02/05/2025
Last weekend I had the privilege and honour to attend an Emotional Horsemanship clinic with Lockie Phillips. Conrad and I signed up almost 12 months ago. It was a leap of faith; we really didn’t know what to expect, but we trusted the gut instinct of our good friend and trainer, Kate Young at Wild Horsemanship, and we were looking for something different. Different from what? Past experience? No experience is wasted if you learn something, and I am always learning. Conrad is more than capable of articulating his own experience, so I am going to stop using “we” and talk solely to my experience from this point on.
Since 2017, I have attended quite a few horse clinics – this wasn’t my first rodeo! They usually offered a closer connection with your horse, the opportunity to communicate more clearly with your horse, the opportunity to be more confident, and some practical horse handling skills. For quite a long time, I have been curious about why the aforementioned relationship with the horse was so one dimensional. If it was a relationship, a real relationship, surely both parties would bring something to the table. Both horse and human would need boundaries to feel safe, both would need to demonstrate active listening skills and be accountable to each other. You could see some trainers tentatively approach the elephant in the arena, but they never really acknowledged that this horse had a human problem! Fair enough, as a business model, it’s not a winning formula to tell people that they are pretty s**t at handling their horse and maybe they should get a more compliant animal like an axolotl. This is not a criticism of these trainers; they did their best with what they knew, but they didn’t have the courage and emotional intelligence of Lockie Phillips.
Lockie is a very rare person. He is talented but humble, intelligent and articulate, precise and analytical, and exceptionally kind to horses and humans. He has the audacity to ask the difficult questions because he is a genuine advocate for the horse. Lockie uses his deep knowledge of equine biomechanics to see into the heart and soul of the horse. He is part scientist, part magician and 100% authentic. Authentic is an over-used word these days but when you meet it, in the flesh, it is nothing short of amazing. You feel alive in its presence, energised by its potential, and grateful to be with someone who does not play games, or seek to feel good at your expense. There are no egregious expressions of ego, no baffling you with BS, and no violence to you or your horse. I feel very humbled and deeply grateful to have had experience. It was nothing short of life-changing.
During the clinic, I had many poignant moments with my darling mare, Abbie. I felt safe and supported to look at some challenging issues. I felt sad at times but confident that I would, with the right guidance, be able to make the best decisions for her health and our future together.
I could continue to wax lyrical about some of the profound shifts arising from this experience, for me and others, but let me just end by saying that this was the best prepared, most thorough horse clinic I have ever attended. The expectations for participants and auditors were very clearly articulated before the clinic and this set the scene for a safe, respectful and nurturing experience. Thank you, Lockie and Kate, you did a wonderful job, and I look forward to continuing on this journey of discovery with you.
If you get the opportunity to participate or audit one of Lockie’s clinics, go for it, sign up immediately, you will not regret it, and your horse/s will definitely thank you.
