Natalie Flood - Synergy Horse Training & Bodywork

17/09/2024

04/09/2024

Happy September all! 🍂
Just a quick reminder that we have 2 super events on this month!
➡️On September 28th come and try your hand at Agility https://fb.me/e/4MKsJpNci
➡️On September 29th come and take part in Come as You Are Dressage https://fb.me/e/72i8ll8Gk

04/09/2024

I'm proud of these stats in August.

140km in total
21 hours or 91% in walk

This was all out hacking as I'm avoiding the school and included plenty of hills.

Walking lubricates the joints, and the different surfaces provide proprioceptive feedback. It's also amazing for their mental wellbeing.

My horse has started coming over to have his bridle put on, the opposite of those that go to the back of their stable when the tack comes out.

I've loved seeing the transformation as my young horse learned to carry himself up and down hill on varying terrain.

He's learnt to trot and canter on a loose rein, as well as transitions on a loose rein using voice commands.

And you know what? People like to p*ss on your bonfire. I've been told I do too much with my horse, that I'm running him into the ground.

The reality is I've very carefully rehabbed him from a stifle injury. As Tami Elkayam Equine Bodywork says, it's not the stifle you need to fix, it's everything else.

If there one thing you can do for horse, get them out for a walk on different terrain. It doesn't have to be ridden, and will potentially save you a fortune in vet bills and bodywork.

27/08/2024

Clinic at Whitewoods 😁

🦄 WDHC agility clinic with Natalie Flood 🦄

Saturday 28th September at Whitwood House Farm Livery

Groups at 2pm and 3pm

Max 5 people per group

Can be ridden or in hand. Or half and half.

Any horse and rider/handler any age and ability.

£30 including hire fee. Bookings only through the EquoEvents link below ⬇️

Please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions

https://www.equoevents.co.uk/ViewEvent/ViewEventDetails/49460

19/08/2024

Now the dust is beginning to settle and the equestrian Olympics has finished, I hope the tide is turning with regards to horse welfare.

I set up this page not that long ago, feeling like the equestrian world is ripe for change.

There is a better way. While the equestrian world is steeped in tradition which I love, there are so many things we know now that we didn't know 50 years ago.

The world moves on. There's so much information out there now, so why has the horse industry been stuck in the dark ages?

I'm pleased that we saw more open frames and less tension in the dressage horses. I'm also pleased that there was much less whipping of horses for refusing showjumps.

We still have a long way to do though. In some cases things are worse - individual turnout, lack of turnout at all, lack of enrichment, horses push to fast, too soon.

Despite what people say from their armchairs, it's hard to stand up to trainers in the moment, when they tell you to do something your not comfortable with.

There are good trainers out there, many of whom do their work behind closed doors.

My experience is that people want to learn how to be better and do better. It's hard to forge your own path but many do in quiet corners all around the world.

I saw a bodywork client recently and I nearly fell over when she started talking about her horse's pain face and triangulation of the eyes. Everyone who does anything with horses should be able to recognise signs of stress, pain and fear, I want that to be something normal, not out of the ordinary. It's time for change

08/08/2024

They may not be perfect, but there was no organisation I wanted to study more with.

I'm over halfway through my diploma with ESI and although it's not always easy, it's definitely helping me be a better trainer.

Imagine a world where dressage scores were awarded for the most ethical performance? The lightest of pressures, the most self-carriage, the least amount of gear, and so on.

As in other sports, many horse-owners, trainers and riders will arrive at a choice between doing something ‘bad’ that may increase their chances of winning, or not doing it and relinquishing the possibility of first place.

It may be a decision about using a gadget or a drug, withholding food or water, or hurting the horse.

The extent to which sport horses are coerced to perform is often the focus of welfare debates. Equitation science will be able to play a vital role in deciding the outcome of these discussions, and, particularly in dressage competition, emergent technology will remove subjectivity from judging and will underpin the development of high-welfare dressage.

The sport of soccer has set an excellent example of how judges’ decisions can be supported by technology (e.g., by introducing goal-line technology to increase objectivity of judges’ decisions when keeping scores).

Equestrian sports that involve judging decisions might be well advised to learn a lesson from the progressiveness of other sports and science may be able to help us value training of any manoeuvre that is dependent on and achieved through lightness of pressure (i.e., attesting to self-carriage and the horse’s self-maintenance of rhythm, straightness and outline).

Equitation Science, 2nd Edition, Andrew McLean, Paul McGreevy, Janne Whinther Christensen & Uta König von Borstel

26/07/2024

Really cool view! It's amazing how these teeny tiny bones mirror what's going on elsewhere in the body

24/07/2024

Well, the video of Charlotte is out this morning and it's pretty damming.

My immediate thought when watching the video is that it's absolutely not clear what she's trying to achieve, so it's likely the horse had no idea either.

Horses generally need multiple repetitions to learn something new, unless they are scared, in which case they can learn a new response in a single attempt. The thing about fear is sometimes it can cause a horse to quickly learn something you don't want.

It's difficult to say but it looks like the canter isn't particularly engaged and she is looking to address this. To fix it, firstly the horse needs bodywork to ensure there are no areas of restriction (which it looks like there may be), plus cavalletti work to build strength and more jump behind in the canter.

If the video came out at any other time, I'm pretty sure it would have been brushed under the carpet.

The rider is 16 or 17 at the time (if the video is 2.5) years old, so I'm not sure it's realistic to think she could/would stand up to an olympian.

My understanding is the person that took the video is the sponsor of the lesson ie the person who paid for this treatment.

03/07/2024

I've just sent out my July newsletter with details of my July and August agility clinics. If you want to receive all the updates first, add yourself to the list at

No size limits - please let us know if you're bringing a very tall horse and we'll make sure we have set up the obstacles big enough

02/07/2024

Is anyone interested in my place on camp with Mary Wanless? It's in Kent, next weekend, Saturday 13th to Monday 15th July.

I'm gutted my horse isn't able to do it.

It's really difficult to get a place to train with Mary so I definitely recommend it!

24/06/2024

SOLD OUT

14/06/2024

For horses to learn effectively we're aiming to train at the edge of their comfort zone. If your horse is past their threshold, then no learning is happening. The best you can do is keep yourself safe and choose a good moment to end that situation.

Adrenaline is a very short acting hormone, it has a half life of just a minute or two. Once adrenaline has been triggered, you're on a road to nowhere. We need the nervous system to calm down which actually doesn't take long as long as they're out of the fearful situation

(Cortisol is the other main stress hormone and it's much more long acting. It's released when the horse has chronic low grade stress. It's worthy of it's own post as it can impact the horses ability to deal with new things due to trigger stacking.)

If you have fear based behaviour, which could be separation anxiety or other strong fears, generally we're looking to train in a way that never triggers adrenaline. If you trigger the fear, you get adrenaline which means 'fight or flight', and this will severely set back the training. It strengthens the neural pathways we don't want, and doesn't help us with creating the changes in the brain that we do want.

Think about your horse's threshold and what you can do to stop them going past it.

Also, if the method you've chosen to deal with the issue isn't bringing results, it's time to look at other methods. There some techniques that work well for most horses but sometimes there's a few for whom it doesn't work.

There's actually multiple different techniques that can be used to tackle any situation, and a good trainer has multiple options. Not only can they choose the one they think will work best, but if it's not bringing results, then there's other options.

One of my favourite techniques when fear is involved is CAT-H. It's rarely used in the horse world although Warwick Schiller has tried to bring it to the fore. Derived from a technique by Kellie Snider for dogs, you get your horse close enough to the scary object so they're at threshold, then you wait for the heart rate to come down and turn away. Then you reapproach, going as close until their at threshold wait for the heart rate to come down, and turn away again.

This techniques increases curiosity and can be a great way to introduce new things. As it say, it's one of many techniques that can be used. Other options include systematic desensitiation and counter-conditioning.