The NOËLLE FLOYD Podcast

Every rider has said it. He's being stubborn. She's testing me. He knows better. Here's the harder, truer thing underneath: the horse isn't being anything. The horse is a nervous system, doing the one job every nervous system has — trying to stay safe. Dr. Stephen Peters spends this conversation taking me under the behavior, into the brain that produced it. He's a neuropsychologist, co-author of E...

Everybody wants the clear round. The win. The photo at the top of the podium. Here's the part the sport keeps offstage — the doubt, the grief, the voice at the in-gate asking if you even belong here. Joe Stockdale knows that voice well. He calls it imposter syndrome, and he feels it at the very top of show jumping, which is its own kind of honesty for a 26-year-old already riding at five-star. In...

There is a question almost every one of us carries to the barn and never says out loud. Not how do I get him to do this. But: does he actually trust me — or is he just complying? This is Part 2 of my conversation with Elsa Sinclair, and it's the half where I kept having to stop and close my eyes. Because Elsa reads horse behavior in a way most of us were never taught to. She breaks leadership into...

Most of us learned to ride before we ever learned to ask. We learned the halter, the rope, the pressure, the release. We learned how to make a horse do the thing. And somewhere in there, quietly, a lot of us started to feel that something about it wasn't quite right — and didn't have the words, or the permission, to say so. Elsa Sinclair had that feeling at twelve. She's the creator of Freedom Bas...

Right now, somewhere in the horse world, a horse is shedding a virus it's carried since it was a foal. Its owner doesn't know. The horse looks fine. That's EHV-1. Equine herpesvirus. And Dr. Bruno Karam, equine internal medicine specialist, wants you to understand it before the next outbreak — not during it. We recorded this conversation in the wake of last year's EHV-1 cluster at the National Fin...

Have you ever moved through a community — any community — feeling like you were watching from just outside the circle? Like everyone else had found their tribe and you were still looking? That feeling of not belonging might not be something to fix. It might be exactly what makes you exceptional. In this first solo episode of the Noelle Floyd Podcast, Noëlle Floyd makes the case that not belonging...

It is easy to get wrapped up in the competitive environment when prize money and recognition wait at the gate. Our natural human instinct causes us to objectify horses as high-speed pieces of equipment or treat them like sentimental human pets, yet both approaches cause immense confusion for the animal. When challenges arise, a rider focuses strictly on overriding the obstacle in front of them, wh...

We have all walked into the barn carrying the weight of a chaotic day, a mile-long to-do list, and a rider ego that thinks jumping twenty fences is the only way to improve. We get clumsy because we try hard to chase points, ribbons, and instant gratification. We end up losing the horse.  Three-time Olympian Daniel Bluman helps us trade that frantic energy for a higher standard. Daniel represents I...

What if everything you've been calling a behavior problem is actually your horse asking for help? On this episode of Dear Horse World, Noëlle sits down with Jim Masterson — founder of the Masterson Method and a leading voice in equine bodywork for horse owners — to explore exactly that question. Jim has worked hands-on with an estimated 700 horses a year at peak, trained over 10,000 students world...

Liberty trainer and Braveheart Beasts founder Kaleigh Marie shares how training oxen, mammoth donkeys, and mules before ever seriously working with horses shaped everything she knows about connection, trust, and the nervous system. Kaleigh Marie is a liberty trainer and performer based in the Northeast who has spent the last decade developing a nervous system-informed approach to horsemanship root...

In this episode of Dear Horse World , equine veterinarian Dr. Kent Tooman breaks down the truth about equine metabolic syndrome , insulin resistance , and why more horses than ever are at risk of laminitis . Dr. Kent Tooman is an experienced equine veterinarian with over 30 years in practice, specializing in performance horses and metabolic health. In this episode you will learn: What's really hap...

Champion cutting horse trainer Barbra Schulte joins the Dear Horse World Podcast after teaching host Noelle her first cut in Weatherford, Texas, explaining her teaching approach through mechanics and nervous system regulation. They discuss staying in an optimal state between under-arousal and fight-or-flight, slowing down when things speed up, and building skills through fundamentals, clear sequen...

NF+ is proud to present our exclusive new Masterclass, The Millar Method Complete Training System, where Ian & Amy Millar introduce their system for building winning horses. Olympian Ian Millar returns on NF+ with Amy Millar to introduce the first of 16 episodes of the Millar Method, a consistent, repeatable system designed to develop horses that stay sound, confident, and ready to win. They share...

Peter Charles on Starting from Nothing, Building Champions, and Giving Horses Time Peter Charles joins the Dear Horse World Podcast for his first podcast and recounts leaving Liverpool at 15 after his parents died, starting as a groom in Ireland, getting limited early riding opportunities, and working up through top European yards before winning the Brussels World Cup at 24 on the 7-year-old April...

Horse Separation anxiety is something most horse owners will face at some point. Sometimes it shows up as calling when a buddy leaves.   Sometimes it's a refusal to leave the barn.   Sometimes it escalates into behavior that feels dangerous, overwhelming, or emotionally exhausting. And despite how common it is, it can feel isolating — especially when even experienced professionals don't always hav...

What does it really mean to commit to something that scares you? In this episode, we sit down with Filipe Masetti Leite, a journalist, filmmaker, and long rider who traveled more than 27,000 kilometers on horseback from the Canadian Rockies to the southern tip of Argentina. Over eight years, he crossed 12 countries, navigated remote terrain, built partnerships with 11 horses, and lived at the spee...

Not every rider has access to the perfectly bred, professionally produced sport horse. Many are figuring things out with the horse they could afford, learning as they go, and trying to build a partnership along the way. In this episode, 5★ event rider and trainer Elisa Wallace shares what she has learned from producing horses many others overlook, including Mustangs and off-the-track Thoroughbreds...

What if the story of the American cowboy is bigger than the version most of us were handed? In this episode, Noëlle sits down with Drake LeBlanc, a Creole cowboy from Louisiana, filmmaker, and cultural preservationist. The conversation that unfolds is about history, identity, and what it really means to live a culture rather than wear it. Drake was raised in a community where horses are not a hobb...

There is a whole generation of insanely talented young riders who feel like the system is not built for them. You want the top sport, you want the big moments in show jumping, you want to know what it actually takes to get there, yet the pathway feels gated and the access feels invisible. That is exactly why this conversation with Laura Kraut hits so hard. Laura is a legit icon in show jumping and...

Some horses appear confident while others seem reactive or unsure, but what if confidence is more nuanced than that? In this special episode from our NF+ Masterclass, The Confidence Advantage , Tik breaks down the five distinct areas where a horse can gain or lose confidence and how each one functions like a cup that can be filled from one to ten. In this episode, you will learn: Around Other Hors...

You might know this feeling all too well. You want to trust your feel, keep growing, and do right by your horse, yet something in the culture makes you hesitate. Questioning a method or following your instincts can feel dangerous, like one honest moment could cost you belonging, spark backlash, or even put a target on your back. In this episode, Sharon Madere, an equine behavior consultant and cul...

In Part 2 with Dr. Dennis Brooks, we step fully into the world as horses see it. This episode unpacks the five emerging immune mediated eye diseases he is treating around the world, why one of them is more alarming than moon blindness, and how tiny changes in the cornea can trigger sudden behavior shifts. We explore how horses process color, motion, and depth, why their optic nerves move informati...

When you meet Dr. Dennis Brooks, you understand why horse people around the world talk about him with a kind of reverence. He is one of the most influential equine ophthalmologists of our time, the OG of horse eye care, yet what makes him unforgettable is not just the medicine. It is the heart behind it. In this episode, Dennis takes us inside the world of horse eyes with the clarity of a teacher,...

Part 2 continues the conversation by moving into the moments that test riders and trainers alike. This episode focuses on what happens when something doesn't feel right, and the courage it can take to pause, question, or choose a different path in the middle of a lesson. Karen Rohlf is an FEI Grand Prix dressage rider, USDF Gold Medalist, internationally respected clinician, and the founder of Dre...

Have you ever questioned whether the way you've been taught to train truly fits the horse in front of you? Most people don't. And when they do, they're often reprimanded for it, which is usually enough to make them stop asking. We repeat the same exercises and routines because that's how we were taught, rarely questioning the system even when our horses do. This conversation challenges that patter...