Frankly Sound Equine

04/01/2025

This is going to be such a FUN class!!
Fascial soundness is definitely something to be intentional with when working with your horse!!

There’s only one spot left - so join now!!!

http://heartsongequine.com/classes-events

Just ONE spot remaining! Join us for a fun weekend learning from the horses! ✨🐎

Register today to reserve your spot!
http://heartsongequine.com/classes-events

03/23/2025

One of my favorite things is exploring what Holistic means to me. It often is a blend of different modalities, Western/Eastern healing and mixing intuition, science and the woo!!

So excited to deepen this exploration on our call tomorrow with Tracey Duncan!! 🤩

Join here to be a part of it! 🫶

https://www.holistichorsecollective.com/member-site-homepage

03/12/2025

I began this year with some strong shifts in my intentions.

For one, I did my vision board; incredibly, it’s the first I’ve ever done (through the 10+ years attempted).

Secondly, I set my intentions for 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚. Clarity with myself, my family and friends, and my horses - any of them I interact with.

I have really come to terms with how much of a disservice it is to 𝐧𝐨𝐭 be clear - for all parties involved. With boundaries, communications and energetic exchanges.

So, now knowing better, I’ll strive to do better in that regard. I 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 to. I want to be so clear with myself and who I am, because I deserve it. I deserve to always be aware of my yes’ & no’s - in all realms. To honor them and the evolving boundaries I place to protect myself, so that my self love can continue to grow. So that my past triggers, who tirelessly worked to keep me alive and safe, can be laid down in reverence.

This allows me to then show up in ways I never knew possible for the horses. I’m excited for what this year brings and how much my approach continues to shift, develop and expand. I’m excited to not 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 like a trainer, bodyworker or instructor. But to show up authentically 𝒎𝒆 through this beautiful blend of them all; and really, just a growing horsewoman fulfilling a soul contract.

Thank you, Celeste-Leilani Lazaris, for being not only an incredible inspiration and mentor, but friend and supporter as well on this earthly horsemanship journey. 💕

I’m so lucky to be a forever student of the horse. We all should find gratitude in that. 🌹

With that said - I’m so 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 with the intentional (needed) rest I sought through these winter months. The joy and rejuvenation I feel now is so deep, with the longer days and return of light that Ostara brings as she approaches.

I’ll be more clear with my boundaries this year on how far and often I travel to see clients and their horses, and open the door a bit wider for my distance session availability - as I am deeply prioritizing my own herd (horses and humans).

And one last reminder -
All 𝐇𝐇𝐂 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 (＄17 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ) receive $𝟐𝟓 𝐨𝐟𝐟 any of my services and priority scheduling! 😘

franklysoundequine.com ✨
holistichorsecollective.com ✨

03/10/2025

🔮 Unlock the Power of the Pendulum!

Join us for our upcoming Healing Pendulum Class and learn how to harness this powerful tool to aid in energy work, intuitive guidance, and equine wellness.

✨ Only 1 in-person spot left! ✨

Can’t make it in person? No worries—unlimited online spots are available!

📌 Holistic Horse Collective Members get exclusive discounts AND early access to all our offerings. If you’re not a member yet, now’s the perfect time to join! 😘

The flyer has all the details— register today and start your journey with the pendulum!

Register here: https://forms.gle/2k8c2usgv7sNTbi88

02/22/2025

💕💕👏👏

🙌 Cults, propaganda, fake news and misinformation in the equine industry… 🙌

Are you making the right choices for your horse?

And are you truly empowered to make them? Who and what guided you to make the decisions?

Let’s start with this: What is propaganda, misinformation and fake news?

“The terms ‘propaganda’, ‘misinformation’ and ‘fake news’ often overlap in meaning. They are used to refer to a range of ways in which sharing information causes harm, intentionally or unintentionally – usually in relation to the promotion of a particular moral or political cause or point of view.

It is possible to separate out three clearly different uses of information which fall into this category:
• Mis-information - false information shared with no intention of causing harm
• Dis-information - false information shared intentionally to cause harm
• Mal-information - true information shared intentionally to cause harm

Although none of these phenomena are new, they have taken on new significance recently with the widespread availability of sophisticated forms of information and communication technology. The sharing of text, images, videos, or links online, for example, allows information to go viral within hours.”

Source: https://www.coe.int/en/web/campaign-free-to-speak-safe-to-learn/dealing-with-propaganda-misinformation-and-fake-news

What are the characteristics of a cult?

• “A charismatic leader: Cults always follow a charismatic leader, living or dead, whose teachings are considered of the highest importance.
• Ideological purity: Members are strongly discouraged from questioning the cult's doctrine and any doubts are met with shame or punishment.
• Conformity and control: Cult leaders often exercise an extreme degree of control over members' lives, including dictating what they can wear and eat and what kinds of relationships they can have. Conformity is also enforced by group members who police one another.
• Isolation and love-bombing: It is common for people in cults to be encouraged to cut contact with outsiders, including close family members. Within the cult, new members are often subjected to love-bombing, a practice where new initiates are showered with love and praise to bring them deeper into the cult and foster a sense of belonging
• Us-vs-them mentality: Cult members are often encouraged to see the cult as superior to life on the outside and to feel that those outside the cult lack understanding or insight.
• Apocalyptic thinking: Preparation for a supposed apocalypse or cataclysmic event is a major characteristic of many cults, especially cult religions (eg “if you do this your horse will die”)
• Time and energy: Followers are expected to dedicate huge amounts of time and energy (and often money) to the cult to the exclusion of their own lives, interests, jobs, and families.”

Source: adapted from https://study.com/learn/lesson/cult-characteristics-types-behavior.html #:~:text=Charismatic%20leaders,Isolation%20and%20abuse%20of%20members

On my page, website, webinars and educational resources, I provide information backed by objective evidence. I provide references and resources, and I even show you how you can document and objectively assess your own horse, for more accurate assessment and tracking changes resulting from the choices you have made on behalf of your horse.

I don’t teach you how to trim hooves. Instead, i support you on your learning path to trimming horses - your way.

I share my journey, my assessments, recommendations and results. I show you how I assess welfare conditions, and why, and encourage you to do the same, using physiological, postural and behavioural parameters which help give horses a voice, opinion, and a window into their subjective, lived experience.

This is how we learn to truly advocate for them. The manner in which you advocate becomes easier to choose when we meet the horse where they are, and remove the ego.

💚I want you to take your own journey. I want you to question everything critically, including anything I share.

💚I want owners to experience empowerment.

💚To me, empowerment = the ability, strength, confidence and resources to act legitimately and authentically on behalf of oneself and a horse in their charge.

💚 To me, empowerment isn't a regurgitation of another’s belief system.

💚 To me, empowerment doesn’t come from propaganda, fake news, misinformation or cult membership.

💚 To me, empowerment comes from critical thinking balanced with intuition and embodied knowledge.

💚 To me, empowerment leads to wisdom, courage, and personal growth.

👏I’m all for that. Are you? 🐴🥰

Www.holisticequine.co.uk - supporting and promoting compassionate equestrianism for the benefit of everyone 💚🙏🐴

02/17/2025

Here’s another wonderful example of what we mean when we say we help them find their wings 🪽

When we help them unlock and open that incredibly delicate space at their poll. The A/O joint.

It’s extra special for me, because this is my own child. 💕

And I know… if someone says working with and helping their own horses, isn’t 1000X harder than client horses, they’re lying. Or they’re just that fu***ng good. I don’t know. 🤷‍♀️

But what I can empathize with - all the guardians who try so hard for their horses and work to check all the boxes.

Keep going. Keep doing it. And don’t try to do it alone. Find a team who is there to support you and collaborate together. That’s what it takes. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We’re human! Drive your passion and depth of care for your horse from a place of love. It’ll help us honor the humbleness it takes to be the best possible advocate we can be for our horses. ❤️

(Two examples for the, “their neck is just different because it’s lower” crowd) 😘

Balancethroughmovementmethod.com 🪄
Holistichorsecollective.com 🪄
Franklysoundequine.com 🪄

01/21/2025

Here's a fun little reminder that BTMM 𝒊𝒔 ‘considering the whole horse’. On our last trainer call, it was the reverberating energy through the conversation. And why all things must be considered while addressing pathologies; yet often overlooked through compartmentalizing.

I know, because I didn't know, until I knew. I know, because I see rehabilitation plans that skip over crucial aspects that would address the root cause of injury. I know, because I have personally been led down the path (by my own) of discovering the way in which he needed me to learn and show up for him in all realms.

What he led me through addressing before I was able to check the last box... which was FEET.

He had a wonderful environment with movement and friends. His nutrition was adjusted to forage based with herbal supports. (Thanks HeartSong Equine for facilitating both of those, and more). He had physical support which embodied BTMM, LNRT, healing horsemanship & functional movement.

But - without having feet to stand on, we will always be chasing pathology. And sometimes that means learning how to have hard conversations; navigating through finding 𝑛𝑜𝑡 what *we* think is right based on our beliefs of specific methodologies, but listening to the horse and finding what works best for them; and finding the right practitioners to collaborate with is equally as important and sometimes difficult territory to traverse!

I also think the way in which we speak to those on our platforms is incredibly important. To operate from a place of peace and safety is a love based frequency. To extend shame on folks for their place of education on any of these topics is a low place to inhabit. Truly, when we know better, we do better. That's where our standard should be as professionals in this industry.

We aren't meant to pretend to have all the answers - we never will anyway. The notion of over complicating things to the point of making the information feel in-accessible to the masses is a gross form of attempting to gate keep information while feeding an unhealthy ego; and frankly, it's so rampant in the equine world, and that alone does the disservice to the horses.

My point being - for those who are overwhelmed with the feeling like you don't have enough knowledge/education/skill to advocate and make changes for your horse with your current skill set; understand this, you do know your horse best, and it's okay to have just a basic understanding of concepts, principles and methods regarding our horses health care, so you can then find the team that's best suited for supporting you. Having tools to help recognize dysfunction, only provides a clearer path to function.

To receive help and guidance from many incredible practitioners, through all realms of healthcare, in a safe place where you will not be shamed for where you’re at in your journey, head to holistichorsecollective.com and join. 💖

Give your horse their wings, join BTMM 💖balancethroughmovementmethod.com

01/17/2025

All of this 💖

Everyone’s horsemanship journey looks different… but golly there are some incredible baselines we should all learn and carry, for the sake of our horse.

💖

My Horses Love Me.

I have four personal horses and I think each one is the best thing since sliced bread. The feeling is mutual.

This doesn’t mean that we always “get along”. Just like any relationship/partnership, we have good days and bad. Peaks and valleys. While every body has something adverse to work through or with, in general, our little herd is made up of happy and healthy horses who want to be with us.

I have put much thought into why this is. Why my horses come to meet me at the gate with ears pricked and eyes bright. Why they gather around me and follow me about. Why they softly nicker as I approach, noses stretched out for face scritches. Why they eagerly place their heads in their halters to participate in whatever the day lays out for us. Why they thrill in our under saddle work, why they have so, so much try.

I firmly believe that horses want to be Centaur as much as we do.

In spite of this profound belief system, the reality is that there is much that must come into play in order for my horses to be happy, healthy and willing partners. To the best of our human abilities, our horses have:

✨ Species Appropriate Environment.
They live in bands of their choosing and choose when to seek shelter, when to eat, when to drink, when to rest, when to play.

✨ Complete Circle of Influence.
They have individual nutritional programs, correctly fitted tack and access to an incredible health care team whose members are ultimately of their choosing.

✨ Freedom to Say No.
I understand why in some horsemanship circles this is a cardinal sin. For me, allowing my horses to say No has greatly impacted our partnerships for the better. However, when they say No, it does not mean that the conversation is over, it simply means that it’s my responsibility to be flexible and take steps until I find their Yes. What I have discovered after several years of working through this approach, my horses only say No when they do not understand the question or there is a physical reason why they do not wish to comply. Not one of them EVER has said No for the sake of saying No. “No” has never ever come from them because they’re lazy/stubborn/opinionated/hot/etc. In my opinion, these are human attributes that we project onto our horses to rationalize behaviour we do not understand.

✨ Clear and Consistent Boundaries.
I do not allow my horses to push, shove, step on, drag, kick, bite or rub on me. Just no. It’s rude. This is not how we treat each other. I will make strong contact with my horses when necessary and do not hesitate to enforce my boundaries around how my body is to be treated.

✨ Calm, Confident, Clear Handling.
I am extremely particular about how my horses are handled. So much so that it is rare for me to invite others to handle my horses and rarer still to invite anyone to ride them. When I am with my horse(s), I treat them as I would treat anyone who is precious to me. This is what Mindful Horsemanship is all about- being present and embodied in the moment, being tactful and considerate in our actions, bringing our heart centre to our work and being able to listen more than talk.

✨ Consent Both Ways.
While I am clear in how I wish to be treated by my horses, I aim to be equally receptive to how they wish to be treated by me. I avoid engaging in non-consensual touch, believing that grooming is a privilege and I am not entitled to any kind of physical affection from any of my horses, though they are mostly very cuddly. I do not bulldoze past their No’s, I pay attention to the details and act accordingly. I do not make them work for me when they are sore or unwell.

✨ Training Without Coercion or Bribery.
I am not against positive reinforcement training at all but it is not a method that resonates for me with my personal horses. None of them are hand fed. Ever. I used to use R+ for most training but stopped about 8 years ago as a bit of a mission to see if I could accomplish the same things without the food reward. I have, and more. I do not subscribe to the “Ask Tell Command” method of pressure and release. I used to get a lot done with this and was very successful as a competitor. As the relationship with my herd became the priority over winning ribbons, there is no longer a need to extract behaviours from them nor a need to always get my way. When this is what I want, I ride a bicycle.

I am wary to share this for fear of coming across as arrogant. However, my desire to bridge the gap between Horsemanship and Performance is too strong to let fear of what other’s might think get in my way. It may seem pretty woo, but honest to goodness my horses perform their hearts out for me. We do things in ways I never could have imagined and I believe in my bones that we can live in a world where horses and their humans are happy, healthy AND competitive at the upper levels.

~ Chiara 💕

01/11/2025

Happy Friday!!! 💖

Friendly reminder; no amount of taping is going to fix an unregulated nervous system and postural dysfunction!! ☺️

*Saying this as a lover of using tape for supports in the journey of postural rehabilitation 💕

01/09/2025

I am not an equine behaviorist. I am far less educated than many people I choose to surround myself with (on purpose 😉).

This does seem to be a ‘hot topic’ though - and with that comes a lot of beautiful insight, equally layered with misinformation. It’s especially scary when spoken in absolutes from unqualified individuals, rather than an, “it depends!” attitude.

But… I do have a depth of decades reading and listening to the horse. So, with that I feel confident enough to at least share my 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. I also have been extremely intentional with practicing self-awareness over the last several years. With that, I personally think often about a specific shared human and horse experience I see occur all the time.

When I randomly do something nice for someone, whatever that may be, I absolutely do NOT expect anything in return… it’s actually the point of my gesture. I get so much joy from that; sharing a little reminder they’re thought of and loved.

I’ve never understood the concept of (and I see this happen often), someone doing something unprompted for someone, then holding that over them at some point in the future. As in, “well I did xyz for you…”. Presenting that gesture in an assuming way that they’re now owed something.

What an absolutely asinine, human thing to do. How sneaky, to come back and attach strings to unsolicited gestures.

I was taught at a very young age the Golden Rule. Do unto others, as you’d have them do unto you. I admit there are many, many times I have not followed that rule… 😅 but I have learned a lot from all those experiences that helped bring me back to my early exposure to the concept.

How does this apply to our horses… well… you probably have an idea. But from what I experience and what I overhear:

“I spend so much money on you, you can get out and do xyz with me when I show up.”
- As though our horses have any concept of monetary exchange and what that means, and frankly, 80% of the time we’ve got them in a non species appropriate environment with that money spent.

“I bought/bred you to jump, so you are going to jump; I’ll just get new training gear, you clearly have a behavior issue…”
- Believe it or not, our horses don’t actually owe us anything, nor did they ask to be purchased by you for this job, nor did they ask to do this job in the first place, even though a human bred them for it. Granted, I do think our horses land on the paths they’re on, often to share lessons…
- NOW, I am also not going to pretend our horses don’t enjoy having a job, especially depending on the breed and job type, but gosh, if we own horses as a hobby, it’s a lot more fun (necessary) to have them be an active participant by making sure we’ve set them up for the task we’re asking (also necessary). If you don’t know what that looks like, ask!
- In more rare instances; we have horses who are actually working a job with us. Gosh it’s pretty similar to us… IF I am a well-balanced human, doing the things consistently I know I need for my mental and physical well-being, I don’t actually need to love my job to be happy to be there. IF I’m fulfilled in my life and I don’t work with a bunch of as****es 🤷‍♀️, I’m happy to show up to work and actively participate. So, if you can’t provide a species appropriate environment/lifestyle/partnership… work may suck for them!

“I only have 1 hour, you need to step out and show up for work!”
- Well… golly. 😮‍💨

Here’s the biggest thing I feel around all of this… What does it look like to meet ourselves and horses where we’re both at… each day. Each session. Each interaction. None of this is scripted, and does require our effort, honesty and integrity.

I am not pretending to have always embodied the latter. Having been on BOTH sides of this spectrum; feeling entitlement with my horses and their role in my life, to understanding I’m owed nothing from them… I actually owe them, by choosing to share this lifetime with them, a life that allows them to live in balance.

I really appreciate what my dear friend Chiara, Un-Natural Horsemanship said one day this summer… to paraphrase; we just need to show up authentically… if we’re having a bad day that’s fine, but if we can show up to our horses owning that, they really extend a lot grace. But, accountability is needed, you best drop any agenda and flow with no expectations.

That goes for our horses too… meeting them where they’re at. A really good way to practice this, is practicing being a good listener to the humans in your life. It allows us the ability to slow down and look for responses, rather than reactions.

I have ADHD and it’s really easy for me to want to jump into a conversation and relate what someone is saying to my personal experiences…I think that’s okay… but I’ve worked a lot on actively listening while talking to someone, especially when it’s regarding a passion of theirs; asking them questions about themselves and what they’re saying… allowing them to dive a bit deeper into what they’re speaking on. (This also is a helpful tool for us neurodivergent folks that struggle with small talk… 😉)

Point being… This translates really well into inviting our horses to be active participants in the conversations we have. It’s honoring all the nuanced moments in time that allow us to grow as horsemen. And if that’s not always our goal… you may consider finding another hobby that doesn’t involve another living being.

Holistichorsecollective.com

01/06/2025

This is so incredibly true and well written 👏💖

Getting to the root of a pain problem -

As our understanding of pain related behaviour improves, there are many situations where horses might present with a "nothingy something" of an issue but there is no clear indicator of where that problem might be arising from.

The interesting (challenging) thing with this is that, if there is no overt lameness or "if I poke here it really hurts", then oftentimes there is no clear start line for your diagnostic journey.

This can be very frustrating because you can find yourself running around in circles not knowing where to start, with conflicting advice from the professionals around you - some of whom might tell you unhelpful things like "just ride through it" or "it's just bad behaviour"

And this is where I have found traditional diagnostics really need to up their game because from a welfare perspective we need to be intervening with pain before a horse is hopping lame or ditching their rider.

And this in turn will encourage people to pay attention to the smaller behaviours rather than waiting for lameness or waiting to be ditched!

What I have learned is that sometimes you have to pick a place to start and work from there.

This means you may be searching for a little while and you might be ruling out more areas through diagnostics than ruling in areas, but that in and of itself is useful information.

Here is what my career has taught me so far:

- If you think there is a problem, there probably is. Find yourself a team of professionals that will support you.

Sometimes a professional might tell you there isn't a problem because they don't have the skillset to see it or find it, another opinion can often be a good thing - though do keep in mind that too many chefs spoil the broth.

There is many a time where I will say "there is a problem - I can't tell you what, though my observation/palpation skills tell me xyz and I will support you in finding out what it is".

- Sometimes there is so much peripheral noise that you need to strip out a lot of variables and then reassess. This includes improving your horse's management to meet their ethological needs and reducing the workload to see where a problem stops being a problem. These all take time.

I have also found that horses can present as painful because their human is expecting way, way, way too much from them given their physical and emotional health. Getting comfortable doing less and going slower is a solid way of rounding off with a happier, healthier horse that you can actually do more with in the long run.

- I'm a "let's deal with the elephant in the room" kind of gal:

If your horse has poor foot balance, deal with that and then go from there. This could include radiographs to monitor changes in hoof angle and this might mean seeking advice from other hoof care providers to support you and your current hoof care provider in improving things.

Likewise, if your horse's back looks like a saggy hammock, or they have weird lumps/spinal protrusions, deal with that. You could get radiographs to tell you the orientation of the spinous processes. Then rebuild your horse's spinal angle and see where that gets you.

- The problem will continue to be a problem until you have actually resolved it! If your horse has diagnosed hoof balance issues, which you are working on resolving, but the balance is still poor, then it will still be an issue!! This means you have to adjust your expectations of your horse accordingly!

- If you are requesting relatively non-invasive diagnostics, e.g. radiographing/ultrasounding your horse's limbs or back, and you are prepared to pay actual hard earned money for this service even though it might show you absolutely nothing of any value (although to me, ruling out an area is of enormous value), please don't let a professional convince you not to UNLESS they have a reasonable counter plan for another diagnostic (NB a bone scan, to the tune of thousands of £££ is not a suitable counterplan in my opinion)

"I suggested to my vet that we xray my horse's back but they palpated it and said that his reactions were normal so there is no reason to xray"

"Okay well what did they suggest instead?"

"They didn't"

"Great, so you have a horse that presents with pain under saddle and yet we are still no further forward with determining the cause"

- Equally, diagnostics and expertise do come with a price tag, this means that in order to find out what is going on with your horse, you do need to spend money. I know this gets tricky when your horse is presenting with a nothingy something and you have a limited budget to deal with it because you really want to spend that money wisely, but turning up to your vet and saying "I have 55p and three buttons to spend, please tell me what's wrong with my horse", is really unfair on your vet and also your horse.

"I had his hocks medicated but it didn't change anything"

"Did you do any diagnostics?"

"No, we just medicated"

"So what you're saying is you did something painful, that isn't without its risks, despite having not done any due diligence, which means you've spent money you don't have on something that wasn't the problem?"

- It is not as simple as medicating and riding into the sunset.

Why did your horse get the diagnosis they got?

What have you done to improve their management/lifestyle/way of going so you can reduce the instances of this happening again? For biomechanic induced issues, you need to solve the problem by altering their biomechanics; medicating is a way of reducing the pain/inflammation to buy you a window of time to do this in.

-

The relationship between pain and behaviour are very complicated. I really wish it was as simple as "nerve block here" to get results. There is so much more I could add and the nuances are vast.

There will of course be outliers to this - people who tried all of the above and are still without answers, or those who walked to hell and back to get them - and for those people I understand that this post might be very triggering, I am sorry about that. I hope you can see here that this is a good starting place for many people and I welcome your experience in the comments if you feel it has the power to help someone.

The final thing I will say is this -

Your horse does not need to perform in any way, shape or form in order to be deserving of your love, care and dedication to them. And if you feel they do, then perhaps you should consider getting a bicycle instead ❤️