Yesterday was 22c which is hot for England in April. When I arrived to the yard Mr Kipps was sweating under his fly rug and generally seemed lethargic. I was supposed to ride with friends but decided he would prefer a cold shower instead. I always tack up loose so he can decide if he wants to go, and he was walking away and turning his back on me when I tried to brush him. There was a time when I would've ridden anyway because my needs (to go for a ride) were more important than his. Horses are unique in that they have played many roles for humans over the years in terms of their utility, whether that is in the military, agriculture or for sports. Since doing my MSc and researching horses, I've been actively trying to change some beliefs I had about horses. One of those is that they need to do what I want them to do. Of course, horses are larger than dogs and there can be safety issues if you don't have boundaries, but that doesn't mean they don't get a choice. I'm teaching Mr Kipps that his opinions matters, after he came to me totally shut down because he had presumably never been given a choice. Seeing him happily running around the field after his shower gave me much more joy than riding would have.

Bonus if you want to share some photos in the comments!

Introduce yourself, where you're from and share a picture of your animal(s) 🐵🐕🐈🐎🦄 My name is ______, I'm from ________ and my animals are _________________

Hi everyone, I've finally managed to upload the call recording from Friday to the classroom tab. You can find the classroom tab at the top of this page and scroll to find the pet first aid course. Inside there is a link to the recording on Youtube. The session was with me and Aubrey from Bluebell Pet Care and First Aid and I certainly found out some invaluable information. Hope it is useful for you too!

I don't know if there is any better feeling than when a horse trusts you enough to sleep on your lap. This isn't my horse but one at a farm where I've worked for a couple of years now. Was such a beautiful moment to start my Monday. I've booked in a coffee chat tomorrow at 10am UK time, let me know in the comments if you can make it? I'll get the pet first aid recording uploaded tonight or tomorrow too 😊