Where it began....

AJ Equine- Ethical Horsemanship was born in 2018 and began as a boutique riding school, breaking and training and agistment centre.

Husband and wife team Andrew and Apryl Swan worked together in creating a successful business in all things equine, until 2021 when a relocation allowed Andrew to head in the direction of his real passion which is farming and cattle breeding. 

Apryl has since operated alone, focusing on confidence building and teaching people how to create genuine two-way trust with their horse. She achieves this by working first with the horse, then bringing the owner in to relay the information on what the horse requires, and then teaching the skills and mindset needed to achieve this.

Teaching in this way creates a unique relationship between horse and owner and ensures a very safe experience all round.  It also instils an awareness in child and adult riders alike, that they absolutely must consider the horse and learn to understand them if they want smooth sailing ahead in any equine pursuit.

A bit about Apryl!

I have been involved with horses for most of my life. I was that typical town kid, somehow born obsessed with horses from a family who had no idea about them. From the age of 3, my Grandma took my sister and I on week-long Farmstay holidays every year, where we were lucky enough to ride the horses on the trails every day! This continued right up until I received my first horse Missy as a gift from my dear Grandma at the age of 12.

I worked many years as a trail guide from the age of 13, learning valuable horsemanship skills from my boss who bred and started most of the trail horses over those years. I also attended the local pony club on Missy, who had more than a handful of behavioural issues.... likely the result of a very green rider and the horse being a very green 5 years old!

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Some years later, when I was around 19 or 20 years old, my beautiful Missy had suffered a nasty accident in the paddock and was put to sleep. For the next year or so I spent some time working in the racing industry as a strapper before heading out of town with my dog Kirra, my swag and a tough as nails old Hilux ute.I wasn't sure where I might end up, but I knew I had itchy feet and was looking for adventures!

Over the next couple of years in my early 20’s I travelled and worked as a trail guide and instructor in South-East Queensland, a strapper at  another racing stable on the Gold Coast, and then went on to work two seasons as a jillaroo in North QLD and the Northern Territory, where I had my first taste of campdrafting!

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Each position was an opportunity to learn many different ways of equine management, handling and riding.

Eventually I settled in a coastal area of North Qld where both my children were born and my time with horses took a back seat. Although I kept my horses, for a few years they made some pretty paddock ornaments!

 

My journey into ethical styles of horsemanship started after a move back to NSW, and I began to attend clinics and lessons and learning as much as I could.

Seeing horses on a daily basis displaying many different forms of behavioural issues and witnessing how people were dealing with this was what inspired me to become a trainer. Problem-solving has always been a passion of mine, and I was able to team both horses and problem-solving together to help others who are having relationship and communication issues with their horse.

 

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