http://go.hartstoneequestrian.com/links

The Equine Catalyst, Raglan (2025)

15/12/2025

HOW to fix the rein-pulling behaviour (science-based)

Here’s Part 2 of the rein-pulling breakdown — thank you to everyone who followed along after the first reel went wild.

A lot of people commented with “don’t use the reins” or “just ride with your seat.”
And I want to address that clearly:

👉 The fix is NOT to avoid using the reins.
👉 The fix is to train the rein aid properly, so the horse actually understands it.

Seat aids only work because the horse first learns the rein aid through classical conditioning.
Seat → predicts → rein → predicts → slow down.
If the rein response is unclear or inconsistent, the seat aid cannot possibly be reliable.

This horse isn’t pulling because reins are “wrong.”
He’s pulling because he doesn’t understand them.

⭐ How we fix it

We rebuild the stop response from the ground up, with simple, consistent clarity.

1️⃣ Teach the horse to step back FROM the rein aid on the ground.

The rein must always mean slow down/step back.
Watch that the horse doesn’t lengthen its neck, creep forward, or pull through the rein — the aid is about the legs slowing, not the neck stretching.

2️⃣ Take that same rein aid under saddle.

No legs (legs = go).
Reins = slow.
These two signals must never mix.

3️⃣ Every time the horse leans, snatches, or pulls…

👉 quietly ask for 1–2 steps back, then immediately release.

No emotion.
No escalation.
Just consistent information.

Very quickly the horse learns:
✨ “The rein doesn’t lie. The rein always means slow down.”

⭐ And here’s something really important for riders…

Many riders accidentally reward the pull without realising it.

Why?

Because when the horse pulls, the rider’s body gets pulled slightly forward —
even just a few centimetres —
and that tiny forward movement becomes an unintentional release.

This is why rider stability matters.

✔ Your core keeps your upper body from tipping forward.
✔ Your elbows and arms need enough tone to stay stable without bracing.
✔ Your shoulder girdle needs to hold the line of the rein without dropping forward.

When your body stays stable, you can give the correct release:
👉 after the step back
NOT
👉 when the horse drags you forward.

This one detail changes everything.
It stops the horse learning “pull = freedom” and starts teaching “slow = release.”

⭐ About the dysregulation…

Yes — the horse may be dysregulated.
But confusion around the basic aids (go, stop, turn, yield) is one of the biggest causes of dysregulation in horses.

When the horse finally understands the rein aid, the nervous system settles.

Clear signals = calm horse.

If this kind of science-based training resonates with you, I have a range of online courses and free resources that dive deeper into these foundations and help riders create calm, reliable, ethical responses in their horses.

You can find them via the link in my Instagram bio or the About section of my page

13/12/2025

☕ Sunday Musings: What’s My Why?

Every now and then someone asks me a question that sticks.

Years ago, a big breeder in New Zealand looked me straight in the eye and said, “Why do you do all this? Why put so much of your spare time — with no personal gain — into the breeding industry?”

At the time, I didn’t have a neat, packaged answer. But lately, with everything going on in our little equestrian world — stallion owners refusing to issue service certificates, withholding DNA so foals can’t be registered, people prioritising personal benefit over the greater good — that question has been ringing in my ears again.

So here’s my why.

I do it because I love horses. Plain and simple.

I’ve owned breeding stallions for about 30 years now. And from very early on, I understood the importance of paperwork, of traceability, of honouring the lineage of the horses we produce. Good breeding isn’t just about the next foal crop — it’s about protecting the integrity of the horse in front of you.

It’s about recognising the breeders who pour their hearts into producing good horses.
It’s about giving every horse — every single one — the chance to have its pedigree recognised and its story told.

That’s why I sit at my computer until 1 a.m. on far too many nights, working as a volunteer for the breeding industry in New Zealand. Not because there’s anything in it for me personally. There isn’t. But because I genuinely believe in the New Zealand horse. I believe in the quality we produce. And I believe in what our industry could be if we all pulled in the same direction.

And honestly? It breaks my heart how many people don’t know the full pedigree of their horse. How many stallion owners don’t know the full pedigree of their own stallion. How many don’t encourage proper registration — and then turn around and complain about not being recognised.

We have too many cowboys. Too many shortcuts. Too many people forgetting that breeding is not just making foals — it’s stewarding a legacy.

My why is — and always has been — the horse.
Their welfare. Their history. Their future.
And the belief that they deserve better than indifference, ego, or convenience.

So yes, I’ll keep doing the late nights.
I’ll keep pushing for correct paperwork, transparency, and accountability.
I’ll keep fighting for recognition for breeders and horses alike.

Because someone has to.
And because I care deeply — stubbornly — about getting it right.

13/12/2025

The rein-pulling video I posted last week absolutely exploded — hundreds of comments, and a huge range of opinions. I loved reading the discussions.

Here’s what I see when I look at this behaviour, through the lens of learning theory and equitation science:

👉 This isn’t about the bit.
This horse will do the exact same thing in:
• a snaffle
• single or double jointed bit
• a bit set high or low
• and even a rope halter

So the equipment isn’t the cause.

👉 This isn’t “naughty”, resistant, or disobedient.
It’s simply confusion about the rein aid.

The horse has never learned that rein = slow down.
Instead, it has developed a whole range of opposing responses:
• leaning
• snatching forward
• opening the mouth
• pushing through the contact
• taking the hand away instead of slowing its legs

Now here’s the part that really matters ⬇️

✨ This behaviour is almost always created by the rider — without meaning to.

Horses learn to pull when we accidentally teach them to by:

✔ Letting go too early = pulling works
✔ Holding on too long = pulling works
✔ Rewarding only the feet instead of releasing when the neck softens = pulling works

So the horse thinks:
“If I pull… the pressure goes away. Therefore, pulling is the correct answer.”

Horses don’t do anything without a reason.
They do what has been reinforced (unless pain or discomfort is the issue)

Many people commented that the horse looked stressed or dysregulated — and that can be true — but here’s something most riders don’t realise:

A huge cause of dysregulation in horses is confusion.
When a horse doesn’t understand the basic signals (go, stop, turn, yield), it has to guess, and guessing leads to conflict behaviours.

That is what you're seeing here.

In two days time I’ll post Part 2, where I’ll explain exactly how to FIX this behaviour using a clear, science-based approach that makes sense to the horse.

And trust me — it’s a lot simpler than most people think.

Stay tuned.

11/12/2025

Every horse needs some collection - even at the lowest levels.

You might be riding a Level 1/Prelim test where collected trot or collected canter aren’t required…
but to be balanced, your horse still needs a degree of collection.

Collection isn’t an “on/off switch.”
It’s a sliding scale - the collection you need at Level 1 is different from the collection required at Level 3, and worlds apart from Grand Prix.

But one thing stays the same:
➡️ A totally uncollected horse will be on the forehand, out of balance, and harder to ride.

Even the smallest amount of “gathering up” helps your horse carry itself better, stay lighter, and move more freely.

(Link in bio for free training content + courses.)

09/12/2025

✨ Curious to hear your thoughts on this one… ✨
In this video you’ll see a horse at halt who just won’t stop:
🔸 pulling
🔸 leaning
🔸 opening the mouth
🔸 pulling the rein forward and away

Nothing dramatic — just a constant fight on the rein.

👇 What do YOU think is going on here?
And more importantly…
👉 How would you train or fix this?

I always love hearing different perspectives, so drop your ideas in the comments.
I’ll share my own thoughts tomorrow. 👇🐴

08/12/2025

🌟 What is collection? 🌟
If you’ve ever wondered how to explain collection to a new rider — or even a non-rider — here’s my favourite way to describe it:

Collection is literally the gathering up of things.
Just like collecting Lego bricks into a smaller pile, with the horse we are collecting energy — bringing that energy together, organising it, and channelling it into a more balanced, powerful, and rideable posture.

It’s not about “holding the horse together” with reins and legs.
It’s about the horse learning to carry more of its own energy in a shorter, more elevated frame, ready to go forward, turn, or lift with ease.

If you’d like more free educational content, you’ll find loads of resources on my website.
🔗 Instagram: link in bio
🔗 Facebook: link in the about section
🔗 Website: go.hartstoneequestrian.com

07/12/2025

✨ If You’ve Ever Dreamt of a Sport Where… ✨

If you’ve ever dreamt of a sport where horses of all ages, heights, types, and abilities can compete together as one…

Where riders of every age and every stage of their journey — from tiny beginners to seasoned veterans — come together in the same arena…

Where judges are encouraging, where they walk the course with you, help you understand the obstacles, offer guidance between rounds, and genuinely want you to score better…

Where your fellow competitors cheer you on, celebrate your efforts, and want you to succeed as much as they do…

Where the atmosphere is warm, supportive, and full of laughter…

Where entry fees are low, and there’s no need for your horse to be registered, graded, carded, or classified…

Where you can ride bitless, in English, Western, or Portuguese tack…
Where nosebands are checked, rough riding is never tolerated, and kindness is rewarded…

Where ethical training sits at the very heart of the sport…

Then Working Equitation might just be exactly the sport you’ve been looking for.

If you love training,
If you love competing,
If you love simply spending time with your horse…
Or if you have international aspirations —
Working Equitation embraces all of it.

This weekend I had the privilege of judging at Foxton, and what a joy it was.

We had:

🐣 Our youngest competitor — a five-year-old on a nine-hand Appaloosa pony
🌟 Our eldest competitor — a 79-year-old rider on her beautiful big coloured horse
🐴 Advanced dressage horses showing off flying changes and pirouettes
🐎 Stock horses, station-breds, and first-timers bravely having a go
🎨 Horses in English, Western, and Portuguese gear
🔆 Tiny ponies, huge horses, spotted, coloured, yellow, hooded, bitless — all welcome
👒 Riders picnicking, supporting each other, staying for prize-giving, and creating the most uplifting atmosphere

Working Equitation is tough — scoring well requires real training, real accuracy, and real partnership. But it is also one of the most inclusive, ethical, and joyful sports you will ever find.

If you’ve dreamed of a sport like this…

You’ve just found it.

06/12/2025

Sunday Musings

I’ve been thinking this week about the coaches who shape us — not just through what they teach, but through what they don’t say.

One of my earliest coaches in the dressage world was known for telling everyone they were amazing. Everyone was “on their way to Grand Prix.” Everyone was “nearly there.” It was almost a trademark style: warm, encouraging, endlessly positive.

Except… they never said any of that to me.

Not once.

They never told me I was talented.
Never said my horse had potential.
Never suggested we’d make it to the top levels.

For a long time, I wasn’t sure why. I still don’t know whether they genuinely believed everyone else would make it, whether it was simply their way of being friendly, or whether it was just good business to keep people inspired.

But here’s the interesting thing:
that absence of praise gave me hunger.

It fueled something in me.
It made me work harder.
It made me determined to prove — perhaps mostly to myself — that I could do it.

And with that very horse, the one they never rated, we went on to win multiple national titles. We competed at PSG / Inter 1. We had one season where we won every major title on offer bar one. Not because someone told us we could — but because we kept going anyway.

That experience shaped me far more than I realised at the time.

It’s why, as a coach now, I never promise people that their big dreams will definitely come true. Not because I want to dampen anything, but because I’d rather build things one honest step at a time, based on what’s right in front of us — the horse, the skillset, the understanding, the next correct lesson.

I’ve never liked the feeling of “paid praise.”
It doesn’t sit well with me.
It never has.

When someone comes to me for coaching, I want to teach them something real.
To unpick something that’s been tricky.
To help both horse and human understand each other more clearly.
To make things safer, simpler, kinder.

That’s the part of coaching I love — the problem-solving, the clarity, the breakthroughs.
Not empty encouragement.
Not flattery.
Not saying what keeps people coming back.

Just honest teaching, grounded in what the horse shows us and what the rider is ready for.

So maybe today’s musing is simply this:

✨ Encouragement is valuable — when it’s real.
✨ Dreams matter — when they grow from solid ground.
✨ And sometimes the greatest motivation doesn’t come from being told you’re brilliant…
but from quietly proving to yourself that you are capable.

05/12/2025

Why doesn’t your horse listen to your seat in the half-halt?

Because of classical conditioning.

According to Pavlov’s Theory of Association, a horse can only connect an aid with a behaviour if the whole sequence is completed within three seconds.

So if you sit up, close your core, apply your half-halt body aid…
but your horse takes longer than three seconds to:

• shorten
• lift the poll
• rebalance
• keep the energy

…then your seat aid cannot become the predictor of the final behaviour.

It’s not disobedience.
It’s not stubbornness.
It’s timing.

Your horse simply hasn’t learned the ingredients of the half-halt clearly enough — yet.

This is why we must train the mechanics of the half-halt first, with precision, clarity, and correct timing…
before we expect the horse to respond instantly to our seat alone.

This is exactly what I teach inside The Half-Halt Blueprint — and there’s free content on my website to help you get started.

➡️ Instagram: Link in bio
➡️ Facebook: Link is in the ABOUT section

03/12/2025

✨ A Very Special Privilege This Week!!✨

I had the opportunity to ride and check the training of a very special young horse — a Kaimanawa c**t named Muybridge.

Muybridge began his life as a wild brumby in Zone 15 (Home Valley) of the Kaimanawa Ranges in the Central North Island of New Zealand.
He’s by Slawik out of Wojtek, and was drafted to his owner Jo Thomson as part of Kelly Wilson’s 4-week Wild Kaimanawa Workshop.

This week he joined me at my Reset Camp to work on a few key areas:
• improving his steering
• developing acceptance of the contact (he’d developed the tricky habit of putting his tongue over any bit)
• and building confidence with being washed — something he wasn’t overly thrilled about!

Over the three days he came on in absolute leaps and bounds (not literally!!), showing just how intelligent and willing these Kaimanawas can be when training is clear, fair, and rooted in evidence-based principles.

He is a real credit to his owner Jo Thomson who has done all the groundwork and early training on him. Her thoughtful, patient approach has given him the foundations to shine.

And of course… what a brilliant name. He’s named after Eadweard Muybridge, the pioneering photographer whose motion studies revolutionised our understanding of how horses move. A fitting name for a young horse now learning balance, straightness, clarity — and the joy of partnership.

It was a privilege to ride him today and be part of his journey.
🖤🐴✨

02/12/2025

If you have ever been told to NEVER cross your rein over the neck - I'm here to tell you that it is actually a simple and very useful training technique in SOME circumstances....

To learn more - check out my START STOP STEER course - link i s in my bio!

01/12/2025

So many riders have been told that a half-halt is “just a moment in time.”
A tiny split second.
Sit up… close your armpits… and magically the horse should rebalance.

But here’s the truth:

👉 That ONLY works on a trained horse
— one that has already learned how to shorten, straighten, lift the poll, rebalance the shoulders, and keep energy all at the same time.

That “moment in time” riders talk about?
That’s the finished product — the last layer of the Half-Halt Hamburger.

For most horses, a half-halt takes MUCH more than a moment.
It takes:

• time
• clarity
• shaping
• consistent practice
• and a horse who understands each ingredient of the half-halt separately

One of the biggest problems riders face is this:

They do a tiny “moment”, nothing changes,
…and they think their horse “doesn’t do half-halts.”
Or worse — that half-halts are a myth.

They’re not.
They just need to be pulled apart, taught step-by-step, and put back together in a way the horse understands.

This is exactly what I teach inside
💙🐴 The Half-Halt Blueprint
— my step-by-step ONLINE course that makes the half-halt clear, logical, feelable, and teachable to any horse.

➡️ Instagram: Link in bio
➡️ Facebook: Link is in the ABOUT section on my Equine Catalyst page

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