"LEARNING HOW TO MANAGE AN EASILY-SPOOKED HORSE CAN COMPLETELY TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE"

YOU ARE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR HERE, FRIEND; YOU ARE PREACHING. TO. THE. CHOIR! 🙏😇

If you could have seen me in my first year or two of owning Faith, then you would have seen a down-trodden, crumpled up human being, sat (or quite often, dumped) on the floor, sobbing her heart out; while the crazy fire-breathing dragon-horse careened around the arena - bucking, farting, and snorting at imaginary monsters that only she could see... 🙄

You would have heard me cursing under my breath, while simultaneously trying my hardest to lower my heartbeat, loosen my shoulders, and paint on a smile; in the hopes that my "calm energy" would help to calm my demon-horse.. (SPOILER ALERT: it didn't work! 🤦‍♀️)

You would have been privy to umpteen conversations from well-meaning bystanders, telling me that I "needed to be the boss", that I "should just use X/Y/Z tool", or that I "needed to run the energy out of her" before trying to teach her anything new 🙈.

You would have seen me left at the side of the road as my horse bolted off home without me 😳.

You would have seen me galloping on tarmac, fighting with Faith's reins; trying to slow her down before we smashed head first through a learner driver's windscreen 😬.

When I first got Faith, you would have seen me:-

• frustrated beyond belief 😡🤬,

• ready to give up 😩,

and

• wishing that I'd chosen one of the nice 11hh, point-and-shoot New Forest ponies; instead of this practically feral, fire-breathing monstrosity!!

😇🐴 VS 🔥🐉👿

and now I've got a horse who:-

• Stands like a rock at the mounting block.

• Willingly walks past lorries, vans, buses, tractors (yep, even those with big trailers on the back with the flashy lights and the noisy reversing beepers).

• Can be ridden out in all weathers (even snow blizzards!), at all speeds - bareback, bitless, and on a loose rein.

• Is sane enough for my kids to ride, without needing a lead rein.

• Always comes when I call.

and

• She has even been brought in to act as a 'nanny' for young / inexperienced horses; to teach them how to navigate uneven terrain, pass through gushing water, sensibly walk through darkened passageways etc.

My horse will actually take me over to anything that looks even remotely scary, *just* so that she can touch it...

...and then she'll turn around as if to grin at me, and say,

"Did you see that, Mum? Did you see how BRAVE I was?!!!".

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON-HORSE.

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF NEEDING TO MICROMANAGE EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF HEADING OUT FOR A HACK, WONDERING IF WE'LL BOTH STILL BE IN ONE PIECE WHEN WE MAKE IT BACK 🤕

(...if we manage to make it back at all 😳).

These days, if she sees something that she's not sure about,

she'll ask me a question,

(" Is it safe for me to go on, mum?")

and then follow through with whatever I suggest as a response

...because she knows that I will keep her safe.

FEELING SAFE IS THE #1 PRIORITY FOR AN ANXIOUS / EASILY-SPOOKED HORSE

so if you can be your horse's safety net,

then they have no reason to worry whenever you are around 🥰.

👆 THAT'S WHO! 👆

We know how hard it is to keep an anxious horse happy.

And we know how heavily that responsibility can weigh down on your shoulders.

YOU SEE, WE'VE BEEN THERE,

DONE THAT

& GOT THE T-SHIRT!

BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL ON YOUR OWN!!!

They say it takes a village to raise a baby; well the same thing goes for a spooky horse.

Not only does your horse need the right help and support in order to conquer their fears and lead a long and happy life; but so do you.

YOU NEED A SUPPORT NETWORK TOO!

You need somewhere that you can go to vent about your frustrations, or shout out from the rooftops about your amazing 🏆win-of-the-day🏆.

You need a friendly ear to confide in when things get tricky.

You need someone who will encourage you to push the boundaries, and aim for the stars; while at the same time, help you to hang on to your new-found confidence by keeping all interactions bright and easy, and most of all: FUN 🤩.

YOU NEED A FAMILY.

A community of like-minded people who have been struggling with the same sorts of issues as you, but have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

THERE IS NO REASON WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE TO STRUGGLE ON ALONE.

(but they are relying on you to help them kick that little 👹anxiety-gremlin👹 to the kerb, and then bury it in the back garden where it belongs)

--> so stop avoiding your horse's triggers, and LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM!

Handing out CALM, CONFIDENT, GO ANYWHERE super powers, since 2021 😉

HOWEVER,

IF THE SQUAD DOORS

AREN'T OPEN YET

then you could always look into getting a

Tiny [HORSE] Trainer In Your Pocket,

and get some 1-to-1 help whilst you wait...

ALTERNATIVELY

If you'd rather have a go at tackling your horse's issues on your own,

then our awesome

'HELP! MY HORSE GETS WORRIED WHEN OUT HACKING / VISITING NEW PLACES!'

mini-course would be a fantastic place for you to start

(if we do say so ourselves) 😁👍