Esther Cruckshank - Horsemanship Coaching

Hi!
I have started this page to help get in contact with people who share my passion for working with horses and improving their horsemanship skills. For the last 12years or so I have given my life to helping people on this journey. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with some very talented horsemen, including Neville Fennel, Steve Brady, Steve Jefferies and especially my mentor, Wayne Banney. Without their help, and the help of many others along the way, I would not be where I am today. But the greatest teacher of them all, if only we would listen, is the horse itself.
Horsemanship is a journey, not a destination. It does not matter what discipline that we aim to do, or what breed of horse we ride, the principles remain the same. One of the most important parts of any relationship is the foundation on which it is built. Without a solid foundation, built on trust, respect and confidence, anything that we try to do with our horses is going to be, at best, difficult and possibly even dangerous.
The first thing that we need to do, if we are going to be successful, is begin to understand and be able to 'read' these beautiful creatures that we aim to work with. We can never have communication and a partnership with our horse if we don't first learn to listen to what the horse is trying to tell us. No amount of gadgets or gear or gimmicks will ever achieve as much as gaining a connection to our horse's mind through communication.
There are principles that we need to learn, such as pressure and release, which involves feel and timing. We need to have a good attitude to be an effective leader. And we need to know how to teach our horses to yield to pressure. I like to begin this journey on the ground. If we are unable to gain a connection to our horse on the ground, we will have problems when we try to ride. We may also have difficulty with such things as loading our horse on a float, saddling, tying up, washing, bridling, etc. We may experience opposition from our horse through such behaviour as kicking, rearing, striking, bucking, biting, etc. To solve all these, and many other, problems we need to learn to communicate with our horse.
Through clinics and/or private coaching, I aim to share with you some of the ways that I have learned to gain a connection to my horse's mind, without fear and intimidation. It does not matter what sort of riding you do. I have worked with horses of many different breeds, and riders of many disciplines, including dressage, show jumping, eventing, campdrafting, cutting, polo, endurance, pony club and trail riding. The foundation that we lay, and the principles that we follow, remain the same. It is my aim to help you on this journey to a better partnership with your horse. If you are interested, please don't hesitate to msg me here on FB or call me on 0407605844.