Riding horses and driving carriages is a lot of fun and it takes skill and focus to become good at it. However, for some of those in our care, getting on a horse to ride is not possible and for others, carriage driving doesn't interest them.
This is where "liberty" and trick training come in! It is a form of working with horses on the ground, to build a strong connection and relationship with the horse, so they learn to perform tricks and other agility tasks, such as weaving between cones or standing on a pedestal.
Over the last few months, we have been training our smallest member of the team, Pabi, to work at liberty and do tricks, ready for our beneficiaries to have some fun with her on the ground!
It will provide fantastic opportunities for people to work more intimately with the horses and really give them an insight into how they can connect with the horse and how their body language and mindset affects the horse, which will be really beneficial for everyone and also develop their horsemanship skills.
We hope that one day we can perform routines with Pabi on open days and supporters days, to show off everyone's skills at working with her!
Emma