Heart Centered Horsemanship

Heart Centered Horsemanship It incorporates the practice of yoga to help people use body, mind and breath in a mindful and intentional manner.

Heart Centered Horsemanship offers online learning, consultation, clinics, classes, and lessons that teach people skills for creating cooperative relationships through mindfulness, authentic connection, consent, and understanding the language of horses Heart Centered Horsemanship is rooted in the intention to serve horses through supporting owners, horsemanship students and riders in creating part

nerships that are enjoyable and mutually beneficial. Over 25 years of experience in training, teaching lessons, starting young horses, providing equine-assisted learning and therapeutic services, equine rehabilitation and working with rescues has given me experience that can benefit anyone seeking a safe and happy partnership with their horse. I can help you:
-Feel safe with your horse through setting clear and effective boundaries
-Listen to the horse and gain trust
-Become a calming and grounding influence
-Release tension in the horse and facilitate relaxation and connection
-Guide and move your horse without pressure
-Teach your horse to stay light and soft in the bridle
-Ride in a way that develops the horse's core strength to prevent damage from riding

Heart Centered Horsemanship is an holistic approach that teaches people the skills needed to build a meaningful and joyful relationship with their horse. It includes techniques from Masterson Method, Feldenkrais, myofascial release, massage, and other equine bodywork modalities to help release tension and relax the horse. Groundwork is based on moving the horse with the least amount of pressure until all movements can be done at-liberty. In-hand training with the bridle and riding are based on classical dressage to help the horse build core strength and carry a rider without damage to the body. Services offered include training and support for horse owners, riding and horsemanship lessons for all ages with school horses, clinics, and "yoga and horses" classes, and equine assisted learning and therapeutic services.

06/05/2026

Ned is a mustang that was rounded up on the Nevada plains at a young age and adopted by my friend . Maybe it was the traumatic experience of the roundup, maybe it was the abrupt separation from everyone he knew, maybe it was something else entirely.... but Ned tends to be anxious and reactive despite excellent care from kind and compassionate humans.
I met Ned on my recent trip to California and shared with Stacey some of the tools that have helped me shift behaviors in anxious horses. By working with the nervous system we can encourage a calm and relaxed state while also developing a deeper connection.
I absolutely love this update she sent me. Rather than convincing the horse that we should be trusted, we can create a space that feels safe through our presence, touch, and congruence.
If you want to learn more about this approach, I invite you to try Mindful Horsemanship online.... all the details can be found on my website!

06/02/2026

This is your friendly reminder to play, have fun, and tap into that part of yourself that is creative and joyful. Sometimes the world gets heavy and we forget how important it is to keep the playful part of ourselves thriving.

Horses don’t understand the serious business of competition, but they can absolutely enjoy playful interactions with their people.

Whether with horses or life in general, it’s a choice. Take care of business, but don’t forget to play. It’s more important than you might think.

06/02/2026

Co-creation versus dominance... which is more beautiful in your eyes?

06/01/2026

Sidekick was a star at the Happy Roots and Down Home North Carolina cookout at the West End Community Garden yesterday. Taking him along opened up opportunities to talk about things like the importance of a sense of safety and the power of community, setting and respecting boundaries, co-regulation, and attention to body language. He’s still getting comfortable with touch and had the choice to move away at any time. We talked about earning consent rather than forcing. We observed grounding vs. activating energy. What a fun day, looking forward to many more!

Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue

05/29/2026

*edit: I want to note that I am not at all worried that Sidekick will bite anyone 😊 I do remind him in the video not to nip, as that is how horses sometimes play with each other. When Sidekick arrived he would get defensive and threatened to bite around food or when I tried to do something he wanted to avoid. I have helped him shift his behavior, and not by punishing him for biting. That would only escalate his anxiety. Instead I set clear and effective boundaries while encouraging him to soften and relax. These are the skills that Sidekick will be teaching people, but nobody will be put in a situation where he might become defensive. They will learn to set boundaries in a highly supervised setting. They will also learn how setting boundaries and noticing non-verbal cues can improve relationships. This is just one example of the beauty of equine assisted learning.*

My buddy Sidekick is going to be making his first public debut this weekend at the West End Community Garden in Salisbury! We will be joining Happy Roots and our local chapter of Down Home North Carolina for a cookout, gardening day, and opportunity to connect with the community to build supportive and cooperative networks.

I have a feeling Sidekick is going to be very good at herd building. Just filling him in on the rules... No biting! 😂

If you're local and want to stop by, you're welcome to join us between 4-6 pm, 1110 Brenner Avenue, Salisbury NC.

05/25/2026

Happy Memorial Day everyone! As we remember those who have given their lives to protect our rights as United States citizens, I'm thinking about how this relates to a frequent theme in sessions with horses. Holding a safe space isn't just about being calm and peaceful, sometimes it requires firm, assertive, and effective boundaries.

Honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice means continuing to stand firm to protect the freedoms and rights they defended. May we continue to uphold a democracy based on a constitutional system established by the people, in which the government is intended to hold a safe space in which we can thrive.

Setting boundaries is necessary to protect peace. Grounded strength and assertive communication means we don't get pushed around, but that's very different than control, dominance and power-over. Understanding the nuance isn't just important with horses...

05/24/2026

When I introduce people to Mindful Horsemanship, the most challenging part can be letting go of old habits that we were taught years ago.

I had a wonderful time teaching a group in California recently, and I appreciate my friend Stacey Landfield for making it happen. Stacey is one of the most passionate animal rights activites I've ever met, and I finally had the opportunity to meet her horses in person and show her ways to help them become calmer, softer, and more confident. You'll never find someone who cares more about the feelings of animals, and she embraced the ideas I presented, yet it can still be a challenge to implement them.

Mindfulness takes practice. It isn't something we make the horse do, it is a way we show up and respond in each moment. Communicating in the horse's language also isn't something we make the horse do, but something we master so that we can converse with them in a way they already understand.

I love helping people learn skills that work to improve relationship, connection, and safety through PARTNERSHIP and NOT DOMINANCE.

Want to learn more? Reach out to find out about online training and scheduling a clinic at your facility!!

Some seek safety in dominance and control, but this is an illusion of safety. Others realize true safety comes from mutu...
05/18/2026

Some seek safety in dominance and control, but this is an illusion of safety. Others realize true safety comes from mutual understanding and collaborative partnership. This isn’t just true with horses, but with all things.

The horse world is chock full of trainers and “experts” who will tell you that horses need to be controlled, that they need to submit, and that they need to know that you’re the boss. They might tell you to punish the horse if they express an opinion that you don’t like. While that approach might create a horse that does what it’s told, it doesn’t create a relationship that feels good or a truly safe horse.

When I met Scarlett, she was a fighter. She used her size against people and was skilled at avoiding what she was being asked to do. She would brace, or bolt, or sometimes stand on her hind legs to let you know how she felt about being made to do something.

While it was imperative to improve her behavior, I had no interest in shutting down her mega-sized personality, curiosity, playfulness, and desire to socialize. Rather than forcing her into submission, I sought to create a relationship in which the fighter had no reason to show up, instead I wanted to hold a space where her positive qualities could be fully expressed in a relationship that was good for both of us.

Whether we are considering how we treat horses, other people, other groups, and even the planet, it is worth examining our intention and mindset. Do you seek dominance and control, or do you seek to create a relationship that is mutually beneficial for both parties? If you were on the other side, which approach would you prefer?

05/13/2026

Collaboration isn’t the same thing as control. I am on a mission to help shift the mindset in the horse world, and hopefully beyond. True partnership doesn’t rely on force or pressure, but a relationship of mutual understanding and listening to each other. Horses are wonderful teachers of creating collaborative relationships, the question is… are we willing to learn??

Address

2445 Centenary Church Road
Mount Ulla, NC
28125

Website

https://heartcenteredhorsemanship.com/mindful-horsemanship-thursday-sessions, ht

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