Christina Wyman-Smith IHRT Equine Perceptive
Develop connection through understanding how equine perception shapes behaviour.
what I do
Philosophy
I believe in creating a nurturing and supportive training environment for both horse and human. I prioritize the well-being of horses and support clients in developing leadership, confidence and connection with their horses. I focus on supporting owners in developing an understanding of the way horses feel, communicate and perceive the world around them in order to understand and improve equine behaviour. All my training and relationship building principles involve developing connection and clear communication methods without fear or force based on a sound understanding of equine learning theory. If we can learn to listen, notice and understand what our horses are telling us through their behaviour, we can improve the connection and partnerships for a lifetime. Learning the skills and confidence to modify and improve your horses behaviour yourself is one of the most rewarding endeavors of horsemanship. I have developed my horsemanship skills and philosophy through my experience with the training approach and horsemanship of Kelly Marks and Intelligent horsemanship. I am the Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Trainer Cambridgeshire, I can travel 30 miles from CB21 to visit clients in Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. I have achieved the Intelligent Horsemanship Diploma and the Monty Roberts Introductory Course Of Horsemanship, both of which have shaped everything I do when working with horses and their owners. My main focus when working with clients and their horses is leading, loading, ground work, mounting issues and acceptance training. I am currently taking on new clients within a 30 mile radius of CB21.
Groundwork And Handling Skills
The importance of ground work to build trust, communication, acceptance and a deeper bond with our horses cannot be overstated.. Groundwork exercises build confidence using clear communication and timing, with a focus on facilitating confident, fair and force free leadership. In hand exercises teach the fundamentals of groundwork that can improve leading, loading and safe handling of horses. If your horse lacks manners on the ground, I can tailor ground work exercises to build confidence, trust and leadership that develop your confidence and handling skills. Spending quality time on ground work exercises is an excellent way to improve your horses behaviour, build trust and connection, as well as enjoying being present and in the moment with your horse. Ground work exercises are excellent for building fitness, coordination, relaxation and self regulation within human and equine partnerships. If you need help improving your ground work and handling skills, I offer consultations, visits and tailored exercises to support you and your horse.
LOADING HELP
If you need help loading your horse, I offer consultations and one to one visits to assess and establish the underlying issues relating to loading. If your horse needs retraining to load willingly and safely, I offer a service that focuses on identifying and addressing the underlying issues that are preventing your horse from wanting to load. Once this has been accurately established, I can then work with your horse to support and teach them to load willingly, safely and calmly without fear, force or punishment. Taking time and creating the right environment for horses to learn how to do the right thing when loading is paramount to any loading or groundwork I undertake. Retraining exercises are tailored to the individual horses needs, experience and perception of loading. All ground work and loading preparation exercises are based on incremental learning to build your horses confidence and sense of security. This is established through calm and fair leadership based training. which is enjoyable and rewarding for both horse and human. leading and loading
ACCEPTANCE TRAINING HELP
If you need help to introduce or retrain your horse to accept new objects, stimuli or situations that worry them, I can help. Learning how to safely introduce your horse to new objects and teach them to accept new things willingly is a fundamental element of horse training. Acceptance training is a vital tool for creating calm, willing and confident horses. When working with individual horses on the ground, the journey and the process is the most important and rewarding part of my work. My work focuses on the needs, confidence and experience of the individual horses and their owners.. Working with horses in this way maximises the opportunities to use their natural curiosity through application of Incremental learning exercises. I can encourage your horse to accept human leadership, develop self confidence and confidence in the leadership of their human. leading and loading
AGILE EQUINE AGILITY CLINICS AND EVENTS
Agile equine agility evets build confidence and acceptance of new objects and situations for you and your horse. If you want to build your horse's confidence within a safe and supportive training environment, agile equine agility exercises would be a great place to start. Our obstacles include exercises that involve teaching your horse over, under round and through exercises both in hand and ridden. If you are interested in learning how to safely introduce your horse to bridges, balance platforms, flags, balloons, balls, jump through hoops, and other experience other new objects, I can help. Agile equine agility obstacles are designed to combine in hand and ridden exercises that build confidence and trust between horse and human without fear, force or punishment. Understanding how your horse prefers to use his vision when investigating and engaging with new objects and environments is a vital element of these exercises. If you would like to know more about these types of exercises and where to start, please contact me via email at christina@equineperceptive.co.uk. I also offer visiting agility clinics to clients with a minimum of 10 in a group, if you would like to organize an agility event at your yard, I offer equipment, tuition, rosettes and a competition in our agility event packages.
Client Testimonials
Louisa and Darcy: A new partnership
When I got Darcy in August 2024, I knew I wanted to build a strong bond with her from the start. As a young horse, just seven years old and having previously had a foal, she was a little greener than I initially realised. A friend recommended Christina Wyman-Smith for groundwork training and I’m so grateful they did. From the very first session, Christina’s patient, knowledgeable, and kind approach put both Darcy and me at ease. We’ve worked on basic handling, long-lining in the round pen and indoor school, loading practice, and even getting comfortable in the wash box; all with a focus on trust and confidence. Darcy is a quick learner and eager to please, and with Christina’s guidance, our relationship has grown so much stronger. As a first-time horse owner, you quickly realize how much there is to learn and how little you actually know which is simultaneously humbling and terrifying. Christina’s brilliant coaching has been invaluable, giving me the skills and confidence to understand and connect with my horse on a deeper level. I feel incredibly lucky to have found her, and I couldn’t be happier with how Darcy and I have progressed together. Thank you, Christina, for your expertise, encouragement, and endless patience—I truly couldn’t have done this without you.
Louisa Eggleston
Vicky and Mally
Loading and Groundwork
I have a horse who wasn’t the best on the ground, he could be bargy, and wasn’t the best at loading in a horsebox. He would squiggle around and once he was in he would run straight out again .
A friend of mine recommended Christina to me and from day one of meeting and having Christina work with Mally I felt a sense of relief. She worked with mally numerous times loading , keeping him calm and making it in all a happy, calm and an enjoyable inviting experience for him .
Christina explained everything clearly and easy to understand, she has really helped boast my confidence and has given me the tools to build a stronger bond with Mally. I now feel more connected with Mally and the trust has really grown between us.
I highly recommend Christina to anyone having ground/loading or any other horse issues , as time with our four legged friends should be an our happy place, to which I have now.
Thank you Christina x
Sarah and Alfie: mounting issues
Sarah and Alfie: mounting issues
Christina worked with me and my horse Alfie on mounting issues. He would not stand at the block for anything longer than 3 seconds before we started our training. Christina broke each step down for us and then we worked it through so that we could get him stood at the block until I asked him to move. It only took 3 sessions plus my working with him in between and he was then standing like a champ. I am so proud of him. Christina is brilliant in everyway. She is calm, methodical and does not rush the process. I would not hesitate to go back to her if I needed any assistance with any other horse related issues.
Sophie and Alfie
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
Sarah and Alfie: mounting issues
Groundwork, connection, loading/travel
I met first met Christina when she came out and held an Equine Agility day at the yard I am stabled at. My horse Alfie at the time could be extremely flighty and rarely accepted reassurance from me on the ground to know that a certain situation was ok. Christina worked with us a lot during that first session and taught me how much I was personally feeding Alfie’s anxieties with my own and how to overcome that. I couldn’t believe the difference even at the end of that first session.
Christina then came back to the yard and held another agility day and again it was incredible to see how much more of the obstacles Alfie was willing to try and how much more trusting he was of me even when he was unsure just from the regular use of the tips provided by Christina for me to use that helped to settle him and for me to read him better.
Alfie also had some issues with loading where he would go onto the box but he would turn and run back off almost bulldozing myself and or anyone else that was in his way. Christina came out for a couple of sessions to work on this. Replicating each individual step of being on a box and breaking it down for him before slowly linking them together and eventually loading him onto the box and being able to go for a trip to Christina’s own yard and back again.
I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am for Christina and the work she has done for Alfie and I. I feel like she was able to teach us both to trust each other by teaching me how to understand and speak to Alfie without words. He is a totally different horse now, rarely flighty and a much happier soul. I will continue to work with Christina at any chance I can as I truly believe I learn more and more every time creating a more knowledgable compassionate version of myself and a happier version of my horse. I highly recommend anyone who is having issues with their horse to get in touch with Christina as I am sure you will not be disappointed and will be in as much awe as I was and continue to be.
Chloe and Nico: loading and groundwork
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
I met Christina while trying to bond with my horse and prepare him the best I could for a very long trip across France.
Nico was already trained to load but had not done it for a while. Christina took the time to meet us both and made us both work on groundwork exercices first. It was very interesting to see how responsive Nico was.
When she felt he was ready we started introducing the lorry and although he jumped on easily, Christina noted some signs of stress he was displaying. We did 5 sessions until the big day, thanks to which Nico loaded and travelled very well (even after a night stopover!).
I am very grateful to her and would strongly recommend Christina! "
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
Jade and Eddie: youngster play and acceptance training
It’s rare to find someone who has the same values and beliefs as I do, but Christina really does. Eddie had not done a lot of ground work, just the basic understanding. Christina helped Eddie understand how to play, be confident in the arena and enjoy her box of tricks, with Eddie being so young it was perfect in every way. I cannot recommend Christina enough and cannot wait for her to work with Eddie in the future
Horse Psychology Research Paper
Project Aims
In progress
Project conclusions
in progress
Applications of eye bias in horse training
in progress
Further research
In progress
Loading Gallery
Groundwork and Acceptance Training Gallery
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Agile Equine agility exercises Gallery
Horse psychology
Horse psychology project summay
eye bias in horses
coming soon
Eye bias testing
Customer Support
Have questions or need help with your booking? Email me at christina@equineperceptive.co.uk