One with Animals

04/05/2026

Separation distress

"The yard manager said he was calm in the field when both his companions came in for the farrier and I was really pleased to hear"

This horse would get distressed when his companion left the field, calling, pacing up and down the fence line, even with another horse in the field.

Getting to the bottom of how the horse was feeling emotionally, providing healing, enabled the behaviour to change.

Want to discuss how I can help your animal with separation anxiety? Email [email protected]

17/02/2026

The start of Chinese New Year - the year of the fire horse ♥️
The symbols on top and down the side of the horse say ‘when the horse arrives is going to be successful’!
Wishing you all success 🐴♥️

25/01/2026

Sharing this free mini masterclass by karolina on animal emotions and how their emotional state impacts behaviour. It’s open until the 29th jan if you get the chance to listen 👂

Limited time access

22/01/2026

Getting ready for 2026 season?
Worried about how your horse will cope in the competition environment?

Discover how this fun, playful enrichment activity can help your horse with show ring anxiety and more 🐎🏇🐴

20/01/2026

Self-awareness is the first step. The horses are so sensitive and intuitive, they pick up far more than we realise…

Your horse is living in your nervous system – how your mental health struggles can affect your partnership. Read more below

19/01/2026

Blue Monday is supposed to be the hardest Monday of the year! 😩
Who has felt it?
How are your animals doing?
Have they felt it?

Let’s support and cheer each other up. 🥳
Shake it off, focus on something positive and send the positivity to all who you come across to brighten their day 😊

02/12/2025

Rip beautiful legends 💔

Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation.

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend.

Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than I imagined. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there’s an emptiness in the air.

Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era. They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life.

They leave behind a huge void, and the yard has changed forever and so have we. They were our family and I will love and miss them always. The impact they had will remain but sadly, we don’t get to keep horses forever.
We only get to carry what they leave inside us. And these two left us so much.

Carl x

Photo credit: Rose Lewis

06/09/2025

Well put…

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.

01/09/2025

Looks like a great webinar…

Understand Horses presents a webinar with equine vet Jessica Weigh on gastric ulcers - diagnosis, prevention, treatment, effective feeding and management strategies.

24/08/2025

Well put…

Dr Temple Grandin is one of the best known animal scientists in the world. She grew up in America, and she is autistic, which means her brain works a little differently to most people’s. She often says she “thinks in pictures.” This helps her notice tiny details about animals that others might miss.

Most of her career has been spent improving how cattle are handled on farms, making systems calmer and safer. (Which is why many farms have safe handing pens for cattle on farms today)But her ideas are just as useful when we think about horses.

Temple reminds us that animals don’t see the world the same way humans do. A shiny puddle, a flapping jacket, or a garden chair in the wrong place might look like danger to a horse. Horses are prey animals, always on the lookout for threats. What seems silly to us can feel very real to them.

As she explains: “Horses have to see the same object from all angles. They don’t automatically transfer learning from one side of their brain to the other.” In other words, a horse that walks calmly past a wheelbarrow on the left rein may still shy at it on the right.

For coaches and riders, this matters. If a horse spooks or refuses, it isn’t “naughty”, it is reacting in the only way it knows. Our job is to slow down, let the horse look, and give it time to learn.

Temple also talks about how animals respond to pressure. A gentle aid, released at the right moment, helps the horse to understand. But rough hands, loud voices, or constant pushing only build fear. As coaches, that means showing riders how to be clear but kind, guiding, not forcing.

And this links horse welfare with rider welfare. A calm horse gives the rider confidence. A frightened horse makes the rider nervous. By putting the horse’s feelings first, we create safer, happier lessons for both.

Temple Grandin may have made her name with cattle, but her lessons about patience, clear signals for animals are pure gold for anyone who works with horses. When we see the world through the horse’s eyes, we become better kinder horsemen.

21/08/2025

What they said...

"You are bang on the money, how did you know?"

The owner of this horse then went on to tell me the horses history in more detail and described what had happened in her younger years to make her anxious about food.

The horse empowerment sessions are an opportunity to connect on a deeper level to get insights into what may be going on them emotionally.