home resources store my library

understand your horse’s welfare with clarity & compassion

a practical evidence-led foundation in equine welfare, behaviour, and care that changes how you see your horse and how you support them every day.

 

perfect for: welfare‑minded horse owners and carers who want to be confident they’re truly doing the best for their horse.

join the course

lifetime access. evidence-based. beginner friendly.

enrol now

join the course today for £120


lifetime access · evidence‑based · beginner‑friendly

 

Created by a Chartered Environmentalist and equine behaviour specialist, this course gives you the foundations to understand your horse clearly and confidently.

enrol now

if you've ever:

worried you're missing something with your horse 

felt unsure, overwhelmed, or afraid of "getting it wrong"

wondered if there's more to welfare than the standard advice

 

you're not alone - and you're not failing. 

 

you just need clarity: a clear, evidence‑based way to understand what your horse needs and how to support them in real life.

  1. what this course actually gives you

a practical, evidence‑based course using the CARE framework to help you:

really understand what your horse needs,

spot problems earlier

make better day‑to‑day decisions for their wellbeing 

what students are saying

"I’ve just finished the course and I’m so impressed. It’s incredibly helpful to have all this information in one place and presented so clearly. The course is jam‑packed with knowledge, but in digestible, bitesize pieces so I never felt overwhelmed.
I especially appreciated the section on being careful with the language we use to describe our horses. It’s insidious and unhelpful to label frightened horses as ‘naughty’, and I’m overjoyed that this message is being shared. Most horse people genuinely want the best for their horses — we just need the right information so we can make the changes that improve all our lives.” 

 

small changes make a big difference — and this is where they begin

 

 

enrol now

why this course works

because it gives you the foundations of equine welfare, behaviour, and stress — the things that shape every decision you make for your horse. 

 it’s practical, evidence‑led, and designed for real horses in real environments.

 

by the end of this course, you will: 

understand your horse through an evidence-led, compassionate lens

spot subtle signs of stress, discomfort, or pain

make confident, informed decisions about care, training and management 

know how to support your horse's physical and emotional wellbeing

feel less overwhelmed and more grounded in what your horse truly needs

have a practical framework you can use for life

why understanding horses this way matters

 

Horses make sense when we understand who they are — not through tradition or guesswork, but through their evolution, behaviour, and the needs they carry as a species. When we see them clearly, everything else becomes easier: their behaviour, their emotions, their movement, and the choices we make for their daily lives.

 

This course gives you the essential foundations of equine welfare: the science behind how horses think, feel, move, and interact with their world — and the practical ways you can support them in real, everyday environments.

 

Whether you’re new to horses or looking to deepen your understanding, you’ll learn how to recognise natural behaviours, spot early signs of discomfort or stress, and make informed decisions about care, training, and wellbeing. Designed to be clear, compassionate, and immediately useful, this course helps you see your horse through an evidence‑led lens — and gives you the confidence to make small changes that create a big difference. 

CARE gives you clarity, not checklists - a practical way to understand your horse's needs in the real world. 

why I created this course 

 

When I bought Oisín home, I loved him fiercely — but I didn’t understand him yet. I missed the subtle signs. I doubted myself.

I didn’t know how quietly horses show pain.
I didn’t know how much their environment shapes their behaviour.
I didn’t know how stress hides in “normal” behaviours.
I didn’t know how to advocate for him when something felt wrong.


I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

And because of that, he struggled in ways I didn’t recognise until much later.

This course is everything I wish I’d known back then — the foundations that would have changed everything for him.

It’s designed to give you the clarity, confidence, and compassion I had to learn the hard way, so you can support your horse sooner, more gently, and with far less doubt.

enrol now

is this course for you?

this course is designed for horse owners and carers who:
 

have learned the standard welfare advice but feel there’s more to understand

 want to catch issues early instead of waiting until your horse is obviously in trouble

 care deeply about giving your horse the best life you can, not just meeting minimum standards

are fairly new to owning or caring for a horse and worry if you’re “doing it right” 

 

you don’t need a perfect yard or perfect confidence — just the willingness to understand your horse more deeply.

 

choose the course if you want:

a clear, evidence‑based foundation in equine welfare

to understand your horse better before making management changes

lifetime access you can revisit anytime

a self‑paced, beginner‑friendly starting point

enrol now

choose coaching if you want:

personalised guidance for your land, grazing, or track system

help with mud,  overgrazing, metabolic horses, or land constraints

tailored, practical advice for your unique situation

a collaborative session focused on your goals

 

explore coaching

inside “Understand Your Horse” you’ll get:

7 core modules covering behaviour, welfare, pain, movement, development, riding, and real‑world management

case studies that show you how to apply what you learn

reflection prompts to help you spot changes you can make with your own horse

references if you want to go deeper into the research

understand your horse: the essentials

  1. module 0: introduction

    4 lessons
    1. introducing Oisin
    2. how to use this course
    3. about your instructor
    4. Oisins' story

  2. module 0: continued

    1 lesson
    1. domestication and the modern horse

  3. module 1: the lens through which we see horses

    13 lessons
    1. the modern horse welfare crisis
    2. what is a horse?
    3. the biological horse
    4. how horses perceive the world
    5. why we must observe and question
    6. the horses emotional landscape: anxiety, stress and learned helplessness
    7. the body-mind connection
    8. behaviour as communication
    9. the language we use
    10. how horses learn
    11. the modern horse and the mismatch problem
    12. the lens through which we see horses - quiz
    13. evolution, behaviour, and the horse’s lived experience reflections

  4. module 2: welfare foundations

    11 lessons
    1. welfare Foundations: how we assess a horse's life
    2. the legal gap: why horses fall through the cracks
    3. why this matters: the case for change
    4. welfare foundation - quiz
    5. introducing CARE
    6. choice & agency
    7. access to forage
    8. relationships
    9. earth
    10. CARE framework - quiz
    11. CARE framework reflections

  5. module 3: when something is wrong

    8 lessons
    1. identifying when something is wrong
    2. recognising pain
    3. posture: a window into the body
    4. gait
    5. stereotypies and environmental stress
    6. the core message
    7. when something is wrong - quiz
    8. when something is wrong, reflections

  6. module 4: equine development

    3 lessons
    1. equine development
    2. equine development - quiz
    3. equine development reflections

  7. module 5: whole horse care

    10 lessons
    1. the importance of whole horse care
    2. body condition scoring
    3. hoofcare: function, not fashion
    4. dentistry: preventing hidden pain
    5. bodywork
    6. parasite management
    7. clipping, grooming, and rugging
    8. planning for the end of life
    9. whole horse care - quiz
    10. whole horse care reflections

  8. module 6: riding & training

    8 lessons
    1. riding and training
    2. why riding is not a weight loss tool
    3. why traditional lunging can be harmful
    4. assessing readiness to ride
    5. equipment - the saddle
    6. equipment - the bridle
    7. riding and training - quiz
    8. riding and training reflections

  9. module 7: management, advocacy & application

    5 lessons
    1. management, advocacy & real-world application of CARE
    2. how to have constructive conversations with professionals
    3. bringing it all together: CARE as a lifelong framework
    4. management, advocacy & real‑world application - quiz
    5. management, advocacy, and real‑world application reflections

  10. case studies

    4 lessons
    1. Django
    2. Jake
    3. Trigger & Tikka
    4. Stu

  11. references

    1 lesson
    1. references
take a look inside ...

why this course is different

 -evidence-led, not opinion led
-practical, not theoretical 
-designed for real horses in real environments
-beginner-friendly but deeply informative
-a whole-horse, whole-life approach

 

"I’m loving the course. It’s incredibly informative, completely my vibe, and so professionally put together. I feel very privileged and grateful to be learning from it." 

“This course is jam‑packed with information but delivered in clear, bitesize pieces so I never felt overwhelmed. I especially loved the section on how the language we use shapes how we see our horses — it’s so important.”

"A very informative and professionally put together course covering everything you need to know, and didn’t even realise you needed to know, about horses and equine welfare. The reflections after each module really helped me see the areas I could improve with our horses. I would definitely recommend the course, whether you’re new to horses or an experienced owner."

Pricing

£120

Lifetime access to all modules, case studies, and future updates.
If you reach the end of Module 2 and feel the course hasn’t given you new clarity about your horse’s welfare, email me within 14 days for a full refund. No hard feelings.
 

Join Understand Your Horse: The Essentials

enrol now

want personalised support for your land or grazing system?

 

explore my land‑informed equine systems coaching

explore now

 if you’re ready to understand your horse with clarity and compassion, this course is your starting point.


small changes make a big difference — and this is where they begin.

👉 Join Understand Your Horse: The Essentials today

enroll now

join our newsletter

Keep updated with Switch Equine by signing up for our free newsletter