So why horses?

Some people view horses as flighty, unpredictable creatures with no common sense while others spend every waking hour in their presence and every sleeping hour dreaming about them.

Why? What's so special about horses?

Most riders will tell you if they've had a bad day at work their horses will misbehave when they get home. In the competitive world, viewers are left on tenterhooks by the bogey fence where horse after horse will refuse or make a mistake.

Horses are prey animals. To survive in the wild, they are always on the lookout for predators. They have a highly developed ability to recognise changes in breathing, heart rate, muscle tension and blood pressure of fellow herd members - an ability they transfer easily to humans.

So if you are angry or frustrated, your horse knows it. And if one horse has been frightened at a particular fence and spooked, the next horse will sense it.

In this way horses provide a form of biofeedback for practising self awareness, emotional agility and relationship skills. They mirror how we feel inside.