Obsidian Equestrian

06/09/2026

“I just trail ride.”

It’s a phrase I hear often when I ask someone what they do with their horse.

But there’s no “just” about it.

A reliable trail horse requires training just as horses participating in any other discipline or activity do — the skills simply look different.

Well-established responses to the rider’s signals. The ability to navigate changing terrain and footing. Appropriate fitness for the distance and conditions. Experience in unfamiliar places and exposure to a wide range of unfamiliar sights, sounds and situations, most of which are outside the rider’s control.

Depending on where you ride, that might include wildlife, livestock, dogs, vehicles, machinery, water crossings, unexpected movement or noise, and encounters with unfamiliar horses or people. Sudden changes in weather and insects add further variables, both potentially influencing the horse’s comfort and behaviour.

As prey animals, horses are naturally responsive to changes in their surroundings. Preparing a horse to safely navigate varied and unpredictable situations under saddle therefore relies not only on appropriate exposure and experience, but on establishing and maintaining clear, reliable trained responses.

When something unexpected does happen, the depth and reliability of that training becomes particularly important. A horse that can reliably slow, stop, turn, move forward or reposition when asked gives the rider considerably more ability to safely manage a situation than one whose responses are inconsistent or poorly established.

Good preparation matters. Training matters. Fitness matters. Conformation matters. And maintaining reliable responses matters, not because a trail horse needs to tolerate everything without reaction, but because those foundations help horse and rider navigate unexpected situations more safely when they inevitably occur.

And then there’s the other part of that little word, “just”.

If trail riding is what you enjoy, it doesn’t need to become a stepping stone towards something more.

You don’t “just” trail ride.

You trail ride.

And both you and your horse have probably developed a far broader collection of skills to do it well than you give yourselves credit for.

03/09/2026

Obsidian’s resident garden gnome hard at work. ☀️

Thirty-something years old and Snow continues to take his responsibilities very seriously, preferably from whatever questionable sleeping position he’s deemed comfortable on the day.

01/09/2026

Many of you may have noticed things have been a little quieter here over the past few months, with fewer posts and updates than usual.

I wasn’t originally planning to share much about why, but in the spirit of transparency, I thought it was probably time for a little explanation.

Since 2017, I’ve had carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand — unfortunately, also my dominant hand. A few years later, symptoms began in my left. For a long time it was largely a winter problem, and conservative management was enough to keep things relatively under control.

This year was a little different.

What began as the usual cold-weather flare deteriorated rapidly. I progressively lost strength, dexterity and sensation in my right hand, eventually reaching the point where I couldn’t fully straighten my fingers or open my palm, struggled with basic fine motor tasks, and was dealing with increasingly persistent numbness and nerve pain. By the time I reached surgery, there was no guarantee that the function or sensation I had lost would return.

So, at the beginning of August, I underwent carpal tunnel release surgery.

Recovery is still very much a work in progress, but I’m incredibly fortunate to already have regained movement and function that I hadn’t had for months. There’s still healing, rehabilitation and a fair bit of patience ahead of me, but things are moving in the right direction.

Throughout all of this, the horses have remained the priority they always are. Their care hasn’t stopped simply because I have, and I’m incredibly grateful to the people around me who have stepped in, picked up the things I physically couldn’t do, and helped make sure that nothing they needed went without.

I’m equally grateful to my clients for their patience, understanding and flexibility while appointments have been reduced, moved around or temporarily put on hold. Your kindness over the past few months has meant more than you probably realise.

For now, I’m continuing to take recovery as it comes and gradually finding my way back into the things I’ve had to step away from over the past few months.

That includes this page, so you’ll hopefully start seeing a little more life around here again.

I’m very much looking forward to getting back to what I love; helping horses, and the people who care for them. 🐴

11/08/2026

09/08/2026

Look who came to visit today 🐾

Back in March 2023, we took on Ace (formerly Loki), an adorable 6.5-month-old Kelpie cross who had proven to be a little more than his family at the time could manage.

After treating a fairly significant internal and external parasite burden, getting his vet work up to date and doing some retraining, we set about finding him the right home.

As luck would have it, that home ended up being with a close relative and his family, which meant we never had to say goodbye completely.

Since then, Ace has spent the last few years running amok with his best mate Ella, learning an impressive collection of tricks, heading off on adventures and camping trips, and generally growing into the big, happy goof he is today.

We’ve still been lucky enough to see him a few times each year, but Ace and his family have recently moved much closer — which means we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of this face.

04/08/2026

31/07/2026

Happy Horse’s Birthday to all the horses who make our lives a little better. 🐴

18/07/2026

One thing you’ll quickly notice around horse people is that we talk… a lot. 😅

Sometimes to other people.
Sometimes to ourselves.
And sometimes to a half-tonne animal who doesn’t understand a word of English.

Judging by the hand gestures, I was clearly enthusiastic about whatever I was explaining to Harry here.

What’s interesting, though, is that while horses don’t understand our words, they do learn which information reliably predicts what comes next.

So no… Harry wasn’t listening to my TED Talk.

He was calmly maintaining the behaviour I’d already asked for.

That’s the value of thoughtfully building reliable behaviour. When the important information is clear, everything else quickly becomes just that… background noise.

Apparently, that includes whatever this was. 😂