Sally & Freya – Session 5.1

Helping a Shutdown Horse

This session captures a quiet but powerful shift in Sally’s emotional state. In earlier work, she tended to freeze or dissociate under pressure – giving the “right” answer without truly feeling it. Today, we see the beginning of something new: subtle engagement, thoughtful tries, and real-time communication through movement. It’s not about big breakthroughs. It’s about the horse starting to feel safe enough to ask questions.

We explore foundational yields, pressure clarity, and lunging with feel, but the deeper lesson is in the conversation happening between us. Instead of shutting down or reacting, she starts to tune in. Each moment becomes a chance to build trust through timing, distance, and emotional awareness.

🧭 In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Recognize when a horse is shutting down vs. checking in
• Use soft, well-timed pressure to create clarity
• Support a horse who is sensitive or overwhelmed
• Build emotional safety through distance and feel
• Encourage movement without bracing or flooding

🎯 Why it matters:

This is what it looks like when a shut-down horse begins to reconnect. We’re not forcing change. We’re inviting it through calm, consistent groundwork.

🎥 No quick fixes. No fancy edits. Just real-time, honest horse training.

📍 Filmed on the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia.

🔔 Subscribe to follow Sally’s training journey and learn alongside us.

Why Stepping Away Can Be the Most Horseman Thing You Can Do

In this clip, we unpack a moment that many riders face but rarely talk about: stopping a training exercise when it doesn’t feel right. Freya worried she’d “taught the horse something bad” by quitting, but what actually happened was the opposite: she protected their relationship by honouring her intuition. I share a story from my own early days in training, where forcing an exercise despite my uncertainty damaged trust. This conversation reframes stepping away not as failure, but as advanced horsemanship, where the relationship matters more than the result.

The One Mistake Most People Make with Pressure

This moment highlights a common but subtle mistake in groundwork: pulling harder when a horse doesn’t move forward. Instead, I offer a simple but powerful alternative: put a soft feel on the lead, then work in a small arc around the horse to re-engage movement. This reduces bracing and helps the horse find the answer for themselves, rather than being dragged into it. It’s a teachable example of timing, spatial awareness, and how pressure can be offered in a way that supports rather than confronts.

Pressure Isn’t the Enemy

This clip addresses a real-time training choice where I lightly tap the horse with a whip to create clarity and explain exactly why I did it. I walk through the concept of clear pressure, not punishment, and emphasize that a gentle, well-timed touch is sometimes more humane than avoiding pressure altogether. This moment invites viewers to reconsider the idea that all pressure is harmful, and instead explore how timing, feel, and emotional intent shape whether the horse experiences something as supportive or confusing.

From Freeze to Feel – Sally Went from Shut Down to Super Tuned-In

Here we witness a subtle but powerful shift. This mare, previously prone to shutdown, begins offering questions, soft eye contact, and rhythmic movement. She’s not just surviving the session. She’s thinking, feeling, and engaging. I explain how lunging from a distance gave her more emotional safety than closer work, and how she’s learning to regulate instead of react. It’s a beautiful example of transformation through consistency, softness, and letting the horse lead part of the conversation.