Nomadic Horsemanship

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Nomadic Horsemanship Nomadic Horsemanship offers consent-based training for sensitive, traumatised and young horses.

True liberty, horsemanship, riding and training on-the-go adventures that fosters emotional well-being and honour your horse’s authentic self. Verwilderd haar, een zongebruinde huid, stoffige laarzen en de zachte geur van paarden. Onze reis draait om het vinden van de diepe connectie tussen mens en paard. Bij Dirty Boots Collective komen specialisten samen, gaan we op avontuur, delen we onze kennis en verhalen.

Riding should be as enjoyable for the horse as it is for the human.I do get asked a lot: ‘Do you give riding lessons? Do...
20/08/2026

Riding should be as enjoyable for the horse as it is for the human.

I do get asked a lot: ‘Do you give riding lessons? Do you train horses under saddle?’ Yes, I do. Maybe more than people expect.

What you see from me is mostly liberty, groundwork, hours spent together being and building partnership. So I understand people assume that is all I do. But honestly? I love teaching a horse and a human how to explore riding together. It just never starts with the riding.

First the trust, the relationship, the understanding. Partnership, two-way communication, the horse getting a voice in the process. That’s where I start.

But here’s the thing. Connection and trust are the foundation, but on their own they will not train a horse. We have to know what to ask and how to ask it, so we prepare them for what we want, so we can actually go and do awesome things together.

I teach horses to become more confident about themselves, about how they can self-regulate, about how they use their body. The more capable your horse is, the more confident a trail partner your horse can become. And we must train that first.

And from there most of my starting and restarting happens out on the trail. Traumatised horses, youngsters, horses that need a restart, all started under saddle somewhere in the middle of a trek. Days of walking, eating, resting, moving together. Somewhere in there I find the perfect moment to hop on and do a little ride. To make it a pleasant and interesting experience for the horse rather than traumatising him.

From there I build up. Strength, balance, confidence. I take the time the horse needs, and build many moments of harmony in between. Back to being, enjoying each other’s company, before the next training opportunity comes along.

I let them find their own puzzles during training. I should not be the one managing them all the time. That interrupts our way of being. I want horses who can carry themselves, emotionally, mentally and physically.

It is quite a long process to get the foundations right. But it is a very exciting part of the journey. It is the foundation you build on for the rest of your life with your horse. So better get it right!

14/08/2026

Sixty seconds, wherever you are. In the office, in the garden, in the herd, on the other side of the world. This is how I stay connected to my horses.

The horse in the video is King. I hung out with him yesterday, his owner is on holiday. He is 27 now, and one of the horses who taught me the most about getting the basics right. That is about fifteen years ago now. Besides training, I did this way of being with him a lot. Hanging out. Just being in presence. In the pasture, in his stable.

In this clip I was feeling the love and a deep gratitude. To him, and to his owner, my friend and trainer Irene, who gave me the chance from a young age to work with her and her incredible horses. We do not see each other enough these days, and I still consider her one of my deepest friends. The ones who will always be there for you. And King knows we share that bond.

This way of being with horses, in presence or far away from them, is how I keep connected. It is a flow. A feeling I can always tap into within myself and my horses. And I love to share a glimpse of that with you.

Not every horse joins straight away. It does not always flow immediately. As you practise, sooner or later they feel the good feelings and opt in with you. Just the way they opt in within the herd. Eventually they ask you to opt in. That is what King did yesterday. He took me for a little walk, then we hung out and were present together. The wise old man. He has a forever place deep in my heart.

So tell me. Which horses came to you? Let’s put their names together below. I’ll start.

Happy birthday! Sixteen today. Cadenza.We met when she was four and a half. She chose me. We fell for each other on the ...
24/06/2026

Happy birthday! Sixteen today. Cadenza.

We met when she was four and a half. She chose me. We fell for each other on the spot. She wanted to hang out with me right away and I wanted to share my life with her. Soulmates, right from the start.

She had been under saddle for just half a year. I bought her as a seemingly trauma free horse. She wasn’t. So much was running beneath the surface, and I had no idea yet.

I had horses all my life and quite some years of horsemanship behind me when we met, and still I made mistake after mistake with Cadenza. She was something else. The methods we knew didn’t fit her. They never accounted for what she actually needed. So she taught me. Over and over, she showed me where I was wrong, and I learned to listen instead of apply.

Every time I started looking around for a new challenge, she opened another door. Showed me a deeper way to be with her. Showed me the ideas she had of her own.

She has always been a one person horse. But since she’s living here on our own farm, she is opening up, getting more curious about other people. I love watching her grow into that.

So many adventures behind us. So many still ahead. On her terms. Always on her terms.

Happy birthday, my sensitive soul.

17/06/2026

The forest in June. The summer months usually keep me out, too many horseflies. But June started cold, and we’ve taken the opportunity to go on our very first adventure in a year.

Cadenza and me, out in the forest. Training on the go. Things happen when we’re ready.

Being out there together, I felt how much I had missed it. Slowly we are getting our adventurous life back again.

Some mornings I just sit. Let my back find the fence, let my shoulders drop, and watch them. There is the sound of them ...
16/06/2026

Some mornings I just sit. Let my back find the fence, let my shoulders drop, and watch them. There is the sound of them munching hay. Slow, steady, unhurried. Nothing asked of them. Nothing asked of me either. Just space shared.

One month ago I came home from South Africa, the dust of wild land still on me. It already feels like a year. A year ago...
12/06/2026

One month ago I came home from South Africa, the dust of wild land still on me. It already feels like a year. A year ago, in two days, Bomba broke her pelvis. That feels like yesterday.

For my herd at home it has been a year of rest and recovery in a tiny paddock, and a year of so much quality time together. We are still in it. Recovery for Bomba goes slowly, but steady. She's is walking stronger every week, and that opens space for Cadenza and me to head out on little adventures again.

The horses are feeling it too. They start asking for it. And we are giving in. Slowly.
The wild in us is awake again.

Time flows differently in South Africa.My body knows it within a few days. Slower. Quieter. Something in me that has bee...
13/05/2026

Time flows differently in South Africa.

My body knows it within a few days. Slower. Quieter. Something in me that has been held tight for months starts to unclench.

And I come home with the same realisation, every time. We are busy rushing time that never comes back.

We rush through our days. Our agendas full. Our inboxes loud. Everything urgent. And the quiet things, the essential things, the ones that hold us together, we push to later.

The people we love. The presence. The connection. The life we said we wanted to live.

The challenge is not knowing what matters. The challenge is making time for it. Again, and again, and again. In a world that pulls in the opposite direction.
That is what South Africa keeps teaching me. That is what my horses keep teaching me. To be. To choose connection over control. To have time for what truly matters.

And every time I come home, I am a little more able to choose it.

Not to escape my life.

To remember how to live it.

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De Heikampen 24

5482ZR

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