15/12/2025
First time for everything - or Everything for the first time!?
Sill went on her very first trip away from home — not to perform, but to experience.
I took her to my bestie in Steenwijk, who works from a beautiful facility and specializes in starting young horses. The goal of this trip was simple: help Sill gain confidence in a new environment and add valuable life experience to her foundation.
I chose to stay for three days so she had time to process and adapt. Watching how she handled it all was incredibly valuable for me. Sill doesn’t show stress in big, obvious ways — her signals are subtle — which means I need to listen closely and be careful not to push her too far
In just a few days, she:
• travelled 2.5 hours in the trailer (there and back)
• stayed overnight in a stable
• met lots of new, young (and equally inexperienced 😉) horses
• discovered an indoor arena for the very first time
• and even went into the forest for the first time 🌲
Through it all, she showed up as a partner. And that makes me incredibly proud of her 💛
This trip wasn’t about training results.
It was about learning, trust, and getting to know each other better.
Fun fact: I also got to weigh her — she’s 470 kg right now.
👉 What was the first place you took your young horse after starting them?