Julie is a clicker trainer with some 40 years experience. Julie constantly updates her knowledge through the published literature, course work, and opportunities to work with horses and their humans both in the real and the virtual world. Julie also has a Certificate in Equine Body Worker (Pre-Course) Distance Learning and Equine Anatomy Distance Learning (EQ 50).

Julie has qualified through the Natural Animal Centre (stage 2 equine) and is currently completing accreditation. She has a diploma in Equine Psychology as well as an MBA and completed all the course work with distinctions at Glenormiston University for the bachelor of equine science, but unfortunately had to travel overseas and was unable to complete her practical requirement at her fathers Thoroughbred farm.

Julie is the principal owner of the Australian Clicker Connection and was a practicing lawyer for over 30 years. Julie has an honours degree in psychology where her thesis related to the locus of control that existed in children who had suffered abuse. Strategies to help children take control over their lives is very similar to that which many of our horses need in order to live a fulfilled, satisfied and joyful life. There has been recent interest in the relationship between the humans locus of control and the management of their horses. Owners of 65 Honduran horses participated in a psychological survey to identify their perceptions on the amount of control they felt they had in life; the results were compared to a welfare assessment conducted on their horse. It was found that owners who scored higher on the survey (indicating they felt out of control in the occurrences in their lives) had horses who scored lower on the behavioural category on the welfare assessment; indicating owners’ psychological outlook was associated with overall behavioural welfare of the equine (Brizgys, Heleski, Pfeiffer & Brady (2018). The work we are doing with helping horses find their own inner mastery can also be looked at in this same manner.

Julie still teaches part time at university and teaches clicker training and constructional approach training on a regular basis.

Julie prefers the internet nowadays for teaching because she has a preferential focus for those horses who need some extra help. It is not likely that these horses are able to make it to clinics and if they do manage to be floated to a clinic they are often a bundle of nerves and hold many negative emotions which impacts learning and often distresses their carer. There are plenty of clicker training clinic opportunities around the world of late so we do not see the need to add to that cluttered workplace when we have so many horses who need to remain at home.

We are here though to help anyone who wants to begin clicker training or has a special needs horse.