Essential Equilibrium

25/04/2025

I like this 👌 it takes more than wishful thinking to make dreams a reality.

20/04/2025

This was without question the best clinic I have attended. I've been thinking what my favourite part was since it finished and I honestly can't choose because I loved every aspect of it. 🙏🏻

I've been following Lockies work for about 2 years now, but it's been in the distance while I searched for answers in biomechanical work. But I'm so glad I kept it in my sight. Still searching for the piece of the puzzle that I need, I jumped on the chance to experience it in person as I massively struggle with online learning.
Lockies work felt like what I've been looking for. He knows what he is looking at biomechanically and knows what he is looking for with ease, freedom and flow of movement.

The energetic flow and understanding of movement Lockie has is brilliant to experience and is the approach I've been looking for to improve my technique. I know all the aids but I also know when they don't feel right to Louie. It was refreshing to have the emphasis on how Louie felt about what I was asking, to be encouraged that mistakes are okay and that to learn what's in balance we must also understand (the horses also) what out of balance feels like and how to have clarity when redirecting towards better balance physically and emotionally. 😊

His filtration and respect for a safe space meant that the environment created was like nothing I've experienced so far. My anxiety and shaking was barley there and any time my brain hit the holly s**t button it melted away knowing I was safe to give it a go without the judgement of others. The community and environment was supportive and encouraging ❤️ 👏

Thankyou so much Lockie Phillips, it was truly wonderful 😊🙏🏻💜💙🩷

15/04/2025

It's eye opening how often we still here these phrases, to say it's embedded in our culture is an understatement.
We have all played our part, but many of us seek growth and we should follow that growth for the horses.
Once we know better, we should do better.

“𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐮𝐭, 𝐇𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” 𝐍𝐨, 𝐖𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞.

It’s a phrase I’ve heard too many times and every time, it hits the same nerve.

No, your horse isn’t a danger to himself because turnout is risky. He’s dangerous because he’s been denied everything that would make him mentally and physically capable of handling life outside a stable.

We’ve taken animals designed to roam miles a day, interact socially, graze constantly, and move with freedom and we’ve locked them in boxes. Told ourselves they’re “managed.” That this is what it takes to keep them “safe.”
Safe for what?
To protect a price tag? A schedule? An image?

We’ve raised horses so sheltered they don’t know how to walk up a hill, handle a breeze, or tolerate a patch of rain. Horses who panic at birds, trip over flat ground, and break under pressure and we’ve convinced ourselves that is better than the “risk” of turnout.

Let’s stop lying to ourselves.
The issue isn’t turnout.
The issue is 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

We’ve built an industry where horses aren’t horses they’re assets. Investments. Marketing tools. The minute a horse carries a six-figure price tag, it stops being allowed to behave like an animal. Every choice becomes about preserving performance, protecting value, and minimising risk even if it means stripping away everything that supports actual wellbeing.

In this system,
freedom becomes dangerous.
Socialisation? A liability.
Forage? Controlled.
Rest? Only if it fits between the shows.
And turnout? God forbid that might cost you a win.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐦: 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 “𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐲” 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

I’ve worked with horses who’ve never touched grass. Never seen another horse face to face. Never been allowed to roll in the dirt or splash in puddles. And yet we still call them “well cared for” because they’ve got a shiny coat and a clean stable.

Is that really the bar we’ve set?

We’ve normalised a sport where basic needs are seen as optional where turnout is a luxury, not a right. And we’ve done it all under the guise of professionalism, tradition, and discipline. But the truth is, it’s all rooted in control and control is rooted in fear.

Fear of injury.
Fear of financial loss.
Fear of losing an edge in the ring.
Fear of what might happen if we let horses be horses.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀.

And that system? It’s powered by money. Eye-watering sums. Massive prize pots. Elite sponsors who know nothing about horses but everything about brand alignment. Spectators who clap for polished rounds without ever asking what it took to get there.

It’s not just about individual choices. It’s about an entire culture that rewards success at any cost and the first thing to go, every time, is the horse’s voice.

So yes, if your horse “can’t be turned out,” that’s not a fact to accept, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻.
A symptom.
A call to wake up and ask: What are we really building here?

Because if our horses can’t handle life as horses, then something is fundamentally broken. And if we keep justifying that because of money, prestige, or pressure, then we are complicit in it.

We can’t change the whole system overnight. But we can choose what we tolerate. We can speak up. We can demand that welfare isn’t sacrificed for a rosette or a sponsor.

And

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐢𝐭.

We don’t need to eliminate competition. But we do need to stop pretending that chasing results excuses neglecting needs.

The horses can’t ask for more. But we can ask for them. We can do better. And if we love them as much as we say we do, we have to.

𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Let’s start giving something back.

17/03/2025

The simplest of things fill our cups in the greatest of ways

❤️ 🙋

04/03/2025

I couldn't agree more with this 👏
Ive come to learn many of us can make a horses perform with pressure, treats and tactful biomechanical riding...but does the horse want to ? Does it feel right to them ? Are they both mentally and emotionally engaged with the question being asked ?

27/02/2025

Don’t let your quest for ‘nervous system regulation’ become another outlet for perfectionism or control. Another movement towards the ever illusive idealized or better self.

‘Nervous system’ is simply the term we use to describe how the body- your body- understands its place in the world. How we relate to things; our experiences, each other, the universe as a whole. And because we acknowledge that all these thoughts and feelings we’re having from moment to moment exist within this human animal skin, we know that there are some things we must take care of in order to operate in a way that is true to our basic design.

In truth, considering how our nervous system is functioning- which is just a fancy way of saying how WE are functioning- shouldn’t be something we have to think about or do anything special for. But it is, for the simple reason that we aren’t living in a world we are designed for- and neither are our horses.

What we are designed for is collaborative, communal living, not just with our human friends, but with the non-human and the animal. Where life is a reciprocal arrangement with the land, and where movement is an expected and intrinsic part of our day. In this way, the nervous system takes care of itself.

And because this is no longer the case; because the modern world has separated us from ways of being for which we are designed we now have to choose and act our way into wellbeing, an onus of responsibility that we’ve never previously had to carry.

And a paradox of burden in that we are essentially asking the same body, the same system that is experiencing the dysfunction to also find their way back to a state of health, which is a tricky thing to do.

But outlining the difficulties does not make it any less true.

What learning about your nervous system should provide you with in a remembering and reclaiming of your intuitive, sensual self. Not in a stereotypical way, but one that allows you to recognize your inherent creativity; where you become more adaptable, less controlling of your circumstances and surroundings; where you are able to maintain a sense of rootedness in what’s important to you without being swayed or buffeted with each opposing thought; where you allow other people to have their experience without the need to convince or coerce them into agreeing with what you understand to be true.

It is not a call without- to another bio hack, another step-by-step process but a call within. And not in isolation but in collaboration. In recognition of your wider place within the world and the relationships that form a part of it.

It is the reclamation of choice, that you are the change agent, instead of waiting or insisting that the world around you adjust to fall in line with your desires.

We will feel more, sense more, act more. A handing back of agency, of potency, of understanding the wider web in which we live.

If you are looking to be perfectly balanced or calm with your nervous system work, then what you’re moving towards is not regulation. It’s another loosely disguised box that really just control.

13/02/2025

X-rays and scans show the status of the tissues being imaged BUT they don’t measure pain.

Horses can, same as people, have severe changes but absolutely no pain or conversely have minor changes sadly suffering significant pain.

We need to be aware of any signs of pain but also be aware that there is not automatically pain, as the changes can be incidental findings.

I had two cases today demonstrating this point. One with severe osteoarthritis of the hind fetlocks and one with very advanced kissing spines. If you over-read their x-rays you’d have thought the pain would have been extreme and end of the road for them. In both horses the severity of the changes in the x-rays were a complete surprise to the vets and the owners.

Future management plans and training expectations have been modified as a result of the findings. However both horses are staying in work with very caring owners and an a multi-disciplinary team supporting them.

At the moment the plan is to ride the horse in front of them each day, look out for but don’t anticipate clinical signs that are not there.

If your horse has a diagnosis, remember to care for them as horse first, pathology/injury second and take each day at a time.

04/02/2025

This is brilliant 👏
I personally feel that many people confuse "self enlightenment" with "self entitlement"

With every relationship we have, we are part of something bigger than ourselves. To enter a conversation or training session with our desires as a priority, then we have already upset the Equilibrium.

A few years ago it occurred to me just how much I relied on my horses to fill 'my cup' something, as such an independent person I would never ask or seek from another person. Yet why did I expect this from my horses? Horses make me happy, but what I learnt is it's not their job to do so.
Even when we have every good intention to give them a happy, safe and healthy life, there is unintentional weight we place upon them when we approach with the attitude of "I live a busy life, so my horses are my 'me' time" or "I'm going to ride so I can take some time to myself" or as I did "I love seeing my horses as they make 'me' feel better" and so we have the confusion of self-enlightenment and self-entitlement.

It's so important to remind ourselves of the relationship we are in. We must ask ourselves for us to 'feel better' or have our 'me time,' has it been at the expense of your horse? Have you drained their energy just to fill yours? Have you placed your needs above that of your horse, your partner? And if so, it may be time for the honesty glasses to come out and ponder the question, why do we think our soul is more important than theirs....

I am Lockie Phillips, but that is not important.

I retired from a career as a classical ballet dancer with the Polish National Ballet seven years ago, after working for eight years as a dancer across Europe but that is not important.

I taught my first lesson with horses and riders thirteen years ago. I am almost 35 years old, and I have lived many lives. My work with horses has long since outgrown the work I did in dance. Yet now with the horses, the dancing never stops.

This page, this platform such as it is, is an echo of my home. A home for my horses, my team, our work, and perhaps the growing number of people for whom us and our work resonates with.

But most importantly, this page, this platform such as it is, is an echo of the horses represented by the people for whom we work for, and assist.

We are here for the horses.

We do our very best to perceive the needs, desires and preferences of the horses that the people we work for, represent. For it behooves us -pun intended- to put the horses first. To do our best to perceive the needs of the horses and act as their mouthpiece. Their advocate.

Last year, and in years prior, our ethos was a little different. The ethos was;
"Horse work is people work. Prioritise the people and the horses will follow."

And in principle, your personal needs are still important to us. In the delivery of now over 1200 private services annually, international clinics, large and small mentorship programs, and free offerings such as YT and our Podcast, we offer a discerning focus on the person before us. Coaching, teaching, training- this and more is required by us, for the people who link arms with us. Yet we found a stumbling block. Too frequently, when we put the human before the horse, we can get stuck on ourselves. And we cannot assist horses if someone is experiencing themselves as an overwhelming presence. As equestrian professionals, this cannot do, because our job is with the horses, so we need to reach the horses.

We need you to put yourself first. We cannot put you first, especially if you don’t put yourself first. We need you to put yourself first, take care of yourself, so that we can focus on the horses when we are with you.

There are too many horses, and not enough horsepeople. Horses need horsepeople to care for them. The act of care is fundamentally de-centering. If you are waiting for horsemanship to feel really centred -to you- then you are on a pathway to Self Centered Horsemanship. Where your horse may play second fiddle to your needs, your feelings, your desires and wants. Often, with very good intentions. Often with many consequences to the horses well-being.

Recent trends would have us believe that horsemanship is an act of centering ourselves, a “Self-Help” prospect for the new Millennium. I have come to find, horsemanship and horse training probably is best not used as a Self-Help modality. Horsemanship is best used as the act centering the horse.

So where do we focus on our inner work, in this crazy world, where do we center ourselves?

How about centering ourselves before going out to the horses? Center yourself without the horses around. Because when you go out to care for, handle, train or ride your horse, your focus must be on the horse- not you.

Paradoxically, in order to do this properly, you have to have centered and grounded yourself, on your own, first. If not, you will find yourself with a horse, at the end of your rope, your patience, your emotional balance. That is when people lose control and lash out at the horse. Because deep down, they might be confused and hurt that quality horsemanship doesn’t feel like a self-centering practice. So they may lash out, or freeze or Insert-Trauma-Response-Here. That is when discerning instructors and trainers should signpost people to leave the horse alone and take care of themselves. Horse trainers shouldn’t act as therapists, if our competency rests in half-halts, seat mechanics, feel and equine development. Ask your people to return when they can apply their feel, their emotion, to a horse focused place.

We need to ask ourselves; “Do I think horses should help me be centered personally?” If yes, is that appropriate? Is that working for both of you?

Perhaps your job is to center yourself. And to not ask vulnerable animals that are in our domestic care to ameliorate the personal inner journey you might be best doing with a therapist trained to do that safely. Then, when you go to your horse, understand that horsemanship is a different type of personal skill- the opposite of centering yourself.

Horsemanship- a bit like good parenting- is about extending yourself. Stretch. Leap. Try. Aspire. Explore. Inquire. You extend yourself, outside yourself. Consider it a fabulous holiday away from yourself. Away from the petty obsessions of your everyday life. Your inner work done prior to joining your horse, your inner work so strong, so consolidated, that you can project energies and extend yourself to center the horse, center others. So self assured you can be Selfless.

All meditation practices have this as a goal. To lose the self in the act of meditation. To be SO PRESENT that You disappear. Your ego, evaporates. Now, the ego is not all evil. Without an ego, none of us would brush our hair! But we need to stop asking horses to “Brush Our Energetic Emotional Hair”, and call that training. But have you ever spent so much time thinking about yourself that you get sick of being selfish? And want to apply your energies to something outside yourself?

Extending yourself into art, creativity, care, enquiry and exploration is a self-extension activity, not a self-centering activity.

Try and imagine the last time you watched someone ride or train a horse selfishly. Where was the horse in the result? It was all about the human? What did it look like? What were the stories people told about those results?

Now stop and think of the last rider or trainer you know where you almost didn’t see the human, you hardly saw the techniques, if you saw the techniques at all. Nothing seemed to happen in the human yet the horse was fully focused on what the human was doing, even if you were deaf and blind to what the human was doing.

You just saw the horse.

That is what Emotional Horsemanship is all about. Inspired by horses. Always inspired by horses.