Hart's Horsemanship

Having a horse, donkey or mule that lacks confidence and trust can make us feel pretty low, I mean you want to help them, to reach out and be there for them, giving them the confidence they need to deal with life as a domesticated equine. You can see their potential even when others can’t and you are there for them but you aren’t quite sure how best to help them or that your ideas aregoing to work.

You want to understand their behaviour better and give them the help they need but all the conflicting advice on what you should do is causing you to doubt yourself, after all you know them best, but with so many opinions on how to train your horse, especially the ones about dominance and “he is just testing the boundaries” leave you confused. Then of course you recognise that your confusion isn’t helping them and then the blame and self-doubt can kick in, if only you knew what to do or could be more consistent in helping them.

I know your horse isn’t trying to be dominant, that’s not their true nature, and that testing the boundaries is normal, it is also known as learning. I also know that you know your horse better than anyone else and that my experience over the last 18 years of helping people like you with these challenges tells me you just need the confidence to trust your own intuition and a clear plan to follow.

Trying to be the best human you can for your equine partner is the toughest challenge most people face, we want the best for them, to help them reach their potential and to ensure they have a calm, relaxed happy life, but how? It doesn’t have to be that hard, when you learn to cut yourself some slack take the pressure off and follow a plan designed to build your horse’s confidence, improve their problem solving skills and to increase the trust you have in each other you can begin to relax and enjoy your relationship more deeply than ever before.

Seeing your equine partner suffering from fear and anxiety is so sad, you know they don’t have to be this way, you know it will be just amazing to see them transform, to see the pressure come of them and enjoy the process of helping them.

Working with equines can be the most rewarding part of our day, it can also be the most dangerous and mental exhausting, when we are trying to help a horse overcome fear and anxiety, if you work in the right way you don’t have to take risks or get injured in fact staying safe has to be your number one priority because if you don’t,  A) who is going to help your horse if you are injured and B) getting injured will make everything worse so why would you risk that. This course helps make our equine interactions safe and consistent by creating focus clear direction and taking the pressure off and allowing you both to enjoy the journey, there is nothing I want more than to help you safely help your equine to grow and reach their potential.

I want you to feel the pleasure in relaxing into the work of helping your equine find their way, the joy of taking this as far as you want from ground work all the way to riding if that’s where you are headed. Imagine the confidence you will have once you know where you are going and what you are doing, it becomes the ultimate defence against all those well-wishers full of unsympathetic advice, “Thank you, but I have a plan and I am working on building trust, confidence and problem solving”

Whether your horse, donkey or mule has problems with fear and anxiety, specific problems with dealing with scary or new situations, riding out, loading, leading this course will create the foundation to overcome these problems safely and effectively forever. I have included sections on, How to be consistent, What is trust and Managing your own behaviour to add to your knowledge and build your confidence in your own ability to help your horse.

"Liz Reece Harris I bought the training package last week and am really enjoying working through it. Ben makes me reflect, gives me things to think about for my donkeys and their behaviour that I had not previously even considered. As a result I'm watching how I am with them, being consistent in my approach each day, and observing them more closely. One thing we all forget is that if we change the parameters, expect the equine to respond differently. So, as I am slowly going through my plan and working on small steps for backing the boys, I now understand why they behave differently when I take them into the field right next to the yard!"

If you have a new horse or have had recent change to your equine's lifestyle or environment, working with them to help you build trust and confidence while developing their ability to solve problems in a way that is safe and effective. To help I have created a whole section on shaping behaviour, the secret of horsemanship an how to make the plan individual to you, with a work book you can follow if it helps you stay on track.

Breaking down the process of gaining trust, confidence in to very small safe steps that create a training plan that will be the foundation of all your equine relationships for years to come is the foundation of transforming your equine, they can be confident and trust you so much so that I believe people will come up to you can tell you how lucky you are to have such a great horse! You know their potential is in there so let me help you to release it, as together we can build on my knowledge and experience and your individual knowledge of your horse donkey and mule.

There is so much in this course on so many levels, not only are there 3 hours of video support for this plan, there articles to help focus your mind and beliefs, Picture posts to download as daily reminders and common questions and answers to deal with the issues real equine owners face. There are 2 workbooks to ensure you can adjust the plan and follow your own individual needs and practically apply the work to your training, and of course there is a details shaping plan with the steps to success already written for you to follow.

More than a course this is a way of interacting and respecting the needs of our equine partners for years to come, it is the clarity and direction that give you the tools to finally help your horse out of the negative spiral of anxiety and fear.

"Sara Udal Personally, I think shaping plans are fantastic and have used them for years.each chunked down activity becomes a learning opportunity, which means I have focus, progression and enjoy the learning journey. It allows me to do a little or as much as I want each session and then continue the learning in a systematic way. Finally, IT WORKS!"

Clare Beale  "Hi Ben

I've been working my way through the confidence course and have had some quite thought provoking moments, so thank you for that. Even pointing out the most simple things have helped me change my mindset.

A good example is handling the horse consistently. I've always had a bit of an internal struggle that people out there advocate certain methods and they work so must be right, because it works! I can now see it's not the method it's the consistency. I can now allow myself to use methods I want to follow rather than methods I think I should follow.

The next "should I be doing this". I've felt a huge amount of pressure just to get on with it and hack my horse out, but it didn't feel right, now I don't feel under that pressure, I'm listening to my horse and myself, we have other things to work on!"