Connie Colfox Young Horse Specialist. "How does your horse Really feel"

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Connie Colfox Young Horse Specialist. "How does your horse Really feel"

BREEDING PERFORMANCE HORSES
Alongside her training business, Connie breeds quality performance horses fom her proven brood mares.

HORSE TRAINER Connie Colfox trains horses using posivite reinforcement in West Dorset Uk She also runs 12 week face to face online courses taking enthusiast horse people who are dedicated to training in an ethical way 07967026444 Young horse starting and horse training-
As a professional starter of horses, Connie takes the horse far enough that the owner feels happy, safe and secure whether they are an amateur or a professional rider with a busy schedule. The horse will have a thorough foundation and be ready for whatever job he is to do. Horse Rehabilitation - Connie has had a lot of success with racehorses or other performace horses following an injury, or where they are soured mentally. She works alongside the vet, chiropractor/physio to provide whatever the horse needs to get back to fitness and willingness to return to training. Facilities Large barn with pens and stables, outdoor school, round pen, 20 acres of turnout and 1000 acres of riding, including cross country jumps. About Connie Colfox Connie has evented up to Advanced level; worked for race horse trainer Robert Alner; worked and trained with various well known natural horsemanship gurus here and in the US and has never been afraid to seek out more knowledge from other trainers

14/09/2026

Athena and Eloise at their first BS show and I was really pleased with them both. A few spooky moments in the first round, but by the second she was really starting to get there.

What pleased me most wasn’t the result, it was Athena’s stress levels. She is, and probably always will be, a spooky mare and if I’d had her 25 years ago I suspect I would have just piled the pressure on and ruined her. Instead, we’ve not given a fig about results and concentrated on helping her cope with the environment and letting her confidence grow.

There are some lovely little examples in this round. On the far side she couldn’t cope with trotting between the red fence and the edge of the arena, so Eloise brought her back to walk and she could manage it.

Then watch her at the black and white fence. She didn’t really want to look at it as she walked towards it, and when she did you can see her nodding her head up and down and chomping on the bit. It’s fairly subtle, but for Athena those are signs that she’s feeling the stress. Then look at her approaching the next fence and you can already see a very different outlook.

At the pink fence we felt she was ready to be asked to go through that moment of anxiety rather than stop and look. You’ll also notice Eloise is wearing spurs… shock horror 🙈 Ideally I’d rather she didn’t need them, but when Athena gets anxious she can stop listening to the leg. They’re not there to make her go faster, but to allow Eloise to give a very small, clear aid when Athena needs that extra bit of guidance.

I’ve always said I use pressure in training when I feel the horse is ready to cope with it. We can do all the preparation in the world, but at some point the wild boar comes out of the bushes, or something spooks them towards the traffic, and you need to be able to say, “I know you’re frightened, but I need you to listen to me.”

For me it’s about knowing when to take the pressure away, and when they’re ready for you to quietly say, “you can do this.”

I’d be really interested to hear what other people think, particularly about those moments where you decide your horse is ready for a little more encouragement rather than taking the pressure away.

10/09/2026

Sometimes training looks like this…

Sitting on the floor with a pony who is so relaxed he’s decided lying down is a perfectly reasonable option. 😂

But this was actually quite a big moment. This was the very first time he’d ever had a headcollar on.

For many horses, a headcollar is one of their first introductions to equipment and pressure, and unfortunately that first experience isn’t always a good one.

He was already lying down and relaxed, so I sat beside him, gave him a stroke and quietly introduced the headcollar. No big event. No rushing to do anything else. Just putting it on, taking it off and letting him experience it without adding unnecessary significance to it.

You never really know how an individual horse is going to react to something for the first time, which is why I want those early introductions to be as calm and as ‘no big deal’ as possible.

The more relaxed that first experience can be, the better starting point we give ourselves for everything that comes afterwards.

He doesn’t yet have a history or an expectation attached to a headcollar. It doesn’t mean being caught, leaving the field or being asked to do something. Right now, it can simply be something completely ordinary which is exactly how I’d like it to stay.

We don’t need to wait for something to become a problem before we think about how we’re training it and sometimes the best thing we can do is make the very first experience a good one!

08/09/2026

One of the most important things for me when I’m training is not to mask how I’m actually feeling.

If I’m wound up, frustrated, anxious or not in the right frame of mind, I’m not going to pretend to be calm. I won’t train until I’ve done something to help myself regulate first.

I want my starting point to be a level, calm human but that doesn’t mean I’ll stay in exactly the same emotional state throughout the training. Anything can happen with horses! But starting from a calm place means I’m better able to respond appropriately.

I think this is where things can go wrong when retraining horses with behavioural problems. There can be fear of the horse’s behaviour, but also fear of not succeeding or producing the result somebody expects. Both put us into a state that isn’t useful for solving problems or helping the horse develop.

Pressure builds, frustration creeps, fear can cross into anger, and our handling becomes focused on changing behaviour rather than understanding the emotion underneath it. That’s when it can all go pear shaped. I know because, in my earlier training days I’ve been there and got the T-shirt!

We can become so focused on fixing the horse that we stop asking what is happening to him emotionally. At our worst, we stop being horse trainers and start becoming ruiners of horses. It’s one reason I run these courses.

I’ve spent more than 45 years starting and retraining horses, and there are plenty of things I’d approach differently now. That experience, including what I’ve got wrong, is what I want to pass on.

I know I can help riders and trainers look at their training differently. Sometimes that might make a small difference. Sometimes it can be life-changing.

I’m curious about what a horse is going through emotionally. My focus is to support him emotionally so I can help his behaviour become more appealing to whoever has to handle him.

That’s why I teach. If I can help someone understand their horse better, approach a problem differently or see something they hadn’t seen before, then hopefully that makes things better for both of them.

06/09/2026

I probably spend more time doing "nothing" with horses than people expect.

Or at least, it probably looks like nothing.

There are lots of moments where I'm simply watching. I'm seeing what the horse does without me asking anything of them. Have they relaxed? Are they looking around? Are they taking in the environment? Are they processing what we've just done? Do they need a little more time before we ask the next question? Are they showing any fear?

I think we're often tempted to keep going. To fit one more exercise in, ask for one more repetition or keep making progress because the session is going well.

But over the years I've realised that some of the most valuable learning happens in those quieter moments.

Giving a horse time to process isn't wasted time. In fact, I think it's often a really important part of learning. We can be so focused on what we're going to ask next that we forget the horse might still be thinking about what we've just asked.

I also find those pauses incredibly interesting. They give me the opportunity to observe rather than influence, and I often learn far more about the horse when I'm not asking them to do anything. How quickly do they relax? What do they choose to look at? Do they investigate something new? Do they offer a behaviour without being asked? All of those little things tell me something.

Not every second with a horse has to involve us doing something.

Sometimes the kindest and most productive thing we can do is slow down, watch and give them the space to think.

I'd be interested to know if this is something you consciously do with your own horse, or whether, like many of us, you sometimes find yourself wanting to fill every moment.

04/09/2026

People often tell me their horse looks relaxed, and sometimes they do.

But I think relaxation is about much more than a horse standing still or looking quiet.

A horse can be standing perfectly still and still be worried.

For me, a relaxed horse is a horse that's able to think.

They're able to take in what's going on around them without feeling overwhelmed. They're curious enough to investigate something new, they can process information, and they're able to make good decisions rather than simply reacting to what's happening around them.

There are lots of little things I look for. Has their breathing softened? Do they look as though they're taking in the environment rather than scanning it? Are they moving freely? Are they interested in what's around them? Can they pause, think and then choose what to do next?

None of these things exist in isolation, and every horse is different. That's why I think it's so important to get to know your own horse and what relaxation looks like for them.

For me, relaxation isn't really the end goal. It's the foundation that allows everything else to happen. When a horse feels relaxed enough to think, that's when learning becomes much easier for both of us.

I'd be really interested to know whether these are things you already look for, or whether you know them in principle but find them harder to spot in the moment. Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

01/09/2026

I think one of the biggest things horses have taught me over the years is to be curious, because behaviour is communication and our job is to learn how to listen.

When a horse starts displaying a behaviour we don't like, it's very easy to focus on how we stop it. I completely understand why, because some behaviours can be frustrating, worrying or even dangerous. But I've found that asking why the behaviour is happening in the first place is often far more useful.

Horses communicate with us through their behaviour. Sometimes they're worried, sometimes they're confused, sometimes they're finding something physically difficult and sometimes they simply don't understand what we've asked of them yet.

That doesn't mean we never teach them different ways of responding, but I do think understanding what's driving the behaviour gives us a much better chance of finding a solution that lasts.

We spend a lot of time talking about this in my Eohippus course, and it's something I find really fascinating. Every cohort reminds me that whilst there are lots of similarities in how horses communicate, there are just as many differences. Two horses can show what looks like the same behaviour for completely different reasons, and equally the same horse can communicate differently with different people. That's why I don't think there can ever be a one-size-fits-all approach. Every horse is an individual, and I think it's our job to learn how that particular horse communicates.

I've certainly had horses over the years that have completely changed once I'd looked at the situation differently. The behaviour itself wasn't really the problem, it was the symptom of something else.

I don't think we'll ever get it right every single time, but I do think staying curious and being willing to ask a few more questions usually leads us in the right direction.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you suddenly realised your horse wasn't trying to make life difficult, they were trying to tell you something?

31/08/2026

Following on from my last long-reining post, I thought I'd show what this looks like once I start introducing the long reining equipment.

One of the reasons I like spending time getting horses comfortable with the ropes before adding the lines is that I'm trying not to ask them to process too many new things at once. If they're already confident with someone behind them and they're happy with the feeling of a rope moving around their body, introducing the equipment becomes much less of a big deal.

For me, every step is about building on the one before. I don't want the equipment itself to become another thing the horse has to worry about. I want them to be able to stay relaxed enough to think, understand what I'm asking and build confidence as we go.

You'll also notice that I'm not fixed on where I stand. Sometimes I'm behind the horse, sometimes I'm alongside them and sometimes I'll move to wherever I think I can offer the most support. My position is much less important than how the horse is coping with what we're doing together.

I think we sometimes underestimate how overwhelming it can be for horses if we introduce too many new things at once. By breaking everything down into smaller steps, we give them the opportunity to understand each stage before moving on to the next.

That's what I'm always aiming for. Not just a horse that can long rein, but a horse that understands long reining and feels confident doing it.

Would you be interested in me breaking down a full long reining session? I'd be really happy to talk through exactly what I'm looking for, what I'm rewarding and how I know when a horse is ready for the next step.

28/08/2026

One of the questions I get asked quite a lot is, "When do you get on?"
My answer is usually... when the horse is ready.

Not when they're a certain age. Not because they've been backed for a certain number of weeks. Not because I feel like we should be moving on. Because they're ready.

Before I sit on a horse, I want them to understand what we're asking from the ground. I want them to be confident with new environments, comfortable with equipment, able to stop and think, and to have built a relationship where communication makes sense to both of us. Could I get on sooner? Probably. Would it always be fair to the horse? I don't think so.

I actually think the same applies to horses that are already being ridden too. Sometimes, when a horse is struggling under saddle, we spend all of our time trying to fix the problem from the saddle. But taking the rider away for a little while can tell us so much. It gives us the opportunity to rebuild confidence, improve communication and help the horse understand without also asking them to carry us.

Stepping back isn't going backwards. Quite often, it's the quickest way forwards.

Taking a little longer at the beginning, or being willing to revisit the foundations later on, often makes everything that follows much easier. Instead of spending months working through uncertainty and misunderstanding under saddle, we've already laid the foundations. Every horse is different, and that's exactly how I think it should be.

What are your thoughts? Do you think we're sometimes in too much of a rush to ride, or too reluctant to step back when a horse needs us to?

26/08/2026

My next Eohippus group is about to begin and I have just a couple of spaces left, so there’s still time to join us.
I absolutely love the beginning of a new Eohippus group because everyone comes in with different horses, different experiences and very different things they’d like to work on which is exactly how it should be!

Eohippus isn’t about me giving you one method and telling you to apply it to every horse. I want to teach you how to think about training, how to recognise what your horse is telling you and how to make good decisions when things don’t quite go to plan. Because being real, of course they don’t always go to plan!

Over the 12 weeks we look at the science and principles behind training, but the really important bit is learning how to actually use them with your own horse.

That’s why I keep the groups really small and why the support is such a big part of Eohippus.
You can pop a video into our WhatsApp group and say, “What am I missing here?” You can ask about something that happened that morning. You can show me something that went brilliantly, or something that went completely pear-shaped, and we can unpick it together.

Quite often someone else’s question will make you look at something you’re doing with your own horse completely differently too.

I don’t want you to come away knowing how to do a handful of exercises. I want you to understand enough about learning, behaviour and your individual horse that you can start working things out for yourself.
If you’ve been thinking about Eohippus and wondering whether now is the right time, send me a message and have a chat with me, I’d love to have you with us!

24/08/2026

Following on from my post about long reining, I thought I'd show a little of the preparation that often comes before it.

We don't have to go straight to putting two lines on a horse and expecting them to understand.

For many horses, especially youngsters or those that lack confidence, I like to spend time helping them become comfortable with someone being behind them, with a rope moving around their body and with the feeling of something touching their hindquarters.

That way, when we do introduce long reins, they're not trying to process everything at once.

As always, I'm watching the horse in front of me. Are they relaxed enough to think? Do they understand what's happening? Do they need a little more support, or are they ready for the next step?

Taking the time here can make such a difference later on. Instead of creating something to tolerate, we're helping the horse understand what's happening and build confidence with each stage.

There is rarely any rush. I think horses learn best when we break things down into small, achievable steps and give them the opportunity to succeed at each one.

This is just one small part of how I introduce long reining, but I think it's one of the most important.

Would you be interested in me diving into this in a bit more detail? I could talk through how I introduce the equipment, common mistakes I see and how I progress from groundwork into long reining. Let me know in the comments if that's something you'd like to see.

Address

Lower Moorbath Farm
Bridport
DT66HN

Telephone

+447967026444

Website

http://www.conniecolfox.com/

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