Wanneroo Therapeutic Riding & Horsemanship

04/11/2025

Wellness Wednesday

I have heard this a lot. Especially when people have horses they don’t ride. But this is so true, and if you get pleasure from coming out and hanging with your horses, grooming and spending time in nature, then you are both blessed

"YOU'RE WASTING THAT HORSE."
​That's a common, unkind saying when someone owns a talented or well-bred horse but isn't doing "enough" with them.
​But here’s the truth: Your horse doesn't know they have "talent."
​As long as they have the freedom to move, enough good food, and social interactions with other horses (play, mutual grooming), they are living their best life. Period.
​'Potential' is a purely human concept. It has nothing to do with living in the moment, which is exactly what a horse does. It's wonderful to have big dreams and aspirations for your partnership, but if you're not there yet, or if life has simply gotten busy, please don't think you are letting your horse down.
​Focus on providing their immediate wants and needs that are important to them. Meet the needs of the horse, not the expectations of the industry. You're doing great.

19/09/2025

"Sometimes, you don’t need words, advice, or explanations.
Sometimes, all you really need is a soft mane, warm breath on your shoulder, and a heartbeat beside you in the silence.

A horse won’t ask why you’re crying.
They’ll simply stay.
No judgment.
No rush.
No demands.

Because true comfort doesn’t come in loud phrases—
It comes in quiet presence.
From the one who sees the real you…
even when you’ve forgotten who that is."

10/09/2025

Wellness Wednesday

Soe
Times its our expectation that Rob is of the joy in life.

Change you expectations and start to live life and enjoy it

09/09/2025

Tell tell Tuesday

We often see this, riders quick to blame the horse for the problem they are having during a lesson. Yet the horse was perfect for another student.

Horses don’t care about our ego. If we are not giving clear instructions they get confused and can’t oblige. Horses want an easy life so don’t try to be difficult. We need to ensure we are being clear and fair

ARE WE BLAMING HORSES FOR BEING HORSES?

If a horse is difficult to lead, bites someone, stops at a fence, bucks under saddle or refuses to load, the explanation you’ll hear most often is that they’re being naughty, stubborn or difficult. This culture of blame runs deep in the equestrian world. But why do riders and handlers so often blame the horse. Why is it the horse’s fault?

Human psychology gives us some clues. Humans are prone to the fundamental attribution error. That means we’re quick to assume a behaviour is caused by what the horse is like (‘he’s lazy,’ ‘she’s always moody’) instead of looking at what’s happening to the horse.

In practice, that means we often jump to the idea that a horse is being awkward on purpose, rather than considering external factors like pain, inappropriate management, unclear training, or fear. We assume intention when, in reality, the horse is usually just responding to their circumstances. We don’t consider what’s really driving the behaviour and motivating the horse to behave that way.

Add to this the traditions of equestrian culture, where riders are often told from an early age that horses ‘test you’ or ‘take advantage if you let them.’ This narrative becomes normalised — and so blaming the horse feels natural, even when the science tells us otherwise.

Research shows a very different story:

• Studies by Dyson and colleagues (2018–2020) demonstrate that many so-called 'naughty' behaviours are actually signs of pain under saddle

• Hausberger et al. (2008, 2020) found that poor housing and pain are strongly linked to so-called ’problem behaviours.'

• Cheung, Mills & Ventura (2025) show how riders often rationalise practices that compromise welfare in order to reduce their own cognitive dissonance.

Blaming the horse is easier than admitting our tack doesn’t fit, our training wasn’t clear, our horse may be in pain or that we did the wrong thing. It protects us from uncomfortable truths. But it also prevents us from seeing behaviour for what it really is: communication.

Horses don’t plan or plot to punish us. They respond. And they can suffer.

So next time something goes wrong, rather than asking ‘Why is he being naughty?’ consider asking “what is my horse trying to tell me?’ instead.

26/08/2025

Tell tell Tuesday

What people perceive as problem horses are often just horses that are feeling confused and overwhelmed

❌ 🐎The Problem Horse 🐎 ❌

What’s a problem horse ⁉️

Basically everyone who’s dealing with horses has heard of ‘problem horses’. 🐎 💥

Going by the generalized narrative, ‘Problem horses’ are for example the type of horses that buck, rear or jigg. 🐎 💥

But ‘problem horses’ are also the kind of horses that kick and bite. Or the ones tha won’t load into the trailer. Or the horses that are ‘lazy’ and don’t want to go forward 🐌

Hold on. But they’re also the ones that ignore your aids and don’t do what you ask them to do. And the ones that don’t want to cross the jump or the water or the ones that don’t pick up a canter when you ask them to or constantly cross fire. 🐎 💥

Long story short, a horse is a ‘problem horse’ when the human can’t access the desired skills/ behaviors of the horse, hence use him the way he/she would like to, or in other words :

The horse is causing the human problems which makes him turn into THE problem

Let’s try and switch perspectives:

What if in reality it’s exactly the opposite ⁉️ Maybe the ‘problem horse’ is a horse that has a problem with us humans 👀😳

If you treat your horse with respect, give him time and space to learn and understand and if you explain the asked tasks in a horse-friendly and pleasant way, he is going to be able to master what you are asking him. ✨

On top of that he is going to be able to develop a happy mindset when working with you. ☝🏻

Unfortunately in most cases the human doesn’t have enough knowledge about the horses nature, his psychology and about training a horse in general (how do they learn, why do they learn the way they do, how can we teach them anything ?! What are horse friendly and ethical ways to train the horse etc…)

And last but not least there’s often a lack of empathy, compassion and patience involved
A dangerous mix! 💣 💥

What often happens is ..the horse doesn’t respond to the asked things right away.. “Oh he’s not listening to me ?!..nor is he even trying, well then I have to enforce what I was asking for on my terms, to make him do what I was asking for !” 💥 🥊

Where knowledge ends.. brute force tactics and strategies start.

The aftermath of ‘enforcing’ what you were asking for is often an overwhelmed, anxious, fearful or even frustrated and dull horse who is not able to learn, who is not active at all, never taking the initiative to offer a behavior, and who doesn’t show any kind of pleasure while working with you.

It creates a horse who only wants to avoid punishment in any way possible which leads him to engage with the human like a ‘horse-bot’ 🤖 …piles up frustration and explosive behaviors.. or stops seeking out our near all together.

To wrap it up
Horses turn into ‘problem-horses’ if :

🌿 the horse doesn’t understand what you are asking.

🌿 the horse is overwhelmed by all those tasks you are asking at the same time

🌿 the horse is anxious / in a state of fear - doesn’t trust you

🌿 the horse understands the humans behavior as disrespectful and as a result of that is tries to defend himself/ self preserve

🌿 the horse can’t execute a task due to metal (stress, overwhelm, past reinforcement history…) or physical (pain..discomfort or doesn’t have the strength yet, doesn’t have the endurance yet, doesn’t have the flexibility yet etc) road blocks

🌿 the horse is ‘shut down’ and dull because engaging with his human and trying to communicate, has only fallen on deaf ears before

-Julia Williamson, The Horse Center | 2025

22/07/2025

Technical Tuesday

Getting a great horse takes hours of work and years of training for both horse and rider. If you learn to enjoy the journey and take on board the feedback your horse give you, it can be a magical journey

Everybody wants a good horse.
But not everybody wants to become the kind of person that makes a horse good.

In today’s world, people expect fast results.

Instant gratification.
Swipe, click, scroll, done.

People expect success to be delivered like an Amazon Prime Order:
fast, easy, and with a smile.

They want to turn their feral horse into a “finished horse” without ever putting in the hours it takes to truly understand one in the first place.

Here’s the thing…
Mastery isn’t downloadable.
A reciprocal relationship can’t be rushed. It is build over time and it comes with highs and lows.

What took others years of learning, failing, watching, refining, people now want handed to them in a weekend clinic, a 10-minute video, a one time exercise, a one-sentence answer or because they bought a course.

The shortcuts people chase are often detours that lead them right back to where they started, just more frustrated this time.

They want the feel, but not the feedback.
They want the bond, but not the humility.
They want the horse to change, but they don’t want to change themselves.

No one can hand you the timing, the feel, the quiet, calm and consistent leadership it takes.

It can’t be downloaded or bought.

You earn that, you develop it, with every consistent rep and step. With patience. With clarity. Through being a lifetime student of the horse.

By showing up on the days it’s hard, boring, frustrating or humbling.

Put in the work.
Put in the hours.
Because Your horse
deserves that version of You.

04/07/2025

Being well balanced in the saddle is so important. But it takes time and practice

If you're not riding centered and balanced, your horse knows it—and pays the price for it.

When you lean, drop a shoulder, or collapse a hip, you're not just shifting your weight—you’re shifting your horse’s entire understanding of what you're asking. A horse trying to stay balanced under an unbalanced rider is like trying to dance with someone constantly stepping off beat. They can compensate for a while, but eventually it leads to resistance, crookedness, sore muscles, and mental frustration.

Riding centered isn’t just about looking pretty—it’s about being fair, clear, and effective. Your balance affects their balance, your straightness affects their straightness, and your softness allows their softness.

This video on my Patreon Page is one in a collection of videos showing you how to develop and improve yourself and your riding. https://www.patreon.com/posts/getting-centered-133210619?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link