Stop Guessing. Start Understanding.
The Daily Reality of Riding, Training, and Handling
When you encounter challenges with your horse—whether in the saddle or on the ground—how do you identify the right path forward?
Progress with horses is rarely a straight line. You might be striving for better balance and rhythm in your arena work, or navigating a daily handling challenge—like a horse that is difficult to lead from the paddock, won't stand quietly to tie, or resists loading onto the float.
When these moments occur, it is easy as humans to overthink the situation or misinterpret the horse's response. When we let our own frustration, stress, or human logic drive our reactions, we inadvertently introduce tension. This shifts our own body language and mindset, which can quickly have a negative impact on the horse and the training outcome.
To find a meaningful solution, we have to look at the world from the horse's point of view and understand how they perceive their environment.
Whether you are addressing a ridden habit or a groundwork challenge, lasting progress doesn't come from isolated techniques or forcing an outcome. It comes from understanding how your own mind and movement, your horse's biomechanics, and their natural learning patterns all influence one another. When you understand how both you and your horse think and move, you can make clear, thoughtful decisions that support cooperation, comfort, and a progressive partnership.
Barn Buddies - A supportive educational hub and community for thoughtful horse owners who value progressive, logical training over quick fixes, built to help you develop a true partnership.
In the saddle, on the ground, and everywhere in between—exploring how horse, rider, training, and environment truly influence one another.
Come Join Us on the Inside
Become a Founding Member of Barn Buddies
⏳ Founding Member Doors Close: Monday [Insert Date] at Midnight NZT
Founding Member Price: $39 NZD / month
The Founding Rate Guarantee: Your $39/month rate is locked in for as long as you maintain your continuous membership. On [Insert Date], this special introductory window closes and the standard price becomes $55/month for all new members—but your special insider rate will remain unchanged.
The Commitment: Cancel anytime. No rigid contracts—just ongoing learning alongside a community that values the big picture.
🎁 Special Founding Member Bonus (Limited to the first 30 sign-ups):Direct Video & Photo Input. To celebrate our launch, the first 30 members to join will lock in exclusive access to our video review channel. You’ll be able to upload a short clip or photos of your training for personalized, objective feedback from Sue. Once these 30 spots are filled, this premium feature will close so I can ensure every founding member gets the focus they deserve.
What’s Included Inside Barn Buddies
Every month, we take a deep, focused look at a specific element of the horse and rider partnership, breaking it down into digestible, practical pieces:
Equine Biomechanics & Anatomy: Learn to "train your eye" to recognize what healthy, functional movement looks like for your specific horse. Because every breed and body type moves differently, we focus on understanding what is good for your horse right now, and how to logically improve and progress their baseline.
Rider & Handler Biomechanics & Awareness: Discover how your unique body patterns, mind, and responses can work with your horse to become your greatest tools, whether in the saddle or handling on the ground. Every month includes an unmounted human movement or awareness exercise to help you progressively improve your balance, posture, and alignment.
A Monthly Training Pattern: A specific, practical exercise to use in the saddle or on the ground to put that month’s concepts into clear practice with your horse.
Live Monthly Video Get-Togethers: The central live hub of our community. Once a month, we connect face-to-face online via video call to unpack that month’s topic together, map the concepts into real-world scenarios, and chat through your thoughts in real time. Recorded if you are unable to make it to the live session.
24/7 Written Community Feed: A private, forum available anytime you need it. This is your daily space to type out questions as they crop up, share your written training insights, celebrate your weekly wins, and get objective, constructive support from Sue and your fellow members as you progress.
What you’ll learn
Meet Your Guide in Barn Buddies
Hello, I'm Sue.
I'm a horse and rider coach, trainer, and educator with a passion for helping people better understand both themselves and their horses. My work combines rider biomechanics, equine biomechanics, healthy, functional movement, learning theory, training, and practical experience to support soundness, performance, comfort, and long-term well-being.
Over the years, I've worked with riders from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels. While their goals may differ, many share a common desire: to better understand their horse, feel more confident in the choices they make and do the best they can for their horse.
Some are looking to improve their riding and training. Some want to better understand movement, soundness, behaviour, or performance. Others arrive feeling overwhelmed by conflicting advice, uncertain about what to focus on next, or worried they are missing something important.
The horse world is full of information, opinions, and advice. Sometimes what we need isn't more information, but help making sense of it, identifying which skills matter most right now, and understanding how the pieces fit together.
What I've learned through both my own experiences and my coaching is that confidence isn't usually the thing that's missing. More often, we're in the process of developing a new skill, building experience, or deepening our understanding. As competence grows, confidence often follows.
That's why I created Barn Buddies.
Barn Buddies is a place for curious, thoughtful horse owners who enjoy learning, asking questions, and exploring ideas. Together, we look beyond quick fixes and simple answers to better understand the "what", "why", and "how" behind riding, training, horse behaviour, biomechanics, and horse-and-human partnerships.
As your guide and host, I'll bring topics, questions, practical experience, and evidence-informed discussion to the community. My role isn't to tell you there's only one right way. It's to help you make sense of the many pieces, develop your own understanding, and feel more confident in the choices you make for yourself and your horse.
Whether you're looking to build on a strong foundation or find clarity when things feel uncertain, you'll find a supportive community of horse owners who share your commitment to learning and putting the horse first.
OR
Meet Sue
Hello, I'm Sue.
I'm a horse and rider coach, trainer, and educator with a passion for helping people better understand both themselves and their horses.
With more than 30 years of riding and coaching experience, I’ve seen firsthand that there are rarely simple answers when it comes to horses. Understanding how movement, behaviour, learning, environment, and training influence one another has become a central part of both my coaching and my work with horses.
Rather than focusing on isolated techniques or quick fixes, I'm interested in helping riders understand the bigger picture and develop the skills needed to make thoughtful decisions for the horse in front of them.
My Framework & Background
My work is evidence-informed, meaning I combine the best available behavioural and biomechanical science with three decades of practical training experience. Because formal research cannot fund an answer for every scenario we face in the arena or the paddock, I rely on a balance of scientific principles, deep personal observation, and the shared wisdom of trusted professionals—those who possess strong ethics, a commitment to continuous learning, and the integrity to evolve their approach as our collective understanding grows.
This framework integrates:
Accredited ESNZ Coach: Certified with Equestrian Sports New Zealand.
Rider Biomechanics & Human Physiology: Accredited coach through Mary Wanless’s Ride With Your Mind approach. This focuses on how human alignment, stabilisation, and body awareness directly impact the horse's ability to move comfortably.
The Human Brain & Behaviour: Understanding how we as humans learn, process stress, and form physical habits, so we can better manage our own minds and bodies in the saddle.
Equine Biomechanics & Learning Theory: Understanding the universal principles of how horses physically move and how they naturally process information, allowing for training that supports long-term soundness, performance, and well-being.
Why I Created Barn Buddies
Over the years, I've worked with riders from a wide range of backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels. While their goals may differ, many arrive feeling overwhelmed by conflicting advice and unsure which direction to take next.
The horse world is full of information, opinions, and advice. Sometimes what we need isn't more information, but help making sense of it, identifying which skills matter most right now, and understanding how the pieces fit together.
What I've learned through my own experiences and coaching is that confidence isn't usually the thing that's missing. More often, we're simply in the process of developing a new skill, building experience, or deepening our understanding. As competence grows, confidence follows.
That's why I created Barn Buddies. It is a place for curious, thoughtful horse owners who enjoy learning, asking questions, and exploring ideas.
As your guide and host, my role isn't to tell you there's only one right way. It's to help you better understand your horse, strengthen your skills, and build the confidence that comes from knowing how to respond when challenges arise.
Side by Side. Stride by Stride.
Barn Buddies is a place for curious, thoughtful horse owners who want to continue developing their understanding of horses, riding, and training.
Together, we'll build the understanding, skills, and foundations that help both horse and rider progress with confidence over time. We'll explore the bigger picture—how movement, behaviour, learning, environment, and training influence one another—and how that understanding can help us make better decisions for the horse in front of us.
Learning together, whether in the saddle, on the ground, or simply through how we observe, listen to, and respond to our horses, we'll continue to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence that support soundness, wellbeing, performance, and partnership.
We'd love to welcome you into the community.
Come Join Us on the Inside
Become a Founding Member of Barn Buddies
⏳ Founding Member Doors Close: Monday [Insert Date] at Midnight NZT
Founding Member Price: $39 NZD / month
The Founding Rate Guarantee: Your $39/month rate is locked in for as long as you maintain your continuous membership. On [Insert Date], this special introductory window closes and the standard price becomes $55/month for all new members—but your special insider rate will remain unchanged.
The Commitment: Cancel anytime. No rigid contracts—just ongoing learning alongside a community that values the big picture.
🎁 Special Founding Member Bonus (Limited to the first 30 sign-ups):Direct Video & Photo Input. To celebrate our launch, the first 30 members to join will lock in exclusive access to our video review channel. You’ll be able to upload a short clip or photos of your training for personalized, objective feedback from Sue. Once these 30 spots are filled, this premium feature will close so I can ensure every founding member gets the focus they deserve.