Susan Nienaber - Equine Behaviourist

I would love your help 🙏

Could you fill out a 2 minute survey for me?

As some of you know before going into horses I was well on my way to become an environmental scientist. And I actually did my MSc with the idea of combining my environmental science degree with my horse degree, but I went the behaviour/coaching route instead.

So, I'm looking into paddock & land management on horse properties - erosion, overgrazing, pasture health - and want real data before I build anything further (I would love to try to get some funding for this)

2 minutes of your time = entry into the draw for a free 30-min property/paddock consultation with me. Closes Friday.

Link here 👉

Horse Property and Pasture Management Survey We would love to hear about how you manage your horse's environment to help us provide better resources and support.

With the weather looking rough this weekend, I'm swapping group lessons for something just as useful: a goal-setting session for the season ahead. 60 minutes, small group, at mine.

We'll dig into what's actually holding you back right now... could be your horse, could be a skill, could be what's going on in your head

You'll walk away with a real plan, one you can take to any coach you work with.

Saturday 1pm | 213 Takarau Gorge Road | $25
DM to grab a spot 🐴

If you know someone who'd get value from this, I'd love it if you passed it on 🙏 Seriously, you would 100% make my day!!

The most common mistake people make with a spooky horse is trying to stop them from looking at the scary thing.

Most "spooky" horses aren't actually spooky. They're just:

1. On the forehand

2. Behind the vertical

3. Not straight in their body

Fix those, and most horses are nowhere near as reactive as you think...

This Saturday (11 July) — Weekend Breakdown: Riding corners

Most riders don’t use their corners well. In this group lesson you’ll learn to properly utilise — what is often — wasted space.

9–11am | Ohariu | 60 min group lessons | $55 + $10 arena fee

Message me to grab a spot

Most horses don't need to be rugged over winter if their management is able to provide them with the basics they need.

It's not cold that makes horses skinny — horse don't expand energy to keep themselves warm untillnit gets belown 5°, and then fibre will be the thing they need to heat up. The big culprit for losing weight is usually stress. So as long as their herd is stable, they have enough to eat, shelter and get enough sleep, they generally keep their weight on well.

Horses that overheat in rugs that are too warm is a bigger problem than horses being a little bit cold. As their systems are great at the heating up part, it's the cooling down that they find difficult.

Now that doesn't mean never rug. Remember there is always nuance!!!! But a lot of horses would be much happier if they can regulate their own temperature.

Would you be able to leave your horses without a cover on year round?

Weekend Group Lessons

I'm running some weekend group lessons over winter
Groups of 2–4 riders (45-60 mins)
$55 per person + arena fee if applicable.

This Saturday (4 July) from 9am @ 299 Takarau gorge road, Ohariu Valley ($10 arena fee)
The theme is "nail that centre line" - so we’ll focus on straight lines and square halts.

I know most of you are good weather riders so no lessons when it's raining.

Let me know if you're keen, or pass it on to anyone who might be! 😄

Windsucking, Weaving & other Stereotypies
is the topic for this Saturday's Weekend Breakdown Session

Whether you have a horse that windsucks, crib-bites, weaves, or shows another stereotypical behaviour, or if you are just curious about horses in general, this is a surper interesting topic.

We will go beyond the "it's caused by stress"

Instead we will dive into

✅ What makes some horses more prone to this kind of behaviour ➡️ aka what happens in the horses brain that creates this type of behaviour (my behaviour professor in Uni did a lot of the studies on the neurology of stereotypies, so expect this to be a bit nerdy, but I promise I'll break it down in a way that is easy to understand)

✅ What you can do to prevent it from developing

✅ How you can fix it (if that's possible)

The details
➡️ Saturday @ 10 AM
➡️ Ohariu Valley, Wellington

If you're keen to join, you can RSVP by sending me a Message or text me on 020 4159 9111 😉

The cost is $20 and will include some morning tea & cake as it's also my Birthday on Saturday

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday!!

x Susan