Life with Horses would like to introduce you to our re-educator, Kat Shearer and share with you her love and learnings from horses, she believes they fight for people they love.
Kat has her mum, Fiona to thank for her passion towards horses.
As Kat comments, “I ran before I walked and rode before I ran.” Her favourite discipline is show jumping. “Nothing beats the feeling of flying over a show jump”. You’ll often see her competing with one of her talented retired racehorses. She can also be found in the dressage arena, as she believes the foundation of every discipline comes from dressage.
Watching Kat and Fiona work with these magnificent creatures, you can really see and feel the enthusiasm, passion, love and commitment they have towards retired racehorses.
Beyond Kat’s memory of riding her mum’s retired racehorse, her first experience with her own retired racehorse was in 2017, she took on Woody (race name Rockwater). From 2017 to the present, Kat has opened her home to many retired racehorses, she is currently working with five and has now taken on Ducky… Talk about a busy lady!
Kat has worked with other breeds during her journey with horses but says for her it is Thoroughbreds! “They are the thinking horses for thinking riders”, she says. Speaking from experience about her own thoroughbreds who are such willing partners. “They’re intelligent, athletic, kind and so affectionate”.
So let’s understand Kat’s training philosophy and why she’s a perfect fit with Life with Horses. At Life with Horses, we believe in giving each retired racehorse the time and energy they need and require to re-habilitate and be re-educate. We don’t believe in a three-month timeline to ‘flip a horse’, we want to work with them at the pace each horse requires. That’s why Kat is our gal, she believes in training retired racehorses with the focus on calm before anything else.
Horse Memory: Kat’s first memory as a child with horses was incidentally riding Fiona’s retired racehorse around the backyard using dog leads as reins.
“Animals don’t learn from pressure; they learn from release of pressure”, she says. This statement is supported when you watch Kat work with her horses. Her patience and calm nature when working with the horses is reflected in the horses relaxed behaviour.
This relaxed behaviour allows Kat to work with her horses in a positive environment for the thoroughbreds to learn and expand their education. Providing an environment and mentality around re-education allowing our thoroughbreds to become willing partners learning through trust, clear communication, patience, and consistency.
Learning Fact from Kat: If you want your horse to relax you have to relax first. Breathing is vital for life and integral for good riding.
“Re-educating retired racehorses is a passion that is a hard, slow process – kind of like, two steps forward, three steps back. It is not for the faint hearted and something you need to be ready to spend a lot of time, physical and mental energy, and money on”. BUT as Kat puts it, “The way their eyes change as they become comfortable and realise, they’re ok- there is nothing much like it in the world”.
We asked Kat why she believes people should get involved with Life with Horses. “It’s cheaper than owning your own…” – well don’t we know that it costs over $1,500 a month to rehabilitate and re-educate a retired racehorse. So, Life with Horses needs your support by sponsoring Ducky for $80 a month.
“The other very important thing to think about with joining the Life with Horses experience, not many people get the opportunity to know great horses, let alone see them transform from athletes to whatever they choose. The journey is worth the investment and I guarantee these four legged therapists will teach you things you never knew you needed to learn.”
To close, take some time to consider getting involved with Life with Horses by sponsoring Ducky for $80 a month, as we would love to take you and your family on an experience allowing people to connect with these warm and powerful animals, experiencing this is an amazing feeling, especially for someone who is suffering physical and emotional turmoil.