Appleyard Equine

10/08/2024

Tired of webinars and online learning? Come learn hands-on techniques and skills to find and release tension in your equine partner. September 21-22 at LUXE Equestrian in Elgin. PM with questions or register on The Masterson Method, Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork website 💫

10/08/2024

Heaven on earth ☀️🐎🌿

09/08/2024

I found this educational sign today at Beamish museum in County Durham. The Equine Defence League who produced this, was founded in 1909 by Francis Cox, his initial objective being to improve the conditions for pit ponies working in the mines. His cause was supported by such big names as Jerome K Jerome, Jack London, James Keir Hardy and Winston Churchill.

These signs could at one time be found in places where horses would be pulling heavy loads up hill.

But this is so relevant to every situation in which a horse might be worked today. Perhaps more than ever before.

09/08/2024

Horse restricted in their ribs? Trouble bending to both sides? Trouble lengthening and stretching to come through their back? I can help with that! 🙋‍♀️10ish minutes between each of these three photos.
The last slide has some 🌟 areas to focus the eyes to see the changes.

18/07/2024

I 💜 my beautiful clients! Horse and human alike!! 🫶

10/07/2024

I mean do they get any cuter?! 😍 This little guy has been working so hard on finding out that his body is safe. It is amazing to see how 3 sessions have helped him come back into the room, literally and figuratively. Like I told his person, it never gets old watching how they transform.

05/07/2024

Horse buds 🫶

03/07/2024

Excited to be doing another workshop Shorewood Acres later this month. 🤗

She’s coming back! 🐎🐎🐎🐎

Elizabeth is headed back to our barn to continue showing/teaching us the Masterson Method.
If you missed it the first time, now is the time to join us.
I have plenty of horses for those non-owners to practice on!!
Just shoot me a text to reserve your spot. 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎

30/06/2024

LAST DAY TO WATCH 🎬🐴

We are in awe at the outpouring of love and kind words we are hearing from those of you who have seen our new sneak preview.

And if you haven’t yet watched, it’s 20 minutes that could change your life forever. You only have until 11 PM tonight...so what are you waiting for? 😉 Get your ticket at RescuedHeartsFilm.com.

We saw many of you sharing and commenting on social media after watching, and your heartfelt words brought tears to our eyes:

“Thank you for creating this masterpiece…this movie is going to be a catalyst of change.”

“Honoring wisdom & connection from so many perspectives.”

“You will experience a deep soul longing, and your heart is going to want to burst out of your chest.”

This film isn’t just being created by us, but also by the community that surrounds us. We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for your support and belief in this film - because we know it’s going to help so many beings throughout this planet.

Thanks to this amazing community, we’re one step closer to sharing the powerful message of healing and connection with audiences worldwide this Fall.

29/06/2024

💫📣💎

Lessons in being the tourist, not the tour guide -

A phenomenon I'm interested in currently is how everyone has the answers, a new hot take, a silver bullet -

The cure to cure all maladies.

It's the feet - no wait! - it's the posture - no wait! - it's the thoracic sling - no wait! - it's hindquarter engagement - no wait! - it's ulcers!

Here's the thing, I think it's all of it. All at once.

It's not existing in a vaccum. It's the unique dance between all of the little things that stack up and snowball.

And it ebbs and flows depending on the individual.

The fact we've taken an animal that shouldn't carry our weight, and we've stuck them in an environment that we're not even thriving in -

And we expect it to just... work?

So while we're all up here in what I can only describe as a positively obscure experience, the interplay between two species - the predator and the prey, if you will.

I'd like you to take notice -

Not simply of the things you want to achieve, or the ways in which it is imperfect,

But of all those incredible little moments which shouldn't even be possible and yet we have some how manufactured that they are.

Because my, oh my, what a privilege ❤️

29/06/2024

Upcoming Masterson Method Weekend Course! September 21-22, 2024 in Elgin, IL. Come join a fun, educational and hands-on event. 🤗 Register on the Masterson Method website or message me for more details.

26/06/2024

Morning musings from my teacher - Service is not an act of doing. Service is an act of being.

I love giving my clients skills and tasks when they ask what they can do for their horses. I write their homework on their session notes forms. I am grateful that they not only ask for it, many of them do it. I want to also remember that just being is enough sometimes. Slowing down and just being present. Being who you are is enough for your horse.

18/06/2024

4 days left to order!! https://www.bonfire.com/draft-campaign-27/?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=campaign_page&utm_campaign=draft-campaign-27&utm_content=default
Support . If you don’t want clothing, donations are accepted. 😇

13/06/2024

This though!!! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 🤩🙏🫶
I hope so many of my clients hear this echoed from me (less articulately of course 😂). I can think of a multitude of examples. 💜
Let’s work together on the basics! There are so many beautiful changes to help usher into our world. 🌎

"If you hear hooves, think horses not zebras"

We live in an era where we can acquire great quality information about a range of obscure, newly founded orthopaedic, structural or physiological issues. This is amazing and has the power to help a lot of horses.

The flipside to this is that we can fall into analysis paralysis.

There are many signs and symptoms which indicate a range of different veterinary diagnoses. And there are many presentations where a horse isn't head nod/hip hike lame. And this can feel pretty overwhelming. Where on earth do we begin?

The thing is, you need to start somewhere and I would like to invite you to begin with the basics because increasingly I've found that these are overlooked.

What is their hoof balance like? You might know its bad, and be working on it, but it'll continue to be a problem until you get the hoof capsule restored.

How is their posture? If they have the spinal integrity of noodle then of course they're going to struggle.

Could your horse have ulcers? A shiny coat and a good covering are not a metric for success.

Do you give your horse time to understand what you are asking them to do?

Equally do you give their body enough time to adapt to the stimulus?

If you are riding, does your equipment fit? Do you get it checked regularly?

I know that the remit of pain is the bird with many feathers - but if you haven't worked with all of the above, of course your horse is going to hurt!

And likewise, your horse with PSSM/MIM, ECVM - or any other unique acronym - is going to feel a great deal worse if you havent got the basics covered!

(I also appreciate that the basics might be a little harder to acquire with compromised horses, but that doesn't make them any less important! And equally can serve as a diagnostic tool in and of itself)

Let's grab the low hanging fruit folks!

Please ❤️

📸 Celebrating this amazing 3 month progression after this sweet boy's human firmed up the basics by building her knowledge, skillset and the team around her. It's a privilege to be a part of the journey ❤️✨️

10/06/2024

What a wonderful Masterson Method demo Shorewood Acres!! Happy horses and people too! 🤗🦄
Reach out if you would like to have a demo at your barn! Learn real life skills to communicate with your horse and practice them together. It’s fun and rewarding! I have open dates in August and October currently.

07/06/2024

It’s back! Buy Appleyard Equine gear and support The Ranch of Hope Reins! 🦄

100% of profits are donated to this special place. Link below:

https://www.bonfire.com/draft-campaign-27/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=campaign_page_share&utm_campaign=draft-campaign-27&utm_content=default

26/05/2024

A great post about the nuances of lunging. Plus a gibbon doing CrossFit! 😂

Lunging: connection or conflict?

Lunging gets a bad rap. "It's hard on their joints", "it gets them fitter without teaching them anything"; both these statements are true- that is, if your version of lunging is letting your horse motorbike around on a 40 degree angle at whatever speed it likes, head twisted to the outside pulling against the rope and all the weight dumped on the inside foreleg; all while you hang on for dear life looking like a gibbon doing crossfit. This isn't lunging though, this is just a great traps and lats workout for you that also really helps cement any genetic predispositions to kissing spines and juvenile arthritis your horse might have.

For me, lunging is a way I can work a horse on a variety of shapes and alter any number of postural niggles without them having to contend with carrying me as well. I start this without a rope at all initially. I want the horse reading my body language and to understand the concept of moving its feet without disconnecting it's brain. Basically I want the horse to move off in any gait with one ear fixed on me and asking "what next?"- as opposed to moving off like a rocket while fixating on something over the fence, with no intention of ever paying attention to me. It's only once this is established that I'll attach a rope.

If I attach a rope to a horse who disconnects when asked to move, the rope becomes an anchor. It's something that prevents a horse from being where it would rather be- this is how habits like rearing and dragging the rope away from the handler develops. To a horse who knows how to remain mentally connected to me while moving however, the rope is not an anchor but a conductors baton. It's something to follow and look for because it helps guide them to the correct answers more clearly and therefore better feeling sooner. Things such as running off, rearing and leaning outwards/inwards simply don't happen because the horse is already attuned to me and understands what's expected of it.

Here's Hendricks showing a much healthier response to the rope after a couple of weeks improving his ability to remain connected while in motion.

19/05/2024

🦟You want to put that balm where?!? -Diego 😱

All kidding aside Pure Sole Bug Off Balm is the best!! 🥇the gnats in our area have been horrendously prevalent this spring. 🦟 This soothing balm is a natural alternative to Swat and safe enough to put over small patches of open skin (like bug bites). Belly buttons, other sensitive areas and ears are all enjoying a skin soother and protection from more bites! 8oz. Tubs are $20 and I have them in stock and ready to drop off! ❤️‍🩹

17/05/2024

This perspective is so beautifully written and so needed 🩷

I worry for the middle -

I remember a time, not too long ago, sopping wet horses with defeated eyes. I remember horses flipping over from pressure, and a total dismissal of the horses physical body, as if they were too strong to break. “You can’t hurt them,” one man said, “it’s like spanking him with a sock.” They did their job, with eyes shut.

I see a time, now, where horses can’t manage the pressure of the world we brought them into. I see horses, equally stressed, who are coddled, babied, so much they pull back at the slightest trouble. I see horses who can’t get in trailers, can’t tie, can’t stand for the farrier, no life skills. Horses that bite and charge.

I see these every day, maybe they’re the extremes I’m called out for and not the norm, like a firefighter who’s daily experience involves disaster, where putting out fires is a daily habit -
I see unhappiness still- lack of confidence and fear encouraged, curated by human hands, mostly well meaning.

I worry for the still space between too much and too little, where a horse can get by. I worry for peace, which lives between the lines of dominance and permissiveness- I worry for guidance, and reading expression, and experimenting, and I worry for feel.

I worry for nuance, and catching meaning in the written word before emotional response. I worry for handiness and horse sense and wonder, if there will ever be a time again, where folks need to ride out to do a job and find out just how much is missing - and how much value there is in that small inbetween space. I’ve found much pleasure there, but it’s also saved my life on many occasion- to have a horse who is handy, confident, and soft.

17/05/2024

👑👑👑

15/05/2024

Another wonderful workshop with such a great group of horse people. Thank you Inside Out Horse Training for hosting me! 💖 The Masterson Method, Integrated Equine Performance Bodywork is an easy and comfortable way to get to know your horse better and communicate more easily. 🐴 My two hour demonstrations are a tiny sneak peek into the magic that we can all tap into when we tune in to a different wavelength.🪽

10/05/2024

Spending time yesterday with the legend that is Linda Tellington Jones was better than anticipated. Thank you for sharing your magic since the 1960s. The world is better for it. 🌎

08/05/2024

Exciting news! I have been asked to serve as an instructor for the Masterson Method education team, here in Illinois. This means that in addition to serving as a mentor and a coach for students, I will lead group courses for people interested in pursuing some or all of the official certification process of becoming a Masterson Method Certified Practitioner. I am looking forward to leading courses beginning in the late summer.

06/05/2024

☀️🐴🌱

04/05/2024

It was a great night with the wonderful horse people of the Fox Valley Saddle Association! I was asked to share about and at their monthly meeting. I worked with a lovely horse named Tommy and promptly forgot to take pictures until I was leaving at the end of the evening. 🙈 Thanks to all who showed up, asked great questions and I look forward to future connections! 🐎🫏

29/04/2024

My next workshop for horse owners to work with their own horses is coming up! 🦋 May 10th!🌸 There is room to trailer in if you are interested. 🌿Come learn how to read what your horse is telling you and work through tension into relaxation together!! 🩷

28/04/2024

I’m headed into day 3 of clinic “Looking at Your Horse from the Inside Out”. 🌟 The focus is Functional Anatomy that everyone in the horse world can use to be better horse people. 💪 Jillian is incredible. We are laughing, learning and helping to form the community that can change the horse world with empathy, respect and kindness for horses and humans alike. 🌎 I can’t wait for day 3 and then to get home and look at all of this with my own horses and clients! 🧩

12/04/2024

Diego turns 10 years old today! 🎉 Thank you, Diego, for being my greatest teacher, my riddle that keeps me learning and growing and for the trust you place in our relationship. Over the years you have become such a source of wisdom, self-advocacy and courage. The way you know yourself and your boundaries yet will try just about anything to make me happy is hard to describe. Most of all, I appreciate the way you walk through decisions about how to be in the horse world and how to share my gifts. The joy you share with people and horses alike is delightful. May the sun always shine on you, sweet boy.

05/04/2024

I have a lot of things to be thankful for. Finding this person, Jim Masterson, as a teacher is among them. In 2018, when I decided to become certified in the Masterson Method, I wanted to take all of the courses with him as the lead instructor. Now I look back and realize I was one of the last students to have that opportunity. His techniques and knowledge have continued to grow over the years, always moving towards more refinement and subtly. That’s one of the things I like best about this work. Because, as it turns out, staying below the brace is about more than bodywork, or even life with horses, it’s really a way of being in the world.