Chapel Equestrian Services

21/02/2026

07/01/2026

This 😊😊

The Stretch

A horse that is being worked correctly will offer you a stretch any time you ask for it. When the horse is ridden forward into the hand — from back to front — the energy flows through the body in a soft, elastic way. In this state of true “throughness,” the horse trusts the contact and uses it for guidance rather than resisting it.

So when you allow your hands to gently melt forward, the horse can take the reins from your hand and lengthen its topline. The result is a beautiful, forward, downward stretch — not collapsing onto the forehand, but reaching into the contact with relaxation, swing, and harmony.

This stretch is one of the clearest signs that your training is on the right path. It shows that the horse feels safe, connected, and willing to stay with you… even when the reins begin to disappear.

04/11/2025

Early mornings are always the best part of the day 😊🐴

23/10/2025

Totally agree 😊

“He/she is too green”

This is something I often hear when people enquire and I send videos of suitable horses. These horses are 3/4/maybe 5yos…. I am glad they are green!! And I will never apologise for that.

It means they haven’t been overproduced and have spent lots of time in the field growing and developing between little bursts of work. It also hopefully means that they will go on to have long and happy lives as strong, sound individuals - able to do their jobs for as long as possible.

Yes - our young horses will always be “behind” others in their age group and those you see at the big sales/age classes at shows…. But what does “behind” really mean at that age? They always catch up with their peers by 6/7 if you have spent the time doing the basics correctly and have a well rounded, soft, supple horse who wants to work.

You don’t prove anything at 3/4/5 you just use up some of the finite number of jumps that I believe each horse is born with. That’s one nugget of wisdom I gleaned from a very experienced horseman in my formative years - don’t use those jumps up jumping pointless fences as a young horse.

Get out of the arena, go hacking, work on a variety of surfaces to build soft tissues and never be afraid to turn the horse away for a couple of months. They will come back mentally and physically stronger as a result. Let them into big open spaces with friends and allow them to just be horses for a little while longer.

There will be many years ahead to go competing if you take it slowly in the first few. Photo of Donal with a few 3 and 4yos growing slowly in the fields of Ballinasloe ❤️

20/10/2025

Clipping season has well and truly started ! Meet Roger a 17’2” hunter, so he had a hunter clip with saddle patch and legs left on. A quick trim of his heels and a mane pull.
He was a superstar throughout although obviously feeling the need for a short snooze here 🐴
Clipping and pulling services available throughout the year

27/09/2025

Blaming the horse is an easy thing to do. It seems, when you are sitting up there, and you ask the horse to perform some action, and the horse doesn’t do it to your satisfaction, that the horse won’t do it “on purpose”.

We hear stuff like, “He knows what I want but he’s just being a pig.”
I have been guilty of this plenty of times, and it has taken me far too many years to realize what bad horsemanship it is to assume motive on the part of the horse.

There are not all that many truly excellent horse trainers in any area at any given time, except maybe in a few places that lots of horse people gather or live, so it’s not easy to have a role model to copy.

And even if there IS one around, most of us have to be actually ready to accept and comprehend the advice instead of hearing it and rejecting it because we are not yet open to self criticism.

I know that I was told plenty of correct ways to deal with so called “resistance” that I was too ignorant, too sure of my own ideas to make the necessary changes. Change is hard,

Many people learn one way of reacting, often by escalating force, and never change. Others grow out of it, realize there must be better ways, and do manage to find softer, more patient methods.

Then there are those few who seem to get it right from the get go. Lucky them, and even more lucky are the horses they train and ride.

Photo---A young horse is going to be trained by some human, and that horse has no control over the way that person will treat him---.

03/05/2025

Thinking this evening (as you do).

The Hare and the Tortoise

The horse world can be a fast moving place, one where we’re constantly striving to do better as riders and often feeling pressure to move onwards and upwards super fast .

As an instructor I often find myself needing to tell people to do the opposite! If elements of their training are wrong and I feel that the horse/and rider are moving or balancing incorrectly, often they are feeling the need to do too much with their hands rather than find /learn another way which allows the hands to soften. I almost always want to strip everything back and start at the beginning. That’s hard to hear sometimes when you feel like you have put months/years into moving forwards. But being ready to strip everything away and start again with a new way can be totally refreshing and enlightening. It allows the cobwebs to clear and shows a new path forwards.
Be prepared to occasionally spend a lesson in walk, working on the intricacies that will allow you and your horse to step forward in a more positive way, allowing you to virtually listen and feel your horse’s thoughts through a slightly subtle change in their body language. Stripping back and slowing the process down can truly allow you to feel , change and absorb in your lessons. The final result being happier riders and horses moving onwards and upwards together in harmony.
Picture is of Dillon a new forest pony I owned by default a few years ago, he had so much to teach me. ……. I listened …..😊

24/04/2025

Plateauing:-

Something as an instructor I think about a lot.

Sometimes the pressure you feel as instructor to help your clients and their horses move forwards in their training is overwhelming. The strength to say no and encourage riders to wait is hard, as all of us want to improve and improvement is often linked to learning a new movement or moving up the levels rather than riding an established movement to the best of our ability.
Sometimes plateauing is necessary, even good! It may feel like the structure of your training lesson stays the same or similar for a while but it truly is just because we are waiting for the ‘cement to set’ rather than keep building on top of a weak foundation. A gymnast perhaps may need to perform the same handstand or cartwheel lesson after lesson until perfected as the balance and muscle structure of their bodies is still strengthening, to go on to the next exercise too quickly may result in a lack of strength or even injury. This resonates with our horses. They cannot communicate with us as directly as a person can, this is why we always need to keep an eye on those sometimes very subtle changes in their way of going which may tell us they are struggling with an exercise, some of those may be crookedness, rushing or tensing.
So……. Plateauing is ok, mostly it’s actually good and leads to positive outcomes. It’s time where we are allowing the horse to gain more strength and confidence in their exercises, build a solid partnership between horse and rider and avoid injuries. To clarify, I don’t mean to bore the horse/rider with the same exercise over and over again, we can find many different ways of perhaps asking the horse to engage more behind in their trot or, learn to relax and lengthen their stride rather than rush and quicken. As the saying goes, “patience is a virtue”. So when you perhaps feel you are plateauing, really you are just biding your time, strengthening and consolidating, to enable the bigger benefits come.

12/02/2025

I’ve shared this post but do think it resonates with me, especially the fact that I train horse and rider at a steady rate , working from the beginning and making sure that we build a strong base of support for horse and rider , missing links can mean that things fall apart later on .

“Remember that this word ‘trainer’, is a self-assumed term, a self-designated, self-appointed title. The term can and is used indiscriminately by anyone, anytime, anywhere. No education nor any ‘training’ is required, no qualifications are required, no registration with any Association of any level, no coaching certification required, and no accountability. Put your precious horse in the person’s unaccountable employ, pay your money, and take your chances.”
I will add that self-styled trainers often attract clients by marketing the “wow” factor. Wow, he can make a c**t canter the first time he’s ridden. Wow, he can make a horse trot circles around him. Wow, he can make a horse lay down while he sits on him. Or make two horses lay down while a 3rd jumps over them. None of these “feats” suggest he could train a happy reliable horse. In fact, they imply more intimidation than skill. This creates a false impression of good horse training.
Truly competent, ethical trainers can be overlooked because they don’t offer dramatic tricks or speedy results. Instead, they quietly and patiently show horses how to do their jobs happily and reliably. They are more likely to spot physical or emotional issues that need special attention, and to tell you if what your horse needs is not in their skill set.
Unethical trainers are quick to blame you or the horse when something goes wrong. You are “too soft” or “lacking skills”; your horse is “lazy, stubborn, or aggressive”.
One last observation. Horses sometimes follow their trainers around, lay down with them, or lean their heads into the person’s chest for a “hug”, and other signs of “trust”. But such behaviors can also be taught to create the appearance of trust. Don’t be too easily impressed…
In the comments, let’s share suggestions for finding GOOD trainers.
https://www.lynnacton.com/MiniPosts/Trainers-Should-they-have-experience-with-different-breed
My thanks to Sheelah Lalitha for permission to quote her.
Photo: When Bronzz was 4 I sent him to a trainer because he had a "bucking problem". It was worse when he came home. It turned out to be a saddle fit problem, and apparently the trainer's saddle was a bigger problem than mine.

.nation
Like a Knight- Therapeutic Horsemanship at St Andrews University NC

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