Flow Riders Equestrian - Music Clinics

14/12/2025

❤️

Visualize it in your mind. Connect mentally, emotionally, and—if it feels authentic to you—spiritually.
Then refine your technique.

There are moments when feel, good intention, and visualization can bridge gaps that training and technique alone cannot quite reach.

And there are moments when good intention is not enough—when the right technique, the right timing, and a refined skill set are what’s required.

If we work with enough horses over a long enough period of time, and stay open to the moment, we begin to witness remarkable things. We see situations resolve that, by all logic, should never have worked—yet feel carried us through.

And we also see things go badly wrong, even with the best intentions, because the necessary skills simply weren’t there.

The best horsemen commit to both intention and skill. They are rooted in reality, knowing there are forces that cannot be bypassed: gravity, physics, the laws of nature. No amount of connection can override these truths.

But they also understand that a horse is not a robot. Perfect mechanics alone cannot fully bridge the gap between horse and rider. At some point, the inside of the person must reach toward the inside of the horse to complete the circuit.

And when that connection is made, everything else—technique, timing, intention—falls into place.

08/12/2025

CONSILIENCE AS A REJECTION OF AUTHORITY…

It took me several years to finally decide to rebrand as ‘consilient’ horsemanship, and as time goes on, I feel even more strongly about it being the guiding lantern on the many paths of my horsemanship journey.

The idea of ‘consilience’ is borrowed from science, and while it is about finding the common links and universal truths from many different areas of study, and many different sources, literally, the ‘jumping together of knowledge,’ it’s also the rejection of individual infallibility, those who refuse to question or be questioned.

As learners, we want to find someone who has all the answers. It’s easier. It’s comforting. But that’s not how science works.

The very point of science is to question itself infinitely, which is why I live my life by the mantra, ‘Be suspicious of anyone who is too sure.’

Maybe it’s time we stop questioning ourselves for a change, and start questioning others.

Never be afraid to yell, “The emperor is naked!”

Truth never fears inquisition.

circa 2022

08/12/2025

I bought a horse named Moonlight to train as a polo prospect. In a practice game early in her training another player took a back shot where they hit a ball backward while riding forward. I was riding beside that player's horse and a tad behind when he took his back shot, which is not legal if the player's mallet swing might hit a nearby horse as Moonlight and I were that close.

That player's mallet followed through from his shot hit Moonlight in the teeth. At a gallop she managed to do a slight rear up from the pain of the hit. She never played polo well again. That one incident soured her on the game.

Experienced horse trainers know that setbacks in training can be devastating. My mistake with Moonlight was trusting that player to follow the rules and not hit her. While she ended up being a top equine therapy horse, my polo goal for her ended at a significant loss to me.

Setbacks in training can be disastrous. Even small mistakes can take weeks to fix, and a potential training mistake is never obvious until it happens unless you have a lot of experience. The only way I know to avoid training mistakes is to be very vigilant about the potential of every method and circumstance in training that could go wrong and to stack the deck so as to avoid possible bad outcomes.

Training mistakes usually come from too much emphasis on one specific outcome. A trainer might get impatient for an outcome or otherwise push the process too fast without regard for the possible pitfalls in a training sequence. One common pitfall is not seeing that the prospect is not ready for what the trainer wants the horse to learn.

Short term inpatient training mistakes include working a horse beyond their attention span in a session. Long term mistakes are usually something like "I have to get this horse ready for a show next month." In either case, the trainer forces a horse into a learning circumstance that the horse is not ready for. The result is always the same, more training time is required to undo the mistake.

Slow, deliberate, well planned training is always faster than impatient, gotta get an outcome training.

Horse trainers like Andreas Helgstrand (left image from the video that got him FEI suspended for tying a horse's head down to its chest for a long period & more) and Andrew McConnon who forced very narrow training outcomes for specific competition. Horses trained in rushed ways turn into sad, one trick ponies ruined for any future comfortable life as a horse.

The right image shows what happens when a horse is pushed past their attention span. Training horses is like the old saying, "Life is a journey, not a destination". We want outcomes but outcomes cannot be the singular focus of the training.

30/11/2025

This is the whole point

29/11/2025

We all know that being a horse guardian can be a tough gig. Some weeks are harder than others. Well done gang for making it through. ❤️

Well done to all my clients this week, sometimes a week develops on a theme. This week has been emotional regulation, amongst some difficult times. Not just for riders, but for the horses too.

We have employed tools such as groundwork, feed adjustments (horses!) neck straps, breathing exercises, more groundwork and generally giving each other lots of emotional support.

Hugs to you all

29/11/2025

This is really useful (as always from this page)

The 3 Days • 3 Weeks • 3 Months Rule

How Training, Conditioning, and Massage Therapy Support a New Horse’s Adjustment

When a horse arrives in a new home, their body and brain go through predictable stages of stress, recalibration, and integration. Understanding these stages helps set fair expectations for training, conditioning, and bodywork — and ensures the horse feels safe enough to truly learn.

First 3 Days — Survival Mode

What’s happening in the horse:

• Elevated cortisol & adrenaline

• Hypervigilance, scanning for
safety

• Tight fascia, shortened stride

• Limited sleep, digestive changes

• Polite or shut-down behavior

• Not ready for new demands

Training Implications:

• Keep it minimal. Think familiarization, not training.

• Introduce routines gently: turnout, feeding, leading.

• Avoid high expectations — they’re not mentally available yet.

• Don’t correct “weird behavior”; it’s stress physiology, not defiance.

Physical Conditioning:

• No conditioning work yet.

• Allow grazing, walking, and movement at liberty.

• Let the horse decompress before analyzing gait or posture.

How Massage Therapy Helps:

• Supports parasympathetic activation (“rest + digest”)

• Loosens protective tension in the poll, neck, TMJ, ribcage

• Improves breathing and vagal tone
• Helps the horse recover from travel stress

Goal of this phase:

Establish safety, lower stress, restore baseline physiology.

First 3 Weeks — Adjustment & Testing Phase

What’s happening in the horse:

• Nervous system begins stabilizing

• Sleep improves

• True personality begins to emerge

• Herd dynamics are being negotiated

• Fascial patterns surface (bracing, crookedness, restrictions)

Training Implications:

• Start light, simple, consistent training

• Focus on boundaries, manners, basic communication

• Expect some testing — this is normal

• Introduce new tasks slowly

• Reward relaxation and curiosity

Physical Conditioning:

• Begin low-stress conditioning:

• In-hand work

• Hill walking

• Long-and-low

• Ground poles

• Evaluate natural asymmetries, stride length, and posture

• Avoid hard cardio or heavy schooling

How Massage Therapy Helps:

• Identifies tension patterns formed from travel, past training, or stress

• Releases compensations as the horse begins doing more

• Improves thoracic sling mobility and ribcage elasticity

• Supports better saddle fit as musculature shifts

• Enhances proprioception during early training

Goal of this phase:

Build trust, establish boundaries, begin reshaping movement.

First 3 Months — Integration & True Conditioning

What’s happening in the horse:

• Herd social structure established

• Full neurobiological regulation

• Digestive system normalized

• True posture, habits, and movement patterns appear

• Genuine learning and bonding accelerate

Training Implications:

• The horse is now mentally available for real training

• Can handle consistency, new challenges, and progressive demands

• Trust is present → training becomes safer and clearer

• Complex concepts (lateral work, transitions, softness) begin to stick

Physical Conditioning:

• Begin structured strength-building:

• Raised poles

• Cavaletti

• Lateral work

• Hill work

• Engagement and core work

• Monitor soreness as new muscles develop

• Expect posture changes as the horse remaps its body

How Massage Therapy Helps:

Massage and MFR are most impactful at this stage:

• Supports remodeling of fascia as new movement patterns develop

• Helps muscles adapt to conditioning without overload

• Prevents old compensations from returning

• Enhances stride length, symmetry, and thoracic sling function

• Keeps joints decompressed as the horse gains strength

• Creates better balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic tone

• Improves overall body awareness → smoother training progress

Goal of this phase:

True integration, real conditioning, and long-term partnership.

A horse’s nervous system, fascia, and biomechanics need time to recalibrate after any major change. The 3 Days • 3 Weeks • 3 Months framework reflects how their body integrates safety, movement, and new information. Training and conditioning shape new patterns, while massage and myofascial work support the neuromuscular system as it reorganizes. Together, these pieces create lasting change — and a horse truly ready to thrive.

https://koperequine.com/the-power-of-slow-why-slow-work-is-beneficial-for-horses/

29/11/2025

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