Sophie Bennetts

About

Growing up around horses and coming from a traditional equestrian background, I never questioned anything that I’d been taught. That was until 2004, whilst out on a ranch in Canada I discovered Natural horsemanship. I was amazed at the communication they had with the horses and knew I had to learn more about this!

On returning to the UK and attending a Parelli demo,I bought the study packs and equipment. The journey had started, but I was soon to realise that this however was just the beginning!

In 2008 I received one of Jaime Jackson’s books for Christmas that sparked my interest,and soon after took me and my horses out to Switzerland for a year to be a working student with a Parelli Professional.

My horses were already barefoot but I noticed that their hoof health improved within a few months of being out in Switzerland, it was the farrier at the yard who inspired me to finally sit down and read that JJ book thoroughly!

Around about that time I also acquired another mare back in the UK, she was to be quite a project and as I was still not in the UK I decided to have her shoes removed.

However I knew that I wanted a barefoot specialist to deal with her feet,after a quick google search I found Lindsay and was happy that she also had the same ideas on horse handling as me and so could take care of the mare’s feet whilst making it a positive experience for her. I was sent regular updates on the improvement in Plum’s feet and was amazed at the results.

Back in Switzerland my horses feet had never looked better and I was learning more about how diet and management can affect the horse.
March 2010 I returned to the UK and was finally able to meet Lindsay Setchell. By the end of the year I knew that NHC was something that I wanted to do professionally and so I spent every spare day traveling around with Lindsay.

In 2012 I started with the AANHCP training program and am now an SP with them. I am based down in Cornwall with a growing herd of horses who have been living on a track system since 2010. With a solid foundation using natural horsemanship,my herd do a range of activities including long distance riding,classical dressage,jumping and western events, all completely barefoot! As well as NHC I have a keen interest in foundation training using natural horsemanship and horse/rider biomechanics