Rachel Parsons - Coach & Horses
EQUINE LEARNING & CONSCIOUS CONNECTION
SUPPORTING PEOPLE & HORSES TO FIND BETTER
Inspiration + Education + Community
The picture behind is Joanna Lowes and me rehabilitating Birdy – an unrideable Arab with PTSD – now happily competing at endurance.
Who do I work with? What do we do?
I see a highly diverse range of horse & rider teamwork combinations who want to change something.
I teach at clinics in West Wales with Joanna Lowes where, every month, we host 2 day clinics called “How to Train Your Dragon”. Our “Dragons” are both our horses and our selves. We combine practical, ethical and playful Natural Horsemanship with group life coaching, mindset skills and confidence techniques. I often say that we are translators – quite a chunk of our work is to “join the dots” of the excellent online courses like TRT, Monty Roberts, Warwick Schiller and others.
I also take on clients for 121 lessons on horsemanship and problem solving.
And I support people with 121 online life coaching to help them dig deeper into their own mindset and learn new ways to deal with stress, anxiety, life’s challenges and it’s rich journey!
From ponies to performance horses, from beginners to top level owners and riders – I ‘m here to support you and get you both back on track.
From crisis to confidence... What is Change?
In my coaching and horsemanship work, I see every kind of horse-and-rider partnership, all wanting change. Most people reach out when they are in a crisis.
Their horses may not speak, but their behaviour—whether bolting, bucking, rearing, or pushing—tells us plenty. People share stories of stress, trauma, anxiety, and their wish for a happy horse, and their own matching calm, confidence, and empowerment.
I’m not a counsellor, but as a coach I help people—and horses—create new, healthier relationships with their triggers. The goal is the same: shifting from reactive to responsive, gaining new skills, learning useful methods, gaining safety, finding co-confidence.
This takes honesty, creativity, planning, resilience, and leadership. From ponies to performance horses, from beginners to athletes, carers to veterans, I support people and horses to get back on track—together.
Common Ground - What you can expect to hear from me...
01. The big picture
Vision, Goals, Reality & Time
Where are you now? And where do you want to go?
Radical honesty, some digging, and a curious mindset are key for progress. I’ll help guide you and support your learning all the way.
02. HORSE TRAINING
The 13 Principles of Training
Principles inform methods. Stop struggling to make things work. The 13 ‘P’s will give you a million “Ahhh” moments! I’ll teach you what & how, set homework, signpost you to brilliant online training (not mine!) to keep you on a safe, happy path.
03.HORSE TRAINING
Skills, Gaps & Training Tools
You’ll need to know how horses learn; basic awareness of equine learning theory & application is vital. Foundation, Groundwork, Basics & Finesse are all different. Realistic goal setting is vital.
04.HORSE TRAInING
Feedback Skills: Calibrate &Adapt
Progress relies on your ability to accurately calibrate what your horse is telling you. If you can’t see trigger stacking, or fight/flight or “shutdown”, you are really vulnerable. Learn how to see, what to do to (both) stay safe physically and mentally.
05. Life Coaching
Confidence Spirals Success Strategies
I’ll teach you the Principles of Confidence. Go from a successful downward spiral to a successful upward spiral! Use self calibration, empathy, radical honesty, and Leadership techniques to pivot & get back on track.
06.Life Coaching
Serious Play & Resilience mindset
Coming at change and confidence with a “Serious Play” mindset will set you up for resiliency. You’ll learn a lighter and less stressful way forward. Consistent practice and reflective learning cycles will help you grow.
07. Life coaching
Be your Captain; Self Improvement
Take responsibility, show up as your best. Work on yourself. Learn to be calm away from your horse. Loving your self and your horse is active management of your mindset, bodyset and energy.
08.Life coaching
Life Skills & Progressing
Horses are our mirrors. So often they reflect our deepest inner selves. Much of this work is about addressing who we are, so we can support our equine friends. I will help become a better, healthier, bolder and more visible you.
About Me
I’m Rachel.
I help people live their dreams.
I’ve been around horses daily for 40 years. What began with Pony Club evolved into western and trail riding in the US, and in Australia for 6 years of cattle mustering, colt-starting, wild horse catching, and a whole lot of listening & learning from old cowboys and progressive cowgirls!
My human-focused learning journey began in 2002 with serious long-term study of the behaviourist science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP is – the study of how the brain works, how people communicate, and how to create highly dynamic change interventions. I’ve since applied this dynamic coaching method across business, community, and one-to-one coaching projects with great success.
I met my great friend Jo Lowes, before she went on to work with Monty Roberts, famously known as The Queen’s Horse Whisperer. Twenty years on, and after many interesting career and life experiences, Jo and I began teaching modern horsemanship clinics at her farm in West Wales. Together we blend our shared experiences in horsemanship and coaching to create transformational learning opportunities for people and horses.
In the first year, so far over 150 people have joined us on this learning journey and the project is growing daily.
We hope you can join us sometime.
Whilst we are not horses, we are all mammals—and our nervous systems are remarkably similar. Moving from stress to confidence is a 100% learn-able skill. I know this personally: I’ve completely “lost” my confidence three times. Each time I had to rebuild it—but with practice, it gets easier. A big part of this is about how we show up to our horses. The better we are at being grounded, aware, and present, the more positively our horses respond. This means taking responsibility for us. Properly... I teach both the practical horsemanship skills that help people guide their horses, and the techniques that allow horses to self-regulate and find balance in both brain and body. This process requires vision, motivation, leadership, determination, clear goal setting, creativity, deep self-awareness, and strong emotional management. Interestingly, the journey is much the same for both people and horses. I love helping horses and humans create powerful, lasting change—together.
Where are you?
I’m based in the New Forest Hampshire. My family live rurally near Bristol and near Taunton, and I visit them often – taking on clients who are close-ish on that path.
Once a month I travel, via Bristol, to Camarthan, to work with Jo and deliver clinics at Coetir Bach in Maesybont.
The day before and the day after the clinic I give to teaching 121 clients on the way up and down the M4.
How much do you charge?
Clinics are a really good cost effective option. Days are 4-5 hours of tuition; in the indoor classroom & the arena.
Spectate for £60 per day.
Come with your horse for £85.
Call outs for groundwork, loading, handling, mounting block training, reschooling, general lessons inc trick training etc are £70 p/hr with a reasonable travel charge added if needed.
Online coaching costs are:
£60 p/hr for general coaching
£75 p/hr for anxiety & stress interventions