Karen Farnsworth BHSI, British Eventing Coach, NDPCE

21/01/2026

🙋🏻‍♀️Surviving, not thriving (and that’s ok)🙋🏻‍♀️

😓 January has a particular energy at the yard. It’s cold. It’s dark. The mud has achieved its maximum. Horses are fuzzy, fresh or feral (or all three at once). And yet somehow, the pressure to reset, recommit and thrive shows up right on schedule.

👉🏻 If you’re an equestrian in January, here’s your permission slip to do something radical: survive.

🫣 Winter riding is already hard. Short daylight hours mean riding before work in the dark or after work in the dark. Weather cancels plans, freezes footing and turns “just a quick ride” into a full logistics operation. Horses feel the seasonal shift too, maybe less turnout, more energy, more opinions. Simply showing up consistently is an accomplishment, even if nothing is productive or pretty.

🐎 Your horse doesn’t need January to be magical. There’s a quiet guilt that creeps in this time of year: I should be doing more. More conditioning. More training. More progress toward goals. But January is not where most horses physically or mentally peak and that’s normal. Maintenance is not failure. Walking hacks, groundwork, stretching and short rides still count. Even rest and regulation are training tools, not detours.

🙈 Motivation is allowed to hibernate. Equestrian culture often celebrates grit and pushing through, but January asks for something different. Your nervous system is tired. Your body is cold. Your capacity is lower. Forcing high expectations during a low-energy season often leads to burnout or resentment toward the horse, the yard, or yourself. Surviving keeps the relationship intact so you can thrive later.

❄️ Progress looks quieter in winter. January progress might look like:

👉🏻 Keeping routines consistent
👉🏻 Prioritising safety over ambition
👉🏻 Choosing shorter, calmer sessions
👉🏻 Accepting that some days are just a groom and a check-in

🕰️ None of that is wasted time. Horses learn in cycles. Winter often lays foundations that show up months later.

🐴 The horse world doesn’t pause, but you can soften. Shows, clinics and social media don’t stop just because it’s January so it’s easy to compare your muddy reality to someone else’s highlight reel. But most riders are quietly just getting through winter too. Thriving is not a moral obligation. You don’t earn your place in the horse world by suffering harder.

💪🏻 Survival is a skill. Getting through January with your body intact, your horse healthy and your relationship unfrayed is success. You don’t have to optimise, level up or reinvent yourself this month. You just have to keep going, gently.

👌🏻 Spring will ask more of you. January just asks that you stay.

😇 If all you’re doing right now is surviving, you’re doing exactly what this season is for.

🫶🏻 Love always, Hx

12/01/2026

Bobster looking mighty fine and wintering well ❤️

05/01/2026

Some great trophies for the kids at the York and Ainsty South PC presentation evening. Junior showjumping cup for Amber and eventing one for Zachary.

19/12/2025

Rounder, softer, slower .. 👌

“Before you ask for a transition, prepare it properly.”

Transitions are one of the most powerful training tools we have — but only if they’re prepared properly.

That’s why I repeat this endlessly in lessons:
“Rounder, softer, slower… and then the transition.”

Most riders do the opposite.
They ask for the transition and hope the horse reorganises himself on the way.

When the horse isn’t prepared, the result is always the same:
the transition feels rushed, heavy, hollow, or late.

And that’s not a disobedience problem.
It’s a preparation problem.

A good transition is never about the aid itself.
It’s about the moment before the aid:

– is the horse round through the body?
– is the neck soft?
– is he listening to small changes?
– is he waiting for the rider?

If the answer to those questions is no, the transition will simply expose it.

Transitions aren’t just about changing gait.
They test how much of the horse’s body you actually control — the balance, the rhythm, and the attention.

That’s why even simple walk–trot or trot–walk transitions can be incredibly powerful training tools when they’re done well.

Prepare the shape first.
Ask second.
And suddenly the transitions become lighter, calmer, and far more useful.

👉 If this helped you, FOLLOW ME for more clear, practical training advice like this.

16/12/2025

Had the pleasure of meeting these cuties today!

15/12/2025

Love the use of slow motion.. helps analyse the riders position and how the ponies are using themselves. Amber has a tendency of lifting her hands up on the approach - this clip helps her see it for herself.

04/12/2025

Ride the moment you’re in, not the mistake behind you.

I see so many riders in training and tests getting stuck on the movement that didn’t go to plan — replaying the mistake rather than riding what’s happening now. I’ve been guilty of it too.

But horses don’t live in the past, they live right here, right now. And they respond better to a rider who can reset, breathe, and be present in the moment.

When you can let go of the mistake behind you, you create space for the next movement to be better:

Better balance.
Better feel.
Better partnership.

Next time something doesn’t go as planned, practise a quick reset: exhale, soften your body, and refocus on the next movement or exercise.

You may only have a few strides to reset, so it’s worth practising this skill.

Your horse isn’t judging the last movement — they’re simply waiting for your next one

02/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DB6SSQ4Yh/

This is NOT anthropomorphism - it’s mammalian neuroscience. To be clear.

Most horse people have heard the term trigger stacking, but few truly understand what’s happening inside the horse’s body when it occurs. And fewer realise that humans experience the exact same nervous-system process.

This is not “treating horses like humans.” This is a biological truth.
Horses and humans share the same basic mammalian nervous system:

• sympathetic (fight/flight)
• parasympathetic (rest/digest)
• vagus nerve
• thresholds
• stress hormones
• startle responses

So comparing the experience is not only valid but it helps people understand, relate, and develop compassion.

So let us look at YOU the human reading this:

Think of a day like this:

• didn’t sleep well
• you’re running late
• the kids are shouting
• you stub your toe
• your phone keeps pinging
• someone snaps at you
• you’re worried about money
• the traffic is heavy
• you spill your coffee

You hold it together… until someone asks something tiny of you:

“Can you just... ?”

And suddenly you:

• snap
• cry
• shut down
• withdraw
• feel overwhelmed
• can’t cope
• overreact to something small

People think it was “the last thing.” But you know it wasn’t.
It was everything before it that pushed you past threshold.

This is trigger stacking.

And your reaction was NOT a meltdown, or disobedience, or manipulation. It was your nervous system saying:

“I cannot take one more demand.” and guess what friends? Horses are no different. Not because they are human like but because we share the same biological wiring. Isn't that just fascinating to comprehend?

Now, lets translate that from a horse's perspective...

A horse’s day might look like:

• didn’t sleep lying down
• herd tension
• flies irritating
• heat or humidity
• slight hoof discomfort
• a loud noise earlier
• a new horse on the farm
• a human arriving stressed
• pressure from the halter
• the saddle pinching
• uncertainty about what’s coming next

None of these alone may cause a big reaction. But inside the body, each one is adding sympathetic charge and slowly building on top of eachother stacking and stacking...

• small adrenaline spikes
• cortisol accumulation
• reduction in vagal tone
• increased muscle tension
• faster startle reflex
• sensory overload
• hypervigilance

Just like a human, the horse’s system is slowly filling the bucket.
Then the final moment happens when it all becomes too much:

• “Walk on.”
• “Just stand still.”
• “One more try.”
• someone closes a gate too loudly
• a bird takes off
• a leaf rustles
• your energy spikes

And the horse:

• spooks
• bolts
• balks
• bucks
• freezes
• shuts down
• refuses

People say, UGH “That came out of nowhere.” But it didn’t. It really did not. It came from every single moment that added to the stack.... Just like you.

This is NOT humanising horses. It is recognising shared mammalian reality.

When horses (and humans) experience multiple stressors, the same biological cascade happens:

• sympathetic activation rises
• cortisol stays elevated
• heart-rate variability decreases
• prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) goes offline
• limbic system (survival brain) takes over
• proprioception changes
• muscles brace
• breath shortens
• tolerance shrinks

This is why neither horse nor human can “think clearly” once the stack is high.

Neither is “naughty.”
Neither is “difficult.”
Neither is “dramatic.”

Both are overwhelmed. Let us please see it for what it is, in eachother and in horses.

And this is not anthropomorphising. Anthropomorphism is actually giving horses human thoughts, motives, or stories. This is different.

This is comparing shared physiology:

✓ We both have amygdalas
✓ We both have vagus nerves
✓ We both produce cortisol + adrenaline
✓ We both have startle reflexes
✓ We both have thresholds
✓ We both get overwhelmed
✓ We both shut down when we exceed capacity

This isn’t “treating horses like humans.” It’s understanding horses better by recognising what is universal to all mammals. You have lived through trigger stacking. You know what it feels like.

So when you see a horse “explode,” or “go blank,” or “overreact,” or “say no” - instead of judging, you understand.

You feel compassion. You soften. You respond differently.

This is why relating horse and human nervous systems is not anthropomorphism - it’s empathy rooted in biology.

How do we support our horses through trigger stacking?
Preventing the stack means supporting the nervous system:

Environmental

• herd stability
• forage
• movement
• predictable routine

Physical

• pain checks
• saddle fit
• hoof care
• vet care
• bodywork

Relational

• clear, consistent boundaries
• choice
• slowing down
• not pushing past threshold

Co-regulation

• you regulate first
• stable breath
• soft intention
• calm posture
• reading early signs

You are either lowering the stack… or unintentionally adding to it.

Horses don’t “react out of nowhere.” They react when their system can no longer cope, the same way you do.

When you realise this, everything shifts:

• behaviour becomes communication
• resistance becomes protection
• “naughty” becomes overwhelmed
• training becomes partnership
• pressure becomes patience
• correction becomes compassion

And the horse softens - not because they’re forced to… but because they finally feel safe. Just like you do when someone holds space for you, stays regulated when you can’t, listens without judgment, and meets you with gentleness instead of pressure.

We are not so different when it comes to how we feel things in our bodies. Meet the horse the way you would want to be met. ❤️

29/11/2025

Saw these at Bath University Sports village. Thought they were well worth a share!

27/11/2025

Just reading the BS magazine and find Amber and Bobby on the rankings for the North! This is only from a couple of outings. Nice surprise ❤️

20/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AqKf8u4ed/

🧂 Salt for Horses in Winter — Don’t Skip It! ❄️🐴

As the colder months arrive, many horses drink less, their gut slows down, and the risk of impaction colic increases.
One of the easiest ways to support them is daily salt.

⭐ Why salt is essential:

Encourages regular drinking

Supports hydration, gut motility, muscle & nerve function

Helps prevent impaction colic

Balances electrolytes when on hay

🧂 How much salt?

For a 500kg horse:

1–2 tablespoons (15–30g) per day

Light work → ~15g

Moderate work → ~30g

Heavy sweat → add an electrolyte mix on top.

👉 This is in addition to free-choice access to a salt lick (horses rarely lick enough to meet needs) or free choice loose salt can work if you can keep it dry.

🧊 Winter hydration tip:

Salt + slightly warmed water = a big increase in drinking.
Most horses drink 30–40% more when water isn’t icy cold.

⭐ What type of salt? (Here’s the truth, simple & final!)

Honestly?
Use whatever salt your horse will reliably eat.
The body only cares about the sodium + chloride, not the colour of the rock.

Plain table salt → perfect, affordable, consistent.

Sea salt / Himalayan → also fine, but the “extra minerals” are minor and don’t replace a balancer.

Loose salt works better than blocks for accurate intake.

Avoid flavoured salts or low-sodium salts.

👉 The main thing is consistency, not brand, colour, or marketing.

09/11/2025

Good day of BS yesterday. Zac and Harley went to Bishop in the morning and jumped 2 double clears in the BN (placing 4th) and in the Blue Chip Bliss Qualifier to qualify for Blue Chip Championships.
Amber went to Willow Banks in the afternoon. First party for Holly in a long time and she didn't disappoint. DC in the BN then DC in the Blue Chip Pearl Qualifier to place 2nd and qualify. Bobby then jumped round the Blue Chip Sapphire to qualify 🙌🙌