I really wanted to write to you to thank you so much for all you have done for me and Barnaby. It is amazing to look back to the time we first met you and I was an emotional wreck with a horse who scared me. He would constantly spook and take off with me whether in the ‘safe’ confines of our school or out hacking. He seemed to be terrified of almost everything. The sound of a horsebox starting up or heavy rain on his stable roof was enough to send him piaffing and head shaking for an hour. Loading was a no-no, unless I wanted to see how high he could get without falling over backwards.  I’m so glad I turned to Natural Horsemanship. During my first 3 days of training with you I began to understand what Barnaby needed from me and got the tools to be able to make it happen. I was learning to become an effective leader. You pointed out the key failing in our partnership, that Barnaby believed I was lower down in the herd order than him which meant when he and I were together he was in charge or, effectively, alone. Disastrous for a fearful horse.  Playing the 7 Games ensured that I controlled his direction and speed, that his feet moved before mine and taught him to respect my space. Now I was acting like a horse who was higher up in the pecking order. I learnt to be consistent and fair in my leadership and he relaxed so much. Lots of squeeze game, building up (higher, narrower obstacles) slowly over the weeks overcame his claustrophobic tendencies until he was brave enough to load onto a trailer calmly.  More days with you, borrowing the gorgeous Morgan to learn some spook busting, hacking out tips, and I was ready to start hacking out on Barnaby again. That went more smoothly than I could ever have imagined, now that we had respect and trust. I also have to give a mention to Gavin Schofield who worked his Cranio-Sacral magic on Barnaby, as you said he would, overcoming a back problem which resolved an issue he had with working on the left rein.  It’s been a gradual process but this last month especially I’ve reaped the rewards as we travelled Barnaby to the coast, walked him into the sea and cantered along the beach! A dream come true and unthinkable from the point we started from.  So once again, thank you so much from a confident pony and his happy Mum!

Caroline and Barnaby, Hertfordshire

My horse was a bolter! He would get very panicky and run away; he was suspicious of everything and most humans, including me! I knew he had problems when I bought him, but thought that with patience and kindness we could overcome them. After a nasty fall on a main road when he bolted with me for no apparent reason, I know I had to either sell him on to someone with more balls and/or knowledge, or take a totally different approach to training as I knew beyond all doubt that this went deeper than just using a bit with more leverage, tying his head down, lunging him or even traditional schooling. As I didn’t want to give up on him or me, I chose the latter which is where my journey with Sue and more kinder, natural methods of training started.  We started off with the ground work which really established myself as his leader and gave him huge amounts of confidence, as well as setting us up for all the ridden stuff like lateral movements and balanced, self carriage. All the work done on the ground paid massive dividends when we started the ridden stuff. I still had the position of leader which meant he willingly responded to my aids. He soon found that in any potentially scary situation he would quickly work out that the best option was to stand still! A result of the ground training. I basically had been given the ‘tools’, i.e. in depth knowledge of horse behaviour and how to work with their language so any potentially scary situation was quickly and calmly resolved.  I now have a horse which hacks out in a halter, is beautifully light and balanced under saddle, and performs rein backs, turns on quarter, turns of forehands, and lateral moves using seat and weight aids. Ws have been cross-country schooling and I am planning to compete in Trec this year! We also have a deep bond and a mutually respecting, loving partnership!  THANK YOU SUE!!

Sharon and Ruben, Ditchling, East Sussex

When I took on my horse he had already been labelled as “dangerous and unrideable” by everyone from my vet to osteopath, equine dentist to saddle fitter. In my naivety I though love, patience and kindness were all I needed to help him. After numerous falls and disasters, I realised I needed help before me or my horse ended seriously injured. And thank goodness I found Sue. Her methods allowed me to look at my behaviour first, what emotions I was putting on him, and how my body language was giving out the wrong signals.  I had no idea how weak my leadership skills were, but by working first from the ground before even attempting the ridden side of things, it gave us the confidence in each other which was lacking. Sue has a no-nonsense approach, she will always tell you how it is (whether you want to hear it or not!!), but you need to be prepared to stick it out for the long haul.  This is not a one-visit-cures-all approach. It will change the interaction you have with your horse forever.

Louise and Tora, West Sussex

I had a horse as a teenager, been involved in pony club, had ten years away from horses and been bitten by the bug again when I was offered to loan a lovely cob mare from a friend. Soon I wanted more.  I decided to buy my own horse and that's when eight years ago I met my eight year old Connemara x Thoroughbred mare, Treasure. I thought she was everything I had ever wanted, forward going and beautiful, it was love at first sight. Trouble was I just didn't get the feeling she felt the same way as me. Couldn't really put my finger on it, she is a real trier, it was the little things. She was quite head shy, terribly sensitive and reactionary. She was a terrific jumper but I got the feeling that she just rushed at everything like a bat out of hell almost like she just wanted to get the job over with. She jogged everywhere, and generally seemed to live life on the edge. I was having regular lessons on her. And was getting advice like" Put her in a stronger bit." Or "Keep her going round jumping the same jump over and over until she tires" I knew this wasn't ever going to work with a horse like Treasure she would just run away from the pain, she actually has a lovely mouth, and galloping around a school jumping the same jump over and over was just frying her brain.  I had heard of natural horsemanship and really thought it may be the way forward especially with a horse like Treasure. I had purchased Pat Parelli's stage one kit and was trying to work through it on my own. I had started riding in a rope halter and was amazed at the level of control I had and Treasure seemed happier already. I still knew I needed help though and that's when my vet recommended Sue Gardner to me.  I booked a series of lessons with Sue because the more I saw the more I wanted to know, and I wanted to get the basics in place before settling down to say a lesson a month. On day one we had a little chat about what I thought our problems were and Sue watched me thump through my interpretation of my Parelli course.  Within twenty minutes of Sue handling Treasure's ears she had fallen asleep in Sue's arms. Sue taught me about approach and retreat and the subtleties of body language and energy force and what these mean to a horse. I was amazed that the effects of a little repositioning of my body meant to my horse. The effects were instantaneous.  The first few lessons we had were on the ground and Sue soon had us working with poles. I could have cried when I realised just how terrified Treasure was of touching one of these monstrosities and what I, in my ignorance must have put her through.  Treasure and I now have an unbreakable bond. I hack out mostly in a rope halter much to the amazement of my friends and passers by. Treasure is calm and thinks before she spooks. She really trusts me and we regularly compete in dressage, hunter trials and are about to start le trec. Last year she presented me with an adorable colt who has come in to the world as trusting and respectful as his mother. I will always be grateful for what Sue has given us all.

Michaela and Treasure, West Sussex

I appreciate that working with Shah is not an easy job and I admire Sue for her patience and knowledge of working through our issues. Being an older rescue horse, Shah came with a lot of bad history and I had no idea what I let myself in for but I knew natural horsemanship would give me the tools I needed to work with him on his level and help me understand his negative and aggressive behaviour.  Sue was excellent from the start, helping me work on his behaviour thoroughly from the ground before we progressed with our ridden work. She was never scared of Shah's tantrums, rearing, biting and barging - as opposed to me!! She helped me grow my confidence in working with him as well as showing me how to become a better leader.  Over a period of several months we worked through most of his negative behaviour on the ground, unfortunately he has very deep scars and will never be the 'perfect horse' but I'm very pleased to say that all the old negative baggage has now gone and I feel confident enough to handle him in all situations.  I feel that I must also add a tremendous thank to Sue for also helping us tackle our hacking out issues. My goal was to start Shah in endurance (he's a pure bred arab with several sons and daughters already doing well in endurance so I guessed he'd love it too) but at the time I couldn't hack out more than 200 yard down the lane on our own. He hacked out beautifully with other horses but was a terrible napper, reversing and spinning faster than I could often react. As a lot of my hacking is down lanes with traffic, a nappy horse is not a safe horse and I had run out of options for overcoming napping (tried all the old tricks, including some recommended by other NH teachers, but none worked.).  Sue came and did 'hacking out lessons' with us, walking further and further behind us with a running commentary of what I needed to do every time he napped or misbehaved. Guess what, it worked! From being able to do only a few hundred yards I went to being able to train him to get endurance fit for shorter distances and complete enough endurance rides to qualify us to open level - we're not even novices anymore!! We're now upping the training to see how we get on with middle distances (65-80km) and faster speeds, something I couldn't even dream about doing only a year and a half ago.  I must admit that I can still hear her voice in my head every time we face a similar situation, which is a good thing because his naps and tantrums still happen, but I can manage them successfully now - well, nearly all the time.no one is perfect and hey, it's a left brain arab I'm working with and they're such intelligent creatures!

Tabita and Shah (aka Voyajer), Sussex