About Shelley

Shelley works as an Animal behaviourist through mindfulness. She holds a level 3 Diploma in Mindfulness with People and Animals and is a Qualified Trust Technique Practitioner. She is currently studying Advanced Animal Connection as part of the Pioneer programme with James French, founder of The Trust Technique.

Some comments from Shelley....

I live in a stunning part of West Penwith, Cornwall, with my partner Luke in our straw bale home that we built over 20 years ago and is the home where we raised our family of three sons.

I have been an educator for over 40 years, working in schools, theatres and universities, teaching Drama. Over the past 15 years I have also been developing my work within nature and the environment and this has led me back to develop my lifelong passion of being with animals into my career.

Working with Horses again, I began working for other horse establishments. I thoroughly enjoyed elements where I was in charge of how the humans and animals interacted, but found the process increasingly difficult to cope with when asked to be involved in training, as my views varied quite significantly from the mainstream approach at the time.

Then my main teacher showed up, my Mare Tao.

Tao is a highly sensitive Mare who has been instrumental in me searching out ways to learn how to connect and communicate in meaningful, kind ways with our animals and I will always be so grateful to her. Her no nonsense reactions sent me searching for different ways to connect.

I went looking and found Carolyn’s Resnick’s book ‘Naked Liberty’ which started a whole new window into relationships with horses. I followed this up by taking her ’21 Day Chair Challenge’, which was a completely enlightening experience for me. I also have Jayne Forster to thank for early training in Resnick’s Waterhole Rituals.

I have always instinctively seen animals as fully sentient and conscious beings, but now armed with the knowledge that others too felt this way and were working effectively using gentle and sensitive methods of approach led me to discover James French and the Trust Technique.

Studying with James French and Shelley Slingo, opened up this whole new way for me of being with my Mare and this knowledge, combined with my skills as an educator has driven me on to take my qualifications with them to become a Trust Technique Practitioner for working with humans and their animals.

The Trust Technique, has provided me with easy to develop techniques for connecting with animals that I always knew to be possible, but no-one had showed me how.

I am so passionate about this way of working and absolutely thrilled that I now teach this magical yet simple technique on to others.