Thought you working our horses was brilliant, I was so surprised about how determind Ash was demonstrated what an intelligent horse he is.You are the only person I have met that didn't overlook Ash and say how unresponsive, dead and lazy he was and it was clear to you that he leads people into a false sence of security. Straight away you had the measure of him which again surprised me. You highlighted how much depth there is to Ash and we haven't even scratched the surface yet !
Watching you with Man was magic you could see him trying to work it out, you were not phased by anything he threw at you.You could see him fighting you all the way but at the same time you could see his insecurity and how stressed he was. Afterwards you could see what a sensitive, reponsive, green horse he was with a lot of emotional baggage.
From my point of view I understood what you were doing just simply asking him to do something, it was they who reacted often overreacted when all you were in fact asking the most basic of tasks.
It was a great show of your indivdual strength yet no sign of tension.
It would have been good to have had a commentator to explain what your doing as when you are concentrating you can't be expected to talk as well.

Since meeting Pip and working our horses the hardest thing for me to accept was that most of the problems people get are to do with them. The horse is just being a horse and any mental issue they may have is because of humans. However it is also to be realised that often this is due to ignorance rathe than deliberate cruelty. The biggest hurdle for me was to let go and not worry about whether I thought other peolpe perceived me as being stupid.
You have to really want to learn about your horses, want a relationship rather than boss and subordinate.
We had a number of "natural horsemanship intructors" that made me feel that Ash wasn't good enough and "hit him" was the attiude even then I wasn't happy with this and subsequently hadn't really made any progress in 4 years of him arriving with us.
Pip has been the only instructor that hasn't overlooked Ash and realised his potentail and also highlighted what a good person reader he is.
After one session with Pip I was amazed at how quickly Ash and Man had reponded quieter and improved manners.
We worked mainly on us improving our balance, confidence and understanding, the horses were shouting at us all the time to listern but at the time we were too ignorant to listen.
Now I have found I can gauge how much I can push them.
I now feel totally at peace with the horses and can honestly say no matter what they do I do not get cross I love and repect them unconditionally. They are just fantastic teachers who think we are ready for the next lesson.
Since having lessons from Pip I/we have achived so much and in such a small time.
Before I was set on competitions it has taken me time to come to terms with the fact no matter what you do with the horses the bond and partnership you have with your horse is so much more valuable than any rosette. We will do the odd show/sponsored ride but in our own time when the time is right for our horses and ourselves.
Since using Pips methods I realise how much there is to know about my horse, we are looking forward to learning together. I have no hesitaion in recommending Pip to anybody however it is imperative that the individual does actually want to learn.
I feel Pip teaches you how to deal with life and you get to know yourself as well as your horse.

Liz Hudd..........................Sep 2006