was also no guidance. No change in approach. No outside help. Same pattern in - same pattern out. And eventually…the behaviour became the label. 👉 Here’s the hard truth: Even with experience. Even with knowledge. Even with good intentions. If we don’t ask for help, nothing changes. Years ago I would run after people, offering help whether they wanted it or not. I learned the hard way that if someone isn’t open, they aren’t open. You can’t force readiness. Do I wish I had stepped in more? Of course part of me does. But I cannot take responsibility for every situation I witness. That would mean carrying the weight of every horse everywhere - and that’s neither realistic nor healthy. What I do believe, deeply, is this: If the horse is physically well and the owner is open, most things are fixable. Horses with “people problems” were created by people - often unknowingly. That means they can be un-created too. Some in a few sessions. Some in a year. Some longer. But behaviour is information. I’ve known horses who survived trailering accidents and calmly loaded the next day because the owner didn’t label them as trauma victims. I’ve also seen horses who had no accident, but after one frightening moment were labelled “traumatised” where from that day forward, they carried that identity. We are powerful in what we reinforce. We are powerful in what we ignore. We are powerful in what we assume.

Video says it all🫶🫶🫶🥕🥕🥕🐴🐴🐴

I am just sharing a video from the last sunny day we had in England 3 wks ago!!! Just "being" sometimes with our horses is all we need💙🥕🐴🫶 Share some of yours " just being" shots 🤠🐴🫶

✨ Something I see a lot and something I’ve done myself in the past - is over-desensitizing. Now before anyone panics, I’m not against helping horses become confident. Quite the opposite. But there’s a fine line between education and emotional shutdown. Desensitizing should mean: - the horse understands - the horse processes - the horse can stay curious - the horse has a choice What it sometimes becomes is: - repeated exposure without understanding - pressure until the reaction stops - “See? He’s fine now.” But is he fine…or has he simply stopped expressing? A truly confident horse is not dull. They’re attentive, thinking, responsive. When we over-desensitize, we can accidentally: - reduce sensitivity - create delayed responses - dampen expression - teach the horse that their voice doesn’t matter And here’s the subtle part, a horse that shuts down can look very obedient. Still. Quiet. Tolerant. But confidence isn’t tolerance. Confidence is clarity plus trust. If something feels scary to a horse, the goal isn’t to make it “not scary.” The goal is to help them learn how to think through it. That requires: - timing - release - allowing try - space to process I’m curious, have you ever noticed the difference between a horse that’s genuinely confident and one that’s simply learned not to react? Let’s talk, Zoë 🐴✨🫶