Lesley Holyoake - Equine Bond

Hi, I’m Lesley and based on the south coast of the UK near Portsmouth, Hampshire.  I am happy to travel so please feel free to ask.

I qualified as a P1 in 2012 and like many, discovered the Tellington TTouch through my own heart horse Basil who needed more support than the knowledge I had.    He was the dream horse of my childhood so when I had to retire him from competition at the age of 14, I was really floundering until I discovered the work.  All of a sudden we had a focus again, there was purpose to groundwork that he could do, a way I could help him in his body, the injuries he had and a reason to help him move. It also gave us a way to connect much more deeply again – he had one of his eyes removed at 6 years old due to Uveitis so the bodywork helped us enormously in our communication as well as releasing the tension in his body.

The resultant journey has been one of deep change for me personally.  I  grew up with riding school lessons, pony club, riding club and BHS competition.   I was always interested in the ‘alternative’ path but my fear and desire for lessons was stronger than my confidence to explore different approaches.   It is only as I went through my Tellington TTouch trainings that I learnt to let go of the things that no longer fitted.  Learning to trust myself, learning to believe what the horse was telling me rather than overriding it with what I had been taught or the expectations of others around me, and learning how I learn so I could become stronger and more resilient.

I now take my inspiration from many different avenues and am always drawn to learning more from animal-led approaches.  I also coach neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.  My interest is in the relationship betwen the emotional and mental body with the physical body.  The more peaceful we are the easier it is to learn and that then has a similar impact on our animals.  How can you have what you want at the same time as giving your horse all they need at the same time as being calm, gentle and effective?  It’s not always easy but I absolutely know that the Tellington TTouch has given me the skills and tools to be able to do that – and that is what I wish to impart to you.  If you can’t be calm, gentle and effective, what do you need, what does your horse need and what needs to happen for that to happen?