The Willing Equine

In this episode I am joined by Alicia Harlov of The Humble Hoof, for a discussion about the relationship between hooves and behavior. Alicia Harlov is a full time hoof care provider on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and a member of Progressive Hoofcare Practitioners. She also creates The Humble Hoof podcast, where she interviews equine professionals about factors that affect hoof health. She lo...

In this episode I am joined by Julia Alexander and Bex Tasker for a discussion about grief and shame in horsemanship. We talk about perfectionism, getting "lost in our heads", allowing ourselves to be learners and to make mistakes, and so much more. It's a really important conversation that I hope you will take the time to listen to. This episode was recorded for TWE Academy in 2020, and we decide...

In this episode, I talk to a very special guest, Julia Alexander, and we have a wonderful conversation about Equine Assisted Therapy. We discuss some of the experiences we have had with Equine Assisted Therapy in the past, and how these past experiences have brought up thoughts and questions about the ethics and emotional state of the horses involved.  We also share our plans for what the fut...

It is inevitable that at some point in your horse's life they will experience a stressful, or even traumatic, situation, such as trailering to the vet or evacuating in the event of a natural disaster.  In this episode, I discuss several steps you can take to help your horse recover from traumatic events, as well as share some practical ways to prepare your horse (and yourself) to prevent the...

Have you ever been in a situation with your horse that you looked back on and regretted? We've all been there; none of us are perfect...including myself.  In this episode, I discuss a messy situation with Finn that lead to some unique learning opportunities. We can't change the past, but we can plan for the future and know better for next time! www.thewillingequine.com

2022 has arrived, and I have LOTS to share with you guys! So much so that I had to split this episode into two parts. In this episode, you will hear information about.... The TWE Academy, hear about some of my plans for 2022, and hear updates on each of the horses. Finn (Where did his mane and tail go?) Raven's (under-saddle and EPM) Cashmere (Is she here to stay?) River (Under-saddle and ??? Some...

2022 has arrived, and I have LOTS to share with you guys! So much so that I had to split this episode into two parts. In this episode, you will hear information about.... The TWE Academy, hear about some of my plans for 2022, and hear updates on each of the horses.   Finn (Where did his mane and tail go?)  Raven's (under-saddle and EPM) Cashmere (Is she here to stay?)  River (U...

Are you interested in turning your horse out more but worried for their safety? Do they run the fences, call, stress, and in general act in a panicked way when turned out? Maybe they even act like they would prefer to be in their stalls and don't like the pasture! This episode is JUST for you. I explain my process to helping introduce horses to more turnout or to full time pasture life in a safe a...

In this episode we talk to the amazing Denise Fenzi! All about the similarities in dog training and horse training, bridging the gap between training methodologies, bringing positive reinforcement into our interactions with human learners, keeping in mind all the parties involved (owner/caregiver, trainer, animal learner, and society), and so much more!  "Denise Fenzi (she/her) has titled dogs in...

Have you ever wondered how to safely introduce new horses to each other? Or integrate a new horse to an established herd? In this episode I share with you my process and thoughts on the matter! I've successfully introduced many horses to herds and to companions with minimal to no bickering, injuries, or scary moments. The goal is peaceful introductions with safety in mind! Even the most intense re...

"You don’t want to ignore the horse. Everything we do with this type of bodywork, we are paying attention to what the horse is saying. And so, you have to adjust what you are doing to what the horse is saying so that they’re as relaxed as possible - because it doesn’t work if they’re not relaxed." -🗣 Jim Masterson, Ep. 49, Listening to Your Horse with Jim Masterson @mastersonmethod In our 49th epi...

This is a two part series!  For our 48th episode on the podcast Brie Simpson of PATH Equestrian joins me to discuss "pure" positive reinforcement, LIMA (and the humane hierarchy) for human learners, damage control vs structured training, setting you and your horse up for success, transitioning from traditional training to positive reinforcement, and so much more! We hope you enjoy this episode and...

For our 47th episode on the podcast Brie Simpson of PATH Equestrian joins me to discuss "pure" positive reinforcement, LIMA (and the humane hierarchy) for human learners, damage control vs structured training, setting you and your horse up for success, transitioning from traditional training to positive reinforcement, and so much more! We hope you enjoy this episode and would love to hear if you h...

We cover two topics, of similar nature, in this episode! To begin with... all the things you can do with young horses BEFORE you ever get on to ride! This can really help take away the pressure to get to those first rides, and put you WELL ahead of the game when it is the right time! Second, we discuss preparing for shows from home. Especially during this recent season in pretty much everyone's li...

In this episode I share with you my experience in how horses that are trained with clicker training, focused on positive reinforcement, respond to negative reinforcement (or pressure & release) training. I also provide suggestions for boarding and other situations where you horse may be handled periodically by people trained traditionally, how to help horses understand traditional handling, and gi...

In this episode Steph K of @stephkequestrian shares with us her recipe for success in combining a thriving rescue/rehab program with a successful lesson program! We also discuss.. ✦ “Career training” for horses ✦ Personality/temperament changes in horses ✦ Rehoming rescue/R+ horses ✦ Instructor personality types and matching with the right students ✦ Personality/temperament matching of horses and...

This episode began with answering a listener's question about bonding with their horse, took a deep dive into "toxic relationships" in the middle somewhere, and ended with 5 (or was it 6?) steps towards improving your relationship with your horse. We also look at operationalizing "willingness", choice, trust, and more. Plus, there's a whole tangent nestled in there about how first impressions are...

I'm excited to share this wonderful conversation with Ryan Cartlidge of Animal Training Academy with you guys! In this episode we discuss...  ✦ What throwing spaghetti at the wall has to do with brave and resilient learning ✦ How our feedback towards other may directly impact their motivation to go out and train ✦ Flow charts and being a confident trainer ✦ Generalizing and trigger stacking ✦ And...

As promised, here is the episode talking about Pumpkin! This episode is all about my beautiful mare Pumpkin, what she has taught me, how she has challenged me, how she's transformed over the years, and so much more! We talk about: "Slow", "resistant", and "lazy" horses. The different ways fear can manifest in behavior. How to recognize learned helplessness/shut down/going internal behavior. What c...

WELCOME BACK listeners! Looking forward to season three and a fresh new year! As we go into 2021 I wanted to talk about starting off the new year in such a way that we can avoid burnout, "enjoy the ride", and not get so focused on checking off that to-do list that we forget about the joy that the process can bring! In this episode I take you through some of my thoughts on the subject, how this rel...

I've gone back and forth on whether to do this episode or not... annnnnddddd here we are. Be warned, this is a very emotional episode. This episode is dedicated to my late mare Tiger (she's the podcast cover photo), and all that she taught me. I explain some more about how I lost her, her history, why TWE is even here, and expand on a recent instagram post I did about love that comes with conditio...

It's not that common, horses not wanting to take food from a human, but it happens to varying degrees from time to time... So I think this is an important topic to address! What do you do when your horse doesn't want to take food from you, but you want to train with positive reinforcement? In this episode, we take a deeper look at the statement "my horse doesn't like food, or working for food" and...

Brought to you by popular request... An entire episode about riding with positive reinforcement and clicker training. In this episode I talk about what it looks like, why the stopping for food isn't a big deal, how you build up to more complex behaviors, I compare the process between R- and R+ training under saddle of teaching a young horse to carry a rider, there's a brief discussion about comple...

In this episode I take a broad topic or "idea" and apply it to many areas of horse training. We dive into what balance looks like, how we can achieve it, what areas it's important to prioritize it in, and so much more! ✦ www. TheWillingEquine.com✦ Instagram.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ YouTube.com/TheWillingEquine ✦ Facebook.com/TheWillingEquine ✦

I can't tell you how many times I've heard, and continue to hear, about horses that can't be turned out with other horses because they are too aggressive or.. because the other horses are too aggressive towards them. It's unfortunate that the individual horses are often blamed for this, or that it's considered a problem that has no solution many times, when really there is a LOT we can do to provi...