Foundation First Horsemanship

05/09/2026

We lost power during the wind storm so I might as well make cute reels of our stud muffins from today 😍

**t

04/09/2026

In the early days, I learnt this one the hard way.

Even after being knocked out cold by a friend’s horse’s giant head as he slung it towards mine while I was holding him, I still didn’t truly appreciate or understand how important it was to create safe boundaries with horses.

I was inconsistent.

I’d let my horse push into me for a scratch and not tell her no.

I’d let her drag the lead rope out of my hand to pick at grass.

I’d let her plant her feet when I asked her to walk through a gateway.

But then every now and then, I’d suddenly pull out the big:

“HEY! DON’T DO THAT!”

And my horse would be like:

“Yeah… okay. Sure. 🙄”

Then two minutes later, they’d try it again.

And I’d be too busy with my head in the clouds to address it.

So from the horse’s perspective:

“Well, if I try this every time, there’s a 99% chance I’m going to get that delicious grass… so I’m gonna do it anyway. 🙂”

And honestly, they weren’t being naughty.

I had taught them that the boundary was optional.

This is where I think the electric fence is a really good analogy.

An electric fence is designed to create a physical boundary. But it can also be a really useful way of thinking about the boundaries we create between horses and humans, and even between horses themselves.

A horse touches the electric fence and gets an uncomfortable zap.

It isn’t a beating.

It isn’t a wishy washy little zap sometimes, followed by nothing the next ten times.

It’s a very clear:

“NO. Don’t touch this.”

And the horse learns.

They don’t stand there holding a grudge against the fence. They don’t think the fence is being mean to them. They simply learn:

“Touching that = uncomfortable. Stay away from it.”

And that clarity actually helps keep the horse safe within the area the fence has created.

Of course, an electric fence is a physical barrier and our interactions with horses are far more nuanced than that. But the principle of clear, consistent boundaries is incredibly important.

If pushing into your space is okay sometimes, but not others, your horse has no reason to understand when it isn’t okay.

If picking at grass is allowed 99 times but suddenly becomes a problem on the 100th, you can’t really blame the horse for taking the opportunity.

Safe boundaries aren’t about constantly correcting your horse or being unnecessarily hard on them.

They’re about being clear, fair and consistent.

The goal isn’t for your horse to be afraid of you.

The goal is for your horse to understand you.

Because when the boundaries are clear, the horse doesn’t have to guess.

And that clarity is what helps create horses that can safely navigate the world around them with humans, with other horses and with the environment they live in.

I certainly didn’t get it right in the beginning.

But learning those lessons the hard way is a big part of why Thomas and I are so passionate about helping people understand the importance of good foundations now.

“Manners”

You can tell much about the level of someone’s basic horsemanship by the way their horses lead.

A horse should stay next to you, not pull you or be dragged by you. A horse should respect your space, and not crowd against you, maybe step on your feet.

This is known as “having manners.” A horse that won’t lead is like a dog that jumps up onto furniture, it hasn’t been taught right from wrong.

I recently read something by a well respected western clinician. He said, “People want their horses to love them so much that they think they are being mean if they create boundaries.”

Horses weigh half a ton. They can easily hurt a puny human if they lack manners and boundaries, Heck, they can easily hurt us if they DO have manners.

People who treat horses as though they were some sort of fuzzy pets can create animals that can do a lot of damage. Creating boundaries doesn’t mean whipping and beating, but it does require that when you say “no” you mean “no.”

Standing at the mounting block, standing for the farrier, picking up its hooves, letting itself get bridled, so many basics that make the difference between a mannerly horse and one that shoves you around.

As the clinician said, “letting a horse walk all over you won’t make him love you more.”

04/09/2026

My reaction every time our stud c**t Magnum by Hello Big Chex moseys on down for his feed 😍 considering he’s been turned out, not rugged, brushed or anything the whole of winter.. he looks pretty good 😍 so much swagger for a young lad! Won’t be long and he’ll be started under saddle.

**t

03/09/2026

The art of being an excellent student:

Learning takes much more than just showing up and spending money, unfortunately. Each person learns in their own time and their own way - We are all wired differently and of course there are many, many factors that go into learning. But being an excellent student is a skill set all on its own that must be learned - in essence, to learn HOW to learn must be learned before you can learn what you wanted to learn.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be taught how to learn. For some of us it is inherent, and for others we get life experience that makes it possible to connect these dots.

Here are some necessary components to being an excellent student who can thrive as a learner-

1- acceptance that the obstacle IS the path:

Knowing that learning isn’t about GETTING it, but what kind of person you become on your way to getting it. Knowing it’s about the lessons not the objective: patience, timing, awareness, inner quiet - it’s not about learning to canter, for example but becoming the kind of person who is able to and deserving of asking for a canter

2- learning to be quiet: inside and outside

So many people struggle with the chatter monster. These people are hard to teach because they can’t be quiet long enough to even get a word in sometimes. And if you’re talking, you’re not listening- so what can you absorb? Perpetually trying to relate information back to what you already know or tell stories means your mind is closing up - feeling uncomfortable and trying to grasp to comfort. Of course it’s only human! Nobody wants to be uncomfortable and the mind is very protective against feeling unsure - but it’s a skill set to learn if you want to grow - learn to pause, be still, accept the space - and listen. Ask your questions , but they might be answered before you can ask if you listen first.

3- learning to be ok not knowing

We have all the information we could ever want right at our fingertips. If you can’t remember the name of a song, you can google it and know immediately. So our tolerance for not knowing has grown thinner than a razors edge - and with this comes squirming and impatience and quitting when we don’t have all the answers.

Learning takes time: it doesn’t matter how much information is thrust at you- you can’t understand it all until your experiences bring it full circle. And you will perpetually go deeper in your understanding.

We limit ourselves so much by wanting it all to make sense now, that we forget how important a sense of wonder and a healthy lack of knowing can be. Study, practice, but don’t forget the value of watching your teacher and wondering: how on earth did they do that? What kind of magic was that? And how do I get that? For years I’ve mulled over these questions with my teachers, and I have been pushed by these questions to experiment and find some interesting things myself.

Of course there are many elements to learning outside of these: dedication, hard work, consistency- those are actually the easiest parts. The things listed above you have to pull from deep to get to- you can’t just show up and use up time, but you have to walk through some internal conflict usually to find. But they will bring you deeper to understanding, and not just superficial knowledge

03/09/2026

👏🏽👏🏽

03/09/2026

After giving y’all a mini heart attack in my previous post about the very serious Ranch Conformation dispute 😅 where Thomas and Boone had the audacity to beat Luna and I. I thought I better share a little more into the weekend and what a way to do that with some great moments captured by Linda Leman. WILDFRAME Photography !

Both horses are now competing together in Intermediate Horse, and last weekend at the SRAC Ranch & Cattle Show gave us plenty to be proud of.

Thomas and Boone once again spent the first half of Saturday turning back for the Ranch Cutting runs. They may have had a little bad luck in their own run, but the exposure is incredibly valuable and Thomas absolutely loves it.

Ranch Boxing: Thomas & Boone- 2nd place
Boone had settled into the day and they showed great control of their cow.

Limited Cow Work (Box Drive): Thomas & Boone- 1st place
Boone was super composed and Thomas put together a great run.

Luna and I managed to bring back the curse of the NSW State Show and lose our cow in our Boxing run 😅🫠 BUT our Limited Cow Work run was a huge improvement and we finished 2nd, which I was pretty damn proud of.

And honestly, some of my biggest highlights came from the dry work.

Luna felt amazing in the Ranch on the Rail. Smooth transitions, no breaking gait and probably the best she has ever felt in the show pen. I’m so proud of her and the work we’ve been putting in.

Then our Ranch Trail.. 2nd place- and seeing a bunch of +’s on my score sheet had me absolutely chuffed. 🥹

There was some seriously good competition across the weekend, which again makes these results even more rewarding.

Most importantly, another fantastic weekend spent supporting our little crew of friends and students. Watching everyone get out there, improve, learn and have a crack is one of the best parts of what we do.

Thank you Sydney Regional Appaloosa Club for putting on another awesome horse show!

Onto the next one. 🫡

02/09/2026

This is a big part of our approach to horsemanship. We want our horses desensitised to the human world but we also need a healthy balance of them being sensitised also. Basically without going into a huge rant, we want to ensure our horses are thinking back to us. We are never going to erase their instincts, ever. But, we can help them learn to regulate themselves and look to us for leadership.

Are we accidentally making our horses fragile?

Not just physically, but emotionally.

We talk a lot about keeping horses comfortable. Keeping them calm. Keeping them from getting stressed, scared, tired, frustrated or overwhelmed.

And obviously, good horsemanship should never be about intentionally putting a horse in a bad situation just to see what happens.

But I do think there’s a difference between protecting a horse and preparing one.

A horse that never experiences pressure doesn’t learn how to work through pressure.

A horse that’s never allowed to be briefly frustrated doesn’t learn how to regulate frustration.

A horse that’s always removed from something the moment they’re uncomfortable can start to learn that discomfort means something is wrong or that their only option is to escape it.

And I think physically, we sometimes do the same thing.

We want perfect footing. Perfect conditions. Perfect surfaces. We worry about hills, rocks, uneven ground, longer rides and different environments.

Of course there are legitimate physical limitations and injuries that need to be respected. But a healthy horse’s body also adapts to appropriate, progressive stress. Balance, coordination, strength and sure footedness aren’t developed by avoiding every physical challenge.

Maybe good training isn’t creating a life where our horses never experience discomfort.

Maybe it’s giving them manageable doses of the real world and teaching them, “You’re safe. Take a second, think your way through it”.

Because the reality is, we can’t predict or control every environment our horses are going to encounter.

We can’t control everything that happens at a show. We can’t guarantee what they’ll see when they step off the trailer somewhere new. We can’t make every trail quiet or every piece of footing perfect.

We can’t even control everything at home.

Sometimes the neighbor’s tarp comes flying over the fence. A dog appears where it shouldn’t. Something falls over. A tractor starts up. A horse gets loose. Something happens that we never would’ve thought to specifically prepare for.

It’s near impossible to train a horse for every thing they may encounter in life.

But I want to teach them what to do with themselves when they encounter a thing they’ve never seen before.

Because eventually they’re going to encounter something we couldn’t manufacture perfectly for them.

And when that happens, I don’t want my horses to think the world is ending.

I want them to know how to pause, think, regulate even when neither of us saw it coming.