Willow Wood Stables

This. Please read. 🙌🏼

Inconvenient Reality Avoidance Disorder🥹

I'd like to introduce a condition I have invented that I suspect every horse owner, including me, suffers from occasionally.

*Inconvenient Reality Avoidance Disorder.*

IRAD.😎

The principal symptom is simple:

➡️You desperately want an outcome, but would really rather not participate in the process required to produce it.

You want the horse to be sound, safe, confident, load easily, hack out and generally become the delightful creature currently residing in your imagination.

Excellent.

Unfortunately, reality occasionally sends through some paperwork.

"This probably needs a veterinary investigation."

Oh.😕

"You might need to stop riding for a while."

Bugger.😣

"I think you need to take the training right back and rebuild this slowly."

Steady on.😫

And thus begins an acute episode of IRAD.

But before we start pointing fingers, IRAD is incredibly human.

Sometimes inconvenient reality arrives when we're already carrying quite enough reality, thank you very much.

Money is tight. Work is dreadful. Relationships fall apart. We're exhausted. We've already spent thousands on the horse.💔

And the horse was supposed to be the *nice bit* of life.🥹

Then someone (e.g. me 😕) announces that you probably need another veterinary investigation.

At which point the human brain quite reasonably enquires:

➡️"Do we definitely need reality? Have we considered magnesium?"🤔

So we become extraordinarily productive.

Change the feed.

Buy the supplement.

Book some bodywork.

Give the horse six weeks off.

Try another exercise.

Wait.

Hope.

Perhaps buy another supplement because the first one may have been insufficiently supplementy.🙄

None of these things are inherently silly. Any might be exactly what the horse needs.

The problem begins when *easy action becomes a substitute for necessary action*.😕

Because eventually we encounter the great cognitive collision:

➡️*Wanting the outcome versus accepting the process required to produce the outcome.*🫣

And sometimes that process hurts.😫

The vet might find something. The training might need rebuilding. We might lose months of riding. We might discover the horse isn't suitable for what we'd planned.

Or we might simply feel that we don't have the money, time or emotional bandwidth for one more bloody problem.😔

I think that deserves compassion.❤

Most of us aren't avoiding difficult realities because we're terrible people.

Sometimes we're frightened, exhausted or overwhelmed.

Sometimes we just desperately want one thing to be easy.🥺

*But compassion doesn't make reality disappear.*

We can understand *why* we're avoiding something while still recognising that it needs to be dealt with.

So when you feel an episode of IRAD coming on, ask:

"What does this problem actually require?"

"Am I doing that, or am I doing something easier because it feels like I'm addressing it?"

And most importantly:

"What happens to my horse if I'm wrong?"

Because waiting can be a perfectly sensible strategy.

But waiting can also be avoidance wearing sensible shoes.😒

We will probably all suffer from IRAD occasionally.

The goal isn't to become some perfectly rational horse owner who greets every expensive, inconvenient problem with serene enthusiasm.🫠

That person doesn't exist.❤

The goal is to notice when *what we desperately want to be true is getting in the way of finding out what actually is true.*

Have compassion for yourself.

Then do the next necessary thing.

Because your horse has to live with what happens next and avoiding the issue has a good chance of just making things worse and higher chance of risk.

Collectable Advice 272/365.

🙏Please SHARE to spread this message, IRAD sits behind many people's frustrations, disappointments, money waste, accidents, training and performance failure.

The king of the tail flick ✨

🌈🌈

🍃 Willow wood stables are hiring 🍃

The job:
- Saturday afternoon 3-4pm
- bringing horses in from paddocks
- rug/boot changes
- feed up
- training provided
- good pay

The candidate:
- Is comfortable working solo
- can handle performance horses
- trustworthy
- good attention to detail
- reliable

If you think you are right for the job, message Natty Mohr on Facebook or on 0407466055

Christoph getting a feature on the socials 🌟💅

📣 Jackets are compulsory across both rings today (Thursday).

The ‘W’ quarter marks needed their own moment 🙌🏽

Happiness looks alot like a Red horse ❣️🍒🍄🚘

🔬 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗔𝗬: 𝗨𝗞 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿

A growing body of research shows that 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗨𝗞 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 —despite decades of progress in equine science and behavior studies.
Yet, terms like “naughty,” “stubborn,” and “defiant” are still commonly used to describe horses showing 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀.

Let’s unpack why that’s a problem. 👇

🧠𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦 ≠ 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦
Horses have 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘀 compared to humans. This part of the brain is responsible for 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀. Horses simply 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙧 “𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡” 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧.

Instead, equine cognition is built on:

•𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 (classical and operant conditioning)
•𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 (especially negative reinforcement and avoidance learning, as well as positive reinforcement)
•𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 (primarily fight, flight, or freeze)

💥 What many riders perceive as “naughty” behaviour is often:

•A 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 from unclear or conflicting signals
•A 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 triggered by fear or insecurity
•A 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 to pressure, pain, or discomfort
•A 𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣
•𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙣-𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧 or remembered pain often missed or misinterpreted

📚 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 that labeling horses with anthropomorphic terms (like “naughty” or “cheeky”) leads to training methods that are less effective and more likely to cause distress or learned helplessness.

✅ A more ethical, evidence-based approach requires:

•Understanding the horse as a 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹
•Recognizing their limited ability to process 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀
•Using 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
•Applying 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀, not tradition or punishment

💬 It’s time we stop blaming the horse and start questioning the human interpretation. Science offers us the tools - 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲?

Study link in the comments 🤓
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Scootboot
Equine Products UK
Arena Saddles
Equine Light Therapy LTD

For many riders, the obsession with “finding a distance” can turn into a daily battle. We walk into the ring convinced that every jump is a test of whether we can see that perfect takeoff spot. But at Balmoral, the philosophy is different. Instead of chasing the distance, the focus is on rhythm, pace, and track. When those pieces are correct, the distance takes care of itself.

At its core, riding to a jump is about presenting the horse with the same canter stride again and again. Rhythm is what makes that stride predictable. Horses are creatures of habit, and they thrive when the canter feels like a steady drumbeat. A consistent rhythm keeps the horse relaxed, balanced, and mentally prepared for the effort ahead.

When riders change the pace every three strides—slowing, kicking, pulling—the horse is left guessing. That uncertainty often leads to missed distances, chipped jumps, or long, weak efforts. Rhythm, on the other hand, builds trust. The horse knows what’s coming, and the rider can focus on steering and balance instead of panicking about “seeing” something.

Rhythm doesn’t mean slow. In fact, one of the most common corrections at Balmoral is asking riders to go forward. A plodding canter rarely produces quality jumps. Instead, the horse needs impulsion, the power from behind that creates a strong, jumping stride.

Think of pace as the energy within the rhythm. The right pace feels like you’re riding forward to the base of the jump, not crawling or rushing. It gives the horse the power to push off the ground and the rider the ability to stay with the motion. Without pace, rhythm falls flat; without rhythm, pace becomes chaotic.

🔗 Continue reading the article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/08/27/the-power-of-rhythm-why-pace-and-track-solve-distances/
📸 Photo © Carly Nasznic