Warwick Schiller's Attuned Horsemanship

06/10/2026

"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".

06/10/2026

Attunement is really about the energetic and spacial conversation you have with your horse on a moment to moment basis.

06/10/2026

There is no winning or losing, there is only "doing what you need to to help your horse succeed...

On our Online Video Subscription we have a feature called 'Community", which is like a copy of Facebook, but only for subscribers.

On there we have groups, just like Facebook, and one of them is called "Questions for Warwick". This is where subscribers can ask me direct questions about their horses.

Yesterday I answered a question on there, and this morning there was a reply to my question, and i thought it would be great for people to read the exchange.

SUBSCRIBER

"Hi Warwick, I have asked you a question about this before, but I don't seem to have progressed to success yet. I have a 5yr old QH, GW good, can get an ear flick, WTC on loose rein and bend to stop. I have started to introduce some obstacles while out riding, the first asking him to step down off a small (12 inches) bank, which I first led him off, then rode him off. We have ridden off this same bank at least 8 times now on different outings, without incident (apart from a few refusals the first few times that we worked through using the choose where you work principle) Yesterday, we went to ride off it and I received a hard 'no'. Using choose where you work got uglier and uglier as getting him to untrack, trot round, basically do anything until he pointed back at the step again caused him to try and pigroot (couldnt while feet were untracked) and he shut down completely. 1 hour and 10 minutes later (yes, really) he stepped with some trepidation off the edge... and survived 🙂 I then let him rest right there for 10 minutes. Dont go to bed angry! We nearly had a divorce right there and then. I need help to get us over this. I cant have him refuse point blank when I feel I have taken such care to build his confidence. What should I do next?"

WS

"I think your perception may be the problem.

You said "but I dont seem to have progressed to success yet."

Then you tell me" We have ridden off this same bank at least 8 times now on different outings, without incident "

I would call that success.

"What should I do next?"

I would do what you did in the first place "The Donkey Kong principle", which was " the first asking him to step down off a small (12 inches) bank, which I first led him off, then rode him off."

You had the answer, you just didn't go back far enough.
You spent 1 hour and 10 minutes trying to get the horse to operate where he was before, instead of spending 10 minutes hoping back to the beginning (which would be following the Work With the Horse You Have Today Principle).

SUBSCRIBER

"Warwick Schiller interesting, thanks. My ingrained sense that I/we have 'failed' if we go back to leading off the bank, that if I go back to leading him off the bank that he has 'won' and that I will ALWAYS have to lead him off a bank if he says no has stopped me from seeing Donkey Kong as an option. I bet you deal with this belief a lot. :)Thanks, I will go back and if I get a 'no' again I will try donkey kong and see if we get a bit further along the process next time 🙂"

Changing your mindset about things is the biggest skill in working with horses...

06/09/2026

Im excited to be headed to Athens, Georgia this weekend for a clinic at the University of Georgia. It's fully enclosed and air conditioned, so should be so pleasant in there while it's hot and sticky outside. lots of room for spectators and great theater style seating!

06/08/2026

We need your help! Someone is attempting to scam people into investing money in farms in Australia. Please help us by reporting on TikTok.

06/08/2026

TIK TOK SCAM ALERT!!!

These guys are pretty good at what they are trying to do - impersonate Warwick. This TIKTOK account is FAKE and is asking people to sell off their ranches in order to help us buy a place in Australia. Also they have a subscription.

Anyone who knows Warwick, knows this is not like us, but they are pretty convincing.

We do not interact on TIKTOK even on our authentic TikTok account . We do all our talking on Facebook, Instagram and emails.

Please don't fall for it and report ANY Other accounts except the account.

06/02/2026

Our local country radio station here on the California central coast @89.1 KJUG just played Twin Fin (the band that Tyler is in) in between Zach Top and Shaboozy.
They actually played it twice in a row, once to listen to and once to discuss it. Said they sound like a cross between Jimmy Buffet and The Eagles!