About

Horses have been my best teachers throughout my life. There is so much I took from working with horses that helped me in other areas of my life. And still, every day I’m learning.

My love affair with horses started at a young age. As a child I spent countless hours watching them in their paddock, looking after them, riding and doing barn chores. I never really healed from the “bug”, even when I tried to do other things, somehow horses always came back into my life, and I’m so grateful for that!

A bit of history

In 1996 (age 16) I completed my assistant instructor certificate and started giving beginner riding lessons. In 2003 I completed my instructor certificate (IGEQ) and have taught since then at a number of large riding schools.

I was born and grew up in Israel, traveled as an adult and worked as a groom in Germany and USA. I settled in New Zealand in 2010 where I met Dwayne and we had three beautiful girls. After a few years break from working with horses and focusing on raising my babies, I felt a strong calling to working with horses again, but this time things were different.

Having my own horses, as well as the changes and growth I made as a person over the years and from becoming a mum, inspired me to explore new ways of handling and training horses. The horse world is gradually changing, with more research, new training methods popping up and deeper understanding of horse behaviour. Learning from experts all over the world, keeping in touch with latest research, and exploring things in my own way, I am on a constant pathway of growth and development, as a person and as a horse trainer. I feel passionate about sharing my knowledge and helping both people and horses to feel better and improve their lives.

Our equine partners deserve our highest respect and appreciation. The days of using force and fear strategies to make horses do what we humans want them to do, are gradually diminishing. There is a new era of horsemanship and I am proud to be a part of this movement.

What’s in the name

I believe that a connection with the horse is the basis to everything we do with them. I also feel that human connections are another important part of creating a healthy learning environment. Heart to Heart is about that connection between people, between people and horses and between horses themselves.

To begin with I called it Heart to Heart Riding but after a while I decided that this is a limiting name. What I have to offer is a lot more than riding lessons and I felt the name should reflect that. So the “Riding” became “Equine” to include everything that we do with horses.

Communication

Any interaction with a horse is a constant conversation. Horses communicate is such subtle ways, that it is often missed by people. When we learn to read subtle communication signals from horses, we can also start to communicate at that same level, through energy.

A clear two-way communication is the pathway to achieving our goals with horses. If the horse doesn’t understand you, no amount of either force or kindness will get you the results you are after. If you don’t understand your horse, despite your best intentions, you are likely to miss important signals from them, and therefore not achieve the results you are after.

When we learn to listen to what a horse is whispering, they don’t need to shout. For example, if you notice your horse is giving you signals of pain, you may be able to avoid that bucking that comes “out of the blue”. And many more.

Connection

This feeling that your horse (or any equine you love) and you are in deep connection and harmony with each other, even if only for a moment, is priceless!

As magical as that feeling is, anyone that ever worked with horses knows that there are many other types of moments leading to that special one. And they are all special.

All our mistakes, the lessons we learn along the way, the moments of frustration, and the little achievements, they are all beautiful and precious moments. Because we choose to spend those moments in a meaningful way, we choose to do the best we can for our horses and ourselves, to the best of our knowledge and ability at the time. We choose to continue to grow and learn from our mistakes. Luckily we have such forgiving and willing partners.

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