Confident Rider – Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians

Since the Western States Horse Expo, Barb and I have spent a lot of time chatting on zoom about life, horses, and the universe. Inevitably, there are many crossovers in our work; patterns and experiences we come across that inform how we approach things, beliefs and understandings that we witness either support people moving forward, […] The post On Being Enough with Barbra Schulte appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Over the course of 3 days at the Western States Horse Expo, I presented a series of one-hour presentations that spanned everything from returning from injury, to processing big emotions, to looking at the way the nervous system affects our biomechanics. My designated area was the Mind, Body, Spirit tent, one of 3 presentation […] The post Of Mind, Body & Spirit: On Conversations Outside of the Expected in the Horse Expo & Training World appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Lovely people, it felt a little strange to just roll into the next episode of the podcast without mentioning what I’d been up to the last little while. I considered sitting on my lonesome and giving you a debrief (**yawn**) and then had the most excellent idea to contact some of my people and see […] The post Expo Reflections: On Teaching & Learning with Barbra Schulte appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

The post A Horsing Practice Is Different To A Routine & Different Again To A Schedule appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

A large number of people who come to me for help with their riding motivation, lack of time or feelings of self-doubt or lack of confidence are looking for a prescription or a formula that they can apply that will fix their lack of ‘not riding’. Some arrive with the belief that the accountability provided […] The post A Horsing Practice Is Different To A Routine & Different Again To A Schedule appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Modern understandings of anatomy and physiology have allowed us to know our body and mind in ways that have not understood previously. Whilst this is a blessing that sees both horses and humans able to function in a way that maximizes health and wellness, we have to take care that the same information that seeks […] The post Allowing Yourself To Be Moved: On Creative Practices as Portals for Transformation & Wellbeing appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

I found out recently that the phrase “heart on your sleeve” is, in part, from Shakespeare’s play Othello— we have just conveniently lopped off the other half of the sentence which goes on to say “…for the daws to peck at”. These words are uttered by one of the most villainous characters in the play, […] The post Question: What are the ways to feel safe within vulnerability? appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

We had an interesting discussion in Stable Hours this morning, which is a weekly live Q&A in JoyRide. It started with discussions about emotional relationships to different parts of the body and then meandered into a conversation on beliefs, in all their many, varied forms. When I first got into the field of mindset and […] The post Beliefs As The Willingness To Be Different appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Back when I was a teenager- or at least on the cusp of teenage-ness, probably around 13 years old, my parents bought me a horse who was called Minnie. At that stage of my life, Minnie was beyond anything I had allowed myself to dream. She was beautiful, the colour of red burnished treacle. I […] The post Why You Need To Take Yourself Seriously. You Know, Make A Big Deal Of Yourself. appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Lovely people, I’m back– Both on the airways with the Confident Rider Podcast more generally speaking, and with two of my favourites, the incredible Tania Kindersley and Kathy Price. If you are familiar with our catch ups from the past you will know that the usual format runs to something like the following:  What do […] The post On Time, Space & Bigger Questions with Tania Kindersley & Kathy Price appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

I often joke about wanting to be Arwen from Lord of The Rings. I use the word ‘joke’ loosely, because potentially, if given the option, I would seriously consider it. I talk about her to my horse, Merc, so much that he’s really started to buy into the whole situation also, despite being slightly concerned […] The post On The Importance Of Imagination, Archetypes & The Mythic appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

There’s a small mound that lies a few meters down from our top paddock that’s one of my favourite places to sit. Maybe you would like to sit there with me too. It’s covered by long grass which makes it a little hard to see, but if you go through the gate and head left […] The post On Glimmers, Shards & Small Happinesses appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

The word ‘mother’ covers many situations and complexities. We can be a mother to biological children. We can be mother to children not born to us. We can mother, never having given birth nor lived with a child. We can mother in the face of loss, or within a framework that was very different to […] The post On Mothering, Matrescence & Horses appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

On navigating difficult conversations or, not wasting energy on attempting to change the mind of people who aren’t ready for it or open to it. Today, is a short one. I just wanted to flag that up to prove I’m capable of a writing brief post (which, ironically, is getting longer by the second). Ready? […] The post On Navigating Difficult Conversations appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

On balance, Or allowing the movement to organize the posture. Last night, Giles and I were chattering in the kitchen talking about nothing in particular when I asked him how the waves had been that day. Giles is a keen surfer and while I understand very little about swell or how the wind direction affects […] The post On Balance, Or Allowing Movement To Organise The Posture appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

On holding fast, Or when life gets life-ey and you’re not sure you’re down with it. I’ve had some questions, some swirling of feelings expressed in my membership recently that spoke to the life-ey-ness of life that we are all familiar with. How it can sometimes be a lot to hold. That there are disappointments, […] The post On Holding Fast, When Life Gets Lifey & You’re Not Sure You’re Down With It appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

6 things to think about when you are short on time but still want to work with your horse. 1. Choose one thing If you only have a limited time to work, choose something which is possible and achievable to work with. The number of times that I have started playing with my horse, only […] The post 6 Things To Think About When You’re Short On Time (But Still Want To Work Your Horse) appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

On pressure or, How tightly do you hold things when only lightness is needed? I was sitting on some bizarre exercise machine whose official title I do not know to name, when the words were said to me that changed my relationship to my body and my horse from that moment forward. ‘You don’t have […] The post On Pressure or, How Tightly Do You Hold Things When Only Lightness Is Needed? appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

Training while holding a tea-light candle, otherwise known as: Going against the grain. I truly don’t think I would ever have started my own business if I didn’t live in the location that I do. Isolation, combined with a healthy appetite for learning, the willingness to figure things out and take consistent action, and never […] The post Training While Holding A Tea Light Candle (Or Going Against The Grain) appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]

In the early hours of Sunday, the clocks changed. Time- the ability for someone to make a decision about it, the ability to fiddle with it- is a fascination to me. That I can be sleeping, my horses are grazing, the moths flying around, navigating by the moon. None of us notice a difference in […] The post Time: Did You Feel The Clocks Go Back? appeared first on Confident Rider - Mindset, Movement & Nervous System Regulation for Equestrians.... [Read more]