Squirrel's Tale

02/06/2026

I’m meant to do a 4 week trim here.
I’m trying to get VERY clear on how best to support the amazing stuff these hooves are already doing.

…it’s super easy to get in the way and take off what should have just been left alone…

29/05/2026

Something has caught their attention...

Ears turn.
Heads lift.
The field quietly reorganises itself around a point of shared curiosity — met not with unease, but with the particular calm of a herd that knows it is safe — one by one, each doing their own version of 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

Watch to the end to discover what it was!

27/05/2026

Horse
Presence
Power
💙

22/05/2026

Life wisdom from the herd 🐴🦄

08/05/2026

Just a quiet morning as the herd goes out 🌾

23/04/2026

Little fluffy spheres with a beak and legs 🥰 and a proud Mama

19/04/2026

💛

Some things feel like shifting sand here at the moment…

One of my older horses is nearing the end of his life and I’ve been spending time with him… tending, watching, honouring what is changing.

There’s a heaviness to it…
a sense of not quite being able to hold onto anything steady.

And at the same time…
a deep gratitude for the years, the bond, the lessons.

It’s a kind of in-between space…
where each next step needs to be felt into carefully to serve the highest good of all.

Alongside this, another horse has a wound that is tricky to treat because he’s a sensitive guy with a history of trust issues
and is needing slow, patient work.

I’m aware too of how these moments stretch the capacity of the herd… and of me.
And what it takes to hold space well, with the steadiness and presence this work asks for.

And so, honouring that…

I’m pressing pause on our equine facilitated sessions for a few weeks to give space for care, for tending, and for things to settle.

This work has always been about more than sessions.

It’s about presence, care and meeting what is here, as it is 🌿.

11/04/2026

Classical riding inspired by the teachings of Philippe Karl.🇫🇷
Join us for an inspiring 3-day clinic with Veronika Bühn
📅 5–7 June 2026 | 📍 Pretoria East
Rider & spectator spots available!

09/04/2026

THE BASICS ARE NOT ACTUALLY BASIC.
A lot of people get this wrong right out of the gate.
They hear “the basics” and think beginner stuff. Entry level. The simple things you do before you move on to the real training.
That’s not what the basics are.
The basics are the real training.
I was at a clinic not long ago, and a rider came up to me during the lunch break. Nice person. Been riding a long time. She said, “I feel like I’ve outgrown the basics. I need something more advanced.”
Her horse was standing there behind her, crowding her space, checked out, not with her at all.
I didn’t point that out.
I just asked her to show me her lateral flexion.
It wasn’t really there.
The horse brought his nose around, but his feet stayed stuck and his mind was somewhere else. That’s not lateral flexion. That’s a head movement.
And that’s the problem.
A lot of people think they’ve got the basics because they can get a shape, a motion, or a maneuver.
But the basics were never about making the body do something.
They’re about getting the horse soft in his mind, clear in his feet, and responsive to the lightest suggestion.
You do not outgrow that.
You just keep finding a deeper level of it.
Every advanced maneuver, every refined cue, every soft, handy, broke horse you’ve ever admired came from the same place: solid fundamentals.
Lateral flexion. Moving the hindquarters. Moving the shoulders. Soft feet. Responsiveness. Attention. Feel.
That’s not beginner material.
That’s the whole deal.
I’ve been around some of the best horsemen in the world, and what separates them is not that they left the basics behind.
It’s that they went so deep into them that most people can’t even see what they’re doing.
The signal gets smaller.
The response gets better.
Everything gets quieter.
That’s what refinement is.
Not more tricks.
Not more steps.
Not more advanced exercises.
Just better basics.
So when your horse has a hole—and I don’t care whether it’s spooking, buddy sourness, trailer loading, bucking, brace, dullness, or anything else—I’d bet good money the answer is hiding somewhere in a basic piece that got skipped, rushed, or never really got solid.
Not because the basics are simple.
Because they matter that much.
So here’s what I’d do this week.
Go back to something foundational.
Slow it down.
Don’t run through it like a checklist.
Stay there longer than feels necessary.
Get it to where your horse is not just doing it, but understanding it. Where he’s sure. Where the feet are right. Where the mind is with you. Where the response is honest.
Then build from there.
It might feel like you’re going backwards.
You’re not.
That’s usually the exact spot where things start getting good.
The little things are the big things.
And the farther you go with horses, the more true that gets.

08/04/2026

Once again enjoying watching the herd come up from the camps
…and then Albion brought some pizazz from way behind 🧨 and while I’m gazing all starry eyed at my beloved horses cantering, I just about miss that Aurora is about to run right over me 🤯
…hence the video ended in a mad flapping of my phone to keep her off me!! 🤣😬

We will attend to filling the 📋 gap: running over a human is NOT an option at this home. Pick any other direction.