Horsekinship w/ Colleen Hallett

06/14/2026

This isn’t breath work.
It’s a relationship.
It’s sensory.
It’s embodied.
It’s a map for moving through life from the inside.

Horse approved.
Tried and tested in the Field and in life.

I’ve never taught it like this before.

It’s always lived in the moment, woven into Horsekinship sessions and womb work.

I finally tried putting it into something more solid and made it a freebie in my link in bio.

But a few weeks ago, the need to take this practice deeper started popping up everywhere.

Every session I held, every client I coached, every horse I worked with needed this exact thing and no link I could send them from YouTube or prior recording I had was going to fit the bill.

So I’m doing it.

Taking the whole WombBreath concept, practice, and map for everyday living and putting it into a masterclass. For FREE.

Originally I was just going to hold it for my current clients, noticing the holes and the partial spots I needed to fill in deeper for them, but it became really clear a week ago that I needed to open this class up to the public.

We gather June 20th at 11am central.

Comment WOMBBREATH to join and DM me any questions you have🔻🌬️

06/12/2026

“Wrong program” = what we call the sympathetic response.

Sympathetic = Fight, Flight, Fawn, and Freeze

The “rest and digest” is the parasympathetic response.

This is a wildly reductive explanation, but for brevity’s sake, if your horse’s nervous system is running fight, flight, fawn, or freeze then their sympathetic nervous system response is active.

This causes changes in the fascia, stomach, breathing, biomechanics, cognitive functions, and so much more.

Sympathetic states do not lead to true connection and learning.

Can you tell the difference between fight, flight, fawn, and freeze in your horse?

I have spent the entirety of my career trying to identify the patterns that make our interventions successful. This has led me deep into the study of functional neurolgy and an embodied understanding of how our nervous system has the ability suppport the healing process.

When the autonomic nervous system can settle into feelings of safety and allow our bodies to contribute to the healing process you will see miracles happen.

On the flip side, when it’s busy in dorsal vagal shut down or high sympathetic tone, the body will never have the energy to heal and trying to heal a horse from the 'outside' is exhausting, costly and to be honest, doesnt work that well.

In two weeks, for the first time, I will be presenting the 'science', the assessment and the therapy to get the nervous system on your side to help your cases heal faster and more effectively than you ever thought possible

Join myself along with an exceptional line up at the
American Association of Equine Therapists and Technicians
annual conference
lexington ky
june 24 - 27

06/12/2026

When body and mind align in relaxation and are free from restriction or impingement, correct biomechanics just happen.

Biomechanics that are forced “correctness” actually cause problems down stream because something, somewhere is in a pattern of force or resistance.

Creating willingness through consent, emotional relaxation, and intrinsic power creates correct biomechanics without needing to buy fancy training aids, special halters, or a magical bit.

The body wants to be correct.
The mind wants to be relaxed.

If your training isn’t producing correct biomechanics and a relaxed mind, without coercion or force, there is an underlying issue that is not being addressed.

"Your horse needs to be relaxed yet remain powerful"
~Nuno Olivera

Bodhi is now 4, and I saddled him recently for the first time (actually I've saddled him twice).

In my process, once I get them good at the groundwork, I'll them saddle them, then spent time getting them as good at the groundwork WITH the saddle as they are without the saddle.

He was great with the saddling, and moving with the saddle, but I felt he needed to be a little more forward. I went back to groundwork without the saddle the next day and realised that he actually needed more forward in general.

I realised I'd fallen into the trap I often advise people not to fall into, which is "I love him so much, and he's beautiful", and I'd allowed myself to be a bit lax with him because of that.

Normally I do everything on line (so with a halter and lead rope", because as an educator, I want to do things in a way everyone can duplicate. Early on in my "videoing of training" days, a lot of people asked the question "Can I achieve the results you get without a round pen" so I've not been using one for years now (I might do things in mine, but on line, so I'm IN the round pen, but I could be in the middle of a 100 acre pasture).

I decided with Bodhi to just go back to having him turned loose in the round pen, and just work on forward , and maintaining gaits without my help.

Any help.

Because I realised I'd been helping him just a little bit (coz he's just soooo beautiful), and once I really got his mind and body together, he started looking like he does in the picture below.

No, he's never been lunged in side reins.

No, he's never been asked to lower his head.

No, he's never been driven in long reins.

The picture shows a horse with equal amounts of energy and relaxation, just like the Nuno Olivera quote at the beginning of this post.

Because Bodhi has always been such a sensitive and quirky horse, I leaned too much on getting the relaxation good, and not enough getting the powerful, and going forward it's just going to be a matter of balancing the two.

As our amazing friend Confident Rider with Jane Pike says,"There's is no balance, only balancing".

04/21/2026

One of the most beautiful things we are capable as humans is asking questions, getting curious, wondering things like, “but why do we do it this way?” and “is it really working?”

The biggest thing I see in my work is horses breaking down.

Kissing spines, emotional trauma, neck arthritis, weak stifles, behavioral problems that are actually a body guarding against pain and discomfort, asymmetry… the list kind just keeps going on.

This infographic is an illustration of what age each set of joints and bones complete their development.

Based on the joint and bone development timeline of a horses body, what age would you begin riding a young horse?

04/15/2026

I freaking LOVE this work🐴✨

04/15/2026

I don’t have all the answers, but I’m unafraid to keep looking and unafraid to tell my clients when I’m stuck.

This wasn’t always the case.

I used to feel like, as a trainer, I needed to be everything my client needed or I’d risk losing them to someone else.

It’s a tough spot to be in. But we can’t fear loosing control of our clients if we genuinely want what’s best for the horses.

It takes time to loosen these inner beliefs, to slow dow and feel exactly where we are, and navigate life from that spot. Fearless and open to life working out in ways we cannot yet imagine.

My journey started with YouTube videos on saddle fit and biomechanics. I didn’t have money to ride with big name trainers at the time, but it turns out, starting where you are, with what you have, is enough.

This journey isn’t about perfection or becoming everyone’s cup of tea. It’s about honoring the horse and reshaping the industry from the inside.

If you like this vibe, I’m teaching Foundations do Horsekinship this weekend.

Like to join 👉 https://calendly.com/cthallett/foundations-of-horsekinship

04/15/2026

Hi, my name is Colleen and there's two things stirring that I know I want to bring alive for you this weekend at Foundations of Horsekinship:

One - I'm going to take a horse who has never done any Clicker Training and I'm going to walk you through how to safely and correctly introduce you to this method. Not only that, I'm going to also fill you in on what every one gets wrong when starting this method and why most horses and owners fail at using this technique effectively. (Hint - they don't understand how to create emotional regulation around food.)

Second - Attunement and why I don't start any horse without this. I'm going to walk you through 3-5 attunement practices, why it's the missing piece in literally every single barn i walk into, and how this one simple practice is shaping the future of the horse industry forever.

Last event we zoomed waaaay out and talked big picture and big concepts. This event we are zooming in and giving you real practices to walk away with and begin experimenting with your own horses.

Cost is $40. Please bring a chair and a notebook.

Comment KINSHIP for the link to join us!

04/14/2026

I can’t believe what some people are charging for absolute garbage horses with garbage training and garbage biomechanics.

“Low five figures. Price to increase with show miles and more training.”

And the horse is upside down, doing a job it’s just running through. No embodiment. No cognitive understanding. No nervous system regulation. Just a Hail Mary ride that’s gonna put that horse into early retirement or fry its brain completely.

Horses should cost good money.
Horses should be expensive.
Owners and trainers should be fairly compensated for the time, energy, and training they put into a horse.

AND… let’s stop living in complete delusion about how “nice” a horse is and slow the fck down to build something worth selling. Something that will last a lifetime.

The problem?

These trainers have no effing idea what it takes to build a horse.

They have piloted some nice horses, “made” a horse or two that by the sheer grace of god were born idiot proof, and now they are a “trainer” turning out ill prepared horses marketed to do jobs the horse isn’t even ready for (mentally, physically, or developmentally) and selling them to people who trust the because they haven’t learned yet to question the “professionals” in their lives.

I want nice horses.
I want expensive horses.
I want a market full of sales horses that aren’t full blown renovation projects.

I’m tired of cleaning up your messes.

I get it, you don’t know better.

Well guess what? I didn’t always either. But there’s this super cool thing you’re holding in your hand that connects to the Internet superhighway; endless education at your finger tips.

And when you learn to slow down and feel your body, your horses will begin to guide you through what methods work and which ones can go straight in the trash.

The horse doesn’t lie.
Your body doesn’t lie.

The industry is ready for trainers that can finally help the horse, instead of just getting them from point A to point B and breaking them down.

That’s my rant for the day.

If you like this vibe, give me a follow and join me for Foundations of Horsekinship this Saturday.

Comment KINSHIP for the link.

04/14/2026

Most horse owners are using methods they don't fully understand, half explained to them by trainers who learned it once at a clinic from some big name they now list on their website to give themselves clout... And it shows.

The holes I see in the education or horses and horse owners could fill a book.

Luckily, it's pretty simple to start filling in the gaps.
(Not easy; simple.)

This is why I created Foundations of Horsekinship, a monthly opportunity to watch me work with my horses in real time, explaining concepts, and approaches, letting you ask questions, welcoming you to bring the hard questions.

Things we can explore:
-Biomechanics
-Emotional regulation (for horse and rider)
-Operant conditioning
-Rehabilitation
-Trauma work
-Nervous system regulation
-Ah! and the elusive "feel" trainers are always talking about

This isn't a performance, these are office hours.
Bring your questions.

Foundations of Horsekinship happens again this weekend.

Join HERE: https://calendly.com/cthallett/foundations-of-horsekinship