I have more experience than many, far less than some. I have ridden colts, jumped cross country, received a blue ribbon for a dressage test, taught a horse to lie down on command, rehabilitated renegades on the brink of annihilation, and persuaded wild horses to join the ranks of domestication. I want to do all of it again, but enjoy it more this time and I know I can’t really enjoy it unless my horse does too. I’m pretty sure anything I liked before, I will like even more if everyone’s on board and I haven’t been wrong so far.
A horse gave me the gift of teaching me to be soft for myself so that I might be soft for others. I want to do anything and everything with horses that sounds like fun to both of us and the only thing I might like as much as that is helping other people find the same thing.
I am passionate about helping horses and humans of all levels of education find out more about each other and facilitating a relationship built on mutual respect and understanding. I believe that nothing that feels bad to either party could ever feel good to the other and as long as our grasp does not exceed our reach, it should be possible to stay reasonably safe in the continual pursuit of joy.
I have the most experience with young horses and those who have not had all of the advantages in human life, but I can usually offer something to someone with a gentle horse just the same. I am interested in continuing to learn what I can about the horse’s physiology so that I might craft a means of asking them to be with me that fits for both of us. I strongly believe now that practices that feel bad to either of our bodies are unlikely to be medicine for our minds and I want everyone to be healthy.
I am autistic. As a result my methods and teaching will tend to be as well-researched and distilled as I can make them. I have always felt that if something is not simple enough to be easily understood by a human, the horse is probably going to have no chance when we try to explain it to them next. I don’t think we usually want anything that complicated from the horse, and I am interested in helping humans to figure out what they truly wish to ask for at any given time so that they may be able to come up with an elegant way to make their requests.
Offerings:
Consultation and support on:
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Mindful horsemanship for ground-work and riding at all stages
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Loose/liberty practices for nervous system health
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Young horse development
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Exceptional cases
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Hand Made Western Saddles
I am available for in-person sessions, virtual sessions, and clinics.