Brought this former reiner, now jumper, to his first HJ show this weekend. The horse park was sandwiched between an active car racetrack and an airport. It was his first *real* jumper course. As a normally kind of spooky guy, he was not only calm about all the (loud) noise and chaos, he was focused and responsive. My friends say “if you can show at the Evergreen Horse Park, you can show anywhere.” 😆 We’ve done a ton of ground work over the past five months, and I walked him around on schooling day for about a half hour to get him acclimated. It was amazing to see his confidence grow day by day.
April 02
I was inspired by Tik this weekend and decided to give clicker training a try with my horse! My timing wasn’t perfect, but overall he really enjoyed it and picked up target work super quickly. It even helped him work through a spook—over a hula hoop, of all things! By the end, he was confidently touching it and clearly proud of himself for earning a click and a treat. We’ll definitely be doing more of this!
in 🙌 share_a_win
March 30
I've had a very memorable moment this week, and I'd
Iove to tell you about it. I've had my new mare Skye for only 3 months. She usually trots over to the gate when she sees me--or at least she walks over-- but this week after I hadn't been to the barn for 3 days (my husband has cancer and was hospitalized, so my plate is very full), Skye full out galloped over to greet me at the gate! My heart just burst!
in 🙌 share_a_win
March 29
I am over the moon at my tiny breakthrough tonight with my baby 6 year old.
I let her say no.
It sounds weird to me, because for years I have always rode with the idea of not letting the horse say no. Tonight she did not want to go near a small obstacle she could easily walk over, and instead of fighting her,. We went away worked on other stuff, and then came back to the obstacle and got a little bit closer, when she said no we walked away again. We did this patiently back and forth until she gained enough confidence to easily walk over it, then jump it. Wow!
March 18
• Edited (Mar 18, 2025)
🔴 We’re LIVE with Josh Nichol – Tune in Now!
Josh is breaking down real rider videos right now and sharing his expert insights on everything from contact issues to jumping pace, ground handling, and herd-bound behaviors. Here’s a look at some of the challenges he’s may tackle today:
✅ How to encourage a "space horse" to respond to pressure without escalation
✅ Exercises to steady a strong, experienced jumper after fences
✅ Whether mares in heat could be affecting a young stallion’s behavior
✅ Supporting an ex-broodmare’s transition to dressage
✅ Helping an anxious Andalusian gelding feel more secure on the ground
✅ Finding the right balance between rhythm and impulsion over fences
✅ Managing a spooky horse with vision limitations and a barn mate who evades by running backward
Josh is sharing tailored strategies to help each rider—and you can learn alongside them! Jump in now and ask questions live.
Join the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tU1BmIVNTbueGr6ulf_LPQ
in 🙌 share_a_win
March 13
I have just finished following the Tik Masterclass for Anxious and Spooky horses. I have followed a couple of other online trainers' methods for this for a couple of years but both my mare and I just ended up getting frustrated and she even started to get dangerous when I asked her to do any sort of work - and that is only from the ground! This was the last chance saloon. Tik explains everything so clearly and precisely and the demos show it all with raw footage. Everything he said made sense to me (finally) and I was able to easily put it into practice with immediate results - small incremental improvements everyday. Bingo - my mare finally has the leader she has been desperately seeking and I feel like I am at last speaking her language. It has also worked for my young horse who was getting more and more anxious on the trails after a couple of incidents that sent him over the top e.g. loose galloping horses next to the trail. BTW I come from the old school of dominant horsemanship (I am ashamed to admit) and in the past I have been able to get some pretty difficult horses to do things but the mare I have now said a firm "NO" to my dominant approach. Thanks to this mare I have changed how I work with all my horses and thanks to Tik I have finally found the key to successfully working with my current horses without being dominant. (If only I could apologise to those of my horses that are no longer with me who put up with me in the past.) I can't thank Tik enough for putting this Masterclass together, and Noëlle for starting this platform and getting such great trainers on board and for all content. It is life changing. Even my non-horsey husband is enjoying the Ifa Simmonds' workout and the Yoga!
in 🙌 share_a_win
March 02
I'd love to share a major breakthrough with my mare, Katie, yesterday. I've had her 3 years and while we've had some rocky moments, we've also had some good times. Last year I asked my friend to coach us and we made some marvelous improvements in my horsemanship. We went from trail riding and cattle driving to working equitation and arena work and had a blast. However, things went downhill this fall to the point of her not even wanting the saddle.
Things deteriorated over the winter and after I ruled out physical ailments, I just let her be (which is easy during a South Dakota winter). When I'd get near her she'd pin her ears and threaten to bite. This stumped me and my friend.
Then I found Josh Nichols. I studied all his content here on NF+ and it became clear to me that Katie and I had a relationship issue. And, she's clearly a strong space horse (think Lily x 2!). So I set out on a new path of intention, presence, and confidence. I tried everything but made no progress. In fact her responses got more violent.
Feeling like I had just about run out of options and had nothing more to lose, yesterday I approached Katie with the mindset of being big, bold, and full of myself. I put a halter on her, took her to the round pen, and had a conversation with her. I held my ground and with plenty of volume and confidence I told her that I was trying my best but I have boundaries too and that we need to find balance in our relationship. I said she's amazing and I'm amazing and I love her.
Can you believe that within seconds she yawned several times and then licked and chewed?? I just about cried. I removed her halter and she simply stood with me, oh so relaxed. I can't help but wonder if she was thinking, "It's about time..."
Thank-you, Josh. You're amazing too.
January 27
I have two wins from this weekend!
I made it to the barn! As a mom of a toddler, just finding time to get to the barn is a challenge—add the mental hurdle of arranging childcare and battling guilt, and it’s a lot. But this weekend was sunny and beautiful, and even though part of me wanted to stay home, I reached out for support and made it happen. Win!
I channeled Tik and Josh during groundwork. I’d planned to ride, but one look in my horse’s eye told me it was a groundwork day. Instead of feeling disappointed, I embraced it, inspired by Tik’s excitement for groundwork and play. While working at liberty, I challenged myself to move bigger, more open, and fluid with my arms and hands, like Josh does. Normally, I hold back and be a bit more rigid, but this time, I let go of all that self-consciousness—and it was incredible. My horse’s responses were so light and so in tune, it truly felt magical. We had so much fun.
What's your win? 😍
January 21
Hi members! Have you tried Ifa Simmond's Cross Training for Equestrians program? I’m collecting testimonials and would love to hear about your experience! 🤩 Your feedback could inspire others to take the leap and transform their riding and fitness journey.
in 🙌 share_a_win
January 15
So I was doing some work with my mare on the lunge line today.. shebwas not happy, was reactive, and just saying "no". I thought "hmmm... she isn't typically like this during groundwork or lunge line stuff, maybe I should take it off ". ..
Now, part of me was struggling with this because she was being "naughty" (I rarely use that term... but there was a whole lot of "no ma'am " happening today), and if I took it off, was I allowing her to get away with this not-so-great behavior?? Well, I trusted my gut, and took her rope halter and line off. Initially she was just walking around sniffing, only paying attention to me about 10% of the time. I let her sniff then asked her to move forward.
To my very pleasant surprise, my mare did a lovely trot and canter circle around me, even kept it about a perfect 20m circle. She listened to my voice cues, my body language. It was awesome!!!! Maybe she was annoyed i wasnt "trusting" her and today needed to be the day I let her work at liberty!!! It was so lovely!!
I finished our time off by putting her back on the lead line and asking her to trot over some ground poles. This time, she was soft, nice and forward, stretching forward and down. I wanted her to finish on the lunge line in a positive light, and she totally did.
Today was a huge win for us. My mare is definitely showing me that I can trust her and ask her for more than I have realized!