Two Strides Forward Equestrian

06/11/2026

Tacking up at liberty is a great thing to do at least semi-regularly to ensure that your horse is still enthusiastic and willing about the process. Ideally we are paying attention to all the little signals so that we notice if something is wrong even if our horse is tied, but many horses might not feel safe to express discomfort if they’ve been punished for it in the past, or there could be an element of learned helplessness where they won’t bother to try to show how they really feel if they are unable to leave.
Make sure you have a safe area to try this in where another horse won’t come charging up and causing problems, or your horse won’t be constantly dragging away to eat grass or get into trouble. Ideally in a space larger than a stall, as your horse may still feel stuck if it’s a small space, or may panic trying to exit through a small door.
And of course you have to be aware, for example being ready to sn**ch your saddle off if the horse starts to leave before the girth is done up.
If your horse chooses to stick around when they have the option to leave, it tells you a lot about how they really feel about being tacked up/ridden. But remember, yes means nothing if no isn’t an option!

Is this something you’ve ever tried with your horse? Let me know in the comments!

06/09/2026

Talk about turning lemons into lemonade, and fast!
After I had to cancel my June dressage clinic, the Metchosin Equestrian Society reached out, and after some very efficient organization on their end, I am pleased to announce this clinic series which is a fundraiser for their club.
If you are interested in dressage that is accessible, inclusive, classically informed while also taking into account modern equine neuroscience, then this clinic series is for you!
All levels and abilities welcome, including in-hand partnerships. Contact MES to register.

Last minute additions for our summer schedule! We have an amazing (and affordable!) dressage clinic series for everyone. This series is in partnership with Two strides Forward Equestrian. It will provide riders (or in hand participants) an amazing opportunity to build their skills with Helgi Sangret and then with “homework” between each session. Sessions can be taken individually or as a group with a discount.

Registration, with all clinic details, is now open and found here:

https://forms.gle/rx8dUrZxDbP32acx7

Meet your clinician:

Helgi Sangret has been a certified coach for 20 years, and currently holds 4 different certifications. Her background includes dressage, eventing, Pony Club, natural horsemanship, starting and training horses, positive reinforcement training, therapeutic riding and para/dressage, and vaulting. Helgi enjoys blending French classical dressage principles with modern neuroscience and ethology and somatic biomechanics, all within a trauma-informed approach that is gentle and accessible for both horse and human.

Let’s learn and ride together this summer team MES!

06/08/2026

Sad to announce that I have made the call to cancel this clinic due to low registration. If there is enough interest I can look at maybe rescheduling in the fall.
And of course if anyone is intrigued by the premise of inclusive dressage and wants to schedule a private session, or organize a group or mini-clinic at your facility, please reach out! I have a couple of dates still available this summer.

06/06/2026

This lovely mare had just finished some reps of R+ training for holding up her feet. Here we are allowing her to process/upload what she just learned. First the horse has to be able to drop into their para-sympathetic nervous system, which is where we often see a bit of a lick and chew. But if we call it good at that sign and move on, we miss out on this important next step. Here the hippocampus, a structure in the brain responsible for memory processing, replays the recent events like a super fast movie reel, essentially uploading the information to the memory bank. If we don’t allow time for this, or if our horse is too stressed to activate this process, they will have a much harder time remembering what they learned.
PS: This mare was struggling to even stand still for a few seconds in the barn only a few months ago, so to see her find this level of depth and stillness in a spot that previously caused anxiety is extra special! I’m so proud of the hard work she and her human have put in! 🧡

06/04/2026

💗💗💗

05/31/2026

What a fun day at part 2 of the Liberty Clinic series at Mountainview Farm today! It was great to see returning partnerships and work on expanding our liberty literacy, and it was great to see some new human and equine faces as well. Thankfully the weather gods were kinder to us this time too!