I was a complete sceptic about groundwork but my horse and I massively reaped the rewards, with Nicola’s training.

She showed and gave us exercises that helped move my older horse in the correct way and they really helped him with his posture, particularly around the engagement of his core. My horse was also quite reactive and we used ground work to train him in how to manage himself in stressful situations – and to teach me what to do to calm and/or manage him in stressful situations.

It astounded me how what happens on the ground with the horse’s body and what you can do to correct the posture directly relates to what happens under saddle – ground work gives you tools you can use when you are riding. Nicola ties it all in so having ground work and ridden training with her works really well.

It is much harder than it looks! But Nicola breaks it down and builds the exercises up, giving you homework to do so you can crack on yourself.

Stephanie Fairbank