Fusion Equine

04/06/2026

Shelley, Kat and I have just done a podcast where we talk way too much about how much we love off the trackers but also manage to explain the course- what’s involved, how it works and how it can help give you the partnership with your OTT that you know is possible.

03/06/2026

Duke is looking for a new home.. He deserves to be someone’s one and only love- and do way more trail riding than he gets to do here..

Are you looking for a horse, but your budget and your aspirations aren’t quite what they used to be? 🐴

Do you need a horse that will hang out in the paddock looking pretty — but also won’t judge you for only riding once or twice a week and preferring trail rides to “boring arena work”?

Do you want a horse that comes cantering to the gate for a carrot, then willingly submits to the kids being chucked up with the rugs still on and dragged around the paddock for a photo op — because Insta still thinks you’re that horsey girl you used to be? 😂

If so, do I have the horse for you. 👇

Meet Duke (raced as Harry And The Duke) 🖤

16.1hh | 12yo OTTB | 96 starts | Country track legend

Duke has been off the track for three years and has been through my racehorse reboot program. In that time he has made it very clear he has zero interest in being a serious competitor. His heart lies in treats and trail rides, and honestly, we respect that. He has also spent a lot of that 3 years just hanging out and chilling.

He will go all day on the trail — happy in company or out on his own. He can hold a lovely frame when he’s not doing his signature llama impression, and he is ridiculously comfortable. I often hack him in just a ba****ck pad and bitless bridle.

He could dabble in low-level dressage or working equitation if the mood strikes. But with 96 starts behind him and middle age well underway, his stifles are not up for jumping and he will not be entertaining that conversation. 🫣

✅ Good to float, clip and shoe
✅ Happy to live alone or in company
✅ Comes with access to my online Racehorse Reboot program
✅ Plenty more footage if interested
✅ 2🥕🥕🥕 but a good home is most important
⚠️ Does windsuck — nobody’s perfect. Doesn’t affect him. Wire fences and it’s not an issue.
⚠️ OTTB — fun and quiet, but not suitable for beginners

Located Scone, NSW

DM for details 🐴

03/06/2026

We are doing another free webinar this Thursday- this time it is about my journey with Dash.
We looked at the poll results from the last webinar and I think this story will really help with addressing a lot of the issues people are having with their OTT’s. All the info on how to register is on the R2R page below.

🚨 Dangerous or Misunderstood? 🚨

Dash was rehomed three times.
He'd been labelled dangerous.
People had given up on him.
Today, he's a calm, willing horse who brings joy to the people around him.

So what changed?
It wasn't magic.
It wasn't a special technique.
And it certainly wasn't because Dash suddenly decided to behave.

The real change came when we understood who Dash was, where he'd come from, what he'd been trained to do, and how to help him transition from racehorse to riding horse.

Sadly, Dash's story isn't unique.
Many off-the-track Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds struggle in their second careers, not because they're bad horses, but because they're often misunderstood.

Join us for this free webinar where we'll share Dash's story and the lessons it taught us about successfully transitioning racehorses into their next chapter.
📅 Thursday 4 June
⏰ 7.30pm - 8.30pm (Sydney, Australia time)

We'll discuss:
✅ Why so many OTTBs struggle after racing
✅ Common mistakes owners make
✅ The hidden impact of previous training, experiences and associations
✅ How to build a strong foundation for safety, confidence and partnership
✅ The process that helped Dash go from "dangerous" to dependable

Presented by:
Dr Shelley Appleton & Isabelle Chandler
If you love Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, or are considering bringing an off-the-track horse into your life, this webinar is for you.
Registration link in the comments below 👇

31/05/2026

Your horse can’t tell you they’re sore. But they’re showing you. 🐴

Some of the most common signs I see in horses that owners often put down to attitude, laziness or “just being difficult”:

→ Cold back or sensitivity when saddling
→ Pinning ears, swishing tail or showing teeth during grooming
→ Reluctance to move forward freely under saddle
→ Stiffness coming out of the paddock that doesn’t quite work off
→ Uneven muscle development in the shoulders or hindquarters
→ Resistance to the leg, or falling consistently on one rein
→ A change in personality — the horse that used to be easy is suddenly not

None of these are bad behaviour.

They’re a horse doing the only thing they can — communicating that something doesn’t feel right.

Equine bodywork helps identify and address the tension, restriction and discomfort sitting beneath the surface. Often the change in a horse after a session is immediate — but the change in their owner’s understanding of their horse is there for a lifetime.

If any of these sound familiar, I’d love to help. 💛

I’m based in Scone and travel regularly to Gloucester, Dungog, Taree and Lovedale.

📩 Send me a message to chat about your horse.

Save this post — and share it with someone whose horse might need a closer look. 👇

29/05/2026

Alongside my bodywork I have a passion project very close to my heart. 💛

Together with I created the Racehorse to Riding Horse course — and it came from something we kept seeing over and over again.

So many people wanted to take on an off-the-track horse. They had the love, the paddock, the willingness. But they lacked the understanding of what that horse’s former life really looked like — and the skills to help them transition into their new one.

So we built something real and honest. A step by step course designed for every horse owner — not just the experienced ones — to learn those skills, understand their horse’s world, and truly appreciate the extraordinary ability and adaptability these horses carry with them.

Because OTT horses aren’t difficult. They’re just misunderstood. And when you understand them, everything changes. 🐴

We also have an 8 Week Intensive kicking off next week — I’ll be sharing more details over the coming days so stay tuned! 📅

🔗 Find out more: https://calmwillingandconfidenthorses.thinkific.com/bundles/racehorse-to-riding-horse-the-off-the-track-reboot-bundle

28/05/2026

I’m back — and so is your horse’s best self. 🐴

I’m Isabelle, equine bodywork practitioner based in Scone, NSW.
I’ve been quietly doing what I love — working with some of the most extraordinary horses in the country — but quietly means I can literally never remember to actually post anything at all 🤦‍♀️

For those that are new here I specialise in:

🏇 Thoroughbreds — racehorses, OTT horses and TB yearling sales prep
🤠 Quarter horses, stock horses, campdraft and cutting
🏑 Polo ponies
🏆 Showjumpers and eventers
🐣 Breeding stock — stallions, broodmares, foals and weanlings
🤕 Rehabilitation
🐴 I am also always happy to work any horse and rider who are looking for a little extra help or some answers they can’t find anywhere else.

Based in Scone I work in the surrounding area from Merriwa to Denman and do regular trips to Gloucester, Dungog, Taree and Lovedale. I have a deep belief that bodywork is not just to help a horse feel better and move better- but to actually get to the root cause of a problem and help to resolve it.

This page is where I’ll be sharing what I see, what I learn, and the horses that make this work so worthwhile.

📩 Message me to find out more or book a visit — I’d love to meet your horse.

Tell me below — what discipline are you in? 👇

25/05/2026

Shelley and I are doing another free webinar tomorrow night. It will be a great chat with lots of info and we will give you all the info on how to join the next group challenge within the course.

WEBINAR: The WORRIED Horse - Understanding Anxiety in Off-the-Track Horses

“You just have to throw yourself on him.”😱

That’s what people said about King.

• An off-the-track Thoroughbred who wouldn’t stand still at the mounting block.

• Who rushes.

• Who becames overwhelmed.

• Who struggles to regulate himself under saddle.

And like so many OTTBs and Standardbreds, people assume:

“That’s just how he is.”🤷‍♀️

But what if it isn’t?

What if many off-the-track horses aren’t naughty, difficult, or crazy…but overloaded, anxious, and misunderstood?🤔

In our upcoming free webinar, Dr Shelley Appleton and I will unpack:

• why anxiety develops in off-the-track horses

• how it affects behaviour under saddle and on the ground

• why some horses struggle to settle even years after racing

• and how training, handling, environment, and stress all interact

Using King’s story, we’ll walk you through our rebooting process we use inside our Racehorse to Riding Horse – Off the Track Reboot program to help horses become calmer, safer, and more rideable.

If you love OTTBs or Standardbreds and want to better understand these incredible horses, we’d love to have you join us. 🐎

📣 Free Webinar - With Dr. Shelley Appleton & Isabelle Chandler

📆 Tuesday 26 May 2026 7.30-8.30pm AEST (Sydney, Australia)

To Register Click HERE:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HgAWQhe8R2SWiZjiQFn9XA

Comment below if you can join us or have any questions you would like us to answer‼

13/01/2026

We are running an online intensive for the groundwork side of our Racehorse to Riding Horse- starting this weekend. If you have already purchased the course you are welcome to join. If you haven’t- now is the time as you can work through it with the support of Shelley and others in the community.

Feet in the Stirrups, Short Reins, and Why Your OTTB Thinks You’ve Asked for Warp Speed🐎

There is a special button on an off the track Thoroughbred.

If you have never worked with racehorses, you will be completely unaware of where it is.
You are, however, guaranteed to press it.😆

On the track, feet in the stirrups do not mean “we are just standing here contemplating life.”
They mean “prepare for athletic commitment.”

So when you mount and immediately pop your feet into the stirrups, the horse feels that exact moment your toes hit the irons and thinks, excellent, we are off.🚶‍♂️

You feel this intention and, because you do not want to go anywhere yet, you do the most human thing imaginable.
You shorten the reins and pull.🫣

Here is the crucial misunderstanding.

To a racehorse, short reins do not mean slow down.
They mean go fast.🏃‍♂️

So now the horse has received:
- Feet in the stirrups equals go❗️
- Short reins equals go faster‼️

While the human is thinking, slow down and STOP.❌

The horse responds logically.

The human feels out of control.😱

The horse feels the human panic and things unravel very quickly.😱

Everyone gets rattled.🫨

This is the moment the horse gets labelled hot, crazy, or explosive.💥

Meanwhile, the horse is probably thinking exactly the same thing about us.

Nothing has gone wrong here.

A racehorse followed its education perfectly.

A riding horse conversation was accidentally started in fluent racehorse.😎
T
his is why untraining before retraining matters.❤

Racehorses arrive with a very specific rulebook. If you do not deliberately unwind those meanings before retraining for riding life, mixed signals are guaranteed.

Untraining is not undoing the horse.🙌

It is translating the job.

Which is exactly why Isabelle Chandler and I created Racehorse to Riding Horse – The Off the Track Reboot program, and why we are running a Racehorse Reboot Groundwork Intensive over the next four weeks for enrolled participants.

Four weeks.✅

Groundwork intensive.✅

January 17 to February 13.✅

We reboot and rebuild from the ground up, remove accidental launch buttons, and teach both horse and human a shared language they can actually understand.❤

Because your OTTB is not crazy and they can work out that neither are you. 😆

And with a solid plan and an understanding of the world they came from, a lot of risk can be greatly minimised. More info in comments or link in bio. Join us 😃

Collectable Advice 128/365 - For people working with off the track Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds.
Save it. Share it. And please do not copy and paste.

12/01/2026

Results are all about being part of a team!
Well done to connections.

Levelling Up made it one from one on debut for trainer Brad Widdup, and we were thrilled to be part of the journey.

The promising Maurice gelding spent time with us recently, completing our Rehabilitation program before moving through Conditioning and Pre-Training. He returned to work in great order and delivered a fantastic result.

Congratulations to all connections on a well-deserved win, and thank you for the continued trust and support.

A sincere thank you to
Dr Nic Bimson and Dr Archie Macpherson of Scone Equine Hospital
Jeremy Metcalf for his invaluable support,
Nourishing Equine for outstanding nutritional guidance, and
Isabelle from Fusion Equine for weekly treatments, consultation, and ongoing care.

It truly takes a team, and this was a very satisfying result.

21/01/2025

Many of my clients will have had me recommend Marcia as a coach to help with issues we have identified in bodywork sessions- such as building core strength or balance. She is now back coaching and is easily booked through an automated system.
It’s a new year so let’s get it off to the best start by combining bodywork and correct training to get the best from your horse and from you.