Sea Horses Workshops Teaching Horses to Enjoy the Beach e beach can be a beautiful and rewarding experience for some horses and their handlers and an unnatural and terrifying environment for others. Without an understanding or compassionate human handler many horses nd the experience distressing and there are also many handlers who lack the con dence to take their horses to the beach. Jayne Lavender, a professional Horsemanship teacher from e Heart of Horsemanship, wanted to change this and make the beach a rewarding experience for both horse and handler, so began teaching ‘Sea-Horses’ and Private Consultations at the beach. Jayne has always been involved with playing in water with her horses; in the bush where the horses played in dams and in the UK where they played in streams, ords and rivers, or even simply puddles and water jumps. So in Perth it made sense to play in the Indian Ocean! Over time Jayne has observed that horses are greatly in uenced by water, in a positive way. e ocean makes the human lighter and more exible for backing a horse, as well as providing a bu er should the horse object! WA Beach excursions have become an important aspect of Jayne’s vision of creating a better world for horses and humans: because words don’t teach, experience does. “We never rush to ride on the beach or swim in the ocean,” she said. “I take the experience at the pace the individual horse is setting. Our intent is for the beach experience to be great for them, not just the human.” “We share the beach with people whose horses are their recreation and their slave. Much of my Sea-Horses workshops incorporate how to manage sharing a public area with potentially dangerous and negative in uences. e Ahhhhh, it’s water and it’s wet! Megan Diggin with Adonis. Below: Salt water, yummm. Riana Merlino and Valentino.