Why I don't train outside horses

I have tried many different approaches over the years as to how to work within the horse industry.

Originally I thought I wanted to be a trainer then I found myself more passionate in other areas, I have just followed what has felt right for me and here I am.

I have always enjoyed starting my own horses and it certainly saves me a lot of money being able to breed and train my own but more than anything I love the experience of building a relationship with the horse I am working with and the reward I get from them trusting me as we hit certain milestones.

Starting or training horses for other people is not something I can offer since I wont be the one continuing the journey with the horse. It’s such a spiritual and emotional thing for me to connect with a horse.

My horses are sensible because I have given them the tools they need to navigate the many things they may encounter but I would not call my horses quiet. I don’t break horses (make them dull and not reactive) I like my horses alert and reactive, I like to encourage their personality and I certainly don’t want them putting up with things they don’t like, communication is not just from me to them I actually enjoy and need their feedback and opinions too.

My process with horses is all about trust.

Unfortunately for horses this is not what most people require in order to ride and get along with a horse. They need them quiet and bomb proof without the connection or trust built.

I have no issue with breakers, I have many friends that break horses so that they are safe and reliable for the public and we need people to offer that. I have just recently made the decision to send the horses that I am not keeping in my breeding program to a breaker.

Starting horses for other people is an art and I have the upmost respect for the people that can offer this.

Though more and more we are seeing trainers heading into different avenues and moving away from colt starting outside horses and I really feel this is because there is so much demanded in such a short amount of time yet the owners are not capable of taking over from where the trainer has left off.

What people expect here in Australia in 4-6 week is what people send a horse to a trainer for 3+ months in the USA.

I personally can’t work on a timeframe, I work with the horse in front of me on that day and they guide me as to what we do and how fast we progress. I also like to offer the horse the very best of myself and sometimes I am unable to do that so I don’t work with them that day. I don’t like to feel rushed and I never want my horses to feel as though I would rather be somewhere else or that my attention is not on them.

I also spend a lot of time building a relationship with them, a relationship that someone else hasn’t built with that horse so it is impossible for someone else to come in and expect to get the same results as I am with that horse right away.

My entire program is based on trust and communication and working quietly with young horses to build trust in themselves and me.

I find there is a much greater need for educating people than there is training horses. Horses want to work with us, they want to be our friend!

I really do believe that owners are the best people to train their horses.

What I see time and time again is people getting so fixated on what they want, for example going to events or riding an unstated horse that they loose sight of the relationship and things start to go wrong because they lack the understanding, skills and knowledge needed to progress the horses training.

People go to clinics and lessons but they are usually going to learn to train their horse, to learn a new discipline or because they have an issue or to learn to ride better. But what about just being a better listener? A better friend? When we stop thinking so much and trying so hard and strip everything back to the relationship, things start to get easier you go with the flow not against it. I

promise you that when you start working on yourself and really listening to your horse all of the rest just starts coming together. You are able to get the most out of that lesson or that clinic because you are coming at it from the right angle, with the right foundation and knowledge.

For me It is not a horse training issue, training horses is easy, the hard part is training yourself and we have been missing the point all along!

I am not judging anyone or saying that I know better, the reason I am able to say any of this is because I have made many mistakes myself. Everything I speak of is a direct result of my own wrong doings, experiences, what I have learned and how I am able to start making an effort to be better for the horse. I want to show you where I went wrong so you can skip that part and enjoy your horse.

I think people forget that the horse is a living being because they get so focused on the end result and their own wants and needs that they forget the horse has their own feelings and sense of what’s going on which is far more instinctual than the majority of people.

Horses are not like a computer program where you can upload a training and it stays there, the horse is only as good as the person working with it.

It is hard for me to hear people blame the horse, or someone else. We have to stop placing blame everywhere else and start taking responsibly ourselves!

Horses are not vindictive, they are not trying to scare or hurt us, they are just scared, hurting or confused and they have no voice to tell us this! All they have are actions, actions that get blamed for being a bad or naughty when all they are trying to do is communicate with us or escape a threat.

If there is one thing that I hope I can achieve with South Coast Horsemanship it would be to bring more awareness around how the horse actually works and try to move people away from this idea that they think like we do or that they are purposefully trying to be bad.

Bad horses do not exist, they are created by their environment and by their experiences.

We need to start working on ourselves to be better for our horses and for the people around us.

You can do it, the training part is easy and that just falls into place once you have a solid relationship with yourself and your horse, the hard part is learning to be accountable and to slow down.

I am here for it, I am ready for the change and so are the horses xx