Donnybrook Stables and Riding school

Well done girls, and well done to the rest of our riders that also competed this past weekend 🌟🌟🌟

EQUESTRIAN: Well done to the riders who achieved top 3 placings at SANESA Ekurhuleni Q2 over the weekend!

HORSE NAME AND PREFIX REGISTRATION WITH THE SAEF

Kindly note that the SAEF will no longer permit the addition of a prefix / suffix as part of the horse’s name in its SAEF /FEI passport, unless the prefix or suffix is the name of the stud or breeder who bred the horse.

From January 2026 the SAEF will institute a horse prefix register where breeders and studs in South Africa must register their stud name for purposes of the stud’s prefix being acknowledged and added by the SAEF as part of a horse's name in its passport.

Horses imported by a registered stud shall be permitted to add an apostrophe ‘s to the stud’s name in its South African passport. In the event that a mare was purchased in foal, the foal born to such mare shall bare the name of the stud where the foal was born.

Stable yard, trading yard or other owner names are considered advertising and will not be accepted as part of the horse’s name in its passport.

Commercial prefixes are permitted for registered sponsors with the relevant Discipline Associations and may be added to the horse’s name for competition purposes, but it will not be inserted in its passport as part of the horse's name.

To register your stud: https://mcusercontent.com/e02bd22576817b3014b3c9f50/files/129e6324-036d-3b2c-c181-cf51ad8bb806/SAEF_Prefix_Application_Form_2026.pdf

This directive shall be effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Thrilled with my boys 🐎

On our bad days….our majestic horses know what we think we can conceal…our emotions 💙

Horses are emotional sponges. If they can’t flee or fight (their natural coping strategies), the stress turns inward.

This is what I feel is happening in those moments of freeze.

What cannot be expressed, must be absorbed.

Horses, as prey animals, are deeply tuned to flight. It’s their natural form of processing overwhelm — movement is medicine for their nervous systems.

But in domestic life, this natural discharge is often blocked:

Fences replace open fields.

Halters and ropes limit choice.

Social dynamics may be fixed.

Humans may not recognize subtle signs of stress.

So the horse can’t flee, and often can’t fight (they’d be reprimanded). What’s left?

Freeze.

The third survival strategy, often misread as calm or obedience, is actually a state of nervous system shutdown — a silent scream.

The Freeze Response as a Philosophical State

Freeze is not just a nervous system condition — it’s a spiritual and existential posture.

It is:

A dimming of agency.

A withholding of essence.

A state of holding life at bay — not fully here, but not fully gone.

In this state, the horse is not being in the present. They're surviving it.

What is lost?

Vitality. Curiosity. Authentic expression. The very soulful aliveness that makes horses who they are.

Freeze is a kind of suspension of self, a quiet grief of not being able to be what you are: fluid, alert, and responsive.

Horses don’t just feel their own bodies — they feel ours. They read:

The invisible language of our posture and breath.

The underlying emotional current, even beneath the words.

The unspoken becomes, for them, a felt truth.

When a horse lives in chronic stress (whether their own or ours) and can't move it out, it doesn’t disappear — it moves inward:

Into the gut (ulcers, colic).

Into the fascia (tension patterns).

Into the behavior (aggression, withdrawal).

Into the soul (a loss of sparkle, curiosity, connection).

We say they are “sponges” not because they are passive absorbers, but because they are relational beings — deeply attuned to the field around them, designed to keep the herd (and now, us) safe through feeling everything.

The Path Back from Freeze

Coming out of freeze is not dramatic. It’s quiet.

A lick.

A sigh.

A blink.

A moment of curiosity.

The body begins to trust the present again.

Philosophically, this is a return to aliveness.

Not just survival, but existence with agency.

And that’s a sacred gift that we can give to our horses by becoming the guardian they need in these moments.

#teamtuesday with a once in a lifetime twist 💙 Two weeks ago we had the honour of a candid “Team Chat” with some of our heroes at the #2025sayouthchamps Frosted Formal Gala Dinner. Dominey Alexander, Nicole Horwood, Jeanne Körber and Ronnie Healy joined Aidan Lithgow on stage in the Snow Dome at Kyalami Park Club to share some insights into their journey with riding and horses, what it takes in the sport, secrets to success, and more! Some of our take homes: 👉🏽 You have to stay focused on you and your horse, nothing else on show day 👉🏽 There are way more lows than highs - learn from the lows, thrive on the highs, dust yourself off when it doesn’t go to plan and keep trying 👉🏽 Lucky socks and breeches are a thing! 👉🏽 You can start from humble beginnings and have huge success with hard work, the right network, good horses, and a lot of luck 👉🏽 You are responsible - for your horse, his care, your tack, your preparation before you enter the show ring - everything 👉🏽 Confidence in yourself and your horse, is everything 👉🏽 If you want it, are committed and have the right work ethic - you’ll make it work 👉🏽 Never lose that feeling of why you love it - keep things balanced to keep the butterflies in your stomach, this means for your horse too What did you take away from the time with the Western Shoppe team? We would love to hear! A huge thank you to KPC, our riders, brands and supporters for sharing the vision of this special evening. Learning extends beyond the arena in our sport, we’d love to continue seeing many more young horsemen and women shine in our world with horses, now and in the future. #WesternShoppe #westernshoppeteam #teamtuesday #westernshoppecollective #kpckep