Beth Armitage Horsemanship

04/06/2026

Apart from the horses back, the horses face is one of the most frequently disrespected spaces in a horses body. Crowded, tickled, slapped, ruffled, pulled on and pushed on, haltered and bridled rudely and carelessly, and generally treated without sensitivity.

A horses face is typically the first place we interact with to start our work- this is where we approach, halter and lead from. From the first interactions here, we can either create looseness, straightness and calm, or we can brace the whole body and create evasion and distrust.

Every interaction matters. Treat your horses face and head with the respect it deserves, remembering that their head connects into their neck and all the way into their back. If we want to ride a swinging back, we can’t forget to treat the head with respect.

04/06/2026

01/06/2026

29/05/2026

Callie and her pony, Jock’s first ever trip out and first ever fun ride.

I’m incredibly proud of these two at just 13, Callie has started Jock herself and been incredibly patient allowing him time to understand each stage. This made for a lovely, uneventful first trip out.

(And yes, my breeches are rolled up, because I was the most dedicated coach ever and braved the water)

Thank you to for a wonderful lead rein and beginners event. You can always guarantee it will be a lovely, welcoming environment.

28/05/2026

Jaw flexions require A LOT of brain power.

22/05/2026

Horsemanship isn’t one size fits all.

There’s no perfect step by step guide on how to train the perfect horse. I would probably be out of a job if there was such a thing. Or maybe my job would just be a bit less fun.

As humans we can often find this frustrating, we like to have things neatly laid out in front of us, a perfect, predictable plan for how everything is going to unfold.

But horses don’t work like that, they ask us to simply show up and work the horse stood in front of us in that moment, to let go of expectations and to quietly keep doing the work.

21/05/2026

Its been a wonderful week of lessons for me. Martha Lindsell came to see Smokes and I on Tuesday and we had some huge changes.

Then on Wednesday I had a lesson with Bertil Voss, thank you to Zana at Great All Rounders for lending me a pony such sort notice!

My favourite thing about this work is that the learning never stops. I feel very grateful to have some wonderful people around me on this journey.