Tea Time with Elsa

Chatting About: Basic Needs First…

Originally aired on: August 18th, 2026

In this episode we talk about how my understanding of the “Basic Needs” of a horse has become deeper over the years. Both horses and humans are herd animals and as such it is natural for them to value the needs of others they consider part of their herd. However, before they can act as a good herd member their “basic needs” must...

Chatting About: The Non-performative Life…

Originally aired on: July 28th, 2026 

In this episode we talk about the idea of being performative, as a horse or a human. To be performative is to do things for others that you might not naturally choose for yourself. We ask our horses to be performative all the time, and we find socially as humans we often need to as well. When there is a time or a place when we can be non-pe...

Chatting About: Pattern versus Details…

Originally aired on: July 21st, 2026

In this episode we talk about how the brain chooses how to process the world it lives in, noticing the patterns (how today is the same as yesterday) or noticing the details (how each moment is completely unique). When we notice the patterns we become better friends and support to others. When we notice the details we form memories of events that are...

Chatting About: Our Relationship To Pressure…

Originally aired on: July 14th, 2026 

In this episode we talk about how past associations around pressure determine the quality of our relationship with pressure. In order to build a better relationship with pressure (from the horse’s perspective or the humans perspective) we get to start from where we are and, one experience at a time, build experiences that lead to b...

Chatting about: A Good Luck Frame Of Mind…

Originally aired on: July 7th, 2026 

In this episode we talk about how training in freedom is all about capitalizing on the naturally occurring moments with our horses that are in the direction of training that we hope for. When training with more pressure we can create the patterns and habits we hope for in our horses. When prioritizing freedom, it is a game of luck. Developin...

Chatting about: Bringing Out The Best In Our Friends…

Originally aired on: June 30th, 2026

In this episode we talk about how to bring out the best in our horses and, really, all of our friends in general. Specifically, I like to look at this from a sensory system perspective. The better our horses can sense the world around them, the better choices they make interacting with it and the more potential enjoyment they have in e...

Chatting about: Playing in Freedom versus Training in Freedom…

Originally aired on: June 23rd, 2026 

In this episode we talk about the care we take in training to set the horse up for success. In at least eighty percent of our interactions we should be making sure our horses encounter a world that does not push them to fear or anger. The rest of the time with our horses there is room to play a little without such carefu...

Chatting about: The Art Of Bonding…

Originally aired on: June 16th, 2026

In this episode we talk about how the art of bonding is in the problems you can solve together. Much of normal horse training is about creating a problem for the horse that you can then solve together. In Freedom Based Training® we do our best to find naturally occurring problems we can help the horse solve, by understanding their hierarchy of needs and...

Chatting about: The long walk of shame…

Originally aired on: June 12th, 2026 

In this episode we talk about how sometimes, when we push a little too much in horse training and the horses have the freedom to walk away, we end up taking a long walk to figure out where things went wrong. Once we figure out what went wrong, we get to make a plan of what we might do differently when we see the horses again. I recently adopte...

Chatting about: We All Get To Decide What Is Important?…

Originally aired on: May 5th, 2026

In this episode we talk about how we all get to decide where to focus and where we focus and how we show what is important to us as an individual. However, if the relationship to others is important, then what we focus on gets shaped by what is important to them. This is the primary way we show a horse that our relationship to them is...

Chatting about: Don’t Fight Reality…

In this episode we talk about how working without tools is a great time to accept the reality of the horse’s state of mind. In each moment the horse will either have: a good idea, a bad idea, or no idea at all. If they have no ideas at all, the door is open for you to have an idea for them, if they are having a bad idea (pushing against you or pulling away from you) this is a ...

Chatting about: The Luxury Of Appreciation…

In this episode we talk about how the greatest quality of life comes from a habit of appreciating whatever is naturally occurring. This however is a luxury we may or may not have depending on our situation. When a situation becomes time pressured around change, focusing on what is wrong and what must change becomes the priority. Seeing these options on a spectrum helps us slide tow...

Chatting about: If you can do it better, do it again…

Originally Recorded 26_04_21

In this episode we talk about how training is always a guess. Any action we take has a result. Once we see the result we have to take a guess and ask ourselves “If I repeated the same action, or an adjusted version of the action, would the result be better?” I think I should always repeat actions I think I can do better.

Originall...

Chatting about: Don’t Change, Appreciate…

In this episode we talk about the natural pressures of life that push us to train change faster than a horse might choose, and what the side effects of that might be. If reasonable, I always prefer to train at the speed the horse would choose, appreciating things so that we can build on things the horse already knows and practices. If that is unreasonable for any reason, it is ...

Chatting about: What Does Pressure Mean?

In this episode we talk about the challenge horses have in learning what pressure means in relationship to humans. At a base level pressure should mean to change something. That change might be physical, mental, or sensory. What change is needed is a puzzle horses must figure out and for that reason I like starting with "pressure means change the use of the senses" first. If horses learn a s...

Chatting about: Reward Systems

In this episode we talk about the different types of reward systems horses find themselves utilizing. Reward systems in general are sensory based, either seeking a sensory experience that feels good, or avoiding a sensory experience that feels bad. Obviously I prefer to lean toward the seeking of something that feels good. Then I want to take it a step further, how do I help the horse utilize and deve...

Chatting about: The Kinds of Connection

In this episode, we talk about how connection between two beings requires one to initiate and the other to join. Another way to say the same thing is, one needs to take attention while the other one gives attention. When we see patterns and preferences in our horses to be either a giver or a taker that gives us insight in how best to build a solid foundation for connection with them.

Original...