Kirsty Whitfield Horsemanship

Working Cow Horse, three day clinic Aug 10th - 12th, Staindrop , County Durham. Come and enjoy three days of understanding herdmanship, and explore how to build a confident horse with cattle and purposeful horsemanship. We shall be exploring driving, herding, sorting, penning and cutting with herds of cattle in the beautiful Durham countryside. My clinics are based upon my teaching and experiences from over ten years horseback at a working ranch in Texas, in this time developing horses for cutting and reining cow horse and working ranch horses. We shall enjoy camp cook outs in the evening, camping is available on site for you and your horse. Horses are available for hire. Please post below with interest and for a booking form to be sent. All horse and rider backgrounds welcomed.

What is synchronicity and why is it important to our horsemanship? Horses being herd animals naturally synchronise, have you ever noticed your horse and another horse at pasture grazing with necks arced down and around in the same flexion and the same front legs forwards. From being a foal, mimicking and synchronizing is part of horse life, of survival, crossing that raging river in the same way mummy does is vital to survival, as is how we drink, you ever see a horse play wi...th their water, splashing or holding and dribbling, a foal learns how to drink from being by momma, and some of those particular quirky styles of drinking are passed on from mother to foal! Synchronicity is survival of the herd, if you have had the chance to be close to wild horse herds you know that moment when the whole herd standstill and all have head high looking into the distance, motionless but an engaged herd assessing possible danger encroaching. So how does this synchronicity thing percolate into our horsemanship, handling and riding of our horses? Because when we learn how to create synchronicity with ourselves and one horse, and then with two or more horses, we explore so much more about herdmanship, isolating and recombining energy and offering multiple motivations for the horse. Last year teaching a synchronicity clinic, it was only when riders saw their photo's did they realise how wonderfully their horses were mirroring each other and in total synch with footfalls and most of all mirroring their request! Synchronicity does naturally happen if we allow it to, horses find an efficient way to move together and when we get out of their way and allow that to flow, we can create synchronised rythym and cadence! For us as handlers and riders however it teaches us so much in how to be more dexterous with hands, how to direct energy in multiple directions and how to work with two different horse types simultaneously! Whether we want to learn to lead two horses in and out of pasture, or drive horses, plough a field with two horses, have our horses circle and ride in unison on line or at liberty, are working with a herd of young horses to be started under saddle, or whether we want to effectively 'pony' out a horse from another horse's back, we can apply synchronicity to so many purposeful situations for our horses and stretch our ability to feel in the process. Synchronicity Clinic 9th - 10th July, River's Place, Newcastleton, Scottish Border's.
See More

Recently while teaching a 'preparations to cow work clinic', I was explaining the concept of a rodear, and how we create a hold and settle of cattle within the circle of horse and rider! I began to explain how this is much the same as we do with the horse herd, when 'wrangling horses' and explained that this is where the bases of my liberty teaching starts! Passing through and around a horse herd, creating settlement and requesting permission to approach, not just to the hor...se but with each and every body part and angle of acceptance with the horse. Right there in the herd, at liberty, is the beginnings of catch, not just in catching the horse to halter but that incredibly important 'catch' of the mind, and the discovery of who catches who? Doesn't a clinic have such a deeply more profound beginning if we allow the horse to pick the person and not the other way around!!!!!! How much more interested are we in wondering why a horse gravitates towards us individually? And how much more mentally engaged is a horse that has choice from the get go to do so! We can do so many exciting and wonderful things with horses at liberty, incredible engaged and synchronised moves, but the very most profoundly fundamental first part of liberty for me is to understand the herd dynamic at liberty and discover our place with in or near by it, and to wait until we receive from the get go an invitation from a horse, for where there is permission and acceptance everything is a liberty of freedom! Liberty and Energy Clinic, 7th -8th July, River's Place, Newcastleton, Scottish Borders.
See More

Preparations to young Horse Starting Clinic, Sept 1st - 4th, River's Place, Newcastleton,Scottish Borders.
Do you have a young horse you would like to advance in handling and under saddle, with guided instruction of acceptance and a soft feel at the core of preparing to start your horse? Or would you like to experience starting a young horse for your own horsemanship education. This thorough four day education will cover many aspects of how to set up a young horse to explore... with confidence the tools, handling and riding that we ask a horse to step into in their life. Young horses can be provided for those attending without their own young horse and the clinic is limited to allow one on one instruction per horse and rider! Immerse yourself in the very sensitive and precious place of young horse starting in the wonderful landscape of the Scottish Borders. If interested please post name below and a booking form shall be sent. Onsite turn out and stabling is available and a list of local log cabins, B&B's and hotels are available.
See More

A young horse leading a young horse, creating a job and purpose!

For some time in my horsemanship I thought head high horse instantly meant fear and flight! We all know that wide eye stare with a stiff neck, and that stillness before a bolt! But there is a place where head elevation is on the cusp of all that but most importantly anchored in mental engagement! When a horse is flexed in mind and body towards you, and for me this was the greatest revelation of feel about what liberty with horses should be. If you see in this photo, this was... a horse who was utterly sceptical about being turned loose and about being asked to move out, he had just been started by someone and yet had never actually got fluent in his feet. Asking him to move out, use himself efficiently in body and find open motion in his feet and cover the whole round pen was at first very reactive, but these reactions and bucking gave away to fluid action and his connection to me became more and more mentally engaged! As you can see in this photograph, he is flexed up and into my approach, but unlike earlier when he would have engaged his hinds and dashed off imbalanced in either direction, he is straight through his hind, he is still, this is 'catch and standstill' that place not just off turning off that hind 'engine' but captivating that mind! To me this is where the true liberty experience begins, it is electric and yet static all at the same time, and if you notice, naturally a mirroring begins, look at our feet placement and positioning, it is quite amazing how in synch we and our horses become when we engage the right parts of the horse in the right moment!
See More

That moment, when you feel a horse that has been tight as a drum, just so head high and braced to rear because she never accepted the way she was originally started, and then to just blow out, find rhythmic motion and soft solutions and responses to accepting a rider! Well done Daisy Mae, you really are a special horse that was dressed up in difficult horse clothing, but in fact you are an absolute gem, one who had enough spirit and self preservation to remind folks we can't take, pinch or steal a ride we have to darn well earn it... good on you! Back with you tomorrow!

How free can your horse feel? At liberty, in ground work and ridden? I shall be teaching a Freedom and Bitless Clinic, June 16th & 17th, River's Place, Scottish Borders. It is amazing the freedom a horse has to naturally engage and collect when they are not held in or made to by tools and tack! Come explore how to have a free horse and fun in the peaceful setting of Newcastleton. Please post interest below and a booking form will be sent.

How free can your horse feel? At liberty, in ground work and ridden? I shall be teaching a Freedom and Bitless Clinic, June 16th & 17th, River's Place, Scottish Borders. It is amazing the freedom a horse has to naturally engage and collect when they are not held in or made to by tools and tack! Come explore how to have a free horse and fun in the peaceful setting of Newcastleton. Please post interest below and a booking form will be sent.

Are you looking for a summer, autumn or year of consistent, progressive horsemanship education? I have the following summer clinic schedule available at River's Place, Newcastleton, Scottish Borders:
June 16th - 17th Freedom and Bitless Clinic
July 7th - 8th Liberty and Energy Clinic
... July 9th - 10th Synchronicity Clinic
July 28th - 29th Confidence at Canter Clinic
August 10th - 11th Working Cow Horse Clinic with cattle ( River's Place and Gilsland, Cumbria)
September 1st - 4th - Preparations to start a young horse clinic
A comprehensive clinic description and venue/booking form details can be messaged to you directly! Horses are available to hire for those coming along distance, over seas or who have no horse transport! Please post interest below.
Hope you and your horse can join us for a summer of peaceful, purposeful and progressive horsemanship!
See More

Liberty and engagement clinic, July 7th & 8th, Synchronicity clinic, July 9th - 10th, Newcastleton, you can either do an individual two day clinic or combine all four days for an intensive exploration of liberty, including mental and physical engagement, directing motion, synchronizing footfalls and weight shifts, developing confidence through herd dynamics, biomechanical assessments of body and balance. A few horses are available onsite for use for those wishing to attend but are without a horse, please note for the synchronicity clinic two horses are used. Please message for a booking form, places will be limited.

There are many variants of Liberty we can explore with horses and I would like to overview the liberty I teach, to help people understand what liberty means to me! For many years starting young horses and working cattle, I found myself ever shifting from exploring horsemanship to exploring herdmanship, and horsemanship being a part of that bigger consciousness! Whether driving cattle for a brand, sorting cow calf pairs or riding through a herd of colts ready to start under sa...ddle, the very essence of the herd dynamic became more and more important to my horsemanship! In the case of starting young horses whether at the beginnings of catching a horse in the open pasture, moving a young horse around a round pen, or riding my lead horse through and around the young colts, liberty became a fundamental starting point of this. Learning how to settle a herd of horses or cattle, all at liberty, using the draw of the herd to build confidence for an individual horse or cow, developing a balanced draw and drive scenario based upon the use of core energy and positioning, directing motion from distance with feel, honing drive lines and balance points and understanding how to help the horse to engage, elevate and work their body efficiently through body dynamics, creating a fitter stronger horse through their own elected choice to have self carriage and mental engagement. Just as ranch cow working refines itself into performance moves such as are seen in reining or reining cow horse, the origins are practical and involve herd knowledge, so when we see a roll back or 'riding a circle' there is a functional place that the said exercise or move developed from, and the same is with liberty, we can get to where it looks like we are dancing with a horse and all sorts of wonderful expressions of liberty but for me it has to start in the core of rapport created through liberty, built on the horse herd dynamics, and in that place we develop confidence and a trusting feel with the horses psyche and can make significant biomechanical changes, when we touch into that absolutely everything is possible to develop. I shall be offering Liberty clinics and synchronicity clinics soon, and hope this helps explain what the term 'liberty' means in my teaching.
See More

No matter what angle we come from, we can create connection, engagement and rapport with our equine friends. Liberty and Connectivity clinic, July 28th - 30th 2018, Portugal, understanding energy, balance, foot falls and timing with the majesty of the Lusitano horse. Please contact Anouk Opheide for more info/bookings.

One of the greatest lessons cow work teaches us is how to work as a team, how to create herdmanship between riders, horses and cattle, and how to operate in togetherness and unity.

Today I was working with a young colt mare, she came to me with a huge amount of confidence and a rearing situation. So what makes a horse rear and strike? Many things, in her personal case there are two themes, she was bred way too young and just a baby herself at three years old, and had to mother when she was a youngster, therefore that need to 'own' her own herd and 'mother' transcends through every part of her herd interactions, but also..... she just hadn't ever accepte...d the saddle or cinch, or rider stepping up, every part of this is responded to with a nose jolt up, that right there is the rear already!! Before the rear happens, it has already happened mentally and in a small way physically! Today what a difference to take each part and pair it back and ask acceptance until no push back, so much chewing and licking, and a walk and trot out around the yard and a pony out too beside my lead mare! It is just so very easy to blame a horse for their fight or flight instincts, because both of them scare us humans a whole heap, but it is just all honest information, and usually based upon how the whole human interaction could be based more on timeliness, consideration and just asking permission in the first stance, before we do our natural human/rider thing of assuming all was good to go and applying multiple expectations! This is a good horse, with very solid attributes, she is forward going, which would seem at first a contradiction to a rearer, after all a rearer is just a standstill in mid air, but those sticky feet come from somewhere inside a mind, horses are natural travellers, and this horse is a traveller, but her forwardness in body needs to be matched with a willingness in mind, this is the kind of horse that if you drill her and ride her with force she will fight you every day of your life, but nurture her natural confidence while showing her you can lead too, and allow her feet to travel for miles and open out in all gaits after creating a rapport over acceptance and things can develop exponentially! She will make a fantastic horse for someone, one that has curiosity and boldness and a desire to travel out into unknown grounds.... perhaps we are a little alike, there is a huge amount to be said for a protective soul, that is loyal and bold and yet holds a huge degree of respect in permissible boundaries..... as you can tell am a little biased!!! ;)
See More

Suppleness, flexion, confidence, engagement and purpose......cow working preparation exercises are beneficial for all horses from every background and experience. Come join us in Surrey in May!

Hawkhurst Cow Working clinic booking forms have now been added to Kent equestrian Grapevine, for any folks wishing to source a booking form for the September clinic! One I can work out how to attach the same file to this page, it will be available here too! Or email me on kirstywhitfield75@gmail.com for a form to be sent directly. Many thanks