Frankly Sound Equine

12/17/2025

Not a dry eye in the tent for this! We know the damage that’s done through riding being held BTV with C2 as the highest point - but until you can feel it…. It’s not nearly as gut wrenching.

I placed my hands on his lumbar spine during the final test (head pressed back BTV) and that was the final straw for me! The way (dead tissue, mind you) had to almost seize, working so hard, through so much tension, to gain the MINIMAL range of motion accomplished, felt like a dagger to the chest. I wish I was being dramatic.

Advocating for horses, that we do not deserve, had become no longer a necessity, but an undeniable path.

We do know better. We must do better.

Thank you, Royal 🤍

09/05/2025

Sometimes we catch little clips online... snippets of someone working with a horse and the direction is obvious.

You can see it in the horse’s expression: the path that’s been taken, what’s being asked, and how it’s being asked. Other times, those short clips are misleading... and what looks simple on screen, may feel very different in person.

It reminds me of the times in life where we start something brand new... elementary or middle school, the first day of high school, or stepping into a new job. Everything is unfamiliar: new standards, new people, new systems. You feel wide-eyed, a little unsure, overwhelmed, likely even confused or frustrated. And that unsettled feeling can last a day, a week, or sometimes months while you find your place.

But with good leadership; whether it’s a homeroom teacher, a coach, a boss... things begin to shift. Systems and expectations get explained and boundaries are clearly drawn. You learn what to expect. Soon enough, habits form, routines settle in, and that new environment feels less intimidating. Comfort grows out of consistency. Even when challenges pop up, you can handle them without being blindsided because you know the framework you’re operating in.

I think our horses go through something very similar. They rely on us to create the systems and boundaries that let them settle into a comfort zone. Without that structure, they’re left wandering in uncertainty. Confusion builds into frustration. Frustration can spill over into resentment (on both ends).

A horse who doesn’t even know where the “lines” are can’t help but trip over them. And when the human response is anger or punishment, it just deepens the gap.

Our accountability as horse people is to guide them through those unsettled stages - where learning is uncomfortable or even overwhelming at times, and show them there is a way through. And we won't abandon them in the thick of it when things may get sticky...

Boundaries, when clear and consistent, become a source of comfort rather than restriction. They give the horse something steady to lean into, a system they can trust.

Too often, what I'm seeing with poor handling or training comes down to skipped steps. Horses are asked to escape, dissociate, perform or comply to fit into a picture... without ever being given the foundation of guidance or leadership that would help them understand the picture in the first place. When those early pieces, systems, boundaries or accountability are missing, it’s no wonder the horse resists, reacts, or shuts down. Though, where the 'good little soldier' may opt to show up... 😕

The work, then, is less about “fixing” the horse and more about taking responsibility for the role we play. To become the kind of leader who can meet a horse in that wide-eyed, uncertain stage and walk them toward clarity, comfort, and trust.

After all - lest we forget; they're the greatest teachers of all... 🌹

I'm Maeve.
I ride, train, do bodywork, play, and learn from horses.
I am a horseman who just wants to keep learning from the horse.

📍CO

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08/07/2025

THIS 👏
Super awesome information- thank you so much for sharing so much with us!
😍

07/28/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬:

The more you know, learn, read and absorb from everyone out there preaching their way to be the final answer or ultimate truth…the easier it is to stray from what you actually know to be true.

There is so much information. So many opinions. So many passionate, polarizing voices talking about what’s “right” and what’s “wrong” when it comes to horse care, training, healing, feed, tack, turnout, whatever. And when you’re just trying to do your best with the onslaught of opinions and information, you begin to question everything - often, likely not really even knowing the validity or context of the opinions you’re reading, but gosh, they’re very convincing with 1000’s of people who liked their post! And in that space it’s easy to begin comparing and forcing you and your horse to fit in the mould they’re portraying.

My point being, it’s easy to fall into the trap of abandoning everything you once trusted, and not because it wasn’t working, but because someone convinced you it wasn’t enlightened enough. Or ethical enough. Or modern enough. Ask me how I know….Ha! 😅

And, with that, I definitely understand the necessity in letting go of unhealthy patterns. A very well beaten path I’ve traveled for a while now and I’m so grateful for the journey, so I could learn what those patterns even looked like, let alone the ability to release them. So yeah, if something you’ve been doing is causing physical or emotional harm (to you or your horse)... yes, please use those reflection skills to make changes for the better! That’s the growth and evolution we should be experiencing.

But… When we start writing off entire traditions or entire generations of wisdom that came from people who lived alongside horses, who were true partners that worked actual jobs together for survival…and who learned from the horses themselves, not from Instagram reels, AI written posts or rebranded terminology… It becomes so clear how those actively attempting the above, are so far buried down their own ego driven realities and have inadvertently bypassed the most important thing we should all be basing our values on, ‘what’s best for the horse’.

I’ve been feeling as though the horse world has lost the thread of authenticity - then I get off the internet and spend time with my horse… or humans who I feel in alignment with that share the same values as me, real horsemen… and the cloud of bu****it fades pretty quickly. And I don’t feel the need to agree with, or match, all the same beliefs or concepts as them - and it’s great.

Not everything old is bad. Not everything new is good.
And swinging so hard to one side that we begin to disband a whole lineage of horsemen who were doing beautiful, quiet, subtle work before us feels icky…. And arrogant.

More and more lately, I find myself circling back to my roots. To the way I was raised in this work. To the core teachings of someone from a very different generation with very different methods - and yet, someone I still believe was one of the best horsemen I’ve ever known; who shared the same values and love for the horse that I do.

Getting really rooted in my ‘why’ and knowing what’s true for my horse and I is the most important thing.

And I think maybe that’s the point… maybe we just need to show up as the student, through curiosity, asking the horse questions and making sure we’re active members of the conversation by listening to their responses…

It’s not about picking a side or subscribing to someone else’s system. It’s about listening, adjusting and taking accountability for how we show up.

We’re the ones standing in front of our horses.
We’re the ones responsible for what happens in that space.
Not the experts… Not the critics… And definitely not the comments section. ♥️

📸 Little L Photo

06/08/2025

Sometimes the internet is a wild place, man - if you ever feel that way or hold fear around sharing your magic with the public due to that… go check out the 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, a very safe space that was created for likeminded folks who can relate!! 💝

In a time where everyone seems to be figuring out their own relationship to themselves, their horses, their business and the tools used in each… allow yourself the grace to join and share…. expressing your own journey safely, where your guidance and feedback isn’t packaged with a feeling of shame or judgement.

We’ve also got a whole NEW website to be as efficient and streamlined for our members as possible!! 😘

Holistichorsecollective.com

05/15/2025

Let’s normalize recognizing the postural dysfunction in the top competing athletes 😬
I would love to have healthy discussions with anyone who can’t see it! 🥰

Education provides us an opportunity to do better for our horses!!

We LOVE Laura Collett Eventing floaty skirt & double breasted blazer that she wore at the Badminton Horse Trials trot up yesterday. Laura rides Yvonne Ferguson's mare Bling who was homebred by Yvonne & is by the jump stallion Kannan and out of full Thoroughbred mare by Bohamian Bounty. Best of luck Laura !.
Photo: Hannah Cole Photography
www.insightsmagazine.co.uk
HOLLAND COOPER Holland Cooper Equestrian British Eventing Official