Shai. L Horsemanship

29/06/2026

So incredibly proud of Daisy for overcoming a huge confidence knock after she had a couple of falls, and coming back better than ever 🥳🙌🏻

28/06/2026

🙌🏻 Progress isn't linear 🙌🏻

and not all progress is immediately visible - SO much progress is in the mindset

I often tell students that I can see a lot of progress, while from their perspective, they’re still working on the same things as six months ago. The same questions keep coming up and sometimes it can even feel as if nothing is changing at all.

We tend to look for progress in the most obvious places; the movement, the exercise, the end result. But what I like to look at is everything around it.

I want to see if the horse’s expression changes when a difficult question is asked, whether the answer comes with a little less tension than it did a few months ago, how quickly the horse returns to a calm and thinking state after becoming worried, frustrated, or excited… The exercise itself may look almost the same, but the experience of doing it can be completely different.

The same applies to the human. Very often, students think they are still making the same mistakes they always have. But I see someone whose timing has become better, observations have become more accurate, and who is making dozens of tiny adjustments without realising it.

A lot of learning happens below the level of conscious thought. The brain gradually becomes better at recognising patterns, predicting outcomes, and responding appropriately. What once required intense concentration starts happening automatically. From the outside, it can look as though nothing much is changing. But from the inside, both horse and human are becoming more organised.

Perhaps that is why I sometimes seem more excited about a lesson than the student is. They are looking at whether the horse can perform a particular movement, while I am looking at whether the horse understands the question, the answer feels easier, recovery is quicker, both nervous systems spend more time in a state where learning can actually happen.

Those things are harder to measure than a movement or an exercise, but in the long run they are far more important. Ironically, when those foundations become strong enough, the things people usually think of as progress often appear by themselves.

25/06/2026

Super excited to have been invited to coach and do a demo at The Avon Centre for this years camp! Watch this space 😁

24/06/2026

When I first met Darcy, she was very worried about loading and would rear up and try to pull away. When she did eventually get on, the ramp was being shut as quickly as possible or she would leap back off.

After one loading session, she was getting on and off so much more confidently! The first video shows the start of the session where she was very unsure but was trying her best to give it a go, and the second video shows the end of the session where she loaded confidently and stayed in the lorry by choice.

She went on an outing just a few days after that session and loaded perfectly both ways 🙌🏻

23/06/2026

Keeping your horses cool in the heat 🥵

Horses really struggle to self regulate in high temperatures, so it is important to help them out as much as we can! Avoid riding and exercising in the heat, and use the following tips to keep them cool 🐴

☀️ hose them down and do NOT sweat scrape, allow them to drip dry. There is a myth that the excess water will boil and make them hotter, but it is just that, a total myth!
☀️ if your horse has to wear a fly rug, hose it down and leave them wet, again this will not make them hotter, it will cool them as the water evaporates
☀️ add salt to their feed and offer salt water (along side plain clean water, not instead of) to replenish electrolytes lost through sweating
☀️ sloppy soup mash to encourage hydration, my go to is very soupy Speedi Beet with a tablespoon of salt added
☀️ allow access to the coolest areas on the yard - wooden stables are often hotter than a shady & breezy part of the field, whereas brick stables will usually be cooler
☀️ horsey ice lollies, yummy and keeps them cool!
☀️ water buffets with a selection of different herbs may encourage them to drink more. Always offer along side plain clean water.

17/06/2026

Please listen to your horse's behavioural whispers, don't wait for them to scream

A little over a month ago, Maevis started being rather reluctant to trot in our grass arena, which is unusual for her. She wasn't demonstrating any extreme behaviours, no bucking, rearing, kicking out, just simply wasn't wanting to go forward. The worst she did was lift her head, swish and pull her ears back.

She was totally fine to hack, and would trot forward with no issues.

So it must behavioural issues if it's only in the arena, right? Wrong! There are so many reasons that could've been causing this behaviour. Just because she was happy out hacking but not schooling, absolutely does not rule out pain!

With the help of my wonderful vet, Quiggin Equine Vets, we tried further restricting grass (she is already on a grass track system with 24/7 access to hay), we ran bloods, worm counted and wormed, ruled out tack issues. Nothing obvious came up, and no obvious signs of pain on palpation, so the list of possibilities was quite vague and rather daunting!

We started with a gastric scope, and poor Maevis has grade 3 ulcers.

Please listen to your horse's behavioural whispers, don't wait for them to scream. Had I assumed that this was simply a behavioural issue and pushed Maeve through it, she would have had to resort to louder communication - bucking, rearing, bolting - and her ulcers would have likely worsened from pain and stress.

Our horses cannot talk, so be your horses advocate 🐴

13/06/2026

Plaiting badge day at Church Farm Equestrian and Pony Club Centre 🐴💕

03/06/2026

Self selection herbs are a fantastic way to provide enrichment in the field and stable, with the amazing benefit that your horse will show you what they may be lacking nutritionally by selecting exactly what they need.

For example, both of these mares (one a youngster, and one a veteran) go crazy for tumeric, which provides joint support, promotes healthy digestion, and is a natural anti-inflammatory - all things that a growing horse, and an aging horse very often need support with 🌿

Herbs from left to right - silver w**d, tumeric, white dead-nettle, yarrow

29/05/2026

As always I've been shocking at updating this page 😅 but im still here 👋🏻

I've been meeting quite a few new faces recently which has been lovely, as well as seeing my lovely regulars 🥰