Your horse is anxious / stressed

• Your horse is spooky, looks at everything that moves, spooks from sudden noises, is scared of applaus, flags, plastic bags….
• Your horse is insecure when crossing other horses
• Your horse refuses some jumps, hesitates when jumping water, is insecure in a new environment…
• Your horse is stressed, tense, bolts, rears, freezes… and you don’t really know why
• Your horse is tense with the vet / farrier
• Your horse doesn’t like the spray, clippers, shower…
• Your horse is tense when going to the forest / beach
• …

A tense horse doesn’t feel safe, he doesn’t trust the situation, doesn’t understand what we want and is looking for a solution. Horses are flight animals, this means that running away is their first reaction when they feel insecure and threatened.

Groundwork gives us the tools to teach the horse to relax and feel safe again. As a rider we often feel more secure when we can solve those problems, first in-hand. I will teach you all about desensitisation techniques so you know what to do when your horse (and you) get insecure.

You are anxious / stressed

It already happened to all of us; the fear of loosing control; we don’t feel safe anymore and the situation gets out of hand …

Suddenly you don’t know how to think and act clear anymore, which makes our aids very confusing for the horse. The horse gets insecure by those conflicting aids and gets tense. This might lead him to go into flight, fight or freeze mode.

As a trainer and coach it is important to understand your fear and insecurities. I know how frustrating it is to be overwhelmed with fear and have a sudden shut-down, as if you forgot everything and you feel like a beginner again.

This happens and it is okay. Step by step I will help you overcome those fears by understanding what is happening in the horse and in the rider’s mind and body.

• What happens?
• How does the horse react?
• How do you, as rider, react?
• Where does it go wrong?
• How can I solve this?

Answers to these questions give us the courage to get started again. It will be an interesting and thankful process for both of you.

I will guide you through this process, so you can feel safe and confident again, and enjoy your horse and your passion.