Blogs
When a Horse Is Sound… But Still Struggling
The jockey described the horse as feeling like he was stuck in one gear. No matter how much he asked, the horse struggled to quicken or lengthen. Transitions between canter leads were awkward and the... ...more
True Self
March 21, 2026•7 min read
Decoding the Canter Lead: Why Masking Symptoms Almost Cost a Racehorse His Career
A 9-year-old racehorse had a clean bill of health but couldn't change canter leads. He had the heart of a lion and was fit for racing, but his body was hitting a wall. Riders often spend months drill... ...more
True Self
March 14, 2026•2 min read
Work with the horse you have today
When you first start riding, the goal is survival. You aren't worried about the outline or the engagement. You are just trying to stay on board. Can I stay on at the walk? Can I stay on at the trot... ...more
True Self
February 25, 2026•2 min read
Your Horse is Whispering. Are You Listening?
As a rider, you know the big moments. The refusal. The spook. The bolt. The sudden lameness. These are the "screams"—the loud, unavoidable signals that something is wrong. They are impossible to ignor... ...more
True Self
February 19, 2026•2 min read
The Lie About Submission: Why I Don't Look at the Legs
Walk into any warm-up arena, and you will see the same obsession. Is he round? Is he on the bit? Is the poll the highest point? We treat the neck like it’s a separate entity from the rest of the hors... ...more
True Self
February 14, 2026•3 min read
Five Women, Three Countries, One Result
Wendy, Claire, Sarah, Jade, and Kirsty just finished The Horse and Rider Reset. Five women. Three different countries. Different ages, different lifestyles, different horses, different goals. ...more
True Self
February 07, 2026•4 min read
How Many Times a Week Should I Do Pole Work?
A great question! But as always with horses, there are at least 10 variables we need to consider. ...more
True Self
January 30, 2026•3 min read
When Life Gets Messy, Don't Abandon What Works
When something disrupts a working routine—illness, travel, family emergency, work crisis—the approach that was working stops working. So the natural response is to abandon it and jump to something ne... ...more
True Self
January 23, 2026•3 min read
How to Communicate With Your Horse (When Nothing Else Has Worked)
New saddle fitted by a specialist. Vet cleared the horse—no pain, no injury. You brought in a trainer to watch. Changed the bit. Adjusted your riding schedule. Added supplements. Booked another bodywo... ...more
True Self
January 19, 2026•4 min read
Case Study: Solving a "Girthy" Mare in 90 Minutes
Emma's mare had been "girthy" for months. Pinned ears during mounting. Tension through the whole tacking process. Emma tried different girths, slower tacking, and treats. Nothing changed. ...more
True Self
January 16, 2026•1 min read
Three Problems, One Pattern
My UK client sent me videos of her KWPN gelding and I smiled the moment I pressed play. He was hanging and blocking through his left side after every jump. She'd done everything the experts recommen... ...more
True Self
January 15, 2026•2 min read
When Your Horse Tells You Something's Wrong
Jo's horse turned his bum toward her the moment she walked in with the tack. Ears flat back. Three months ago, he'd been soft and willing. Now this. She'd done everything right. She'd had the exper... ...more
True Self
January 14, 2026•2 min read
The Calm No: When Saying No Feels Like Dignity
I had a moment this weekend where I said no to someone - calmly, without anger or guilt - and it felt like dignity. ...more
True Self
January 12, 2026•4 min read
The Routine That Saved Her: How One Rider Learned to Trust What Her Horse Was Showing Her
"I have my boy back, but he's better than ever. I'm so grateful for our pre-ride routine - it gives me confidence and certainty that each session feels like progress." ...more
True Self
January 09, 2026•2 min read
Slow Down to Speed Up: What a Bolting Lusitano Taught Me About Trust
We've all been there. You try harder, you push more, but the result seems to slip further and further away. There is a skill hidden in that pain and frustration, though. Every dark moment is an opport... ...more
True Self
January 07, 2026•3 min read
The Myth of "Not Letting the Horse Win"
This perspective suggests that if you give a horse an inch, they’ll take a mile, and the moment you allow them to express an opinion, you’ve somehow lost the battle. It frames the entire relationship ... ...more
True Self
January 06, 2026•3 min read
Why Your Horse’s “Aggression” Might Actually Be a Scream for Boundaries
I kept that phrase in the back of my mind the day I met a specific Warmblood mare. She had been labeled "aggressive," and she lived up to the title. She didn't just pin her ears; she would bite, kick ... ...more
True Self
January 06, 2026•3 min read
When the Experts are Stuck: The Case of the Invisible Brace
Three months ago, I was standing in an arena with a vet and another physio, looking at a talented show jumper. She was consistently showing lameness on her right foreleg, but on paper, she was perfect... ...more
True Self
January 05, 2026•2 min read
Why I'm Finally Moving My Feet: The Power of Unlearninglog Post
I remember my Pony Club days so clearly. I was standing in the center of the arena, being told to stay rooted to the spot while my pony cantered around me. It felt completely alien. Even then, I knew ... ...more
True Self
January 03, 2026•1 min read
The 5-Minute Win: Why Rewarding the “Try” Changes Everything
I used to ride a beautiful 7-year-old PRE gelding. He was full of character, moved elegantly, and was bred specifically for high-level dressage. On paper, he was the perfect prospect. ...more
True Self
January 02, 2026•3 min read
When Doing More Makes It Worse
A rider called me yesterday, worried about her young horse. He'd been getting heavier in the contact, blocking through his neck despite everything she was trying. "I'm worried something's wrong with... ...more
True Self
January 01, 2026•1 min read
Wait... Have I Always Known This?
I caught myself doing something funny this week. I was reflecting on my year and wrote this sentence: "Loving horses and showing people that love that horses can give us was the childlike version - ... ...more
True Self
January 01, 2026•5 min read
You've Always Known
For years, I thought I needed to prove it. That loving horses, believing they're medicine for humans - I thought that was somehow the childlike version of my work. The thing I needed to grow out of, ... ...more
True Self
December 30, 2025•6 min read
What Horses Know About Goals That We Keep Forgetting
But here's what no one tells you: goal-setting only works if you actually understand what's working in your life and what's not. Most people skip straight to the resolutions without ever stopping to r... ...more
True Self
December 29, 2025•6 min read
The Power of the Wise Pause
A rider called me recently, her voice heavy with worry. Her young horse was getting worse—heavy in the contact and blocking through his neck, despite her best efforts to do everything correctly. She w... ...more
True Self
December 27, 2025•2 min read
The Cost of Saying Nothing: What a 5-Year-Old PRE Taught Me About Listening
She was big—if she were a dog, she’d be a bouncy Labrador. Like Bambi on ice. My hands couldn’t even reach her withers, but she was gentle, with wide, curious eyes and a clear bond with her rider. ...more
True Self
December 25, 2025•2 min read
The Cost of Asking the Wrong Question
In horse training, the default is often to look for physical solutions to behavioral problems. We check the saddle fit, look for lameness, adjust the bit, or analyze conformation. ...more
True Self
December 23, 2025•3 min read
Age Is Just A Level: What My 64-Year-Old Client Taught Me About Horses and Internal Systems
One of my clients graduated yesterday. She's 64, postmenopausal, an amateur rider who loves her horses. We started working together six months ago with the goal of fat loss and increasing her energy... ...more
True Self
December 21, 2025•2 min read
Wrong Question
I was halfway through my pitch last night when my mentor stopped me. "That's not what I asked." Twenty people on the call. All watching. ...more
True Self
December 17, 2025•4 min read
When Your Horse Mirrors What You Can't Name
Every trot step felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. I was thirteen, in a dressage lesson during sitting trot. My face tightened with each stride, my breathing shortened, and my shoulders... ...more
True Self
December 16, 2025•6 min read
The Cinema Affected My Riding
I went to the cinema last night for the first time in over 10 years. The film was excellent. Always with an unexpected twist at the end. But that's not what stayed with me. ...more
True Self
December 15, 2025•5 min read
When We Stopped Living From The Heart
I found a letter I wrote when I was thirteen. It was tucked inside an old journal I hadn't opened in years. The handwriting was mine, but younger—rounder, more confident somehow. Reading it at thirty... ...more
True Self
December 14, 2025•3 min read
The Cookies Weren't Comfort Food—They Were Emotional Protection
I stopped writing mid-sentence yesterday. I was working on a chapter for my book, The Female Rider Code, about my teenage years and my relationship with food. I was describing how I used to eat a who... ...more
True Self
December 13, 2025•4 min read
The Arena Light Theory
Let me tell you about something I now call The Arena Light Theory — because once you understand it, you’ll never look at your cycle or your riding presence the same way again. ...more
True Self
December 12, 2025•2 min read
The Blank space theory
Have you heard of the blank space theory? Okay, I made it up. But it comes from over 30 years of working with horses and noticing patterns between Horse and Rider. ...more
True Self
December 11, 2025•2 min read
When You Don't Have the Words to Speak Up for Your Horse
For years, I watched horses trying to communicate. I saw the patterns. I felt what they needed. ...more
True Self
December 10, 2025•5 min read
The Myth of Strength
Why do so many female riders carry this belief that strength means being unbreakable? Like admitting you're nervous, anxious and feeling emotional is a sign of weakness. What if our emotions were wha... ...more
True Self
December 09, 2025•2 min read
How to Calm an Anxious Horse: The Surprising Truth About What Your Horse Is Really Feeling
If your horse is tense, reactive, or anxious, you've probably tried everything. Different tack. Feed changes. More groundwork. New training techniques. Calming supplements. ...more
True Self
December 06, 2025•5 min read
I Didn't Have the Language
I was lying on the floor in shock. Had no idea what just happened. The first voice I heard was the trainer asking if I was okay. When I opened my eyes, the mare was standing in front of me. ...more
True Self
December 05, 2025•5 min read
The Variable You Forgot to Check
A client in Australia was frustrated. Her horse had been forward and engaged one day, flat and resistant the next. ...more
True Self
December 03, 2025•2 min read
Horses Don't Just Make Us Feel Good. They Make Us Feel Everything.
Over thirty years with horses, I've tracked what they've taken me through: Sadness to joy. ...more
True Self
November 27, 2025•3 min read
Your Horse Can't Be Fooled By Performed Confidence
She runs from meeting to meeting all day—back-to-back calls, decisions stacked on decisions, that constant hum of "what's next" running underneath everything. Her horse is her sanctuary, her escape fr... ...more
True Self
November 26, 2025•4 min read
What humility unlocks
Her horse turned to face her, ears pricked forward, eyes softening as he took two deliberate steps toward her. ...more
True Self
November 25, 2025•2 min read
Pattern Recognition
This is what makes working with horses so revealing. They show us patterns we can't see in ourselves. The way she froze in my office—unable to speak, stuck in her head, second-guessing whether to say ... ...more
True Self
November 24, 2025•5 min read
When Breakthroughs Require Courage: What a Room Full of Experts Taught Me About Horses
We'd been discussing stifle problems in performance horses. Orthopaedic surgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, farriers, dentists. All specialists focused on early prevention instead o... ...more
True Self
November 22, 2025•5 min read
Why Curiosity Matters More Than Perfect Training
The irony? This approach often creates the exact opposite of what riders want. Instead of progress, they get stagnation. Instead of connection, they get resistance. Instead of a willing partner, they ... ...more
True Self
November 21, 2025•6 min read
The Wrong Question: What Riders Miss When They Ask "How Do I Fix This?"
The owner had called, distressed about her mare showing signs of discomfort with no consistency in behavior. She'd sent videos. Multiple vets had been out. Multiple professionals had examined this hor... ...more
True Self
November 20, 2025•9 min read
The Three Seconds That Changed Everything
Her horse couldn't pick up a simple change from walk to canter on the right side, and it had been this way for weeks. The left side was perfect - smooth, clean, exactly what you'd want to see in a dre... ...more
True Self
November 19, 2025•6 min read
What Transformation Actually Requires (And Why Most People Never Do It)
Everyone seems to want to change something - either about themselves, their business, their family, their horse. Which is just an idea, maybe a feeling. ...more
True Self
November 18, 2025•5 min read
I'm a Horse in a Human's Body
I was watching a hypnosis demonstration with 100 other people. Went under. Worked on the belief that's haunted me forever: Am I enough? Is my gift with horses enough to create the life I want, the imp... ...more
True Self
November 16, 2025•4 min read
