UNE Meat Science Technician, Ash Barnett, knows all the tricks when it comes to winning the heart of a horse. For Ash, horses play a central role in her life, and she’s never been without one in her 32 years.
What is your passion and how did it develop?
I grew up riding and have tried my hand at most disciplines. Horses are an enormous part of my life. I still enjoy dressage, showjumping, eventing, carriage work, and riding out around stock on my parent’s property, but my passion lies with liberty work. My Dad had a trick-trained horse when I was growing up, and he taught me the basis of everything. He first taught me how to teach a horse to bow. My interest stemmed from that. I did everything horsey with my Dad; he was my inspiration growing up. He’s 72 now but still rides and competes.
A liberty approach is about engaging your horse to want to do the trick, rather than using force to get the desired results. The thing about liberty is that there are no mechanical devices at all; you ride bridle-less and without a saddle. All other riding disciplines use mechanical aids to micromanage and correct a horse’s movements. A horse still needs to be willing, but these aids mean you have more control over how and where they move. With liberty, many people just use their body language to give the horse cues. I can’t give the same aids when I’m sitting on their back as I can when I’m standing in front of them, so whips are useful for consistency with aids and directions. They’re never used to punish, just to guide and give cues.
Liberty relies on a mental connection between you and your horse. You work as a partnership, and things aren’t done in halves - they’re either working with you or they’re not. It starts with trust. There are a series of steps that work around the idea of pressure-release, but first you have to have a relationship where the horse wants to be with you and work with you. My job is to make them think it’s their idea.
There's no such thing as a dumb animal, just a dumb person that underestimates them. I live by that.
Training requires a lot of patience. They don’t think the same as us. We have to work out their language. There's no such thing as a dumb animal, just a dumb person that underestimates them. I live by that.They have good days and bad days just like people. Some days they’re more willing than others so I’ve got to work with that.
What does it involve and how much of your time does it consume?
My life revolves around my horses, but it’s by no means a chore. I don’t have children so it’s hard for me to compare to someone that does, but I think it would be similar to that. I own 9 horses, 5 of which I ride regularly, and I have a handful of other horses which I’m working on for clients.
You’ve got all this power underneath you of something that’s willing to try and do anything for you, even though it doesn’t have to. Horses have a mind of their own – they don’t have to do what I want, so to have that connection with a horse is really special. I want my riding to be enjoyable for my horses too and that’s what liberty works to achieve.
Later this year I’ll be heading to Melbourne to compete in liberty at Equitana. It’s super rewarding because this is the first time that liberty has been showcased as a competition in Australia. Liberty is massive in America, but it’s still growing here. You can join the American association and compete over Zoom, but there currently aren’t any competitions running here in Australia for the liberty discipline.
How does this passion enrich your life?
Riding is the cheapest form of therapy. It keeps your head together, 100%. If you’ve had a bad day, you go for a ride to feel better. Some people like to drive fast in a car with the windows down, but for me I ride. I will always have a horse in my life. I couldn’t imagine life without either of them.
Last year, I also needed a creative outlet so decided to launch my own equestrian clothing brand, Ethos. I’ve started with a handful of caps and have more clothing set to arrive later this year. I was looking for clothing that was affordable, sustainable, classy-looking, and reflective of liberty training: in other words, good-quality country clothing with an equestrian influence that didn’t have the astronomical price tag. So I decided to create a brand that aligned with my identity.
What challenges have you encountered?
It’s hard to find the time to give them consistent training. It’s a discipline that’s only just taking off in Australia, so it’s also difficult finding a mentor who has the knowledge to tell me where I’m going wrong, and how I can progress if I’m stuck with something. We need people who are discipline specific. We are super fortunate to have Dan Steers, and it’s great now he’s moved to the East Coast. I admire his teaching methods.
What, if anything, does this personal passion and your enjoyment of it bring to your working life?
It helps you work on your patience. It’s built my awareness of different learning styles and the need to adapt to suit the situation. With horses, if you explain it one way and they don’t understand, you have to find another way to explain it. I think this also applies to people.
