Focussed Dressage in Pakenham, Victoria | Horse trainer

Focussed Dressage

Locality: Pakenham, Victoria

Phone: +61 439 852 532

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• Pet service
• Horse trainer

23.01.2022 I have been doing some ground training with some very nicely bred yearlings for the past few weeks. This video shows Sunny, a Sandro Hit / Sezuan filly on her second time ever in the indoor arena. Her first time was on Wednesday. The first time in she was very worried and really struggled to focus on me. She was sure something was going to jump over a rail and eat her. I just persisted gently with her until we were able to walk a few small circles with more focus, and she cam...e through wonderfully. I could really see a change in the level of softness in her face. Today she walked in like she had been doing it all her life, and as you can see, we even went over some poles. As she becomes more comfortable with the space, and more comfortable that she can trust that I won’t place her in danger, we can start to work on getting the leading really spot on. This will set her up for better success when we venture out for walks down the driveway, and for when we start with float training. She’s a very special filly - I’m very much honoured to be a part of her journey, and can’t wait to see how she progresses.

19.01.2022 We all know that it’s not always all gold and roses all the time when we are training our horses. So what do we do when things start to go wrong? I know of some trainers who will say the horse is being naughty, and tell the rider to get harder on the horse, to ‘make him’ do what the rider is asking. Some subscribe to the wet saddle blanket theory, where unless the horse finishes a ride with the saddle blanket sopping with sweat, it hasn’t worked hard enough. There is talk of ...making the horse have ‘respect’, and certain behaviours are ‘disrespectful’. Sometimes words are just words, and sometimes I think certain terminology can be quite harmful. I don’t like to use the word ‘make’ when talking about horse training, and I certainly don’t subscribe to the idea that a horse is capable of showing a rider or handler disrespect. To say a horse is being disrespectful is to anthropomorphise the horse, and isn’t helpful or correct. When I come to a sticky spot in the training I often find that the best way to move forward is to go backwards a few steps. Often there is a crucial foundation that is shaky or even missing. Having solidified your basics, if you still feel there are barriers in the way to moving forward, it’s true that sometimes a small amount of conflict is necessary. But in such instances I try to minimise the degree of conflict by breaking down the exercise into smaller, achievable fragments. This creates more opportunities to praise and reward the horse, and ultimately helps to clarify your intention to the horse. Depending on the horse and the exercise you could either master one fragment and then add another element to it, and keep building from there, or you could master multiple fragments separately, and then try to chain them together bit by bit. You have to use your intuition, and be prepared not only to try at things, but to fail at them. The horse will tell you when you’ve got it right they are after all the best teachers we will ever have. We all started riding because we love horses. Agendas and goals can sometimes cloud that, but by keeping these things in mind we can help to preserve the relationship with our horse and move on to greater heights with the training.

09.01.2022 Maddie has put this better than I ever could. A great reminder. <3

09.01.2022 This is a normal way to spend a Tuesday evening, right?

05.01.2022 The sale contract has been finalised - I can now announce that I will be bringing this gorgeous boy home in mid-late May. He is a four month old colt by Franklin out of a Benicio mare. Seems a cheeky sort of lad - just my type! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-6qlpR1aGs

05.01.2022 Celebrating a very successful trip to Launceston. Very exciting news coming soon - watch this space!

04.01.2022 Uh oh! Double trouble! From now until the end of April I am running a bit of a deal of sorts. If you book and pay for two lessons / horse training sessions I will give you 20% off the total price. You must pay for both sessions upfront, and use both sessions before the end of April.... Who doesn’t love a good deal?! (These two donkeys, that’s who. ‘More hay plz. Now.’)