Unbridled Equestrian

19/09/2026

This is quite a useful table 🙂

I have shared our Rider Suitability table before and, while helpful, I still think it misses something important.

Especially when assessing whether a rider actually suits a particular showjumper or eventer.

Because there is a big difference between:

**“I have jumped 1.10m”**

and

**“I am a 1.10m rider.”**

Jumping one 1.10m fence does not make you a 1.10m rider. Neither does jumping that height in a grid or over the final fence in a Six Bar.

For me, your genuine jumping level is the height at which you can confidently and consistently ride a **whole competition course**.

Preferably on more than one horse.

# # # The capable rider checklist:

* Maintains their own balance and position, with a still lower leg and elastic contact.
* Can slow and rebalance a horse with their seat and body, rather than simply pulling.
* Naturally recognises and maintains rhythm, balance and line, adjusting speed when needed.
* Makes deliberate decisions about how to ride the course, rather than simply reacting.
* Can reliably “see” a stride and adjust when a distance is becoming long or short.
* Can collect a horse on the flat — not just ride one that automatically goes “on the bit”.
* Remains confident when a horse has its moments and understands how to minimise and ride through those issues.

And this is where suitability becomes complicated.

Someone may competently jump 1.10m on a genuine schoolmaster and struggle at 90cm on a young, sharp or less-established horse.

That does not mean they can’t jump 1.10m.

It means **rider level and horse difficulty are not the same thing.**

So I think we need to ask two questions:

**What level have you consistently competed at?**

and

**What type of horse can you ride at that level?**

That second answer tells me far more.

Because a capable rider is not defined by the biggest fence they have ever jumped.

**They are defined by how much of the ride they can reliably produce themselves.**

14/09/2026

Damn, this poor woman literally could have died 😳

01/09/2026

Put very simply: If your horse doesn’t have a top line, they don’t have the muscle to support a rider.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DhytkdoSH/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It’s shocking how often we show up for a saddle fitting appointment only to meet a horse who is in no condition to be ridden at all. Even scarier is how many riders simply do not realize that their horse currently lacks the foundational strength required to carry weight safely.

To be clear, this is never about pointing fingers or assigning blame. The owners who book these evaluations are doing so out of love and responsibility, eager to do right by their partner and ensure their tack is as comfortable as possible. But having to break the news that riding needs to pause is always a delicate and tough conversation.

More than anything, it highlights a critical gap in our industry, recognizing whether a horse can or cannot be ridden in their current physical state, ought to be a foundational skill within every owner’s toolkit, rather than a surprising revelation delivered by a saddle fitting professional.

We need to recognize that a horse’s back was never naturally “designed” to carry weight and that riding isn’t what builds a horse’s topline.

Asking an unconditioned horse to build postural strength while carrying the weight of a saddle and rider is the human equivalent of getting off the couch after months of inactivity, walking straight into a gym, and attempting heavy barbell squats.

You won't build healthy muscle, you will compensate, strain your body, and inevitably hurt yourself. Expecting a horse to "ride into fitness" creates that exact same cycle of strain and physical breakdown.

You have to build the bridge before you drive over it.

A horse’s inability to carry a rider comfortably is rarely a simple fix, because a weak topline is usually a symptom of a larger, systemic picture:

👉Posture and Pain: If a horse is experiencing underlying discomfort, whether from joint soreness, dental issues, or soft tissue tightness, they will hollow their back and brace to protect themselves, making healthy muscle development impossible without manual bodywork.

👉Hoof Balance: Improper hoof angles disrupt the entire kinetic chain, altering how the horse places their feet, affecting posture and movement.

👉Nutrition and Metabolism: Without the proper balance of amino acids, minerals, and digestible energy, the body physically cannot synthesize muscle tissue, no matter how much work you do.

👉Environment and Movement: Extended stall confinement drastically limits natural movement. Horses need regular turnout and low-impact motion to maintain basic core tone and joint mobility.

Developing a horse that is genuinely fit to carry weight requires time, patience, and structured preparation from the ground. Long-lining, in-hand work, and targeted core exercises teach the horse how to lift their thoracic sling, engage their abdominals, and lift their back before we add extra load.

Even when a horse is fully fit, riding alone is never enough to maintain that strength. Groundwork and cross-training must remain permanent pillars of your weekly routine to protect their long-term soundness.

Ensuring your saddle fits is a vital part of horsemanship, but being a responsible owner also means stepping back, looking honestly at the horse in front of you, and asking the most important question first: Is my horse physically ready to carry me today?

Giving them the time, foundation, and conditioning they need from the ground first, is the greatest investment in their longevity you will ever make.

25/08/2026

Does anyone want to come into the woods with me and just… scream? 😤

I want to tell you all a story. Of my mare, Zu and another example of how we need to advocate for our horses and continue to seek answers. A horse not being diagnosed with a problem does not necessarily mean that there isn’t a problem.

About 6 months ago, Zu was suddenly VERY “witchy.” One day I tacked her up and she swung her head around when I tightened her girth. Uncharacteristic. I paid attention. She was then very cranky during our ride, jacking up, laying her ears back, unwilling to move forward and very offended at my legs asking her to yield. I double checked her saddle for fit. I double checked the girth for burrs. Nothing. 🤔

I rode again a couple of days later and she was a little improved, but not much.

I decided to do an ulcer treatment. That’s a good first step when you have a cranky, girthy horse. On day 3 of ulcer treatment I decided to sit on her ba****ck while I waited for her stomach to empty before administering the medication. She shuffled her legs and started waddling off down the paddock so I asked her to move her shoulder across with my leg and she turned around (to the left) with her ears back. Ok, that hurts. So I jumped off.

Day 5 of ulcer treatment I decided to do the same thing. Swung up ba****ck, waiting for her tummy to empty. I was VERY careful not to touch her sides with my legs. She stood there for about 2 minutes and suddenly turned out of nowhere, teeth bared, mouth open, ears back, and gently put my shin in her mouth. Message received LOUD AND CLEAR my girl. I hopped off and immediately called a specialist lameness vet in Toowoomba to book an appointment. Something is very wrong.

I took her to the appointment a week or so later with pretty much no results. The vet wasn’t concerned about her back, she looked strong. He wasn’t concerned about leg lameness, she looked even. He wasn’t concerned about ulcers as she had just finished her treatment. He did see a couple of bot eggs on her legs and suggested she probably had a bot larvae infestation (this was before the first frost so she hadn’t been wormed yet). I wormed her.

We had one ride that was much better and I kicked myself, she must have had bots, bad mum. The next ride was terrible again.

I decided to get her scoped properly. The scope showed no active ulcers, but some inflammation and “tiger tracks” through her stomach lining where ulcers had been. I was advised to do another ulcer treatment. Which I did. No change in behaviour.

By now I’m tearing my hair out. I contacted my wonderful coach to come and watch me tack her up. WHAT am I missing? Are there signs of pain while I’m brushing her? All we could see on tacking up was a difficulty in picking up her left hind leg to pick her hoof. Her others were fine. In riding, she would go between doing her best trot work yet, soft, and supple, happy in the contact, to suddenly jacking up out of nowhere, and then proceeding beautifully. We worked out that she could canter to the left, but she couldn’t canter to the right without bucking through the transition. Every time. Is there something going on with her left side? She always turns to look at my left boot when I’m on her back.
We decided the next thing to try was an o***y manipulation. We took her to the vet that does these and she told me that her left o***y was twisted and the psoas was very underdeveloped and painful. She untwisted the o***y and prescribed her usual rehabilitation regimen.

Armed with this information, I went home and began the rehab as instructed. There was no down time required between the manip and riding again so I gave her 5 days or so then rode her (for about 10 minutes and very gently at the walk and trot). And she was back to herself! YAY!

Rode her the next day aaaaaand nope. Back to square one.
Losing my mind at this point, I call who I always call when I have a “not quite right” horse. Samantha Watt. Sam has forgotten more than I will ever know and sees things that many miss. She thought there was something going on with her hocks. Ok. She recommended taking her to Bridgette at Sunshine Coast Equine Hospital. I booked the appointment.

Finally, yesterday. I drove 3.5 hours from home to the hospital and dropped her there for the evening. And this morning was her appointment.

Bridgette was so thorough and perceptive. She listened patiently to all of the lore I have just laid out here. And heard me when I said my coach describes her as “wiggly.”

She said that she finds Friesians to be very stoic, and that if Zu shows anything to be even slightly painful, we will explore it. On palpation, she thought her neck was a little tender, and her back around T14 to be a little tender. On the flexion test, she found her hocks and stifles to be a little unsteady the longer the flexion test went on. I restated the “wiggly” thing again and she agreed that her neck was worth radiographing, and she was very suspicious it was the root of the problem.

So I went back to the car and waited. And waited. And an hour later we finally had an answer.

Her hocks have some mild arthritic changes. Her left hock is worse. Her back at T14 has mild arthritic changes. But she has severe C6-7 cervical facet osteoarthropathy. Bridgette used the word “obliterated” to describe the left hand side of the joint. It’s really hard to type that.
…

We’ve injected the joint on both sides. And I have to let her rest and let the injections do their thing for 6 weeks. Then it’s on to rehab. There is hope. But Bridgette was quite conservative and said her odds are about 50/50 of recovery. But she has seen horses worse than her recover, so there IS some hope.

I paid the practice, and let me say, it was not cheap. But I would say that it was cheaper than continuing to go down rabbit holes with no diagnosis. I am relieved to finally have one. And I’m very grateful to Bridgette, Sam and Naomi who have helped me get here.
…

I was encouraged by a friend to share all of this, as a bit of a case study. And I wanted to use it to demonstrate how absolutely nothing is straightforward with horses. This has taken 6 months of ruling things out, gathering data, attending appointments and listening to my beautiful horse. This condition would be incredibly painful, with the severely affected joint affecting the surrounding structures and nerve.

Please cross your fingers for my sweet Zu, that I can help her through this, and we can continue a long, happy partnership together.

Send a message to learn more

20/08/2026

I adore this post.

“Does my joy hold no value?”

Why is the value of joy so underrated?

A few weeks back at a comedy show I got talking to a guy who made the passing comment that his wife, now a mother to his children, use to have horses and now does not and it’s great because he thinks they’re such a waste of time and money.

In that moment my heart broke a little for his wife.

I know all too well how easy it is to lose part or all of yourself in motherhood. It is one of the most important things we will do in our lives; growing, birthing and raising a child. It’s often a thankless task and as mothers, we forsake so much of ourselves for the benefit of our child.

Perhaps his comments hit hard for me because I spent many years being told I was selfish for having horses and spending time with them pursuing personal goals while also raising my two children.

There’s an expectation that mothers put all of their own ambition by the wayside to raise and care for a family and this is often why they lose themselves in the process.

But not everyone has ambition for greatness. I personally have no particular ambition to compete anymore. But I do get immense joy from spending time with my horses and training them. I get gratification out of watching their bodies heal, grow and develop through methodical training. I feel a sense of pride in knowing my work is bettering another being.

And yet…I’m constantly hearing people say that horses are a waste of time and money.

Does my joy hold no value? Does seeing me smile not also bring you joy? Does knowing that in these moments I feel happy and free not appease you?

As parents, there is no greater joy than hearing our children belly laugh. Ohhh it’s my most favourite sound in the world. And anyone else can see the value in that.
But why is the joy I gain from horses of less value than a child’s laughter?

F**k it, guys, seriously.

The next time someone tells you that horses are a waste of time and money, throat punch them and tell them that the value of your smile is priceless.

I’d pay my last dollar to my horse if it meant a smile would cross my face.

20/08/2026

I thought this was a really interesting paper:

"To address equestrians’ concerns, a new horse-training framework would need to see the horse as a being rather than as an object, offer the flexibility of a wide-angle view of the horse to protect horse welfare, combined with the ability to zoom in and use a narrow focus to achieve specific training goals. To address equestrians’ objections, it must also offer nuanced solutions that account for the complexity of individual horse–human inter-actions."

19/08/2026

If you come for a lesson and see this trampoline and chair set up, be prepared for a little cardio 😉

17/08/2026

Absolutely.

06/08/2026

Posts I often write in my head but never publish…

The elusive first pony hunt. The true unicorn.

Do they exist?

Yes.

Are you going to find one?

Maybe.

But probably not.

Why?

Because the genuine first ponies are usually one of three things:

• They’re so expensive that most families simply can’t afford them.

• They’re 400 years old (or so it seems!), and they’ve been passed from family to family. They never make it onto the open market because the original owners retire them with love.

• They sell by word of mouth before anyone else even knows they’re available.

Does that mean you should stop looking?

Absolutely not.

But it does mean we all need to be realistic.

The truth is, most children under eight aren’t able to ride independently, all the time, on the same pony.

Why?

Because ponies are still horses.

They need tuning up.

They develop little habits.

Their training can come undone.

And that’s nobody’s fault.

Even experienced adults make mistakes, so how can we expect a tiny child and a pony—who is simply a horse in a smaller package—to stay perfectly trained forever?

That’s just not how horses work.

The best children’s ponies are usually kept that way because adults or more experienced riders hop on occasionally and remind them of their job.

Developmentally, most children aren’t ready to ride completely off the lead all the time until around eight years old—and that’s okay.

It’s not an insult.

It’s child development.

Of course there are exceptions.

Some six-year-olds are jumping courses bigger than I’d ever want to jump.

Some children are playing Mozart at five.

Some are memorising the periodic table.

Some are welding.

But childhood isn’t a race.

Just because one child is reading all seven Harry Potter books before they’re six doesn’t mean your child should be.

The same applies to riding.

So if your pony suddenly feels “naughty,” or your child was cantering independently three weeks ago but now needs to go back on the lead, don’t panic.

Progress isn’t always a straight line.

Sometimes we take a step backwards before moving forwards again.

It’s okay to put them back on the lead.

It’s okay to wait before buying a pony.

It’s okay to have an older child or an adult give the pony a tune-up.

None of that is failure.

It’s good horsemanship.

And yes…

Unicorn ponies do exist.

I’m lucky enough to have a few.

No, they’re not for sale.

But are they wonderful because they’re ridden by different riders? Absolutely.

Do I still hop on them occasionally for a tune-up?

Without question.

That’s not because they’re bad ponies.

It’s because they’re horses.

And that’s exactly what good horse management looks like.

(Unicorn who everyone loves but occasionally rears. Habits accepted because she is my favourite child)

02/08/2026

Rest easy with Shy Boy and Johnny Tivio, Monty.

Monty Roberts was one of the first pioneers of horse trainers who created a better way of breaking in horses instead of physically dominating them. I read his books and met him when I was just 11 at Equitana. He was a huge influence on how I wanted to approach horses and training, and while the horse community can squabble about their ideals on the gentlest way to approach training, he still deserves our admiration and respect in what he did for horses so many years ago.

RIP Monty. Thank you for making the world a better place for horses ❤️

The world has lost a legend.

Monty Roberts💔- the man who listened to horses.

The man that believed in me and allowed me (and my other fellow scientists) to scientifically evaluate his methods. He knew we would publish whatever the outcome of the study. He said, if he can do it any better please show him. He wanted to see his methods evaluated for the advancement of equine welfare.

He was the man that took us to meet his friend and mentor Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Rest in peace with shy boy. Thinking of your family at this difficult time.

You did leave the world a better place for horses ❤️

Love from your Scientist 👩🏼‍🔬 🐴

Me, Monty and Pat Roberts at Flag is Up Farm, California