GroundWorks Horsemanship

05/12/2026

I’m at Pine Meadows Equestrian Centre (Brooke and Pamela’s place in Wilmot, near Middleton) every month!
Get in touch with Pam for more information about availability and registration- or drop by to watch, ask some questions, and just hang out.
It usually happens that you come for the horse stuff, but stay for the company, snacks, and puppies💁🏻‍♀️ it’s not the worst way to spend a weekend 😉

…also☝🏻…
Melissa makes an incredible espresso, latte, London Fogs, hot chocolate, and peppermint tea, and has a pretty impressive horsemanship skill set with an equally as impressive little black horse 🖤✨👌🏻)

Come join us for one of our amazing Danique Henderson Clinics. Please PM for a spot and details.

02/27/2026

⬛️◼️◾️▪️2026 Available Clinic Dates▪️◾️◼️⬛️

March 28-29
April 4-6 (Easter Weekend, 3 day option)
May 2-3
May 9-10
May 23-24
June 6-7
July 18-19
August 8-9
August 15-16 (*possibly)
September 12-13
October 24-25
November 7-8
December 5-6

-Weekend clinic days are $900/day and include approx 8 hours of coaching/instruction time
-mileage included within 200km of Truro, NS
-max 10 people (average 50 min private lessons)

✨❇️Message or text me for more details about structuring, scheduling, advertising/social media, topics covered, add-ons, longer/shorter days, youth centered coaching/lessons, day-before/Friday evening half days, theory sessions, demos, and ‘horseless’/equipment/concept based coaching/instruction❇️✨

I’ll be posting a list of clinics already booked and planned for 2026 along with locations and the organizers/hosts you can contact if you’re looking to attend a GroundWorks clinic in 2026 in the next week or so :)

01/14/2026

Happy New Year from me (Danique) and my little crew (Casey Bloom, Leo Lion, Niko The Perfect, and Sweet Swagger)!

After a challenging, but character building (🫠?) year, I’m glad to say that we’re all (mostly✨) happy, (relatively😬) sound, and (subjectively😅) sane.

2026 is already gearing up to be a Great Year- The Year of The Horse, and with in mind that I’ve decided to make it just that- the year that I re-immerse myself in the relentless pursuit of honouring and learning more about these wonderful, gracious, forgiving, beautiful beings that have shaped my life as I’m able to live it.

To do that with integrity and focus, I’ve decided to step back from my lesson program and teaching with my own horses and dedicate more of my time to developing my horsemanship with the horses who’ve shaped me into the horsewoman I am today.

The Year of The Horse will be a time to deeply re-examine my values- and while keeping that in mind, recalibrate and center my goals, and allow myself the time and space to clearly and confidently forge a path where everything and everyone I show up for aligns with who I am, who I hope to be, and where I hope to keep going.

As of January 31st, I will be ceasing my lesson program out of Pleasant Valley Equestrian Center. It’s been nothing short of a privilege to share my horses with you all. Thank you Krista, Linda, and Ray for making this possible for me- I appreciate all that you’ve done to make this idea a reality for me and my students and clients.

The quiet, dark, slow, cold months of 2026 will be spent reinvesting in myself and my horses so that we can show up better for you, your horses, and your horsemanship goals once our little corner of the horse world wakes up again in the spring.

✨💖🦄🫶🏻

12/20/2025

Why Relaxation Is Only the Beginning

Let us talk about tension. Poorly maligned. Deeply misunderstood. Frequently blamed for crimes it did not commit.

Tension in a horse’s body comes from three places.

First, physical tension. This is the biography written into tissue. Fitness, workload, injuries, hoof balance, teeth, weight, posture, repetition. Bodies remember what they have been asked to do, and what they have had to protect.

Second, mental tension. Horses think with their bodies. When a horse understands a line, a jump, a task, tension organises itself to make movement possible. Confusion does the opposite. It scrambles the system.

Third, emotional tension. Relaxed, alert, defensive, afraid. These states shape posture instantly. This is not philosophy. It is survival biology.

Early on, I got very good at helping horses relax. Remove the threat. Remove the brace. Create clarity. Horses softened. Everyone applauded. I briefly believed I had solved all my horse problems.

I had not.😬

Because removing tension is easy. Building useful tension is the hard part.

A floppy horse is not a healthy horse. Joints need support. Ligaments need tone. Spines need organised force. Life, and riding, require load transfer. Nature did not design horses to carry us. That means we have to help their bodies adapt intelligently.

Most people miss this step. They either live with a horse braced in self defence, or they relax everything and call it done.

Neither protects the horse.

Good training does not eliminate tension. It reshapes it. Across the physical, mental, and emotional dimensions. At the same time.

That is how horses cope. That is how they last. That is how they thrive doing a job evolution never planned for them.

Tension matters. Just not in the way you were told.

Never stop learning.🩵

This is Collectable Advice Entry 104/365 for you to SAVE, SHARE to others. However, please do not copy and paste.😎

10/12/2025

can you bridle your horse without moving your elbows from your side? How about from the front? From the right (ridiculously humbling…)? From a chair? From your knees? Sitting on the ground? How about from their back? Blindfolded (you, not the horse..)? How about while walking forward?

Show me.
Prove it 💁🏻‍♀️

post a (relatively safe, please) video in the comments.
Walk it like you talk it, why dontcha 😏

(video with the most engagement (comments, likes, etc) wins- and I’ll get Kelly at Blondie Cinches and Rope Halters to make you a rope halter and lead set in a color of your choice for your efforts 🤩)

get fancy. show off a bit.

07/22/2025

wildrag season is just around the corner and I’m as ready for it now as I was 35 years ago 😂



…that said, I’m opening up some late summer and fall weekends for clinic bookings-

available dates:

August 23-24
September 27-28
October 11-12 *(+13 if interested)
October 25-26
November 29-30

05/18/2025

Hi guys! We have some exciting (but also a little bittersweet) news to share.

It’s been over the one year mark for me(Craig) since I left my job and made horse training my full time gig. I couldn’t be more grateful for all the opportunities Ive been granted throughout this year with everyone’s support and trust in myself and Danique to work with their horses. Ive learned many valuable lessons from each horse and it’s been an incredible experience (…with a ton of hurtles to jump but I made it😅🍻!)
I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us and (more importantly) trusted us with your horses. Thank you!

I’d like to give the biggest thank you of all to Danique Henderson.
She took me under her wing as a complete stranger and really shaped me as a horseman( and a better person in general).

She’s picked me up when I was down but also pushed me to get better when I was stuck, feeling a little lost, reminded of something I already knew, or even when I was a little nervous to get on that c**t or horse with the bucking problem. 😅😅.( you can ask her about that story and the day I had my first rodeo..)
The time Ive spent with Danique is precious to me and this little post wont even remotely be able to express to people what my time with her means to me.
Without this angel of a human I wouldn’t be even be close to where I am now in horsemanship.
She’s one of a kind and a hell of a horsewoman.
I will always be her number 1 fan and supporter. Anyone who has the opportunity to get to work with her(or better yet in her new lesson program with her own amazing horses) will always leave a better horseman/woman.

Thank you for everything! ❤️

…now it’s time I trust my wings and leave the perfect little nest she created for me. 🫶🏻

Since Danique’s fall resulting in a pretty serious concussion back in October, we did a major restructuring of our training program, resulting in my takeover of most of the riding.
With her continued input, experience, guidance and supervision, I’ve gained the confidence to ‘trust my training’ and going forward will be operating independently of GroundWorks Horsemanship.
I will forever be a ‘student of the horse’- humbly growing and evolving- learning and experiencing everything they so graciously keep teaching me.

I’m committing myself to continued learning from like minded people and coaches- and of course Danique will still mentor me, help me, and share her thoughts and opinions.

In light of all this, ‘CraigJ Foundational Horsemanship’ will be doors open for business starting now 🤠

I’m excited, and willing, and prepared to help you with any problems you might be experiencing with your horses. As it’s been said to me ‘your problem is not your problem’ and helping you and your horse gain insight and understanding of where misunderstandings begin and where confidence waivers.
It’s my job to find the cracks in the foundation and fill them in.

I believe a horse soft in mind leads to a horse soft in body. When everything is soft and your vision is clear (to both you and your horse 😉) your goals become attainable, your values shine through, and your days get easier.
I strive for mental relaxation- and from there I really believe a horse can go any which way you want it to.
With Danique’s stories and analogies on repeat in my head, and my own experiences that horses have afforded me, I’m confident and excited to continue offering my own insight and perspective to the Maritime Horse Community. You’ve all welcomed me with open arms and open minds, and it’s a privilege to continue being able to share, learn, and grow right along side of you.

I’ll be creating a new business page within the next couple days and until then I’ll keep getting back to people through the groundwork’s page and my personal page. When I do make the switch I’ll be in touch with everyone Iv been chatting with and get you transferred over to the new page 🙂. Thanks everyone. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Here’s a link to my new page. Please follow and like. Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EhoJze7sH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Horsemanship. Helping people and horses connect and create a better understanding of each other.

04/11/2025

🐴🐴🐴 Hey everyone. Craig here. I’m in the Windsor and surrounding area Sunday and had some cancellations due to weather. If there’s anyone in the area with an indoor looking for some help with their horses reach out on here or my personal page!!🐴🐴🐴