Shelley Appleton Performance Horses | Horse trainer

Shelley Appleton Performance Horses

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25.01.2022 TO THOSE THAT THINK GROUNDWORK IS BULLSH!T I get you.you don’t need it.your coach doesn’t do it.your friends don’t do it.you have only ever seen it done badly.it’s bullsh!t. . You think it is pointless, unnecessary and something that those crazy rope twirling people do that are too scared to ride their horses.. (see note #1)...Continue reading

23.01.2022 A QUESTION FOR THE FRUSTRATED HORSE OWNER First, some insights. To sum up everything I know about working with horses, it is this:... Horses respond to you and the situation they find themselves in based on how they FEEL. Therefore, any issue you are having with a horse boils down to what you are DOING to the horse and the DECISIONS you are making. Horses can become worried and negative minded when a person makes them feel confused, frustrated, in danger, uncomfortable or sore. It is up to the us to ensure that we do things and make decisions that don’t confuse, frustrate, hurt, damage or freak out our horses. We can build great relationships and connections with horses where they can enjoy and feel safe in our company. Where they can learn to perform physically demanding tasks because we do things and make decisions that make them feel confident, comfortable and successful in being able to perform. However, we need to learn how to become aware of what we are DOING to our horses and how to do better. People can talk it up, tell me how much they love their horse and how much they know about horses, training and riding them. However, a horse will always show how well a person’s words or thoughts convert to actions and good decisions. While everyone can talk it up, the people that will succeed are those that are prepared to listen to how their horse feels. Take this feedback from the horse and set about to do things that will improve the way the horse feels. Even if the horse has a physical or medical reason that is impacting the way they feel, ensuring you are not doing anything that is frustrating, confusing, damaging or freaking a horse out, will help in diagnosing and identifying the physical or medical issue. In many cases the issue can be caused by things such as poor saddle fit, poor hoof care etc. and therefore, corrected by learning to do better! For example, the importance of using correctly fitted tack, improve hoof care etc. So my question to the person frustrated with their horse.. Are you prepared to listen to your horse? Do you have the courage to be confronted by this realization and begin working on your own knowledge, skills, fitness and confidence to help the horse feel better? Or, are you just unlucky and you believe there is nothing you can do?

21.01.2022 Simple Approach to Solving Horse Problems In my Facebook Group (see link below) I have started posting "mysteries" i.e. training issues I have come across and asking group members to solve the mystery by inspecting photographs or reading descriptions of the horse's behaviour. I have been getting some really cool responses from group members! The one thing I have noticed is that people are excellent at considering the horse may be in pain or experiencing discomfort. This is ex...Continue reading

20.01.2022 Is Your Horse Your Child, Partner, Friend, Team Member..or Spiritual Healer? Last week I created a poll to find out how horse people related to their horse and let them select from friend, team member, child, student, employee, client or other (which they could describe). Then I asked them to explain why they had made this selection. The results where fascinating....Continue reading

18.01.2022 I am heading off for my clinic this weekend in Victoria and it is so weird to see Sydney airport so dead!!! #shelleyappleton #horsetrainerslife #equestrian #horsetraining #horsemanship #emptyairport

18.01.2022 Shitty Things You Do Without a Clue Part 1 Technically, the world should be great for horses especially in this day and age where expertise, information and learning materials are at our finger-tips. But horses are still out there enduring a life full of discomfort and stress caused by people that love them. Why is this?...Continue reading

17.01.2022 EDITED!! And just like that blasted COVID comes back As soon as I can I will be back but currently everything is up in the air... Please stay tuned for updates I am looking forward to helping as many people as possible this year to understand and work with their horse. Anyone can help their horse to be calm, willing and confident...you just need a certain knowledge base, a skill set and a certain mindset to help any horse <3

17.01.2022 Wishing my friends, clients and supporters a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! 2019 has been a year of great change for me and 2020 is going to be a year of adventure. I am looking forward to lots of travel, meeting lots of wonderful people, horses, learning even more and sharing my thoughts and discoveries. Those that know me, know that I read a lot of books...or more accurately LISTEN to a lot of books as I love audiobooks because they can transform dead time (dri...ving, doing mundane tasks etc.) into learning time. I am going to finish this chrissy message with quotes from two of my favourite authors from books I read this year. The first is Brene Brown. If you want to see a fascinating dimension into how we react to the world then any of her books are fabulous and very entertaining. The second is Mark Manson. Mark has this great witty way of removing all bullsh!t from life, the world and you! "Regret is a tough but fair teacher. To live without regret is to believe you have nothing to learn, no amends to make, and no opportunity to be braver with your life." Brene Brown "Happiness requires struggle. Without struggle, the world would lack meaning and our joys would feel empty. Be grateful for your struggles, because within them is the constant opportunity for purpose." Mark Manson Have a wonderful, safe and loving festive time everyone! Shelley <3

16.01.2022 PLEASE SHARE YOUR IMPORTANT INSIGHTS This poll only has 4 questions and will take less than 5 minutes to complete :) How do you relate to, or see your horse? Do you see them as a friend, child, a student, a client, an employee, a team member, etc.?... The horse world is full of confusing contradictory information. One minute you are being told that you must enforce strict boundaries by being consistent and gain the horse's respect. Then the next minute you are being told that the idea of gaining a horse's respect is wrong. Instead you must be respectful to the horse by only working with them if you have their consent and to back off when they express negative feelings about what they are experiencing. This contradictory information is created by different belief systems of the best way to work with horses. Which one is better? I am out to find out! My name is Shelley Appleton and I am a horse trainer, coach and expert in human learning. I am going to conduct a grassroots investigation that examines the impact of these different belief systems on horse owners. I am doing this as I am encountering many people that feel stuck and unsure of how to approach working with their horse. They are confused by this clash in ideology and are unsure who they should be listening to. To start this investigation I would like to know how you perceive the type of relationship you have with your horse. This is an important place to start because the type of relationship you perceive will determine the role you take on during interactions with your horse. For instance, if you see yourself as a friend of the horse, the decisions you make on how you respond to the horse may be different than if you perceived you were the horse's employer or coach. It may also determine the outcomes of that relationship. For example, if the outcome is riding, competing or companion that is not ridden. Therefore, I would be grateful if you can complete this poll and provide me your insights. https://poll.app.do/how-do-you-relate-to-your-horse Please share to your friends, as the more insights I gain the better

14.01.2022 I AM BACK! COVID-19, it’s lockdowns and social distancing rules brought my horsing to a halt. Initially, when the lockdowns came into place and the severity of the situation was revealed, it occupied my thoughts and I just couldn’t focus on work. Then, when reality set in that the world was going to be impacted for some time and I had to start cancelling clinics, I had to work out what to do with my time. So I decided to finish my PhD (that has been hanging around way too ...long...due to it being being ranked less fun than just about anything ). I also took the time to just have a break, something I have never done in my life. So while I am still concerned for the impact COVID-19 has had on the world, I feel like I have done something incredibly positive with my time. But the break is over! The thesis is written (just formatting left) and I have had lots of beautiful experiences and memories that you can check out on my Instagram account @shelleyappleton Part of getting back into coaching, clinics and blogging is the news that I have found a gorgeous horse to work with to inspire my training and blogging. He also represents why I love thoroughbreds so much and how they are mighty all rounders when they are allowed to unlearn their race horse jobs and learn how to be pleasure horses! Wait till you see him in action, he is just the sweetest horse #shelleyappleton #offthetrackthoroughbred #horsesofinstagram #horsesofaustralia #horsetrainingtips #horsetraining #equestrian #equestrianlife #phdjourney

13.01.2022 MAKING HORSES FEEL BETTER BY HELPING THEM FEEL SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE I just got home from a great clinic in Victoria, Australia. I really enjoy showing people how easy it is to make most horses feel better. It is not complicated. You don’t need to be an animal communicator that channels spirit guides. You also don’t have wait for your horse to yawn, lay down or switch into the parasympathetic nervous system. It is simple. You ask for basic responses to the halter, reins/b...Continue reading

13.01.2022 CLINIC TRANSFORMATIONS - Anxious Mouthy Horse Horses learn from the release of pressure. If you start rewarding simple responses. Then make sure they have mastered that response before making it a little more complex....horses learn fast! Anxious mouthy horse with a lack of understanding and trust of the bit...to calm, horse with a quieter mouth in 7 minutes.....7 MINUTES!... When you get to know horses and strive to understand them you discover they are the most gentle and trainable creature on the planet <3

12.01.2022 Shelley Appleton Coaching Information Learn how to Train Calm, Confident Horses and Solve Problems Most people do not realise that you train horses to be calm and confident on the ground and under saddle. This involves making sure the horse really understands what you expect it to know and do and is motivated and sound to be able to perform. These things combine to lay the foundation of a good relationship and ultimately a partnership with your horse. ...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Well 2020 certainly didn’t go as expected! There have been lows - locked state borders and not being able to see my family and friends plus the wiping of 80% of my clinics out of my diary But there have also been highs - completing and passing my PhD, spending time with family and friends discovering beautiful places in NSW, learning a heap of technology to further my business, completing my map of of how to build horse training expertise in people....and building a great ...client base in NSW Thank you to everyone that has supported me this year. It has been a challenge to everyone What to expect from me next year... Social media has been good to me in the past but the algorithms now require me to post constant content so I have any chance of it appearing on followers newsfeeds and this is exhausting....so I am building content and courses using different platforms. So stay tuned!! I hope everyone has a lovely Chrissy and New Years and gets to spend it with those you love #shelleyappleton #merrychristmas #thankyou #bringon2021

12.01.2022 MEET JAX....and what I am working on.... Meet Jax! He is a 9 year old off the track thoroughbred. He is owned by my good friend Di and he is just the sweetest horse. Jax is not young, green or troubled....he has just been out of work for a while, lacks fitness, his natural asymmetry is evident on the way he travels and his balance, plus he has more whoa than go! BUT the same can be said for the rider - ME!! I have gone from being being riding fit to an interstate move, l...ots of travel and a global pandemic lockdown....so I am unfit, my natural asymmetry is impacting my balance in the saddle, my core strength has declined....and until I improve all these aspects of MYSELF my ability to help Jax is going to be limited. Therefore, what am I doing here....the arena was too wet to ride in, but it didn’t matter as I am clocking up kilometres in what I find the best gait to get fit and to focus on my weaknesses - trot. I am focusing on: 1) breathing, focusing on engaging my core 2) rising evenly from both hips and lowering myself with control 3) keeping my elbows and hands soft 4) keeping myself still and in rhythm with Jax.....and leaving him the hell alone when we have it together! The only thing I am asking from Jax is to maintain his forward energy. I did this by asking for upwards transitions into canter every time he came behind my leg. For now Jax is helping me, so that I can then help him to get strong again! But please notice one thing....by just focusing on forward AND keeping as still and soft in my hands as I can, Jax is being able to find a suitable posture himself as we being our work together! Big thanks to Di for the filming #shelleyappleton #horsesofaustralia #horsetrainingtips #equestrian #horsesofinstragram #equestriansofinstagram #gettingfit #horses #horsemanship

12.01.2022 How to Overcome Confidence Issues When Riding Your Horse The human brain is an amazing thing. One of its functions is to keep you safe. It can help you get away from danger. It also learns what is dangerous so it can detect danger in the future. There is no conscious decision from you as to what it detects as dangerous or what it learns is dangerous. It can be something that might cause you physical harm but also emotional or social harm. That is why people can develop ...Continue reading

11.01.2022 Do People Feel More Accomplished Trail Riding or Competing? Last week I asked horse people what they would MOST like to achieve with their horse. I gave them a selection of options and asked them to select the option that would make them feel the most accomplished. The top result for the activity that people would most like to achieve, that made people feel the most accomplished was taking a horse out on a trail or bush ride (98 votes or 35.4%). This was double the number ...Continue reading

11.01.2022 WHAT I BELIEVE, WHO I AM AND HOW I CAN HELP YOU Some people tinker with cars for fun, I tinkered with horses. Young horses, old horses, problem horses, off the track race horses....any horse, and I would train them and build them or rebuild them into riding horses. Then one day I helped a friend, then it very quickly snowballed to me giving clinics around the country. This video is just under 9 minutes and introduces what I believe, who I am and how I can help you :)... https://youtu.be/MPhlz0UqH5I

10.01.2022 SELLING CONFIDENCE IN HORSE RIDING Confidence issue with horses can hit people at any time. After they had their first fall or scary incident with a horse. After they come back into horses after a break or having kids when they have extra responsibility on their shoulders. It can be when they get a new horse that responds to the world differently than their last horse. As we age or sustain an injury or suffer an illness, or it can be out of the blue! It is a horrible t...Continue reading

10.01.2022 WHY YOUR HORSE IS DIFFERENT WHEN NOT AT HOME Today I am in the city. I am not a city person. I just don’t like the hassle and bustle of the city. I hate driving in the crazy city traffic and I get disoriented by the tall buildings. I just can’t relax when I am navigating the traffic or walking the streets....I have to keep hyper alert so I don’t miss a turn, dodge impatient city drivers or bump into the stream of people rushing about on the street. I also don’t like th...Continue reading

10.01.2022 It is really cool when . I see my client’s horse handling and training skills improve. I see their riding improving out of sight.... I see my clients growing in confidence. I see my client’s horses being calm, willing and confident. However, it is super cool when. I see my clients making awesome training decisions! This is Jane and her beautiful brumby mare Ebony. Jane is an excellent horsewoman in her own right. My role with Jane has been add to her horse training toolbox. I love this video of Jane cantering a relaxed Ebony around the round yard. I love it so much because this is the THIRD time Jane has decided to go back into Ebony’s foundation to further improve her canter. To see someone make a training decision to go backwards because they are inspired to make FURTHER improvements that is very cool and the hardest thing to teach someone Go Jane

10.01.2022 Private Lesson & Clinic Availability - NSW, Australia I have recently moved to New South Wales after spending the last few years running coaching clinics in Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia. Covid-19 has meant that I am now going to focus on establishing a client base in NSW, Therefore, if you are based in NSW and are interested in learning from me I now have vacancies for private lessons and clinics. ... I am based in the Macarthur-Southern Highlands region of NSW for private lessons and I travel :) It has been fun to help people one-on-one at their homes again! I am also travelling around NSW for private lesson clinics. This is where people arrange a number of their friends to meet at one property and lessons are conducted there. I am already travelling regularly to the Hunter Region. If you are keen to work with me please contact me.. I have had a number of people already contact me as they have heard about my work and are keen to make a group that I can regularly travel to - weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The investment to work with me in a private lesson situation will be on average $110, depending on travel and expenses. What can I help people with? I can teach you how to train a horse to be calm and confidence. I do this by teaching a simple ground work program and how to ensure your horse has a great foundation under saddle. I can solve horse problems and in particular contact issues. If you have lost your confidence, I will help you get that back and make riding fun again :) I show people how to work horses safely. I have included some testimonials in the pics below! So....if you are interested please contact me and join my group :) Here is the link to my group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/190240814737552/

09.01.2022 9 DRESSAGE QUESTIONS ANSWERED At the start of the week I asked for page and group member’s questions about dressage, here are my responses. 1. I love dressage, I just don’t like where competition dressage has gone, if the rules were followed, it would be so different. So, can we go back to where dressage began, and what the real benefits of it are when it is done correctly?...Continue reading

07.01.2022 Totally share worthy <3

06.01.2022 DEVELOPING CANTER IN STANDARDBRED HORSES I get to meet lots of standardbred horses and it is not uncommon for them to struggle with canter. I have put together this video and blog to give some insights into how to help these beautiful horses! This video contains footage of Brax. Brax is 5 years old and is retired from racing. Like many standies he use to get anxious and pace when pushed to go more forward. ...Continue reading

06.01.2022 I made it back to home on Monday night from Melbourne after a great weekend clinic and then a day of private lessons. It was lovely to catch up with everyone and so wonderful to see the progress in the horses! Big thank you to @firenzapark (Kat) for organising and her parents for hosting. It was also awesome to see Zoe and meet Heidi....thank you to both for helping Kat look after me, feed me and unfreeze me over the weekend! ... Can’t wait to see everyone again #shelleyappleton #horsetraining #horsemanship #equestrian #equestrianlife #horses

06.01.2022 CLINIC TRANSFORMATIONS - Solving Head Tossing and Anxiety in a Young Horse I hope you find insightful this training snap shot of a young horse with head tossing and anxiety issues. I will be releasing these interesting cases regularly. Therefore, if you want to make sure they turn up in your newsfeed on FB please share or comment on the post. Sadly, now my number of page likes has increased my posts on this page only go out to those that actively interact with my page.... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D6HcizGtVtg

05.01.2022 SHITTY THINGS YOU DO WITHOUT HAVING A CLUE PART 2 Shame & the Evil Voices in Your Head Recap: In this series of blogs I am delving into the reasons why people still have shitty riding, training and horse keeping practices even though information is out there at people’s fingertips, they love their horses and are sincerely trying their best!...Continue reading

03.01.2022 CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES "A gift that can help a horse and change a person's life" I have had a number of people arrange for Gift Certificates for friends and family to access coaching or online help from me. I have therefore decided to open it up to anyone else who may be interested in providing someone the gift of a learning experience for Christmas.... Gift Certificate varieties include: 1. Online Consultation - Great for anyone anywhere in the world: Cost $80 (Australian) 2. Coaching Session - 60 minute individual one-on-one session: Cost $80 3. Clinic Participation - One horse and rider position at one of my clinics that I hold regularly around Australia: Cost $330 The best part about what I do is giving people a sense of hope and inspiration that their relationship with their horse can be improved and knowledge and skill is the key (and they can do it!!). Alternatively, it might be a sense of empowerment and way forward to start or re-train a horse themselves. Therefore, this can be a very special gift to someone you love or a good friend...or alternatively it might be a good gift for you from someone who is looking to get you something for Christmas that would make a big difference to you :) Please note the terms and conditions apply. To purchase, click on the shop or message me.

03.01.2022 Max's Gift On the 9th July 2020 the world lost Max. Max was a magnificent, 17 hand chestnut warmblood with a big white blaze and four white socks. He was the type of horse that got lots of compliments for his calm, unfazed, laid back demure. Everyone wished they could own a horse like Max, a horse you could ride out in the bush, take on an endurance trek, go jumping, enjoy adult riders clubhe was just a horse his owner Ann-Maree, could enjoy and feel safe on. The intere...Continue reading

03.01.2022 LETS TALK ABOUT DRESSAGE Hi Everyone This is my page where I publish my articles and blogs. However, I also have a group where I actively post and each day I have a theme, these include: ... - Helpful Tip Monday - Transformation Tuesday - Controversial Wednesday - Theory Thursday - Favourite Quote Friday So each day I share my insights and knowledge about training horses and teaching people and other members of the group do the same I am proud of this group as we choose the horse first, check our egos before we hit the enter key and allow other people to be on their own journey and share their own opinions. This week I am having a "dressage theme" for all the discussions. I am going to be dealing with the whole massive misconception that people have about dressage as a "concept" verses dressage as a "sport". It is why there is so much negativity and fighting within the community. It is unnecessary negativity that can be healed by knowledge if everyone just puts their egos away. If you think you can put your ego away, learn, share, discuss and respect other people....please join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/190240814737552/ Finally, if you have any questions you would like answered about dressage or any cool ideas for discussions (especially controversial Wednesday ) post them here

02.01.2022 GETTING HORSES RELAXED IN CANTER In a dressage discussion group on Facebook this morning a member asked how do people get horses relaxed in canter - by lunging or with a rider? Tension/rushing or refusal/difficulty in cantering are some of the most common problems that people ask me about at clinics.... This is how I approach the issue... 1) I get the horse good at cantering off a cue in the round pen. Then I let them clock up time cantering in the round pen. This is because horses have to LEARN to canter in a relaxed manner...they need to get confident, balanced at the gait minus reacting to the adrenaline that can be associated with accelerating. The shape of the round yard gives them a line to navigate and coordinate plus they are at liberty, so they have no restriction on their face or body that impacts their balance. Yes, they will may start off counter bent and posture not perfect but trust me, get a horse confident and relaxed in its association with cantering and these things are way easier to improve then trying to improve things all at once. 2) Next, I introduce online work when the horse is relaxed and cantering at liberty in the round pen. Online, the horse is now on a smaller circle and the guidance from the line comes from the halter or caversson on the head. Again, I allow the horse to adjust and get confident. Always starting off with getting them good with the transition and then expecting more. 3. Next, I return to the round pen under saddle on a loose rein. Again I revisit the round pen that they are already confident in cantering. I just add a rider and again just focus on the transition until calm and then duration. Once this is good I introduced more connection with the rein, more bending and turning...which directly relates to the online work. Here is some video of a young horse that had cantering issues. It was near impossible to canter him under saddle and took constant pressure to get him to canter online. Here he is getting confident with the upward transition to canter....just canter off a cue....no longer having to be highly pressurised into the gait. This horse is a fresian warmblood. Some of these horses, when they are worried slow down and grind to a halt, unlike other breeds that show there anxiety by getting tense and rushy. These type horses can therefore get canter issues because people can misread the slowing down as the horse being lazy or stubborn and apply more aversive pressure with the whip. This unfortunately, can just make the horse more worried and even less likely to go forward! But...if you understand them and just let them LEARN to canter and make it easy for them....no rider, nothing on their face, just focusing on the transition initially before expecting more steps....they don’t get as overwhelmed....they then LEARN and you end up with a horse that is on their way to being relaxed, confident and willing in its canter work!

01.01.2022 AN OPEN LETTER TO EQUESTRIAN COACHES . . I need your help. ....Continue reading