O&M Equestrian

A great lesson this morning with @omequestrianltd at @acecrosscountry. First time here and loved it will definitely be returning 💕

The baby of the team Lottie Lou is back in action👌

About 4 months ago, Lottie started to become really backwards, throwing herself around, plunging, becoming very reactive to the slightest little thing and started to become unridable. When I bought her as a 4 year old, she was the most settled un phased ( chestnut) mare you could find, her mentally to life didn’t match her age. So once she started showing these issues I knew something was going on.

After some investigation from our amazing vet, we xrayed everywhere, Lottie had a very mild change in her stifle, which was causing fluid build up and Inflammation, and due to this she ended up developing an active kissing spine from the inability to step through, the stifle was treated and so was the back, with the back becoming secondary and after a period of time off and hacking of bringing her back into work, I seem to have my mare back🙌🏻

She has no pain response, moving freely and angelic again, and is finally ready to start picking back up her pre event training, her behaviour and way of going is going to be monitored closely, and Will has stem cell therapy in the stifle in the summer to help support the joint and re x Ray of the back to see if the close vertebrae has improved with her more correct way of going. ( may I add the back wasn’t what was causing the behaviour, no sensitivity response, never tight through the back, and the fact it was a new kisisng spine and newly active it luckily hasn’t developed any changes, it was soley down to her not being able to stand in frame correctly)

But as it stands she’s feeling Awsome, the plan was to have her eventing in young horse classes this year, but we have re jigged her schedule, and will spend most of this year, training, attending arena hires and popping out to some showjumping and dressage, with hopefully the aim of starting her event career next season.

Very excited about this mare, but for now, we are going to enjoy the summer of building her strength and experience and enjoy the nice weather and have some fun ☀️✌🏻

As you can see from the picture, she is happy, forward, over her back, comming through from behind and relaxed 💕💕

P.s always listen to your horses, they want to please; and when small things start to change in their behaviour or work, then it’s those subtle changes that they use to make us aware 🙏

Love when I see posts like this from my
Clients, I got to say I do have the most motivated and driven client base🩵 so lovley to see them going out and achieving there goals and targets, and to help train and assist them along the way to reach there goals is so rewarding as a trainer👌

This time last year the thought of Millie jumping terrified her, and her confidence was at a low, over a period of sessions with confidence being the top priority we made excerise’s and homework for Millie’s and elvis’s to focus and practice to gain confidence, Millie has done a great Job building the jumping partnership with Elvis, and it’s great to see her doing more than she thought she would, it just goes to show, small stepping stones and building blocks are the key to building confidence, trust and partnership👌 well done Millie and Elvis 🩵

1 space remaining, if anyone would like this

🐎 Cross Country Clinic 🐎 23rd may

Join us at Ace Cross Country, Tewkesbury for a focused and supportive training session designed to build confidence and improve performance!

🕐 Time slots available:
• 1:00 – 2:00 taken ✅
• 2:00 – 3:00

👥 Individual or pair sessions available

We’ll be working on:
✨ Rhythm
✨ Rideability
✨ Accuracy
✨ Building confidence for both horse and rider

Perfect for anyone looking to sharpen their cross country skills in a positive, encouraging environment.

📍 Ace Cross Country, Tewkesbury

📩 Message to book your space!

This is so me right now with my horses.

They’ve had to go down different paths due to injury, physical changes, and sometimes just for their mental wellbeing. It can be so disheartening when you realise that a particular horse might not feel that adrenaline rush again… the excitement of hearing the countdown at the start box.

But with that realisation comes something else — new doors opening.

Maybe it’s not the path I expected them to go down. Maybe it’s a different discipline, a different way of understanding them, producing them, and working together. And honestly? I can’t wait. 🙌🏻

Dedication, understanding, and enjoyment — that’s what it’s really about. I’ve learnt to take the pressure off myself, to amend some goals, and to truly be present. To enjoy every minute for what it is.

Since changing my mindset, the love and enjoyment has come flooding back… and it’s unlocked a new fire in my stomach 🔥 to give this new path a damn good go and see where me and these horses end up. 🙌🏻💕

And if you’re in this space right now — feeling disappointed, frustrated, or unsure because things haven’t gone to plan — trust me, it does get better. Sometimes the path you didn’t choose ends up being the one that teaches you the most and brings you the greatest joy. Keep going 🤍

I don’t know a single horse person who hasn’t stood at this point at least once.

That point where you realise the future you imagined isn’t going to happen.

You start out with hope.
With excitement.
With ideas about partnership, progress, potential.
Even if you “just ride for pleasure”, there’s still a picture in your head of what life with that horse might look like.

And then something changes.

Maybe it’s injury.
Maybe it’s behaviour.
Maybe it’s fear.
Maybe it’s life, money, time, or circumstances you never saw coming.

One day you wake up and the weight of it all feels heavy.
The dreams you were holding start to slip through your fingers.
And the relationship that once felt exciting now feels like pressure.

I know that place well.

I lived there for a long time.

I was an extremely competitive rider. Goals mattered. Outcomes mattered. Results mattered.
And I lost a lot of joy chasing futures that never actually arrived.

The biggest shift for me came when I stopped living in what my horses could be
and started being present with who they were.

Now, I don’t see my relationship with my horses through goals or achievements.
I’m in it for the relationship.
For the connection.
For the privilege of being part of their life.

And honestly — that is enough.

Here’s the uncomfortable bit, and I say this with compassion, not judgement.

When you’re sitting in the mess of
“I don’t know if this horse will ever come right”
“I’m scared”
“The behaviour is awful”
“I don’t even know if it likes me”

it’s very tempting to think, I’ll just get another horse. That will be easier.

But if you don’t look at how you got here —
the patterns, the expectations, the way the horse has been managed, trained, listened to (or not) —
you don’t escape the problem.

You just repeat it.

Different horse. Same cycle.

That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means something is asking to be seen differently.

Living in the future creates anxiety.
Living in “what could have been” creates grief.
And most of the time, that future was never actually real — it was a story we told ourselves.

Dreams aren’t bad.
Goals aren’t bad.

But there’s something far kinder — to you and to the horse — about building the relationship one small, honest step at a time, in the present moment.

So if you’re grieving the loss of a dream right now…
If you’re exhausted, disheartened, or quietly wondering whether to give up…

Maybe letting go of what you wanted
and leaning into what is
isn’t the end of the road.

Maybe it’s a different kind of beginning.

One where the pressure eases.
Where the relationship matters more than the outcome.
Where the horse in front of you is enough, just as they are — today.

And maybe, for now, that’s all that needs to exist.

Just this moment.
This horse.
This connection.

And seeing where that takes you, one step at a time.

Have you ever had to let go of a version of the future you thought you were working towards?

🐴 Lesson Booking Update 🐴

Hi everyone! Just a quick update to our lesson booking policy so we can keep things running smoothly for all our riders 💛

From 1st February 2026, all horse lesson bookings will require a 50% deposit of the full lesson price at the time of booking.

✨ Cancellation policy:
• If you cancel more than 48 hours before your lesson, your deposit can be credited and moved to another day.
• If you cancel within 48 hours, the deposit will unfortunately be non-refundable.

Thank you so much for your understanding and continued support — it really helps us manage lesson schedules and care for our horses 🐎
If you have any questions, feel free to message me!

I will be glad to see the back of the snow and cold ❄️
I’ve missed riding all the he horses the last few days, with frozen arena and ice rink roads 🥶

So as of tommorow 2026 training and fitness restarts, ( we’ll just forget about the first 6 days of 2026) 😂🙈

although the snow adds a nice effect to a lovley picture of Mr Banksy here wearing his cosy multilayered Premier Equine International Ltd rug 😍