The Freedom Track

The Freedom Track Freedom Track Livery �
Herd-based track system. Movement • Connection • Choice
North Yorkshire

31/08/2026

Sometimes the best training isn’t done in the school… 👀🐴

Let’s start with Mickey.

The last time I took him out hacking on his own, he was not the easiest! 😂

Planting his feet, stopping constantly and generally making it very clear that he wasn’t convinced this hacking lark was a good idea.

I got on and off a few times, but it didn’t really change anything. And I wasn’t sure whether I was dealing with discomfort, a confidence issue, or a bit of both.

He’s been ridden in the school and has generally been good, so rather than just pushing him through it, I wanted to find a way of making the experience a little easier while still asking him to think.

Enter Raya. ❤️

Raya has recently had another bout of cellulitis in his hind leg. He unfortunately suffers with it quite frequently, particularly when the weather gets damp, and even the tiniest nick or cut on that leg seems to set it off.

The vet has instructed hand walking alongside his antibiotics, so I thought… why not make this useful for both boys?

Today I rode Mickey and led Raya from him.

Now, that comes with its own challenges! 😂

Mickey has a bit of a swagger and normally likes to march along at quite a pace.

Raya, on the other hand, is currently much more of a “we’ll get there when we get there” kind of guy. 🤣

But Mickey was SO good.

He had to learn to adjust his pace, think about where Raya was and not just march off into the distance. And the best part?

The rope stayed loose.

He wasn’t being dragged along or held back. He was learning to regulate himself and work alongside another horse.

Raya’s owner came with us on foot because this was their first time doing it, and I think that’s really important. Before expecting them to go out like this without another person, I want to know that both horses are confident and happy on the roads.

And what a difference in Mickey today.

He was still a little tense in places, but NOTHING like the last outing. Much less stopping, much more forward thinking and generally a much happier horse.

And Raya was absolutely brilliant. ❤️

When we got back to the yard, I tied Raya up with a hay net — all done from the saddle — the took Mickey off to see the girls in the other paddock.

So what looks like “just a hack” was actually a pretty productive session.

Mickey got some trotting work on a hard surface, Raya got his hand walking, and Mickey had around an hour of purposeful riding.

Standing still.
Side pass.
Backing up.
Waiting.
Moving around.
Getting jobs done.
And most importantly — thinking.

Because I find doing these movements in the school is one thing.

Being able to actually USE them when you’re out in the real world is something else entirely.

The school gives you the foundations.

Real life tells you whether you’ve actually taught the horse what you think you have. 😉

And today, Mickey showed me that we’re definitely heading in the right direction. ❤️

30/08/2026

Following on from my last post, here’s what this work can look like further down the line with two of my own horses who have already been through the groundwork foundations. ❤️

And yes, I know some people will look at this and say, “But they’re barely moving.”

That’s exactly the point.

Not every productive training session needs to involve speed, sweat, trot or canter. Sometimes the most valuable work happens slowly, quietly and with an enormous amount of thought behind it.

At this stage, we’re working specifically on lateral movement, body control, balance and helping them learn how to use their bodies correctly, particularly to support rehabilitation.

This isn’t pointless circling. It isn’t making a horse perform tricks. And it certainly isn’t about forcing a horse into a shape.

It’s about developing body awareness, coordination, strength and understanding.

None of this would be possible without first teaching them how to move their bodies, understand my requests and, most importantly, feel confident enough to respond rather than react.

My horses aren’t protesting or being dragged through these exercises. Quite the opposite — they genuinely love getting it right and working with me. ❤️

At the end of a session, they will all drop their heads into my arms. That’s regardless of whether they’ve done any trot or canter.

They have still worked.

They’ve used their brains, processed information, made choices and tried to figure out the answer.

And they LOVE getting it right.

Now, I know flag training is controversial. Some people see a flag and immediately assume fear, pressure or intimidation.

But that assumption misses the point entirely.

It isn’t about the flag.

The flag is simply an extension of my arm. It makes my communication clearer and easier for the horse to understand from a distance. It can also be much safer when working with young horses, ex-racehorses, or horses who haven’t yet learned appropriate space boundaries and who live in a constant state of anxiety or flight mode.

And before anyone assumes my horses were naturally calm and accepting of this, they weren’t.

They reacted to the flag. They spooked. They panicked. Some of them stayed in that heightened state for quite some time.

The difference is that I didn’t punish them for being afraid, and I didn’t simply avoid the problem forever.

Through consistent, thoughtful groundwork, they learned something far more valuable than blind obedience:

They have confidence. They have choice. They have purpose.

They’ve learned that they can listen, think, respond and find the answer rather than simply react.

That is not oppression.

That is not shutting a horse down.

That is giving a horse the tools to understand what is being asked and the confidence to make a different choice.

Of course, this work can be done badly. So can every training method. A flag in the wrong hands can absolutely create fear and confusion.

But blaming the tool instead of looking at how it is used is far too simplistic.

The flag isn’t the training.

The communication, timing, consistency and relationship are the training.

For me, this is what makes the work constructive and genuine. It isn’t about making a horse obedient for the sake of it, and it isn’t about dominating them.

It’s about helping them understand us, understand their own bodies and feel confident enough to work with us.

And if a horse finishes a session relaxed, connected and choosing to come back for more, I’m far more interested in that than in whether they looked impressive for five minutes at speed. ❤️

24/08/2026

One little pony can change the direction of the whole herd. 🐴💨

And that’s exactly why the track works so beautifully for movement.

There’s no set route, no forced exercise pattern and no human deciding when they should move. One pony gets up for a wander… another follows… and suddenly the whole herd is heading off together.

Before long, they’re enjoying a good canter around the track — because movement happens naturally when they have the space, freedom and motivation to move as a herd.

This is reflective of natural herd behaviour. Horses are social animals, and their movement is often influenced by one another. The beauty of a track system is that it encourages them to make those choices for themselves, building movement into their everyday lives rather than making exercise something that only happens when we ask for it.

It’s not about keeping them constantly moving.

It’s about creating an environment where movement is easy, natural and enjoyable. ❤️

22/08/2026

Function meets rehab 🌊🐴

Today’s lesson was about so much more than just going to the beach.

I wanted some water therapy without having to pay for a water treadmill, so the beach seemed like the perfect solution! 😂 But with his recent Physio session and a little soreness through his SI, I absolutely didn’t want to ride today. Building quality muscle needs to happen in a relaxed, balanced way, and groundwork gave us exactly that.

Mentally, the beach is also a really valuable part of his training. He’s only been a couple of times, so there were plenty of things to process. He’s allowed to be worried — what we’re working towards is him learning to let that worry go more quickly once he realises he’s safe. That’s an ongoing process, but today he did brilliantly and actually went surprisingly deep into the water! 🌊

For me, rehabilitation is about him learning to pick those feet up, organise his body and use himself correctly, just as we practise at home, but in a completely different environment with distractions and things happening around him.

That’s where function meets rehab — taking the physical work and putting it into real-life situations. Today went really, really well.

He’s also currently enjoying having a net in the van while I take the dogs out onto the beach. Another little lesson in patience, independence and feeling safe in his own space.

These are skills I want him to have before he actually needs them. If he has to wait at the vets, during a lesson or somewhere unfamiliar, it’s far better that we’ve practised waiting and being settled when we can simply go home afterwards, rather than trying to teach it when he really needs the skill.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Ridden work will start again tomorrow, but days like today remind me why I put so much value on groundwork. It isn’t separate from his ridden training — it’s part of building the whole horse. ❤️🐴

21/08/2026

✨ Shiny little Nickel ✨

Three months ago, this gorgeous little American Quarter Horse came into my life, and I can hand on heart say he is absolutely stunning. ❤️

Nickel is very different to any horse I’ve had before, and that’s been challenging me in the best possible way. He’s making me learn different techniques, think differently and, most importantly, pay much more attention to what he is telling me.

He’s a sweetheart, he’s cheeky, and he genuinely thinks everything is a game 😂 So boundaries are definitely needed! But once we both work out what the game is, he is just the sweetest boy.

We did a little liberty groundwork today and I think he decided that was quite enough learning for one day… 😂 Just look at him, completely crashed out in the sand pen next to his big brother Mic. 🥰

I’m so proud that I’ve managed to bring an American Quarter Horse into my life. I honestly can’t wait to see what the future holds for us. 💕🐴

Shiny little Nickel… you’re something very special. ✨

19/08/2026

Intros are going well! Love the gelding herd, they have all been super cute in meeting! We now have Smurf on the track and Logan doing intros! Something tells me there won’t be a problem here… he’s a good groomer!

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