What Your Horse’s Nervous System Reveals About Trust and Liberty with Kaleigh Marie - Sponsored by Triple Crown Feeds

Liberty trainer and Braveheart Beasts founder Kaleigh Marie shares how training oxen, mammoth donkeys, and mules before ever seriously working with horses shaped everything she knows about connection, trust, and the nervous system.

Kaleigh Marie is a liberty trainer and performer based in the Northeast who has spent the last decade developing a nervous system-informed approach to horsemanship rooted in connection, positive reinforcement, and the foundational lessons she learned working with cattle, donkeys, and mules long before horses became her focus.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why Kaleigh's foundation in training oxen and mammoth donkeys gave her a unique edge with horses
• What "conversational quality" means and how it shows up in your relationship with your horse
• Why donkeys ask "why should I?" — and why that's actually a gift to any trainer
• How the nervous system underlies everything from leg aids to liberty work
• The honest story of how clicker training almost derailed her liberty performances — and what she rebuilt from the ground up
• The difference between expectation and intention when you're struggling in a session
• What to do when you're not showing up as the trainer you want to be
• Why dull horses are often the most sensitive ones — and how they got that way
• The "backpack" concept and how co-regulation with your horse actually works
• Why self-regulation — for both horse and human — matters more than connection

To find out more about Kaleigh Marie: website | instagram | facebook

This episode is sponsored by Triple Crown Feeds The secret to raising a healthy horse begins with nutrition that goes beyond. The team at Triple Crown is dedicated to helping our customers succeed by understanding your horse's unique needs and working to develop the right feeding program for the horse you love. www.triplecrownfeed.com | instagram.com/triplecrownfeed | facebook.com/TripleCrownFeed | youtube.com/@triplecrownfeeds

If you love honest conversations about horsemanship, trust, and the ongoing practice of becoming a better horse person, subscribe for more.

Chapters:

00:00 Meet Kaylee Marie

01:10 Road to the Horse Memories

03:38 First Meeting with Tik

08:12 Braveheart Beasts Origins

08:31 Farm Kid to Oxen Trainer

13:07 Riding Cows and Controversy

18:39 Back to Horses and Draft Life

20:16 Mammoth Donkeys in the City

24:01 Connection and Motivation Lessons

8:05 Conversational Quality Explained

32:22 Nervous System Awakening

38:31 Rescue Rehab and Roman Story

45:18 First Q&A Reset as a Trainer

47:30 Gut Brain Connection

48:27 One Percent Better

48:55 Expectation Versus Intention

51:44 Stop And Regulate

53:28 Co Regulation Release

56:41 Leg Aid Without Fight

58:40 Sensitivity Versus Expression

01:00:46 Rehab Dull Horses

01:04:17 Clicker Training Ethics

01:09:42 Rock Bottom Without Food

01:15:47 Pressure And Resilience

01:18:53 Clicker For Quality

01:22:10 Keep Learning Through Pain

01:24:03 Rapid Fire Favorites

01:28:23 Final Thanks And Wrap

Interested in more from Noëlle?

Noëlle's writing again — head to her Substack for essays, observations, and the kind of thinking that doesn't fit in an episode. https://noellefloyd.substack.com

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https://www.youtube.com/@noellefloyd_plus

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Thank you for your listening!