...why do we do almost everything on the left with horses? Mount from the left. Lead from the left. Bridle from the left. Approach from the left. Did you ever actually question it? Or did you just…do it because that’s how you were taught? In Episode 87 of Zoë’s Horse Bytes, I unpack: • Where this tradition may have originated (historically) • Another fascinating theory linked to the horse’s nature • And whether it still truly matters today Because here’s the bigger question… Is it habit? Is it helpful? After listening, I’d love to know: – Does it make sense to you? – How important do you think it really is? – Have you noticed patterns in your own day-to-day handling because of it? Awareness changes everything. Sometimes the biggest changes in horsemanship don’t come from new techniques, but from questioning the old ones. 🗒️FYI: At GGWH we train both sides of the horse as equal as possible. If not already, go listen…come back and tell me what you think. Zoë🐴✨🫶 👉 Listen on your favorite podcast app or directly on my website here: https://www.getgoodwithhorsescourses.com/podcast/

During the Lunar New Year break, Ssemi and I finally tackled those serpentines over ground poles! As you can see in the video, she was incredibly focused and stayed so light on her feet throughout the session. After the recent ups and downs we've had, this holiday really felt like a breakthrough moment for us. It turned out to be such a special way to bond. How did everyone else’s training go this week? I’d love to hear your progress!

Well where do I start? Working with a young horses like Celeste has been far from easy. Knowing she is meant for the owners daughter I felt quite some pressure to get things in the right direction. The progress Celeste made the past 2 weeks made me think: should I try? Try working with Celeste and the little girl to see how far we can get? Yesterday was the day. I started with the usual groundwork session. Celeste found it a bit hard to not work with me but with the little girl. But with positive energy it worked out. Than we went try standig on the mounting step to see if what I taught Celeste would work if the little girl would do it. AND IT DID! And than, the very big moment. Trying to see if the girl could get on. I convinced her it was okay, I convinced Celeste it was okay. I was there, to support, hold on and talk both of them through this. And with a little encouragement. The girl was on her own pony for the first time🥺 Not only that, after walking very closely with her and making sure both om them were okay (I did breathing exercises with the girl, talked to her a lot, showed her how she could calm down Celeste a little bit) and at the end we did some circles. It felt amazing. Absolutely amazing. My hard work paid of, it really did. From now on we are going to try this 1 time a week because from here, there future will slowly start together. I will ofcourse be training Celeste still, to get her stronger, more confident and more aware of her body so that for the little girl it will be easier in the end. Cant wait for the three of us to see where we will go in the future. Forever grateful that the owner of the horses had this amount of trust in me🤎

✨ Progress isn’t linear and that’s normal. When something feels like it’s slipping or getting harder, it doesn’t automatically mean you’ve failed. Often, it means your horse is integrating, processing, or adjusting to a new layer of understanding. Or perhaps you’ve now revealed the horse you truly need to teach because the version before was either shut down or too busy to really notice. Growth can look messy before it looks solid. And this is often the moment people lose patience or give up. When in reality, it is simply part of the process. Staying steady in those moments is part of what it means to Get Good by not abandoning the idea when it wobbles. 👉 Question: Where did things feel worse before they got better? Zoë 🐴✨🫶

Even though getting on now is going well, I still like to practice coming to the mounting step with a little groundwork session before I start riding. Now I am a little bit curious if you can sput the cue I give Celeste to move a little bit more forward so that she is in the right position. Its something I am actually a bit proud of. No pushing, talking, grabbing on the reins and pulling her in the right spot(of she has the bridle on). Just the right amount of communication between us. Working with this young one has taught me so so much the past 9 months! What is something you are proud of training your young horses?