Essential Equilibrium

28/08/2024

Intention is more important than giving aids.

On occasion I've had people mention that some of the aids I use are very similar to each other and ask how the horse knows the difference.

The answer is simple. Your intention is much more profound then your aids.

The secret is to be "mindful" not have your "mind full".
When working with animals, or even people, I feel it's important to be in that moment, not in the past or the present.

The more we are able to train our minds to be in the present the less we experience emotions of worry, anxiety, stress etc. Leaving more space for possibility and energy exchange. I know myself before I teach a clinic I was always get nervous, sometimes to the point where I cant sleep much the night before a clinic. I think its just a little self doubt kicking in- however as soon as the first lesson begins my mind is only in that moment, in that lesson, and all my worries dissapear.

Our horses dont speak our language, however they are very intune with the energy of other horses and another being. Ive written previously about our horses being a mirror of ourselves. If I go into the paddock an anxious mess, the energy feild around me is full of those same icky anxious vibes. As soon as my own energy feild overlaps with the energy feild of my horse they feel what I'm feeling.

Friends of mine who use to run a lot of psychic development and animal communication classes had a sign at their gate that said, "leave your s**t at the gate". Meaning, clear your mind of everything you did yesterday or have to do tomorrow and leave space for new experiences.

Our intuition becomes much stronger as we are better able to regulate our own nervous system and become truly present in the moment.
Dr Joe Dispenza has proven that meditation can and does alter brain wave frequencies- You can train your brain to "slow down" and be more present. If you practice this regularly not only does your intuition improve, your intention becomes more clear and you attract more of what you want into your life. People who practice mindfulness experience better health and more joy.

When working with horses, intention means having a clear image in your mind of what you are aiming to achieve together.
It's something that I've been using alot with Nova as we nagivate this journey together.
Before i touch her anywhere; say for instance I am going to place my hand on her neck. I first picture myself touching her on the neck.

By picturing what you are about to do, you have already emptied your brain of thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow, bringing yourself back to the present moment. In simply doing this your body sheds itself of the anxiety which causes tension, meaning your energy and your body language will be clear and more precise.

Animals are much better at subtle communication then us. Once we can learn to become more mindful, our intention and energy align. We can then develop a "feel". A feel is like a knowing. A knowing of:

*the best time to ask
*the best thing to do in that moment
*when its almost becoming too much for the horse
*when its ok to ask for more
*when the horse needs time to process.

The best horse trainer is not the person who can recite the textbook or get something done the fastest.
The best trainer is the one who can best understand and communicate subtly to the horse.

18/08/2024

12/08/2024

What is the optimal number of improved or correct repetitions for efficient learning?

New neural pathways cannot sustain repeated stimulation due to the massive oxygen and glucose demands of brain tissue and their lack of maturation. Thus, training presents a dilemma: while more repetitions can consolidate learning, excessive repetitions may lead to a decline in learning and welfare.

However, it is known that in naïve animals, learning can begin to manifest after a few repetitions (Skinner, 1938). This suggests that trainers should terminate practice after eliciting three to five consecutive correct, improved, or corrected responses.

Although it is an age-old maxim in horse training to always "end on a good note," it is likely more efficient to conclude with a short series of correct or improved responses.

- A passage from Equitation Science, 2nd Edition. Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel.

06/08/2024

I sure have the 2 halves of my personality in my boys 😍
I love this and also believe horses come to us for a reason 🙏🏻 it's never by accident, always lessons to learn, even if it takes time to see

🪞Your horse is your mirror🪞

I believe our horses are with us for a reason, be it to help us learn, to help us heal, or for us to help them in some way.

Some are with us for a long time, some only passing through. Very rarely do they come to us by accident, even if we are simply a half way house on their way to where they need to be.

Our horses are a mirror of ourselves in more ways than one.
Their physical, emotional and mental state can also paint a picture of who we are as their carers and partners.

Have you ever had anyone tell you that you have a "type" when it comes to the horses you own?

~Maybe you have a paddock full of assertive mares and you yourself always say what you are thinking aloud.

~Maybe all of your horses have high anxiety and you struggle with confidence.

~Maybe you have a paddock full of rescues and a very kind heart. You know what it's like to have experienced much heart ache in your life.

~Or maybe each of your horses are very different but all have aspects of their personalities, that are a reflection of who you are?

At the moment I seem to be going through a period of having horses who require bucket loads of processing time, patience and alot of thinking outside of the box.
This is true also in my everyday life. Shining a light on my need to allow life to be what it is and to be content within the journey and not always focused on the end goal.

Ive always been of the mindset that if I just work really hard at something and never give up I will achieve what I want. This is true in many ways, however I'm learning that it is just as important to find patience in letting things be.
Also, to be open to all the ways in which something can happen. Meaning instead of being focused on a "goal" looking a certain way, being open to all the ways in which achieving a "goal" can look like.

Next time you spend time with your horse, take notice of his/ her behaviours, good or bad and ask yourself, why?
Is this behaviour in some way a mirror of yourself, your own personality?
Is there an opportunity for learning?
Is the horse mirroring to you something within yourself that needs healing?
Or maybe its your duty to help your horse in some way.

Once we begin to change and grow as people. The animals, people and situations around us also begins to change. Along with our perceptions of our own reality.

Australian Brumby Challenge
Inside Out Equine Health
The Horsemen Collective
Wilmont Equestrian

02/08/2024

17 hours round trip well worth it 👌
On Thursday myself, Megan Harrison and Melanie Jorgensen made the journey up to Tami Elkyam's evening talk in Camden nsw.
I absolutely love Tami's mentality and view on horses 🙏🏻
The mission was well worth it and I'm so glad I went ☺️ thanks girls for matching my enthusiasm levels and appreciation to Tami's visit !

02/08/2024

Well done Pony Club for making the step in the right direction 👏

🎉 Well done Pony Club Australia! 🎉

As of the beginning of July 2024, Pony Club Australia (PCA) has modernised its policy on bitless riding, allowing riders of any age to ride bitless at rally days and competitions across all disciplines. 🌟🐴

This long-awaited change has already seen many riders eagerly ditch their bitted bridles to compete bitless in dressage, jumping, and eventing. 🙌

Congratulations to the PCA Board on getting up to speed and making this decision! May this move set an example for pony clubs around the world. 🌍👏

Let's celebrate with a discount code for your own quality, handmade bitless bridle! 🎁 Medinaa an Australian-owned company, makes high-quality bitless bridles for various types of riding. They can even be made in your club colors! We love a little bit of matchy-matchy! 🎨💖 Be sure to use the unique code WILD10 for special offers and discounts!

27/07/2024

Let’s go back to basics:

1. Horses are not machines, tools or performing monkeys. They are living, breathing animals who feel pain, fear and stress just as we do.

2. It is not a right to work with or ride horses, it is a privilege and should always be treated as such.

3. Fear and force based training has no place in our sport, even though many governing bodies turn a blind eye in the name of “performance”, the bottom line is, fear or force may get you there faster, but it won’t get you there to stay.

4. We are not superior to horses. Our aim should always be for our horses to want to work with us, not for us. We may have a degree of control, but that is not a free pass to exploit it for our own gain.

5. Politics, world rankings, titles and experience are completely obsolete when it comes to calling out behaviour that does not align with horse welfare being a priority.

6. Horses are forgiving, more forgiving than we often deserve. We should be aware of this and always seek to reciprocate that forgiveness when they don’t understand what we have asked of them and respond in an unfavourable way.

Arguing amongst each other simply furthers the negative perception of our sport for those on the outside looking in. The internet doesn’t actually need your opinion.

Let’s all agree that changes are needed, but that change starts at home. Stop wasting energy shouting from either side of the fence. Redirect that energy into being the change you want to see, let’s return our sport to the basics and remember what it always has been, and always should be about:
THE HORSE.

25/07/2024

Karen Rohlf talks about how to help with horse welfare by understanding human nature.

24/07/2024

Enough is enough. The excuses and handballing of accountability are seen by many.

The video showing Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse has now been shown on British TV. Link in the comments (Warning, not nice to watch).

Here we go again. Another scandal shakes the dressage scene.
A short summary if you haven’t read about it yet:
Charlotte Dujardin, Great Britains top dressage rider and six time Olympic medal winner, has been accused of whipping a horse on the legs during a lesson. A video emerged in which she whipped the horse of a young student so it would lift the legs better in canter. Not once but 24 times in a short amount of time. I’m posting a link to the video in the comments. Charlotte has issued a public apology, has withdrawn from the Olympic Games, and was banned by the FEI for 6 months while undergoing investigation.
It really saddens me, but it doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is that so many come to the defence for he alleged abuser and so many question the motives of the accuser. Why the video was released after 2,5 years, the timing of release (just before Olympic Games in Paris), that the lawyer is Dutch.
I understand that people have idols. And it’s hard to admit they might have done something wrong. But I think we all have to come to the realisation that this sort of abuse of horses in the sport is systemic. It’s not just one person or a one time error of judgement.
Let’s remember that American dressage rider Cesar Parra is still suspended by the FEI over horse welfare issues (also beating horses to lift the legs higher), as well as British showjumping rider James Smith (rapping) and American show jumping rider Andrew Koch (use of electric spurs). Actually 47 riders, with a majority of endurance riders, are currently suspended by the FEI (See list in comments). Danish dressage rider Andreas Helgstrand (maybe you remember the disturbing documentary on Danish television) is only banned by the Danish National Federation, not by the FEI.
As a horse professional, I absolutely agree that we all make mistakes. I have certainly lost my temper with horses. It would be dishonest to claim otherwise. Have I ever whipped a clients horse on the legs 24 times? No. I have also never had blood on a horse. And I don’t think this kind of behaviour should be swept under the rug because someone is well liked or famous.
I think it needs a lot of bravery to come forward with an allegation against an Olympic medalist.
My wish is to help change the horse world so that in any context, this kind of behaviour is not acceptable anymore and people who use force in horse training do not win medals anymore. I don’t want to judge how Charlotte trains, for all I know this could have been a one time thing. But I do know that there is a lot of incorrect riding happening everywhere and that it’s rewarded. Even more, a study has shown that an incorrect riding behind the vertical is marked higher on competitions than a correct frame (link in comments). This has to stop. We have to come back to correct riding. Because the rewarding of spectacular movement has already compromised breeding, so that it becomes increasingly difficult to find a healthy horse young horse.

I hope this will encourage more people to come forward and speak out against abuse. We owe it to these beautiful creatures.

10/07/2024

I LOVE this 🙏🏻 Yasmine has raised some very good questions here.
It made me think about how when people offer a horse the option, are they really ready for a no response, and if not why...
I totally agree that there are many like myself, that want the best for our horses and take any harm to them (well intentioned or not, even accidents) very personally, like we have let them down. Having brought my first and second horse unsound, lost my first bread Chester 4 days before going to the breakers to a fence injury and the boys mum to colic I'm aware that I'm hypersensitive to any form of discomfort my 2 boys encounter. I know this is what stops me moving forward with them as I don't want to do any harm but this post has made me realise that same fear also stops me truly hearing what they have to say 🙏🏻

So here is something that I've ruminated on for quite a while but haven't had the guts to post because I haven't felt like throwing career limiting post into the world right now...

And then I had this conversation on Shayleigh Evans & Amber Lydic's podcast (sorry guys it wont let me tag you!) and I'm feeling all brave so here it is 🤣

I genuinely believe that we all want the best for our horses and we all care very deeply about how they feel -

It is important that we can recognise when they are not feeling great and that we can support them to thrive in domestication with us -

I certainly spend a great deal of time explaining to people that their horse is not okay, outlining the indicators that bring me to that conclusion...

And then I also meet a lot of people who have a "fix it" mindset, where they are perhaps a little hypervigilant to every ear twitch or miss-step -

Needing everything to be completely perfect (your guess is as good as mine as to what that means!)

And, since I am increasingly fascinated about the energetics around the horse/human relationship, it makes me wonder whether that fix it mindset is borne as a reflection of our empathy for the horse...

Or because we don't like the feeling that it calls up in ourself?

Maybe it makes us feel inadequate because a horse has broken down in our care?

Or maybe everytime something is highlighted within our horse's health, it highlights our short comings as their human?

Or it's a reminder of the person that we used to be that got our horse to that point?

And of course this is not to say that the issue you recognise in your horse is not an issue at all and just a reflection of your perception -

But it sometimes begs the question, how does your horse truly feel?

And maybe, are you keeping yourself in a cycle of suffering with your perceptions?

❤️

21/06/2024

When you change the way you look at things, the things around you change ☺️

19/05/2024

What do you do on a rainy morning? Play brain games of course 😍 first time playing for guss, Toby and miss Lily 💗

13/04/2024

Do we want to be liked, or do we want happy horses?

Do we want to be accepted socially, or do we want happy horses.

I continue to be mind boggled, by the breadth, depth, nuance and sophistication to the amount of ways where horse people face a choice

A: social exclusion and controversy

Or

B: taking good care of horses and making choices for their needs.

The more I go, the more I can feel the potential for disillusionment. That there’s a lack of spaces where well being of horses and social human acceptance are not mutually exclusive

And the part that scares me, most people won’t have the social courage to choose horses when faced with that choice.

I’m comfortable with exclusion, rejection, being misunderstood even hated. I’ve experienced that all my life. And yet, every day I am faced with these micro choices.

Horses

Or us?

Or… restructure a community where both cohabitate.

I choose option 3.

09/04/2024

Being a working mum is honestly one of the hardest gigs out...
Choose kind 🙏🏻
Take a moment out of your week to tell a working mother what an amazing job they are doing ❤️

I get asked a lot how I balance family and career.

The answer is, I don’t.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s impossible to do well, unless you have an enormous outreach of support.

Something is always going to be missed, some aspect is always going to be squeezed- either your clients lose out, your kids lose out, your marriage loses out, or the horses lose out. I’ve found it sort of rotates, you can only focus on so much, and there is only so much time in the day.

So my best advice, taken for whatever it’s worth from one very messy life, is to just relax into it. You’re not going to be able to do a perfect job at everything.

The best I’ve come up with in terms of making it manageable is the following:

1- decide on and establish boundaries with clients about what times you can be contacted and how, set work hours and stick to them, and get your business as organized as you can. This can eliminate 100,000,000 texts and a lot of mess later. If you’re in a mess of poor boundaries or poorly defined expectations, clean it up as best you can. It’s well worth it.

2- let some things slide- decide what isn’t priority and relax about that thing. Do dishes in the sink trump kids needing attention? Does the lawn really need to be *perfect*? Who really cares about the baseboards? Don’t waste precious energy or brain power on what you can’t control and what isn’t essential. If everyone is fed, clothed, and happy, how’s a little mess going to compare to the real priorities?

3- be honest about what you can handle and what you can deliver. If you’ve got kids, not everyone wants to be around them. That’s totally fine. People can decide where their money is spent, and if they don’t want noise and chaos as part of their purchasing experience, which is totally fair. But as a mom to an infant and a neuro-spicy toddler, that’s a promise I can’t make. So you get to decide if you can deal with the naked kid streaking in the background- no harm done if it’s not your cup of tea.

4- carve out at least one thing for you every week and guard it with your life like it’s the holy grail. I’m not kidding. Or 15 mins a day over the week. Whatever it is. Exercise in the garage or in the bathroom. Go to a yoga class. Take meditation. Just leave the screaming kids and close the door and don’t look back so you can come back ready to dive back into the endless triage. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t do it cause the dishes need to be washed or something- your brain needs something like this.

5- either your kids will be mad, your husband will be mad, or a client will be mad. Just relax. Having people love you all the time isn’t the cake walk you think it is anyway. People get mad all the time and they don’t die. Breathe. And repair.

Lastly, my least favorite-

6- outsource for help. If you can afford it, hire help. Whether that be barn help or nanny or house cleaner. If you can’t, find trades. Something has to give- don’t expect them to do everything just like you want all the time. Find out what’s important and make sure that’s in order, but maybe chill out a little on details that aren’t essential.

So in a nutshell, relax into the chaos. Communicate clearly, organize your time best as you can, repair relationships best as you can when you inevitably neglect someone, and don’t forget about you.

I’m told it’s a short ride. Doesn’t feel that way now, but I believe the gray hairs when they say it flies by and to enjoy it now. I don’t want to look back on this time and see me wasting it with resentment and stress. So I’m choosing to let go of what I can, take charge of what I can, and enjoy the life I’ve created for myself.

09/04/2024

Please consider !

When we are changing “angles” and trying to align bony columns … please remember that the connective tissue doesn’t automatically receive this new information well.

The horse has been operating in a certain way for a while. Yes it maybe setting off a cascade of other physical events. So whilst we think this is what needs to be done … consider the “information” that this horse has been utilising as it’s “normal” probably for a fair while.

People think in bones and muscles.
The skeleton is suspended within by ALL the things that join it together.

Expand beyond this ….

All the fascia, tendons and ligaments are operating .. doing the do .. in the way they have .. good or not so good. Working off all those ceptors and creating patterns that the brain can safely plug n play. (S**t or good patterns)

Someone comes along and changes the input information .. often without consideration for what those inputs are now saying to connective tissue that now has to reorganise itself (or says hell no). Postures static and dynamic now have a new “context”.

Sometimes adjustments and reorganisation goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. The hip socket is now in a different alignment, the elbow or shoulder joint has a different feel to it, the sacro has different forces travelling through it (let alone every single bone/joint along the spine and there are soooo many).

The fascia, the tendons and ligaments don’t automatically let go and reorganise, what once was tight is now not, what once was freerer is now not. The brains says 😱 the tissue says 😱 and often the joint capsule says 😱.

Just because you now have a bony alignment that you are happy with .. have you asked the horse how he feels about it ? Has there been time to adjust ? Have you thought about there maybe a need for movement education and it is imperative that this is NOT done in an alarm brain where tissues are already unsafe. Re education of movement, let alone posture requires a nervous system that is on board. If not there is a cascade of uncool signalling that creates a lot of alarm (inflammation, digestion, endocrine, cardio etc). Stuff like that effects not only movement, but the tissues themselves, the organs. You could also end up with laminitic events, blood sugar events, digestive, behavioural, abscesses …. 🤔

Ever get new shoes, height, type and they feel weird, so you are processing that info and adjusting your body. Does your body go hell no .. I can’t walk in these (let alone run, jump, balance, do the things) I feel unsafe and my back, knee, hip, shoulder, neck etc etc are giving me curry 🤷‍♀️

Just because the “maths” says it should, the brain, body of the individual rules ..

Humans sometimes get a little we know best, and we don’t. Yes things get insanely out of balance but be mindful of how much consideration is needed to come back into balance … no matter the subject

🤷‍♀️😁🤩😍
Darcy likes to remind me that my priorities sometimes need adjusting

26/03/2024

Love this 🫶👌👏👍🙏🏻
The saying "a bit is as harsh as the hands using it" is an old but good one. Bitless bridles and neckropes are interchangeable with this saying. Just because you change the tack doesn't mean you have changed the harsh hands.

You can still pull if you ride bitless- you’re just pulling on the horse’s head

You can still pull in a neck rope - you’re just pulling on the horses neck

You can still have poor hands if you ride from a long rein, and in fact it can be more startling and abrupt for the horse

You can still have bad hands if you’re a Grand Prix rider
You can need work on your hands if you were complimented by every clinician out there

You can still have work on your hands to do if you’re really somebody, if you have lots of buckles, if you win at everything, if you have lots of clients, if people look up to you

And your hands definitely need work the minute you say that you don’t overuse them.

Bracing the arms locks the seat, no matter what is on the horses head- this locks their back.

Hands are always evolving, always being refined, and are never done being developed.

22/03/2024

🟠 “𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲.” 🟠

Over controlling or micromanaging the horse’s body produce imbalance and resistance as the horse fights to stay upright.

We are also totally reliant on whether the horse correctly responds to a cue.

- teaching the horse how to feel more balanced
- rebalance in the event of imbalance
- and building strength, stability and mobility

𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑒.

20/03/2024

A sneak peak on the upcoming clinic!!

Spots are still available!!
You've all heard me talking about both these incredible ladies!

Come and experience it for yourself! You won't regret it 😃🙏🏻

https://vimeo.com/925172923?share=copy&fbclid=IwAR1ij2iiwQfCX9nFpOB28rYAfwcA6ph24Cvm_8G1sLgmChcTqRmHr3gsJiw

In this short intro, Thirza and Emma talk about their vision for the upcoming Functional Health clinics to be held in Victoria and South Australia this year!

10/03/2024