S6 E8: The Path to Connection Training - with Hannah Weston
This is an episode that’s been a long-time coming on An Equine Conversation. Hannah Weston was one of the very first people who, unknowingly, introduced me to the world of online learning about positive reinforcement training with horses back in 2013 through her business Connection Training. It was an absolute pleasure to finally get to meet Hannah and chat with her about her own horsie origin story and the path to developing Connection Training and more recently, moving her horsie life from England to France. As with every horsie origin story we hear on An Equine Conversation, this one too is full of relatable moments and the twists and turns that life takes to get us to where we are.
Hannah Weston:
Hannah has been teaching reward-based horse training for nearly 20 years, helping horses and their humans build trust-based relationships through positive reinforcement. She has worked with a wide range of equines - including wild, rescued, aggressive, shut-down, and highly sensitive horses - using science-backed, kind methods to create calm, co-operative partnerships. Hannah specialises in gentle, consent-based training that brings clarity, confidence, and joy to everyday handling, groundwork, and riding. She’s co-author of the bestselling book, Connection Training, and runs the CT Club, an online platform for learning her training methods.
In this episode we discuss:
(1:32) - introducing today’s episode & guest
(3:13) - discovering Hannah & the online world of R+
(5:42) - where in the world & what horse-keeping is like there
(8:58) - Hannah’s horsie origin story, it began early
(10:57) - the first pony, Toblerone (Toby), a life-changing family addition
(14:10) - Toby’s background shows up: the problems
(15:54) - discovering ‘natural horsemanship’ (NH)
(17:09) - moving around & finding a lifetime friend
(19:07) - through the NH journey & looking beyond thanks to Hannah’s Mum
(22:27) - how positive reinforcement (R+) entered thanks to Toby who made it clear that he enjoyed it
(26:12) - additions to the herd: the 3 rescues & the challenges they brought
(33:23) - Murphy & how useful protected contact is
(35:31) - the inspiration behind creating the Reverse Round Pen (RRP) technique & Murphy’s transformation
(37:38) - the rehoming that never was
(39:54) - a Winter of getting Toby comfortable with being ridden: training, Tai Chi and rider work & classical dressage & equine TTouch
(44:45) - hands on in the equine industry: the feed business, the Equine TTouch business, learning with a trimmer & progressing to training
(48:02) - the beginning of Connection Training: the post-it note wall
(50:29) - the dedication with the body of work that is video content
(53:24) - inspiration, patience, conviction & physical development
(60:25) - the difference in the speed of training between horses & how people tend to show the good stuff
(1:05:47) - the importance of consistency
(1:07:02) - who’s in Hannah’s herd today: the addition of the donkey’s
(1:15:54) - relocating from Yorkshire (UK) to the south of France
(1:21:32) - the challenge of developing arenas on hills
(1:26:08) - top tips
(1:28:58) - what does Connection Training look like now & where can you find out more
(1:36:52) - episode & season wrap-up
Links from Hannah:
You can find her at www.connectiontraining.com.
The CT Book: https://www.amazon.com/Connection-Training-Heart-Science-Positive/dp/1916210104/
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ConnectionTraining
Our links mentioned this episode:
Abbey's Run Equestrian website
Abbey's Run Equestrian on Facebook
Abbey’s Run Equestrian on YouTube
Abbey’s Run Equestrian on LinkedIn
Thank you to Matthew Bliss for podcast production & consultation. If you'd like him to help with your podcast, get in touch by email at business@mbpod.com