About Me
Helping horse owners understand their horses — and themselves — a little better.
I've spent more than 20 years working with horses and the people who love them.
And if there's one thing those years have taught me, it's this:
Horses are always communicating.
The challenge is that we don't always understand what they're saying.
And sometimes, without realising it, we are influencing the very behaviour that is worrying or frustrating us.
That's where my work begins.
I'm Louise Kropach, and I help horse owners develop a better understanding of their horses so they can build relationships based on trust, respect, safety and genuine partnership.
I work particularly with women who love their horses deeply but don't always feel confident about what to do.
Perhaps you're worried about getting it wrong.
Perhaps your horse is pushy, anxious, difficult to catch, hard to handle or simply not behaving the way you expected.
Perhaps you've been given so much conflicting advice that you're no longer sure who to listen to.
Or perhaps you've had the horse of your dreams for years, but the relationship you imagined isn't quite the relationship you're experiencing.
I understand.
And I don't believe the answer is simply to become tougher with your horse.
Nor do I believe that being endlessly nice will create the partnership you're looking for.
Your horse needs to understand you.
That means learning how horses communicate, how they learn, how our actions influence their behaviour, and how to be clear about what is expected.
Sometimes that means standing your ground.
Sometimes it means changing the way you are asking.
Sometimes it means slowing down and listening.
And sometimes it means having the courage to admit that what we've been doing isn't working.
I've had to learn those lessons myself.
The horses who taught me
Some of my greatest teachers have had four legs.
Spirit taught me that boundaries can create safety.
Spirit was a pushy, insecure horse who constantly crowded into my space. He did it with other horses too.
It would have been easy to simply label him as pushy or disrespectful.
But I came to understand that there was something else going on.
He was insecure and desperately looking for someone to help him feel safe.
For months, I consistently showed him where his space was and that he could relax there.
There was no need for anger or force.
He needed clarity.
Eventually, something changed.
Once Spirit understood where he belonged and what was expected of him, the insecurity began to disappear.
He became a delight to train and went on to become one of my best therapy horses.
Spirit taught me that sometimes the behaviour we see isn't the whole story.
Bravo taught me to stop forcing.
Bravo was one of the most important teachers I've ever had.
When he didn't want to do something, I could push, insist and become increasingly frustrated — and he simply wouldn't comply.
The harder I tried to force the answer, the more disconnected we became.
He could sense when I was in that frustrated state and would even run away rather than allow himself to be caught.
Bravo forced me to look at myself.
I had to stop trying to make him do what I wanted and start becoming a more thoughtful and mindful leader.
I learned to experiment.
To listen.
To discover how he liked to be communicated with, trained and ridden.
It was a huge journey for both of us.
Bravo became my best friend, my mentor and an incredible therapy horse.
He taught me that leadership isn't about forcing a horse to give you the answer you want.
It's about learning how to communicate so that your horse can understand.
Dawn taught me about true partnership.
I had Dawn from the time she was two years old until she died at 26.
Twenty-four years together.
She was sensitive, loyal, sweet and incredibly trusting.
She also taught me the power of energy and intention.
Sometimes I only had to think "stop" and she would stop.
I could lift my energy and she would move forward.
She was, in so many ways, a product of the relationship we had built together.
When she lost the sight in one eye at just seven years old, we didn't simply give up on the things we loved doing.
When I felt ready, we continued to get out and compete successfully.
Dawn taught me that communication isn't always about a physical cue.
Sometimes the deepest communication happens before we've even touched the reins.
What I believe
I believe horses deserve to be treated with kindness.
But I also believe kindness needs to be accompanied by clarity.
I believe a horse needs boundaries, manners and safety.
I believe you can be assertive without being harsh.
You can stand your ground without bullying.
You can say "no" without anger.
And you can lead with a smile on your face and love in your heart.
I don't believe fear, force or hitting creates the kind of partnership most horse owners dream about.
I'm much more interested in helping people understand their horses than teaching them to simply get a horse to comply.
Because when you understand why your horse is doing something, you have a much better chance of knowing what to do about it.
Helping you make better horse decisions
My work now includes practical resources and coaching designed to help horse owners at different stages of their journey.
If your horse crowds you, pushes into you or seems to walk all over you, there may be more going on than simple bad manners.
Claim Your Space helps you understand one of the common patterns that can create or encourage pushy, bargy behaviour — and how to establish clearer boundaries with your horse.
Choosing a horse is one of the biggest decisions you'll make as a horse owner.
True Match is designed to help you think beyond colour, breed, looks or the horse someone else thinks you should buy, and consider whether a horse is genuinely suited to you, your experience, your confidence and the life you want to share together.
Owning a horse can be wonderful.
It can also be overwhelming.
There is an enormous amount to learn, and when you're new to horse ownership, it's easy to wonder whether you're doing things correctly.
The New Horse Owner Survival Guide is designed to help new owners navigate those early stages with more knowledge and confidence.
You don't have to know everything.
If you're a horse owner who sometimes feels like everyone else knows more than you do,
I want you to know something:
You are not alone.
You don't need to become an expert overnight.
You don't need to have perfect confidence.
And you certainly don't need to pretend you aren't nervous when you are.
What you do need is a willingness to learn, observe, listen and be honest about what's happening between you and your horse.
That's what I'm here to help you do.
To understand your horse.
To understand yourself.
To become clearer and more confident in the way you communicate.
And ultimately, to build the kind of relationship with your horse that you dreamed about when you first fell in love with horses.
Trust. Respect. Safety. Friendship. Partnership.
That's what good horsemanship means to me.
— Louise Kropach