Gaia Horsemanship

Pride has been asking me to play with her for days. Anyone who’s met her will know she’s very chatty! We haven’t played like this since last summer so it was so lovely today. She remembers her cues so well. I think it’s time she started entering some liberty agility competitions... at the risk of making a certain mule jealous! The ground is still rather uneven, hoping to get harrowed tomorrow. #gaiahorsemanship #compassioninhorsemanship #horsesofinstagram #libertyhorse #unbridledpride

Trying to put the agility equipment away this morning but someone didn’t want to finish... interesting that yesterday she didn’t want to play because I wasn’t in the right state of mind (not sure who is right now!) and I was loud in voice and body language. Today I quietened and relaxed and she was super. Mules are the best teachers and guides. Very lucky to have a private space to keep them so I can still go and spend time with them. #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram #compassioninhorsemanship #narnamule #horseagility

Some good news! I am now a Horse Agility Accredited Trainer with The International Horse Agility Club. There will be some exciting things happening once life gets back to normal. With thanks to the club for their support and with thanks to Inara for working so hard and being so willing alongside me. #horseagility #gaiahorsemanship #narnamule #mulesofinstagram

I’m seeing a lot of debate about whether people should be riding right now due to the risks of riding and not wanting to put any more pressure on the NHS. I’m not going to comment on that right now particularly but what I am also seeing is a lot of people saying they think being on the ground with their horses is more dangerous and causes more accidents. Woah hang fire there... Maybe we could use this time to put the in groundwork and build real relationships with our equines...? Accidents often happen due to a breakdown of communication. Start with some non demanding time just enjoying their company and then gently build on the groundwork using kind and considerate ways. Leading work is so very overlooked but so important! If you can ride but struggle to lead without contraptions maybe it’s time to take a step back. Perhaps take a look at building groundwork skills and maybe have a go a things like Horse Agility. It may be more challenging than you realise.
Keep things simple, don’t push yourself or your horse and enjoy this time if you decide not to ride - you may just find a better relationship and that you enjoy it more.
Video assistance available for help in developing these skills (positive reinforcement, subtle body language and listening to the equine, horse agility etc) and helping with motivation.
Stay SAFE all. In all ways.
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IROBE (International Registry of Bitless Equestrians) Agility Champion 2019, and Fourth place in IROBE Horse of the Year. #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram #narnamule

Due to Covid-19 I am no longer going out to see clients for everyone’s safety, but I’ll try to keep this page active. I may possibly post about my own herd a bit more on here! I have a few photos and updates from before I stopped working to share so I’ll post those soon. I am available for distance learning and this will be a brilliant opportunity for people to work with their equines with detailed video reviews and discussions with me. If any clients would like me to share photos and details of what they’ve been up to then get in touch 😊

I took lots of video during Zoe and Falco’s session but haven’t had a chance to go through it all yet. However - I quickly put together the first clip and a couple of the last clips of their touching session. Touching and feet is something Falco has been unhappy with as you can see in the first clip. I was really pleased to see them progress with this and help Zoe with her confidence too 😊 #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram #positivereinforcement

As many of you will know, I was meant to be Morocco this weekend helping mules and muleteers in the mountains. For obvious reasons I haven’t been able to go. So the next best thing? Helping with some mules here in the UK (whilst maintaining social distance don’t worry). I was able to visit Zoe and her mule Falco who are making plans to do a long walk next year. Zoe is very new to equines so it’s been a steep learning curve. Falco is a lovely boy from France who has some exper...ience under his belt but they’ve been having trouble picking feet up. I was able to work through this with them and set up a plan for them to continue and work on. Such a lovely mule! I then saw Kiera and her two mules Buddy and Muffin. Buddy is a big boy at 16hh and Kiera is working towards riding him again after an accident. We decided we need to take things steady and work on groundwork for now as he needs to become more attuned to his handler. He was much more focused by the end and listened well. We’re working on Buddy putting his trust more into humans and that they can in fact make some good decisions (occasionally!). We then did some work with Muffin who is a very different character, much sharper and more engaged. He was very well behaved as Buddy decided to jump in and out of the work area as we were working! It was great to see these mules and hopefully Inara wasn’t too jealous.. #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram
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Rainy days. Take a lesson from a mule - always share with kindness, don’t take more than you need, be cautious, move wisely and think before you act. ❤️

This is really important. I know it’s uncertain times for everyone but if anyone could spare even a pound a month it will make a huge difference to this wonderful charity if lots of people do the same. Please watch and share.

DISTANCE LEARNING -
Due to the increasing worries and restrictions over COVID-19 I am now offering distance learning in the form of very detail video reviews. This is a fantastic opportunity to help your visual learning. The video reviews will be hugely detailed and is a skill I’ve been using for years, just not via the internet before! Being able to see the subtle language of your equine and why they are doing things in minute detail is very helpful. You will also start to ...understand how your own subtle actions have an affect on what you are asking from your equine.
This requires you to film yourself working with your equine, so is very self isolating and I can set you tasks or you can work on what you have already been working on and wish to improve. Everything I would usually cover in sessions can be covered here - Groundwork, problem solving, bitless riding, Horse Agility etc. I can communicate via Skype or other platforms, or simply by email depending on what you prefer. Open to both current clients and non clients and all equines welcome. It will hopefully be a way to keep up motivation during these difficult times.
I will also be creating a series of pay for view tutorial videos so if there’s anything you would like me to cover drop me a comment here.
If you are interested and want more details please contact me via Facebook or the email provided in this picture. #gaiahorsemanship #distancelearning #horsemanship #bitlessriding #horseagility #horses #horsesofinstagram #mulesofinstagram #donkeysofinstagram #compassioninhorsemanship #positivereinforcement
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Inara and I were invited to join the International Registry of Bitless Equestrians last year. We received our awards today. She won the champion award for agility 2019 and 4th place in IROBE Horse of the year. 🤩🥰 #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram

It was wonderful to catch up with Lalita and her two horses Hayston and Damasio on Saturday. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these guys for various reasons so it was brilliant to get started again. Hayston has come on so much from constant trotting when being led and worry to calm and chilled boy 😎 super pleased he’s mellowed and found a happier head space! Damasio was, as always, fantastic and worked at liberty. Totally different from the horse I first met, their trust and confidence in each other has blossomed. We have some new things for these guys to learn this year and looking forward to helping them further. #gaiahorsemanship #compassioninhorsemanship

Molly and Lorraine managed this in the rain on Saturday 😁 they had an unsettled start due to some indecisiveness from Lorraine which Molly struggles with. Molly likes clear and decisive guidance so Lorraine is working on knowing where she is going and also being aware of where Molly is so she can guide her correctly. Excellent work. #gaiahorsemanship #mulesofinstagram #compassioninhorsemanship #horseagility #positivereinforcement

Coronavirus update -
Dear all, having kept an eye on updates it is clear that in the near future people may be very restricted. I am therefore going to be offering online/video review help so that people can work with their horse on their own and send me the footage for a detailed review, guidance and plans to move forward. At present I am still seeing clients but this will be an option as things progress.
Many thanks, Ellen.

Was great to see Michelle riding again the other day. I’ve been schooling Ellie and we’ve been building up to working on Michelle’s ridden confidence in the arena. They both did brilliantly on Saturday and keen to work on their communication to progress them both forward ☺️ #gaiahorsemanship #compassioninhorsemanship

New project, Azzi. First photo was during session number one and second and third photos during his second session today. They’ll be some video to follow too. His owner reached out to me due to him being a handful. The first session was very hard and after he managed to kick his owner whilst being led I decided to take over. I explained to his owner that he’s not being naughty, but he is an incredibly anxious horse. It’s not a nice position for anyone to be in and I had to wo...rk mainly on keeping us both safe while his high energy anxiety made it difficult to interact properly. I then managed to get his focus by changing his direction whilst allowing him to still move forward as he saw fit. Taking him in and out of the arena during sessions has allowed him to realise he’s not trapped in there. I have worked on making good decisions for him to allow him to trust me whilst trying to remain calm. At no point have I raised my energy at him or gotten frustrated or angry. He was having a hard time and I was there to help him through. Today during session 2 he was super and listening well and we even had a go at his first ever coloured pole! This session I was able to keep his focus better and relax him if he started to get anxious. He is coming into a better head space for learning. Very pleased with him. #gaiahorsemanship #positivereinforcement #compassioninhorsemanship
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It is with sadness that I have to announce my planned upcoming trip to Morocco to continue helping mules and muleteers has to be cancelled. Morocco is suspending international flights due to coronavirus. I was due to fly out this coming Friday and get back into things over there. I am glad that Morocco is taking steps to protect their country but I am obviously hugely gutted on a personal level after planning and preparing this trip. I was due to work alongside Jarjeer Mule a...nd Donkey Refuge to improve the welfare of mules and provide training in communication and handling skills whilst encouraging the use of head collars over the traditional bit which causes injury. I will have to postpone the trip and we’ll have to hang on for a while and wait. Many thanks to my friends over there who helped arrange everything and hopefully we can arrange it all again. It is troubling times for everyone right now and I hope you are all doing ok. Thoughts are also with Jarjeer Refuge who will likely see reduced donations due to losing their tourism. They still have over 100 donkeys and mules to feed so if you’ve ever wanted to help them, now is the time. Take a look at Jarjeer Mule and Donkey Refuge #gaiahorsemanship #morocco
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